Parrots never forget.

Here Rico is refreshing his memory, ahhhh - Boss back late Thursday, all being well. 

Todays market was rather a shock - got used to the food-only thang and now its full of stuff that in they olden days I'd have called tat but today looked glorious, shiny and valuable and rare. There were many musicians and music and much frolicking. The gendarmes were out in some force and challenged a bare-faced geezer next to me. He said he didn't have to wear a mask, he was the proprietor of the stall. They put him right.

On my way home I met a French friend going in. I said, better put your mask on; he said, no I will not have my personal liberty interfered with. Oh dear...(groan) ... so you'll get fined?? I've already been fined twice, he said proudly, but I don't have to pay. You just write and tell them they are acting against the law and they let you off. 

Third time is prison. Not for him :) Do hope not anyway, nice chap if misguided.

 

The times, they are a-changing...

 The weathers up to something dire... here's Tobys garden from my studio, startlingly bright sunshine and looming dark clouds. Underneath is the beginning of the christmas decorations, thanks to Toby - who with Leo will leave us this weekend. Will be seriously missed.

And from Thursdays market, here is the cobbler in his van, in this instance sewing my wallet up. He does all that cobblers do, on his treadle sewing machine. Cheap and agreeable and efficacious. And in Esperaza on Thursdays.

cocks, cats, computers seeking homes

The mighty Aude is ridiculously low and since our power is largely hydro-electric there is a danger of staged power cuts. We've been told not to waste electricity. As people are at home and its cold - very cold, as it happens - this could turn out to be a challenge.

Here is Roy, keeping an eye on things from his balcony. He and Jo are well. Blossoming, from the looks of it :)

Yesterday the post office closed. I'm renewing my passport by post on the off-chance I may ever be able to travel again; who knows? -So off to stand in line in the cold if it actually opens today. Grr.

 In the meantime, sundry questions for you: 

Isn't it time you had a pair of Cats? Richard and Eva's beasties are charming and well behaved but need new and loving owners. 

And isn't it time you had a new computer??? Trebha bought a new one from Amazon that didn't suit so has bought another, will sell on the unused one for 100e less than list price. Its an Acer Swift SF114-32 14-inch laptop (Intel Pentium N5000, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Full HD Display, Windows 10 in S Mode, black ) He's asking 300 for it and it can be collected at my place.

And finally: Anyone want a cockerel? Pete and Clare will be away a while longer (<sniff>) and Annette and Ken have to go to Blighty. They've homed the hens but the young master is surplus. Get yourself an organic alarm clock! 

Who's that masked man??

-It's our Steve, of course. Lesley is laid low with a bad toe but hopefully scampering about soon. 

Our little band have taken to having breakfast in the street, since the cafes are closed.

It is possible to buy a coffee from the closed bars - here Erika at the Cafe du Pont is allowed to serve from the doorway and Le Relais Occitan (aka PMU) has the same arrangement.

Here's a photo for Father Matthews, the train-man of these parts...

and below, Pete and Nel, looking and being well and happy :)

Good news too from Andy, who writes that she and Max will be grandparents in May: and that Chris, Andys sister, has been offered very positive treatment for her condition.

The Gendarmes continue to nurture and cherish us. Still not clear to me what is permissible and what is not. So I may or may not have had lunch with Kat and Roland yesterday, possibly with a most interesting conversation about the sources of science and art. Or not.

 

Covid Christmas

Serrano's, the prize-winning bakers, have got their pretty christmas decor up - the one that casts little coloured spots on the rue. Here they are decorating Paulo's bike.

I'm not sure about the politesse/legality of admitting to a lunch during confinement. Suffice it to say, IF Toby and Leo had given lunch to half-a dozen of us, it would certainly have been excellent.  And what joy to see old friends again, IF this had been the case.

The mayor is proposing to close the police station in the square to the usual chorus of dissent. The uncivil young will run riot, it seems. Since they are normally there in large numbers, on a good day trading drugs and watching dogs fight, can't see that it will make much difference. They - the town police - are to be moved back to their original source next to the town hall - question of dosh, of course.

You can see their current station in the distance here if you look carefully, under the flag holders. Same old christmas lights! But they are nice...

 

stamps for taxes

 Beautiful day, as you can see from this pic., snapped outside the post office whilst queuing for stamps. Tobacconist sold out. I wouldn't mind but it was to pay the so-called shit tax bills.

If you look closely at the lamp in the tree you can see the end of the mornings frost. 

staying within the law

IF persons came to our house for an apero that would be against the law and of course doesn't happen. So no photos of Jamsie.

BUT I can bump into people in the street and say hello so here's a portrait of Ole-bendik Madso, the town sage, who was cycling through accompanied by his familiar, Cleopatra. (He took his  mask off for a slight second to compare its construction with mine, law abiding as he is.) 

All well-ish here. Slight panics as le Captain prepares to leave me for the UK; travel plans are changing as he will drive to London with Jamsie instead of messing around with aeroplanes, navettes, trains and all that. Huge relief.

We went to glorious Lidls to make sure I will have enough to drink while Bob is away and on the way back got pulled outside the stade by the gendarmes. First time in this confinement that we'd had to show our attestations. They said our paperwork was perfect - it wasn't- and wished us a bonne route. Most kind. 

Stay safe, stay legal out there -

 

Fresh from the market

It's Rose, looking good - all our friends seem OK, the sun shining on our tiny tiny community, once the mist had cleared.

Yesterday, ohla! Steve, Mike, Leo et al gathered to hack at the huge eucalyptus in Tobys garden. Very professionally done and much wood amassed.

Twenty years ago the gardener that planted it used to wander into my house, as he used to when he worked in the garden (which is opposite me). He reckoned then that he'd put it in twenty years ago so it's a good forty years old. 

Probably a fashion in the day - there are some by the river too. Therese used to collect the bark chippings and burn them in ash trays to get rid of cigarette smells. The fact I'd never heard of this custom just showed how stupid the English are.

 

Not a lot to write home about, a bit  of scaffolding in the Rue de la Gare... lots actually going on but nothing too photogenic. 

For instance, visited Esperaza  dietician Patricia in the health centre, anxious to find out if I really am gluten intolerant or just being trendy. It seems I am not good with industrial wheat and that at my great age it ain't a surprise. Lots of shibboleths, dammit, though - get this - my drinking is completely acceptable and well within health limits. 

On the subject of food, Claudine brought us a wonderful meal which we shared with her and Jean. A new concept of dinner parties, same food, same time, just separately. 

Another time we shared a meal with Dougie and Regina, kind-of; in that we ordered from the same outlet and had it delivered together. 

According to Patricia the captain and l must have separate meals. All these variations on dinner parties :)

If you are having dietary issues, do go see Patricia Larcher - 0630619387 - 

It is the most beautiful autumnal day today. Warm and scented with wood smoke. Just taken my hours exercise for day and wondering if I can have the Captains too, since he can't do his on account of the back. Which is much much better BTW.

 

Confined on thurday

Rather underwhelming market this morning ... no doubt it will pick up as the mist lifts.

Look who turned up yesterday! Here's Alain, ex-prop of the 8a8. He and Isobelle have opened a cafe near the Pont Rouge in Carcassonne. Promised to visit when this lunacy is ended. 

As I filled out yet another attestation this morning (pencil/rubber/constant re-use) it struck me that no-one has ever checked it during this current confinement. The town is much as normal. People a little more willing to chat in the streets, lonely no doubt. All that has changed is the bit of paper we have to carry, perhaps as a talisman; what else is it for?
 

Esperaza Nights

Just taken this pretty picture of the alley between Rue de la Republique and er the one next to it. The strange street lighting and my weird camera working in happy unison.

It's a beautiful starlit night.

News; Susan made it to Paris and now has a bad back from  schlepping luggage. Good luck to her - though being placed close to a Jacuzzi (as she is) may be helpful.

Maggie Paish has written - only minor health issues (ulcers, poor darling) and no covid 

- heard from Andy too, she and Max and the girls are healthy. She writes;

Here in Manitoba, in the centre of Canada (geographically, certainly not politically in terms of ‘importance’!!), the coronavirus has taken off. After the first smug/innocent (?) months of relative normalcy, we are now in a position of some fearfulness and lack of trust. A ‘Code Red’. Serious restrictions, though not a complete lockdown for these two weeks, but who knows after that...

The news about Andys' sister Chris is, alas, not too good - tests are being done - sending healing vibes all that way. 

Other than that, everyone - except Susan - is bored. Me too.

weather is all-

-plenty of it about though! Here's last night at Garenaud, from the garden - and this morning, from the old bridge.

Things could be a lot worse.

Stay safe. Todays trick is to put off today what you can put off till tomorrow.

 

Le weekend

Saturday night; crawled slowly up Mt Marot and spotted Louise and Norbert and their sensational view of our town. On the return stumble ran into Kat and Roland. No news, thank heavens. All the talk is of Trump being gracious in defeat :)

Todays market is sparse. The mist is clearing now and its a beautiful day. 

 

...and on...

 This confinement not as much fun as the last - for me, because Bob is still laid up but others say the same. Cars racing about, people in the streets - all that's changed is that fun shops are closed. At least serious shops are open, blessings on the 8a8!

The photo is post twilight last night. I was trying to snap a bat. Lots of the large ones about (big eared?) but too quick for me. Did bump into Kat and Roland, nearly literally as it was dark by then. Apart from awaiting various medical reports, they are well :)

Unlike Regina, alas - her Covid test was positive, so she and Dougie continue to be under house arrest. All the best to them xxxxx

Take care, y'all.

On and on

Ran into Jo and the dogs yesterday, a rare treat: she and Roy are well and being careful. Not as hazy as the photo implies.

And behold, Hilary! Another rare treat. She is partially obscured by a gift-wrapped rose but looks very well behind it - she and Mike are smiling and happy. 

Hilary lent Bob her wheel chair so I could get him to the osteopath - brilliant bloke ( should you ever need one, god forbid) opposite the health centre. He beat Bob up and snapped things into place and pronounced a slipped disc that was now best treated by staying horizontal and as warm as possible. Between two and possibly many more days.

Today I tripped out lightly in the sunshine to get food that can be swallowed lying down. Always a challenge. In the Amaranth co-op I learnt that Atmo and Ceri's boy Aiden had just taken his driving test and that he won't know the results for two days - hard on him - and that during his test his glasses kept misting up because he was obliged to wear a mask. Had to stop to clean them up. Quite a good test for a driver, though what do I know - never having driven -

and here is Susan, in an inexplicable fog. Something to do with my camera. Her Paris trip has been disordered by Covid cancellations; as an academic she is allowed to go to work at the Sorbonne and very happy about it too. Getting there, though, that's the thing...

 

Covid 19 is with us

 ... like the spectre at the feast, Covid has arrived. Most saddened to hear from Regina:

 Dougie’s COVID Test came out positive today. As I am having the same symptoms, I guess I am having it too. My test is tomorrow morning, but I think I can guess ....

She adds that CPAM and their Cadre de la Lutte de Virus told them that they couldn't leave the house until 5th November - just a week since Dougie had the test - which gives her hope that this will be a minor case. It feels like the 'flu, she says; horrible, but hopefully won't get worse. Paracetemol works wonders.

What is so strange is that of all our friends I had Dougie and Regina down as the most Covid-aware - they haven't been hanging around bars, doing the market, chattering on street corners like most of us. They mask up while doing their shopping and Regina concludes that they must have picked up the virus on a product or a shopping trolley.

Regina gave her permission for this blog to carry the news, saying that in rural areas we can become complacent and not take sufficient precautions. So everyone out there, be careful. Huge outpourings of love to Dougie and Regina xxxxxxxxxxx

lockdown lite

Taken on last nights permitted walk - and this mornings.

 Relieved that Bob's osteopath can see him - not for a couple of days, but he can be handled. Pity he's missing the good weather :(

 

Pas normal

 Ghost market - suitable for All Saints Day, following on from Halloween. No trick or treaters yesterday, leaving me with a sack of violently coloured sugar sweets to help get over my disappointment, heheheh.

Here are some snaps from yesterday evenings exercise. The river is low, mercifully. Flooding during a Covid crisis would be a step too far.

 The news - spoiler alert, it is not good news - is that the captain is laid up with a mega bad back. Unable to move, actually. Currently off his head on painkillers, lying on an electric blanket. If you have psychic energy to spare, please send his way.