Need to Get a Life?

17.11.17: Energised by the Sun

Took the bus into town for a quick whizz around the supermarket as I'm doing dinner for five of us tomorrow evening but before that I bumped into Françoise. Made time for a coffee together which meant that my whizz was even faster than I'd anticipated. I'd forgotten how slowly the queue in this particular supermarket moves. Dropped the shopping off at home and went for a cuppa; I was the only client in the café so sat and chatted with Eve, the patron and leant that another hairdresser's is opening up. That we don't need.
Did some hard prunning this afternoon but there were some trees that will need more force than I can muster so that's for another week.
Maggie called by to collect a paper which I'd printed off for her but didn't stay for tea even though I'd just made a pot. Bet you can't guess how I spent the evening? Yes, more small screen.
Weather:
21° !!! warm and sunny


16.11.17: Another View, Another Sunset

Language exchange, tea, then a glass of wine over which I lingered quite a long time with Ann, Terry and Nicole P.
Walked over to see Martine who's recovering from an operation and had tea and a good catch-up. The sunset on the walk home was absolutely stunning. I'm sure that you'll appreciate the change of view as I did. Home to make soup and watch more tv.
Weather:
17°, sun


15.11.17: Guest Appearance

A bit of a later start that was interrupted by a call from Françoise to come to our room where she was in the process of giving her French conversation workshop. She wanted to talk about something and nothing but a cup of coffee and an invitation to join the group was on offer. Stayed for an enjoyable half an hour.
Next door jam making for the Téléthon was in full swing; apparently, 830 pots of watermelon and citrus fruit was the splendid result.
Brought the blog up to date in the afternoon and then went to set up the welcome apéritif for new members. All went extremely well with a great bit of mixing and mingling which didn't go on past 8.30pm. This left time to watch "Free Men" a film that gives an interesting slant on the Muslim community's contribution to the Resistance effort in wartime Paris. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/27/free-men-french-review
Weather:
19°, sunny


14.11.17: Long Time, No See

It's ages since I've seen Hortense so it was great to catch up with her over coffee and have a laugh. Was offered a lift while waiting for the bus and Hortense gave me a lift back. Not driving is a bit of a pain and no doubt the time will come when I need to look to move to a smaller house somewhere bigger with more services but I'm not there yet.
Spent all afternoon doing the website and all evening watching tv.
Weather:
14° sunny

13.11.17: Looking to Increase Takings

Did the shopping for the apéritif that I'm organising for new members and then called in at the bar for a cuppa.
This afternoon made a start on updating the association website .
The first acoustic guitar evening was launched at the bar this evening. 9 of the 11 folk who ordered up food were Brits; is it any wonder that we always receive a warm welcome?
Left at about 9.30pm; yes, you've guessed it, to watch telly. Sad or what?
Weather:
11° blue sky and extremely strong winds

Anti climax after all the Recent Buzz

5.11.17: Going Solo

There were about six of us around the table for coffee this morning though none of my usual pals were there. The church brigade left quite early as they were all going to the Sardane Association lunch in the foyer. Didn't feel like beating a retreat so stayed on for a white wine and was rewarded by the appearance of Margaret.
Home for lunch then down to the recreation ground to have a walk around the car boot sale. Shouldn't have bothered. Came home and brought the blog up to date; now there's only several weeks of back posts to do.
Weather:
17°, sun and stong winds

4.11.17: Winding Down

My Parisian family left on time at 7am to do the long drive in front of them. These few days have passed very quickly but it's great that they are so willing to make the journey south and keep the contact going. Evenings chatting around the dinner table were a pleasure (as was the bottle of cava at apéritif time) that I feel I should make more effort to invite friends to share food with me.
Went to the market with Michel and met Françoise for coffee then came home and spent the rest of the day quietly.
Weather:
20°, sun

Friends, Flowers and Fiesta

5.7.14:

Started the morning with a coffee in the bar where there were a group from Perpignan decorating the fountain with flowers and petals. A lovely idea.
While waiting for the bus into Perpignan our neighbours came by and gave me a lift. The town especially, the gardens along the Quai Vauban were looking beautiful in the sunshine. Yet again, I asked myself why we don't make more effort to go onto the town.
There was no change with Christian and we spent the afternoon watching the first stage of the Tour de France which started in Leeds and sped through North Yorkshire. As always, the scenery is more interesting than the cycling; sorry Andy!
Jean-Jacques came by to see Christian anad gave me a lift back and then the two of us went to the Water Festival in a neighbouring commune as the official representatives of the Maire. There was a meal (melon and ham, chicken and king

prawns, floating islands) and a show with 20 singers, dancers and musicians on stage. The women were scantily dressed for their dance routines which took them through different countries. Grhhhh! We didn't stay on to dance the night away ourselves but came home wondering how long it would take for rumours to circulate about me being out with "another man"!!
Weather:
28°, sun
Headlines:
Leon Britton denying abuse allegations


4.7.14:
Another day spent at the hospital enlivened by a visit from Marie- Andrée and Jean. While Christian had an evening meal of something which he didn't know whether it was meat or fish (!), I spent a pleasant time with Robin, Di and later on, Roger. Di gave me an interesting wee book called "The Man Who Planted Trees" written by Jean Giono. It's short, sweet, easy to read and this link is to an animated film version.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_7yEPNUXsU
Weather:
27°, cloud but only a few drops of rain
Headlines:
Rolf Harris sentenced to 5 years and 6 months for child abuse.Oh dear and he painted the Queen's portrait for her 80th birthday.

Live for Today, Tomorrow will be too Late

Christian was at the Mairie to do a few last minute bits and pieces while I delivered the last association newsletter of 2013. In the afternoon we went over to see Josette who is in a care home but she dismissed us after about 45 minutes as she wanted to go back to watching the film with her pal. Oh dear! Things have changed. She was never one for the tv before and is mentally a shadow of her former self. Doesn’t bear thinking about.

Sizzling Temeratures

 

Today, was far more interesting, however. Firstly a walk up through the woods with Elsa before it got too hot. She had great fun (trying) to take photos of butterflies that were of course, forever on the move. We were out for over 2 hours and were more than pleased when the bar finally came into view. A long cool drink by the fountain helped as we were both feeling pretty sticky by this point.

Temperatures continue above 30°, so a vernissage in the air - conditioned Mairie allowed us to linger over the apéritif and chat. The expo itself , which wasn't very well attended was pretty ordinary and the artist more like a car salesman in manner than anything else.

Ended the day by going to the restaurant with Michel for a plate of tapas followed by icecream at his house. On the way home we were hijacked by Jacques and his friends and whipped off to a local fiesta which started tonight and goes on until Sunday. Bars, dancing in the streets and lots of good humour. Finally made it to bed at 4am!! Is that anyway for grandparents to behave?



Global Audience

We thought it was about time that we used ourlast Groupon voucher. this time it was for a restaurant not too far from here that has recently changed hands. The meal was fine but nothing to write home about so it's unlikely to see us again. Still, the young woman waiting table was very pleasant and we found this sign amusing.
The wind had died down this morning was back again so we've stayed in all afternoon. Christian snoozing and me surfing the net before bringing "chitchat" up to date. Found that I could find details of the number of page views that there have been and their origin. Believe it or not, Japan, Taiwan, Ukraine and Russia figure on the list. goodness knows what they will have made of  the minutiae of our life!! Laughter Yoga online?
Now for a quiet night and the last two episodes of the French crime serial "Spiral". Hard but gripping but there again, the Saturday night European slot on BBC 4 is always a must.

"Iechyd Da!"

More aware of St David's Day as my brother is about to leave the rural Warwickshire of his birth to spend his retirement in rural Wales. Here's hoping that these pastures new will be as good to him as mine have been to me. What a surprise when I googled "yaki da" and found the spelling was completely different but that's Welsh for you.

Changed days

Apart from unloading Maggie's van and putting things from last night back into our cupboard and the left over booze into our cave, to be stored, I hasten to add, yesterday was a lazy day.
Today was busier. Opened up for the Calligraphy workshop at 9am and then had Spanish with Anne. Afterwards we went to meet Anne and Henry for lunch along with David and Laura. There was a biting wind and our two brave Scots have decided to go home a few days early as their house here is too cold! Tea at ours with Annie and Graham was cancelled as they had to stay and deal with a leaky roof. Finally, there was a public meeting organised by the Municipal Police and the Gendarmerie about household security. The area has been hit recently by a wave of burglaries but thankfully, the intruders seem to have moved on to fresh pickings. Once the meeting was over, a supper was laid on for the two speakers and members of the council who were there. I've never been so close to uniforms in my life since Christian has been at the Mairie. I'd never have thought in the 70's while on regular demos that a few decades later I'd be at the same table as 'les forces de l'ordre'!

Keep the Home Fires Burning

It's been cold for the last few days and imagine my misery to come downstairs on Monday to find that the storage heaters hadn't heated up. What's worse,we've been on a red tarif pricewise. One good thing is that I've started to clean up the dust in the cave in an effort to keep warm. All it needs is for Juste to take away all his tools which yours truly has put tidily in one place.

Tuesday we both went to Sylvie's hair salon to get our unruly mops sorted out and Wednesday Jacques, his son Pierre and his girlfriend Lea came for an apéritif dinatoire next to a roaring log fire. Several bottles later we got to bed at 2am.
Thursday, our guests from last night joined us in the bar after the language exchange and we ended up going back to Jacques to eat pasta. As he and Pierre were leaving the next day for the States, there was food to eat up and bottles to empty. In the evening, I joined, Lynne, Anne and Barbara for an apéritif in the restaurant ... told you that it was going to be a regular thing.
Friday and though it's sunny, it's still cold and we're still on a red tarif.I went to Spanish in the morning; Christian, of course went to the Mairie and in the afternoon we watched 'Oranges and Sunshine' about kids in care who'd been shipped out Australia and told that their parents were dead. It reminded me that in the early 70's that I'd had a social work placement at Middlemore Homes which had sent children to Canada. For once, the social worker was the "goodie" in the story and that doesn't happen often.
Today, it started to rain so we gave the market a miss and went to the supermarket. Called in at the bar and had a glass of wine with Lauren and Patrick. Christian invited the latter to come and eat with us, so thank goodness for the large tin of confit de canard (duck legs) that I had in the cave. Maggie came around in the afternoon and we watched "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" while we sipped the pink champagne that she and Trevor had brought New Year's day. The film was so funny; so many great onelinersfrom a really super cast. What a change to see Maggie Smith transformed from Dowager to working class wifey. Still, they were both snobs in their own way, so I guess we're all the same underneath.

Out of Sight?

A Thursday with a little extra and a little less. After the usual association stuff in the morning and an apéritif in the bar,we ate in the village restaurant. Then Rowena called in for a cuppa in the afternoon but couldn't stay too long. We seem to have less and less contact and it doesn't feel like it used to between us.

Carpe Diem

At long last we made it to see Josette in her care home. Not the most cheering experience and a future we childless folk prefer not to think about. Anyway, let's not get maudlin .... we took her out down the coast, walked in the sun, admired the boats and drank tea. Came home and celebrated Juste's birthday, so "sieze the day" while you can.

Messages

Another comment in Chinese on the blog. Again I've decided not to publish it but this time there was a translation; something about drips wearing away stones. Didn't feel as though it was very positive. I much prefer this one which was on a card sent by our friend Mary .....

Many people walk in and out of your life

but only true friends

leave footprints in your heart

Isn't that a lovely thought?

Otherwise the day was as much as a usual Thursday ... committee meeting, language exchange, tapas, meetings afternoon and evening for Christian and tea with Jany for me.