Ever so-slightly surreal evening at La Chapaire with Claudine... it was the third year of their being a fully functioning restaurant, so celebrations were abounding!
Congratulations to Guillaume and all involved.
- continuing where www.tilling-sur-aude.blogspot.com left off, with gossip and updates from a small French town
Ever so-slightly surreal evening at La Chapaire with Claudine... it was the third year of their being a fully functioning restaurant, so celebrations were abounding!
Congratulations to Guillaume and all involved.
All good here, from my point of view anyway - Bob is OK according to his UK team, for his age (!) so will be back Tuesday and about time too. Sends love to all who've wished him well.
Thursday market charming as ever. Met with Claudinne, then Rushton hove up back from Japan. Japan one of the few places I'd leave Esperaza for and since I have a nephew teaching there it may not be impossible... will find out more.
Temperatures are low but the skies are clear and the bright blue that makes life so delightful here continues to bathe us... here's the moon this evening.
On Thursdays there is a market in the square - a fraction of the Sunday extravaganza- where fresh vedg are sold, some meat, new baked bread, that sort of thing. Robust clothes for women of a certain age, occasionally books, the wonderful cordonnier for fixing your shoes and cutting your keys. Very laid back and peopled with the gentle elderly, pottering about and gossiping.
Today the sun was shining and it boded well. But Linares, the newsagent, was closed. According to the sign this was due to an electricity cut.
Most of the inhabitants of Esperaza knew Francis. He was kindly and charming and thoughtful and on the brink of retirement... heart-breaking, that after a life of hard work, back-breaking work, his life should end so suddenly.
Francis was found in his field trapped under a tractor late Sunday night. The local papers say that his injuries were too severe to be survived.
I'independent says he was known for his kindness and helpfulness and indeed he was. We first knew him when he was quite new here, some 20 years ago; I didn't have much building French and neither did he, being Portuguese, but his English wasn't bad. He was a mason; having trained as an engineer/architect in Portugal he was incredibly useful. Looking at my home I see evidence of his work everywhere.
He was also a lover of parrots.
Profound condolences to his family and to all those that mourn him.