In a Bit of a Daze with it All

31.5.15:

Philippe and Paula called with some fresh fish straight from the quai and joined us at the bar for an apéro.
Even though there is no religous ceremony, the church warden agreed to sound the death bell at midday today at at 9am tomorrow, the time of the cremation in Perpignan. He also gave me a date for a mass to be said on 19th July. Although he wasn't religious, Christian would love the idea of lots of villagers all thinking of him at the same time.
People started to arrive from the Normandy, Paris, Provence, Marseille, Picardy,  Denmark, England and Scotland during the afternoon. Anne and Ian were putting up Chris and Jill, my brother and sister along with Ann and Noel, friends from Scotland. I took them up and Ian ended up giving us a late afternoon drink which became an apéro when Anne came home from a voice workshop.
We managed to find accomodation for everyone ; 4 with Philippe and Françoise, 5 in Nancy's house, 2 with Jacques, one with Jean-Jacques, six in Margaret's house. In the end I had more offers than takers. Nono and Evelyn were there in their camping car and there 6 adults and 5 children chez moi.
Was I glad to have my own space in the nest!
There were 34 of us for dinner at the bar, Jean-Louis having done us a good meal fixed price meal.

30.5.15:
We decided to make the most of a few hours of relative calm before family and friends arrive so we went to the market which was even more animated than usual due to the cherry festival. Had lunch at the bar back in the village and a siesta afterwards. In the evening. Thérèse and Jean called and stayed for a long apéritif.


29.5.15:

A busy day starting with a visit to the Undertakers in Perpignan to organise the cremation for Monday. Yes, things happen fast here. All went well and we came back to the village for lunch in the restaurant. The rest of the day was filled with visits from people (Nany and André, Carmen and José, Laurent and Samia, Dominique and Marilyse, anne G), emails, phone calls, offers of help and strategic planning for the ceremony. These lovely flowers arived from Nancy in the States.
Jean-Jacques joined us for dinner and there was a raid on the wine cave for some good bottles of Collioure. I could just hear Christian making one or two choice comments which I won't mention here!
Weather:
26° Sun, rain showers

Just until the End

28.5.15:
Went into he hospital for 10h30 with Carmen who stayed until the kids arrived at 2pm. We stayed with Christian and were able to make the most of one or two moments of lucidity. One very precious one was when I said to him "donne-moi tes microbes" and he turned his face towards me and puckered up his lips for a kiss. As the time wore on, the adreneline was reduced and the morphine increased; Christian slipped gently from us at 12.45am.

27.5.15:
The worse day so far and it's clear that there's worse to come. The specialist phoned and said Christian wasn't able to cope without the dialysis and I could  come in early to be with him. Went in with Carmen who was a great support. Saw the doctor who is the most caring, patient person and we telephoned to Christian to alert him to the need to come and see P.apa. Christian in and out consciousness. Came home feeling exhausted but some how managed to water the plants, prepare three bedrooms and a meal in readiness for Valérie, Christophe and Frank who are driving down tomorrow.
Weather:
23° Sun, clound some wind

26.5.15:
Woke early with cramp in both legs which thankfully soon passed and I was able to get back to sleep. Into the clinic with Thérèse; Christian looking frail. Came back home on the bus to within 3km of the village where Linde was due to pick me up. She'd forgotten!
Thérèse and Françoise called in after their hike in the mountains to make sure that I was taking care of myself. They left reassured and I got ready to meet David, Laura and Martine for a chinese meal. Shame it as too windy  to sit out on the terrace.
Weather:
23° Sun, cloud, wind

25.5.15:
Woke at 5am. Linde called around with some flowers but didn't stay long. It's Whit Monday and therefore a public holiday here and once again Anne took me in to see Christian. Had a late tapas meal chez Michel along with Claude and Françoise, Henri and Chantal. Feeling tired, I left as soon as dessert was over.
Weather:
22° Sun and wind

24.5.15:
Early call from Véro to say that she'd taken Christian's son Stephane to the local hospital and he was to be moved to Toulouse as there was something pretty nasty on a lung and his brain. It never rains ...
Coffee at the bar with Martine after she came out from church to try and take my mind of things.
No buses today, this being Sunday so Anne G took me to the clinic for my hour's visit. Christian didn't wake the whole time. Not easy, knowing in my heart of hearts that he's unlikely to get any better.
Weather:
23° Sun and wind

23.5.15:
Went to the market for a bit of normality. Didn't need to buy peas and beans as Geneviève had given me some fresh that morning from her garden. Met up with Jean then Martine and Carmen for a coffee before going to the clinic with Jean-Jacques. Christian a little better though still confused. He thought the taxi had been ordered and he was going home. Took the bus back and went to Michèle and Henri's for tea but it was soon clear that dinner had also been prepared so it was 9pm by the time I arrived home.
Weather:
21° Sun, cloud, wind and feeling cooler

22.5.15:
Philippe had a meeting in Perpignan so we went together to see Christian. Only one person at a time could go in to see him. He was looking so small in the bed all hooked up with tubes and the dialysis machine pumping away. He was too tired to say anything much, There was nowhere to sit so the alloted hour passed very slowly. Breaks my heart to see him so unlike himself. While Philippe and Jordi attended the meeting, Paula and I had a coffee and wander around the town.
Came home and went up to André and Nany's for an apéritif. Michèle and Henri had phoned to invite me to have dinner with them at the village restaurant but they ended coming for the apéro instead.
Weather:
20° Sun, wind and cloud

Losing Weight and Worrying

21.5.15:
June will soon be upon us and it's time for a mammoth catch-up. You'll have realised from the last post that Christian isn't well and sadly things haven't improved hence the blog has taken a back seat. Anyway, I'll be working my way through events in chronological order when I can find the time and the energy.

21.5.15:
Christian moved to have dialysis. 
Weather:
19° Sun, cloud, strong wind

20.5.15:
A bad news phone call from the clinic to say that Christian was to be moved to a more intensive care unit for dialysis once a space was available and that visiting regulations wouldn't apply until that happened. He was punctured to drain off some of the excess fluid but the specialist, Dr Carbognani, a real gem of a human being, explained that there were increasing amounts of fluid accumulating. Jean-Jacques made himself available and stayed with me until after we'd had lunch in the canteen and it was Françoise who came in to pick me up.
Weather:
18° lighter winds

19.5.15:

Received the news that Christian's son Stéphane had been admitted to hospital with lung and brain problems but this was information that I wasn't ready to share with Christian. Had a lift in with Marie-Loudres who was visiting her husband and came back with Michel.
Weather:
14° rain

18.5.15:
Only able to visit Christian for an hour as per the regulations. Just as well as Christian was tired and slept a lot of the time.
Françoise called in to the house to catch up on the news.

17.5.15:
Went to the clinic with Françoise and just imagine my shock when we arrived to find Christian's room cleaned and empty. He'd been moved to cardio intensive care. The staff there were really good and he looked better than he had been. Still tired and not eating but a better colour.
Weather:
23° lighter winds

16.5.15:
The witlow I've had for a few days is looking pretty yukky so instead of going to the market, I had a lift into the clinic with Geneviève. Won't go into details but it needs dressing by the nurse every couple of days and a course of anti-biotics.
took the bus to see Christian and found him not well at all. He was blue and despite the oxygen had no energy and was very breathless. Of course he's not getting home. Martine kindly came to pick me up. I feel more worried than ever about him.
Later on I popped up to the village hall to support Michel's rock group but only stayed long enough to give people news and have a glass of wine that I left half of.
Weather:
Strong winds

15.5.15:
Ann and Terry kindly drove Christophe to the airport and then later on I took the bus to Perpignan to see Christian. he's still frail and not eating but saying that he can come home tomorrow. Michel came along to pick me up after which we did a supermarket shop.
Weather:
Winds of over 100km/h, cooler with some rain.

14.5.15:

Didn't go to the language exchange, instead taking a trip to the garden where we were surprised by the progress that Alain and Debra have made with it.  Had a drink at the bar with the language exchangers before lunch at home and our visit to the clinic.
Christian was perkier; his meds had been changed and he's on a drip. Thinks he may get home before the weekend though he still isn't eating properly (?).
On coming home we had an apéro chez nous and wandered over to the bar for something to eat. I'd forgotten that it was cards night, so no food on therefore we had a plate of tapas at the restaurant.
Weather:
26° cloud, sun, wind getting stronger

13.5.15:
Went to the ex Mayor's ex wife's funeral which needless to say was a full house. Met Christian and Christophe at the restaurant where we were joined by André and Nany. Philippe called by to say "hello" and have a beer too. In the afternoon, we went with Christian for his appointment with the GP who said we should take him to the clinic in Perpignan through the emergency system as he felt there was no way he could be treated at home with all that was going on. Arrived at  the clinic at 7.15pm and arrived home at 2am after Christian was admitted to the cardiac unit.
Weather:
25°. Overcast morning, sun later, spit of rain

12.5.15:
Christian had blood test. Christophe and I did a run to the recycling centre.Gp phoned to tell us to go to the chemist's to pick up a potassium prescription that he'd faxed after having had an alert from the lab.
Weather:
22° sun, cloudy and cool later

11.5.15:
Christian and Jean-Jacques to the airport to collect Christophe who's with us until Friday. Stayed at home for dinner but Christian had no appetite or motivation to eat.
Weather:
22°, overcast
News:
François Hollande met fidel Castro in Cuba

10.5.15:
Lunch at the restaurant with Michèle and Henri.

9.5.15:
Leaving Christian to rest, I went into the market for a change of scene and then at the end of the afternoon shared a bottle of cava with Dani and Brian at theirs.
Weather:
25° Sunny



 8.5.15:

End of 2WW and the first of a handful of public holidays in May which is the subject of great debate at least on the bosses' side. Mindful of my civic duty and the need to represent Christian, I was on parade for 8am and went up for the ceremony in the mountains rather than the one in the village. The air was clear, the sunlight gentle and the birds were singing. Christian managed to make his way over to the bar for a coffee while we waited for Jean-Jacques to give us a lift to lunch. A Tunisian member of the council prepared a real deal couscous for about 40 of us - the Council and it's supporters. Christian found his appetite from somewhere and enjoyed his meal.
Weather:
23°, rain at the end of the day

7.5.15:
Went to the language exchange but of course, didn't stay for an apéro. Jean took us to the clinic for the ultrasound which showed that Christian has a cardiac liver. Nipped out to help Françoise with "Dropbox" but had to call for backup from Nick.
Weather:
22° Sunny
News:
British General election won by the Conservatives. SNP  won 56 of 59bseats in Scotland

6.5.15:
Christian made a great effort to walk to the restaurant for a coffee in the sun. Linger a fairly long time and stayed for lunch. Jean-Jacques joined us and treated us. He and I went for the menu du jour but Christian tempted himself with the foie gras starter. 2/3 of it came home with us in a tuppaware.
Weather:
22° Sunny

5.5.15:
Michel gave us a lift to see the GP. Was a locum and he didn't seem too worried that Chr was not eating  . He gave me a book title about theraputic fasting and ordered a liver ultrasound for Christian and a blood test for next week. We stayed for a coffee before coming home and bumped into Jean and Françoise. Martine, called in during the afternoon, bearing some caramels from the twinning visit to Normandy.
Weather:
The same as yesterday

4.5.15:
Jean-Jacques called in to see how Christian was but didn't stay for his usual apéro; he could see that Christian was tired.
Weather:
21° low cloud lifted to give sun
News:
Jean-Marie Le Pen suspended from the Front National

Languishing in the Doldrums

This week has not been a lot of fun, especially for Christian. He's been very tired, has no appetite and for the last three days has been migrating between bed and settee. The stairs are unthinkable at the moment.

Friday was May Day and a public holiday. We were booked in at the restaurant with Henri and Michèle for a wine tasting (Domaine Piquemal, http://www.domaine-piquemal.com/index.php/fr/le-domaine ) and tapas meal. Christian didn't feel up to it so, I ran back and forth with each course in the hope that he would be tempted to eat something. Two king prawns was all he managed. That gives those of you who know him an idea of the state of play. There were 18 of us in all; French, Catalan, Norvegians, Danes and yours truly. The wine was good; I particularly liked the rosé. The food was good though too much to finish it all.
Yesterday I begged a lift to the market with Hans and Marie-Madeleine and met up with Rowena and her parents for a long, leisurely coffee in the sun. Couldn't help but spare a thought for 35 folk from the village who are at the moment on a twinning visit to Normandy where it's raining heavily. Of course, we should have been with them but we prudently decided not to sign up. Shame, as the contact is always warm and fun-filled. I came home on the bus and spent the rest of the day in front of the tv.
Apart from a trip to buy bread, a chat stop at the café this morning and a quick whizz around a carboot sale down on the recreation ground this afternoon, today has been another very quiet day. See, life isn't all lazy moments on sun-filled cafés watching the world go by with a glass of wine in hand.
Weather:
Temperatures between 18° - 26°, sunshine, cloud with a couple of rain showers at the end of the afternoon.
In the News:

• Nepal earthquake death toll over 6,200. Thousands more missing, injured and homeless
• Unemployment in metropolitian France now 3.5m
• French women voted for the first time (Municipal elections) in 1945. Interestingly, the radical socialists had voted against their enfranchisement as they were convinced that women would vote for whom the priests directed them to!
• The Guardian revealed that French soldiers accused of sexually exploiting children in the Central African Republic (there as peacekeepers!!!!) in exchange for food. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/30/un-accused-of-reckless-disregard-for-allegations-of-peacekeeper-child-abuse
• Birth of royal baby. Of three British residents living in the Dordogne interviewed by French tv, only one could speak French! After weeks of is it a boy or a girl, the world is on tenderhooks to know her name!