Books, Birthdays and Ballots

29.3.15

Another very lazy morning and afternoon too , come to think of it. Second Round of the Départmental elections. Hurray, the Front National didn't win any Départements but the Sarkozy right came in well ahead of the socialists. the Pyrénees Oriental stayed left, much to our relief even though there were a couple of tiny villages near here that voted FN. difficult to understand why.
Results:
Votes cast:  1200
Socialists: 695              FN: 421
Spoilt papers: 25          Blank papers: 89


28.3.15:

Gave the market a miss and did a repeat performance of yesterday afternoon until it was time to go to Nicole's (a French member of the association) to celebrate her birthday. Only 3 of the 14 of us there were French; luckily for Christian, he sat next to the other French person, so didn't feel too outnumbered. Lizzie played her violin and Bente (Danish) played her accordian and after "Happy Birthday" and "Congratulations", we had a rendition of "what shall we do with the drunken sailor?" by special request from our hostess. I remember, on  the association's trip to Scotland in 2011 that Nicole sang it with great gusto, showing us all another side to her normally very restrained manner. After sangria and canapés, the meal was a delicious couscous accompanied by Sidi Brahim, a Moroccan wine, mint tea and of course, birthday cake.
Weather:
18° Blue skies, sun and strong winds

27.3.15:

David and Laura who are the first of the expat Spring arrivals, called in briefly for coffee. In the evening Jean-Jacques came for supper; in between, Christian snoozed and I read and read using my ipod. Much to my surprise, I've made the transition without any problem at all. Perhaps sooner or later my eyes will tell a different story but for now, I'm just loving it's ease and convenience.
Oh yes, a present of a solar powered waving Queen arrived from Rowena. She'd been sent one by a friend and thought as it cheered her up, it would do the same for us as we continue to negotiate the medical system! Kitsch or what? I just hope that we don't start waving back!
Weather:
16° Sunny but still windy
In the News:
The "German Wings" pilot should have been on sick leave

26.3.15:

Christian had an appointment with his GP at 11am this morning so we lingered even longer than usual in bed, leaving Thérèse free to get on with doing downstairs.
The results of Christian's latest blood test revealed that he's badly anaemic which explains in a large part why he's so breathless when he makes the least effort and is constantly tired. So there'll be a new set of tests to do. It can't be easy for him to have to fight on so many fronts. xxxx
Afterwards we had lunch at the restaurant; well, it being Thursday and us being creatures of habit, why wouldn't we?
Weather:
14° Sun, wind and Canigou has a thick layer of snow down to quite low levels.
In the News:
Did the "German Wings" pilot commit suicide?

25.3.15:

Today, Henri was in the kitchen to prepare a choucroute. I won't bore you again with a description of what it is. Also present were André, Nany and Jean-Jacques. Nany and I staggered from the table before the others as our flower making duty called. Next week should be the last with any luck and perhaps I can then join the walking group for a bit of exercise. In the evening, however, there was some vocal exercise with our penultimate pronunciation workshop. Did I ever say that our teacher is actually a German who speaks excellent English and French. Such is Europe, such is our village and long may it continue.
Weather:
11° Tramantane blowing strongly making it feel a lot colder.
In the News:

International Slavery Rememberance Day http://www.un.org/en/events/slaveryremembranceday/ "This year’s Day of Remembrance pays particular tribute to the many women who suffered and died during the slave trade. ... Women slaves played a key role in maintaining the dignity of their communities. Too often their leadership and brave resistance have been underestimated or forgotten." Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

24.3.15:

Met Nany to decide how we would decorate the square with the flowers that we're making for St Jordi at the end of April then retreated to the bar for a cuppa. Half an hour after leaving, I went back again to meet les Anglaises for our ritual "apérobio". Once more, Eve did us proud and there's little enthusiasm to go back to the restaurant with its more skimpy offerings.
Weather:

12° Still wet and dismal.
In the News:

• A "German Wings", (Lufthansa's low cost airline), flight between Barcelona and Dusseldorf  crashed in the French Alps with 150 people on board.
• International Day for the Right to Truth concerning Gross Violations of Human Rights

23.3.15:
13° A dull, drizzly day