Brits and Boats, Paintings and Patriots

10.6.16: All in a Day

A morning walk, coffee with Nancy and Nicole P. Yes, you're absolutly right, I'm never at home to do any housework. Well, if your not out and about you miss some of the strange things that happen, like
 ° the comfortably off woman from another village washing her car using the tap at the cemetery,
°  a picture of the Queen gazing out from "the Maison pour Tous" advertising an English speaking pop up church service to celebrate her 90th
° a peacock strutting up the street in front of me
° Nicole V kitted out from top to toe in red, white and blue for the France v Romania match.
More mundanely, I helped prepare for the meal for the carnival  participants. Main job was peeling and cutting countless carrots into batons. No room for airs and graces in village life.
Weather:
Evening rain

9.6.16: "Lively Colours to Freshen the Soul"
Another hot day, another language exchange and another apéritif afterwards. I resisted Gérard and Evelyn's offer of dessert or a drink as I made my way home past the restaurant, much to the owner's relief as she was getting ready to close..
Delivered posters for the expo, had a drink with Martine and Carmen in the other bar and struggled to download all my "Coffee Break Spanish" podcasts. Can recommend these as well as their French ones.
The brightly coloured skirt that I was wearing brought many compliments so when I stumbled across this quote, I wrote it down but stupidly didn't note the source. I can't tell you where it came from but it's relevant and appealing, don't you think?
Weather:
31°, sun

8.6.16: Ahouy There!

Had another "early", (well, out before 9am early to avoid the heat), walk around the village.
Pottered (café's closed on a Wednesday) before a meeting with Nancy, JJ, Martine and Michel to talk about the forthcoming conference about "Sustainability".
At the end of the afternoon Françoise and I went over to Argelès to see Marie-Andrée to help choose the paintings for the exhibition she's dedicating to Christian. Of course there was an apéritif ooce the seection had been made. 
 As it was a pleasantly warm evening, Jean came down to meet us at the port for a drink. It was lovely sitting comfotably overlooking the marina and watching the world go by. Too relaxed to move, we stayed on for a bite to eat, served by a charming young man who was saving to go off to Burma at the end of the season. He'd already visited so as he wasn't too busy,  we were able to swap travellers' tales without him getting hassled by his boss.
Weather:
30°, sun, light cloud later

7.6.16: Little England
Off early to a local nursery with Nicole P to buy something for Annette who had invited us to a lunch party.
Back for a ceremony at the primary school, commemorating France's teachers who'd died in the Great War. Don't know why François Hollande should have singled them out this year. Came back down to the bar with Nancy and Jean-Jacques before going off to lunch. Overwhelmingly British, the food, prepared by Annette's  friend, Roy was much better than the conversation! Luckily, Nicole and I had managed to get chairs in a shady spot which we guarded for all we were worth!
Took our leave in advance of most folk; Nicole to walk her two dogs, me to rest. Finished the day with tapas shared with Nancy and Jean-Jacques, who came straight from his meeting.
Weather:
30°, Hot and sunny

6.6.16: Life's a Bowl of Cherries

Made a good start to the week with a walk around the village, took some photos of the exhibition and met Anne and Nicole S (les copines) for coffee. Nancy turned up too.. Lunch at home, spent time bent over the computer and voted for the new name of the reorganised Region. Languedoc Roussillon (Perpignan, Montpellier) is being merged with (Midi Pyrénées).
Jacques called around with a bowl of fresh picked cherries and stayed for a cuppa; they were delicious. The other day Geneviève brought me a bunch of roses from her garden; people are so thoughtful. Lucky ol' me.
Weather:
24°, sun, cloud, late steady rain