Weekend in Esperaza

Max and Jude in town - actually Jude isn't, anymore, having returned today to London - though Max is here with Andy for another week. Being thoughtful.

Missed Andy though, she has the wearisome cough and cold that is doing the rounds - Bob also laid lowish.
 That was Saturday lunching at La Chapaire, which was smashing, those people go from strength to strength -

 ---from there I went with Claudine to the circus.

Like most nice English girls I've been opposed to circuses all my life but having seen the fat happy beasties by the river I thought it was time to actually test it out. 

The most maladjusted beastie there was this llama who couldn't be persuaded to spit at anyone - there were a couple of hoity-toity camels and two horses, one small and spotty, the other huge and black. No signs of ill-treatment - in fact, since they were probably born in captivity, they looked like family with the small troupe of circus folk who run it all.

The little kids - some hundreds that were there - loved it. Just loved it. They oo'd and ahh'd the animals and the jugglers and the acrobat and the clown and when Mickey and Minne arrived for the finale tried to trample on each other to touch them and be hugged.  

There were a lion and lioness we were encouraged to see in an enclosure on the way out, which seemed rather sad. Only because they look so beautiful, so intelligent... but I wouldn't like them roaming the hills, frankly.

Todays market was fab., all the world basking there. This is a great town.