22.6.16: Hope you were listening, Christian
Woke at 3am with a painful wrist and had to resort to a painkiller. Went to the chemist first thing for a wrist support which at 40€, the chemist advised me to ask the GP for a prescription. , As before, (for my ankle) she trusted me to go back with it. The GP's is just above, so with my wrist strapped I went up and saw the receptionist who said she'd get it sorted; that was once she'd told me to try and stay upright. Hope she didn't think that I'd been over-indulging, cos I aint if the same thought has crossed your mind too. Feel sure that the two falls are due to tiredness making me inattentive.
There were lots of people at the vernissage. Laurent sang the song he'd composed for Christian's funeral, the Maire spoke reiterating Christian's generosity in all senses of the word and Marie (in the red dress) gave a lovely speech. Even if your French isn't that good, I'm sure you'll get the gist.
"Je remercie Ruth de m'avoir proposé
de faire cette exposition .Je la remercie chaleureusement et avec
affection.
Je remercie tous les
jeunes gens employés à la Maison pour Tous de leur efficacité et
de leur gentillesse ;
Je remercie Monsieur le
Maire et ses adjoints.
Je vous remercie tous
d'être ici présents pour l'hommage rendu à Christian L'Hostis.
Dans mes études, comme
tous les latinistes, j'ai été amenée à traduire des vers
d'Ovide, un poète qui prodiguait aux jeunes gens, garçons et
filles, des conseils de séduction. Et il avait regroupé tous ces
textes dans un recueil intitulé « L'Art d'aimer », titre
magnifique.
Et c'est là que je pense
à Christian, à sa capacité
merveilleuse, extraordinaire, absolue, d'aimer la vie, de la croquer, de
la déguster, de la savourer. Aucun mieux que lui n'incarnait cet art
de donner de l'amour avec la générosité que nous lui
connaissions. Et nous constatons encore une fois aujourd'hui qu'il
avait aussi l'art d'être aimé puisque nous sommes tous ici pour
lui.
Je ne me lasse pas de
redire ces deux mots « L'Art d'aimer » et de voir dans
l'association de ces deux mots la force d'Ovide. L'art et l'amour
comme fondements mêmes de notre vie, comme bases fondatrices de nos
êtres.
Ni l'argent, ni la religion, ni le
travail, mais l'amour sublimé par la délicatesse et le raffinement
de l'art.
Je propose à Christian la
compagnie de ces femmes,des amoureuses,des mères,certaines
mutines,d'autres sensuelles,rêveuses,les yeux perdus dans des
infinis mystérieux et poétiques,toutes ces femmes avec qui il
pourra bavarder et entamer la saison d'été.....
Merci à
vous tous".
21.6.16: Spooky or what?
A fine day dawned for the "Fête de la Musique" and appropriately it was the day chosen to inaugurate the music room, on the next floor up from Christian's room in the "Maison pour Tous". It's been named for a young woman, a very talented flautist who died in a car accident in 2000. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that her birthday was the same as Christian's! He'll be delighted to be in her company. The Maire also mentioned Christian in his speech saying how much he is missed. Of course there was music; 2 flautists and piano who opened with Fauré's "La Pavane", sniff, sniff.
Didn't stay for the apéritif as I needed to shoot off for the Spanish groups' lunch at Suzanne and Gilbert's. I would have prefered to have gone home and rest but I knew they would have gone to a lot of trouble of course, I went. Tried to keep in the shade and not eat too much.
I did manage a short rest before putting in an appearance at the concert in the square. Sat with Yasmin, Ken and Margaret and was later joined by Jean and Françoise who'd come over especially. Was obviously feeling tired as I missed my footing and clattered down on my shoulder, wrist and side of the head. Luckily Marilyse had arnica in her bag which prevented too big a bump coming up on my head and once I'd got my wind back I went home to put ice on my wrist.
Weather:
28° Hot and sunny
20.6.16: Star of the Show
Summoned up the energy to get to the "Maison pour Tous" to help Marie-Andrée hang her exhibition "Pour Christian" under the expert eye of Jean. Two and half hours later, all was done. Then it was back to mine for lunch with Jean-Jacques and Nancy. Michel was otherwise engaged. Apéritif on the terrace and a selection of cold meat and salads; the kind of meal that meant the work had been done in advance and I could benefit from joining in the conversation. The guests guarunteed that the topics were far reaching with a political bias so it ws good not to miss out.
Just a quick recommendation, if you come across Thai coriander, a recent discovery, buy it, plant it and use it salads and cooked food. The taste is difficult to describe but it will add something different to your dishes.
Weather:
27°, Sun and blue skies
