Thanksgiving postscript; letter from america

 Barbara Jackson has written from America; here is an extract -

'We distributed grocery boxes to 33 families this morning at the food bank. Half were single person families. Unemployed people or elderly. One clearly mentally disabled. They served 50 yesterday.

 I was glad to be able to tell all our customers this morning that they could come to  a big turkey dinner, free, at the soup kitchen, next door to the food pantry, tomorrow.

Discovered, as I should have known, that  our customers do not read a newspaper to learn about such things and, it seemed, they do not go to church to hear such news. 

Even after 30 years of working in the food bank I am still learning about the life of the poor.'

30 years ago when Barbara started the food bank it was intended as a temporary solution... here of course we have the Resto du coeur which always needs contributions, their grants having been cut. Sigh. See www.restosducoeur.org

Dinner at Kats...

...it was great:)  Kat is getting her house and gallery so well arranged now that it is possible that we will all be spending more time there ----- though Leo and Toby leave on Sunday. What can they find to do in Amsterdam that is as amusing as Esperaza? When asked, Leo talked of herring and Toby of the Rijksmuseum. Fair enough - but they are not coming back till March, for the Toques et Clochers. Surely a weekend would be enough....

Thanksgiving and the Mayorial team....

 Alicia and Ryan made a thanksgiving dinner which we shared with Bieke; dunno whats normal in the USA but this was marvelous:)

 After gorging and giving abundant thanks I trotted off over the river for the meeting of the Mayors team. The election is in Spring next year and I'm standing as a councilor, which isn't the same as in England - here it is purely advisory.  Voila, the Mayor, Msr Torrent, and below are some of the more confident member's of the group...

Apropos of nothing in particular, these holes are behind the dinosaur museum. Just love the way the old  cobblestones are laid - beautiful. Perhaps they are digging for more exhibits.

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housework day

 Thursday morning is housework. Here is Kelly, installing the double glazing in the winter bedroom; how the seasons are flying. Below is the kitchen table from London in new circumstances.
                                            Astonishingly narcissistic to blog a bit of dusting :)

I'm back...

 ...and I went for a walk to look at the stars (which are fabulous BTW, it being clear and very very cold) Took this arty snap of the 7.30 train passing some fig trees.

Then I fired off a shot at my side to see what the camera could do at night and lo! This spookiness appeared, left hand corner. There was nothing visible. Snapped some more but no other appearances - guess I frightened it away.  Probably. Blow up below.

dutch feast

Leo and Toby gave a very jolly soiree last night, featuring Kat and Olle-Bendik and Aileen - the hot topic was whether Martin Buber would regard himself as an existentialist.
Courgette and lemon soup, lukewarm broccoli and dried tomato salad, chicken and garlic potatoes, wonderful cheeses and a pud of cassis sorbet and prunes - now that Buber would have agreed with:)


I'm off to Blighty today - back anon, when normal service will resume

Claudines farewell

 Lovely Claudine leaves us tomorrow to rejoin her family in Toulouse; she took Elaine, Kat, Pete, Ryan, Alicia, Bob and me to dinner at the Casino in Alet-les-Bains where we all lost our stakes but had a jolly champagne-fueled evening.

We ate under this rather splendid marquetry roulette table which is now hung on a wall; how many tales can that tell, I wonder.

The TV was on. Alas, Ukraine beat France at le foot.

Last night...

...was a time of great excess and about time too. Andy and Louise led Ryain and Alicia and Claudine and Bob and me astray. Thank you:)

champion...

.... champignons:) Ex-neighbours niece just appeared with a basketful of girolles. Off to look up recipes...

o

Remembrance Monday

 Its the 11th day of the eleventh month and at the eleventh hour, we remembered them...
I'm not one to sacralise war, au contraire; but I remember members of my family, now dead, who were wounded variously in the battles of the Somme and Metz Wood. Honest boys who thought they were doing the right thing and endured terrible privations and physical damage that haunted their lives.

It was a good day for it, anyway - windy but sunny. The town turned out. The marines came from Toulon...

 Here's our Mike, who laid a British Legion wreath -

Here is the apero that followed the ceremony being guarded till the Mayor gave the OK:) (They are still partying as I write; Claudine and I came home for lunch)
Claudine arrived yesterday BTW and Ryan and Alicia created a splendid meal for her - is there any other sort when they are cooking?

Claudine and I took some of Alicia's apple and fig tart  to Andree, who showed us what her docs have told her what she can and cannot do during her convalescence...

rainy sunny windy fun

Philosopher hits town

Max's old school friend Jim Hankinson, author of The Bluffers Guide to Philosophy, stopped off here en route to Paris... he's written other stuff too, see http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/philosophy/faculty/rjh1957
I can't remember drinking blanquette in Esperaza with another Professor of Philosophy - anyone out there remind me?  Great night, Max and Andrea xxx (poached trout delicious BTW) Looking forward to meeting up again.

Back again:)

T Rex last night - Max and Andrea are back and so are Bob and I. Kat has been holding the fort. Today the sun is bright and the town is soooooo pretty -
Andree is housebound for 4 weeks in order that her back can mend. She must have no jostling, joggling or hanky-panky. We all know where she lives; she will welcome visitors:)

great news

Much joy and relief all round today upon the news that Andrees' op has been a success - she can now walk without pain.

Back from Toulouse next week...


I went walking to spread the good news and snapped as I went. Twilight on the Aude;  some beasties - all on the garden:) - and the wall the SNCF have been building at the bottom of the field at the end of the impasse, hopefully for no sinister reason.


Here's news from Pam after her recent success...

'Picked up my cheque at Aldeburgh posh lunch  - £500 for a few words,  which seems like less sweat than painting and a piece of paper less expensive than canvas, paints, brushes etc. Am going to treat myself to a stupidly expensive Laura Ashley distressed leather poets' armchair with the loot. Reading my commended poem + other poems at prize giving  in London on 21st Nov. at Art Worker's Guild back of Russell Square if you are in town! Have a miserable apocalyptic poem on on-line London arts mag London Grip Sept or Oct, can't remember. Have a tiny poem in collection 'From the City to the Saltings' and read at Cramphorn Theatre Chelmsford as part of Essex PoFest the other w/e. Up to the gunwhales in proof reading so no time to dash off anything at the mo. That is my life in poetry in a para.'

No wandering about the daffs then:)

I'm off to Blighty for a week, more anon.