Vote early, vote often

Armed with household bills, mine own and those of friends, plus my passport, I set out to the town hall to place votes in yon plastic box.
After the effort of getting the paperwork together and having hassled all and sundry for the right to vote for the absent foreigners, none of it was necessary; they trusted me,  I was told, and so I got to vote three times.
Now  realise I could have voted some more but I guess thats WHY they trust me - I didn't.

There's a week to go. If you haven't voted yet, please do - as a neighbour I met there said, its nice to be asked.

Back on the domestic front, parrot Tango and Tortoise Oswald are getting to meet. Here's Oswald nicking Tangos apple.

Hot here. 41 degrees expected. Keep cool, keep watered.

The Market

The market yesterday was baking and like most locals I got in and out early... and bumped into dear Edith who as you can see is on sticks. The darling took a tumble by the river; you know how people dig holes to take the sand? One such had been covered with garden waste, grass clipping type stuff, so she didn't see the hole and one leg went in while the other went out. Something cracked.She's unable to be a potter now as you need all your body but thinks she hears the call of the modeler.

Good news, as shes a devastatingly good modeler :)

Get well soon though and take it easy, if you can -

The only other news is that I gave lunch to Jamsie from St Ferriol and forgot to take a photo. Too busy talking about early gnostic practices and the roots of the local heresies.

La Chaleur is official - temps of 41 degrees forecast for this week.

yesterdays news

 It was cloudy yesterday, a bit of a respite from the heat wave- I went for a wander and found that the bakery in Rue Voltaire has sprouted this rather alarming life-sized cymbalist and that there is another barrier in the road by the post office. Crowd control, no doubt.

 And then... heres Tango, the latest in our menagerie. Lily the dog is terrified of him. The rabbits and the tortoise haven't met him yet but I think he may be a natural leader.

yesterday...

...trotted off to Carcassonne to get supplies. Realised that something was up when the train wasn't waiting at Limoux; the huddled masses hung around in the hot sun until anther bus arrived to take us on to town.
Why, oh why, didn't I go into the station and check things out?? Alas, I didn't - so it was just after 3.00 when I discovered my only chance of getting back was on a bus 10 mins after 7.00pm. ( strike - at least I think what 'pour les raisons sociale' meant)

Hung about in the even hotter sun, grinding my teeth somewhat. Then pulled myself together and trotted off to the Beaux Arts where there was no expo as they are between shows. The good news is that the long-awaited Dufy opens on the 4th July and I bagged an invite to the vernissage on the 3rd.

Time well wasted after all -

All this messing about meant I got home at 8.30 and missed the MJC event which I'd been looking forward to. I'm told it was excellent -

the heat goes on...

... luckily our mountain climate offers gentle breezes to stop the heat becoming oppressive. 

Here's Alecia and Etienne taking tea with Andree yesterday in her cool house and later we apero'd in John and Margarets lovely garden, with Hilary and Mike, Nancy and Joe. 

Don't forget tonight at the MJC!

Protection devices; quis custodat ?

After this mornings' blog re; the vote on CCTV, I have had my letter. It begins;

'As part of the fight against delinquency and terrorism , Msr le Prefet de l'Aude offers municipalities the opportunity to acquire a video protection device by providing a large subsidy for a feasibility study of the video protection devises... '

So, you are pro-delinquency, pro-terrorism and a cheapskate if you deny this opportunity. Feasibility studys are of course expensive; not in the letter is the cost of the installation and the maintenance of CCTV - no doubt it will be tiny and the community will happily bear it. We are told that this is a complementary tool for the  municipal police to dissuade acts of vandalism. Does complementary mean free?

It goes on to explain that the cameras will be fixed in the streets, the squares, the parks and the stations, whilst simultaneously respecting the privacy of the citizens.  How can it do both? - Either they are watching or they ain't.

 Our Mayor makes it clear what he expects our votes to be - ' de diminuer le sentiment d'insecurite ressenti par une parti de nos concitoyens.' As balanced pleas goes, this is outrageously slewed.

Those of us from the cities of Europe who know the reality of CCTV, the rise of hoodies and the knife crimes below the camera angle, the increased burglaries just out of range, the missing tapes when ever an authority is called to book, the lack of control over the watchers whoever they are, the inability of the authorities to use CCTV to charge for traffic crimes, the gross diminution of personal responsibility plus of course the increased need for extra policing (installation, maintenance, observation and occasional action) - WHA??? This is a town of nearly 2,000 souls, mostly retired people.
-Whom will this installation serve?

Starving in Esperaza

 This photo was nearly impossible. Can you believe it, last night there were no restaurants open in Esperaza??? Andree was taking me and Alexia, her niece, out to dinner and naturally we thought, La Creperie. Seems they are on holiday, bah, but fair enough. The newly-named Authentique (ex-Normandy Frites)  ditto, so Andree rang the answerphone at St Gobains to reserve a table there. En route we ran into John and Margaret who had been to St Gobains and therefore knew before us that it was closed. Remembering that Walter had re-opened the lilac restaurant en route to Campagne sur Aude, off we all set.  Port in a storm, but not bad.

TyRex has a sign saying it will be opening soon... there's activity and redecorating at the Pont Cafe...

More prevarication; the promised voting slips still haven't arrived. We are being threatened with CCTV and the Mayor has offered us a chance to vote yeah or nay. All we have to do is take our voting slips to the town hall along with proof of habitation (household bill) and ID of some sort.
I have enquired and been told if mine hasn't come in a week I'm to ask for one. Suggest you do the same. Perhaps you are a Big Brother fan? Because unless you vote against that's the realm we'll be entering. July 6th is last chance, I believe.

man the barricades

Sudden and startling addition to Rue Gambetta - no doubt to close off the road for market days.

News flash: Walter has re-opened Le Relais Campagne - the lilac building on the way to Campagne sur Aude - looks good. Anyone tried it yet? Phone is 06 31 61 18 45.

Diary date; Friday is the celebration of 25 years of the MJC which is celebrating - yeah, you got it - with a performance about secularisation!! There will be a party afterwards and according to Kate, who has seen it, the show is charming. 6.30 start and I'm certainly going. The subject is dear to my heart and anyway, it'll be good to see everyone.

Its become almost unbearably hot... its been so long that I've forgotten techniques for managing, like not throwing open all the windows but closing the shutters, hanging damp towels, all that. No complaints and anyway, today is looking cooler.

Proper weather

Old mates from Greenwich, Tony and Helen, drove from their home in Lastours for lunch yesterday - and bought the lunch, paella from the market and fresh apricot and peaches. Now the weather has turned proper South of France the market was glorious and the world was hanging out in a happy daze.

The same today - hotness makes for happiness :)

Late night, again...

Spent last night chewing the fat with Tim and Cyndi, who have been in Esperaza for nearly a couple of years. We met in Carcassonne when he was talking at the esoteric conference I was involved with last week, being aware of each other in Esperaza (we have a handful of friends in common) but never before meeting...  Tim (Wallace-Murphy) is the author of several books on the esotericism of the region ; the night was fascinating:) Great addition to the neighbourhood.

Happy birthday Louise

 Its Lou's birthday today and she started celebrating last night, with apero for family and friends. Here she is looking like a gal from Tatler; only she's much prettier than yer average deb IMHO :)
The preposterous flower behind her is a magnolia from the garden.

My photos are weirdly shaky - something to do with the night before, perhaps. I really like this one of Mike and Marcus in deep conversation and the rather random group shot below that shows how well-behaved kids are today (really!) Below that is Lou descending the staircase. Shakily.

It was a treat to see old friends and have some good conversation. I'd meant to leave early (ref; last night) but found myself among the last out. Lou's ma was fascinating, her sister Annabelle and man Andrew were full of interesting ideas. Mike and Barbara always are, of course - great evening, thanks to all xxxx

Why I am not loosing weight...

Breakfast began with Joe and we were joined by Steve, seen here, then the group from last night as exemplified by Barbara seen here with cinnamon twirl.

Lunch was at mine with Kelly, Bill and Dragon -

 followed by dinner with John and Margaret, Fran and Clare and Louise,  Robert and Barbara.

And this remarkable drawing is done in snail goo by a snail on the back doorstep this morning. Still thinking about it.

definite improvement....

...weather good enough to bless John and Margarets barbie last night; feels like summer has come back, again:) 

Heres our Kat, looking unusually demure -

the workers, John and Mike and below, visitor Robert - his first visit though Barbara his wife is an old hand

We sat under the stars and marveled at the sky so it was late when I tottered off - and to my delight, found a DVD playing in the bakers of our marvellous baker, baking. Could have watched for hours.

And below, our town hall looking very like a V van Gogh pic of another town hall. Nice. 

bathrooms and voting

Here is a hole, drilled through the new bathroom wall to the street behind in order to fit an extractor fan. Our poor extractor fan fitters had a wretched time and bent a drill (which I plan to use in an art work, naturally) The wall is over 2 foot thick and built to last.

But, more importantly, I've been to the town hall and asked about  procedures for the upcoming vote about surveillance cameras.  It seems the citizens of Esperaza can expect a ballot paper in their post box, which should then be taken to the Maire with proof of habitation - a household bill, something like that. Then you write your name and address in a book, after which you can put your paper in a big transparent box (which is already in place).This must be done before the 6th of July, I think. If, like me, you haven't yet got your ballot paper, might be worth dropping in and asking for one.
Also ask who pays for the cameras and who watches them, are they stored digitally or on tape and for how long.

Rain, good for the land -

 These snails are clearly happy with the light intermittent rain that is making it hard to believe that we live in the South of France....   and I post the picture of the nesting Cranes, below, because their absence has been worrying me. Several of us oldies remember when they used to get blown off course and roost over Esperaza for a night - fabulous sight, silently wheeling and peering at us. This couple are in the Camargue, which isn't very far.

I have a theory that its since Effisol was demolished along with the old chimney (where the Alzheimers' home now is) that there is nowhere high enough for them, except the church tower and that's only big enough for four.

Other changes; Bob has gone, back in a fortnight with his brother John; Peter of Pete and Annie has gone, his complex arrangements escape me; Kat is back from Portugal, alive and very well; Andree is safely back from cataract ops and can see clearly, which she regards as a mixed blessing :)

In my absence -

 -the Creperie is beautifully finished and the road by the school is well underway (see below).

I've been gone a while and I don't want to make trouble on my first day back,ahem - but the gossip in the market is that our mayor is asking us to vote on wether we want surviellence cameras in the town, or not. Word is that they'll go up unless we vote against.

Real life resumes

Like most English woman of a certain age, I miss bath cubes. Rejoice, stout daughters of Albion! The French have an equivalent -Paipillote de Galets de Bain Effervescents. You can get them in that nice chemist by the station in Carcassonne, kitty corner from the Hotel Terminus.
Spent some time soaking in them last night on my return from adventuring.

Invite me out and I will tell all.

Today is Vide Grenier and market, photos to follow

Questing

Im not in Esperaza at the moment but Carcassonne - at the Chapel of the Jesuits, working for an American University who are over here looking at the esotericism of the Cathar heresy and the output of the Troubadours. And the Grail stuff.

Here is the lovely ceiling and below is old friend and scholar Yuri Stoyanof, author of the classic book on dualism, The Other God.  He is soooo knowlegeable: over here from his research in Jersualem where he persists in major discoveries.

And last night we had the great good fortune to be introduced to the sound of Occitan songs by our very own Esperaza singing group GESPPE. The American audience loved them! Hugely successful evening (and they gave me a lift back to Esperaza -) Many thanks are due to them - not just from me but from about 80 Questers.

 

They were called into being at the closure of the hat factories to protect the Occitan songs that they were in the habit of singing as they worked.This is not only charming but  of great historical interest - 

Im here for the rest of the week after which Im off to Provence with the team so my silence is not laziness, for once.

Thursdays gossip

 The Creperie stays open during its facelift - and John took me and Bob to eat there last night, where there was much excitement caused by the police helicopter raking the street with its searchlight. The place was full, the food as delicious as ever (discovered a pudding called Le King Kong which I recommend wholeheartedly)
The day had been shaped by police, plain clothed and fancy, hiding behind dustbins with pistols drawn - all very wild west.  No one had a clue what was happening.
 I happened across Pete opening his shutters this morning, see below; all the talk with him and at the market was of the police activity.

Seems there is a band of bad boys robbing people hereabouts, taking petrol from cars and breaking and entering resurants. Luc had a break-in and so did l'Authentic. Annie-the-potter had her petrol tank pierced with a spike and drained, leaving her without transport and jolly cross. Anyway, the police got three of them and the fourth escaped, hence the helicopter.
 

On a different track, here is the new road begining. Sigh.

Flaming June -

Many thanks to Annie and Pete, Micheal, Fran and Clare and Bob for a lovely evening last night. Everyone was nice about my cooking and there was immoderate laughter, slightly hysterical laughter in my case on account of said cooking. Please all come again soon.
I forgot photos - but found this in Quillan yesterday, probably unmissable - and have also managed a copy of the rarest timetable in the aude.

Madness in town

Heres Loes house, being painted pink; Dermot and Kates, being re-roofed; the house opposite the new butchers' being done up by the new butcher - needs cleaning, said his wife - ; and the Creperie!!!

Insane need to change the place, what is going on??

 

Lunch at Annie and Petes at the mill yesterday much saner - with John and Rita - smashing :)