weather, not

 I swore during the heatwave that I'd never again complain about the cold and the wet.

I'm not moaning at all, in fact the lack of crowds with no need to queue is a pleasure  :)

Breakfast at the Argentinean café was shared with Bob on Whats App....

 To Chez Charlie next, where as usual l requested (and got) advice on the cooking of tonights meal. Son of Charlie recommended that he didn't chop it now but that I cut the meat after cooking. I suggested he came round and did it. He didn't blink, just gave me his phone number.

Who would live anywhere else :)

early supper, with help

 Here's an oddly uninformative photo of last nights supper - spag bol - attended by Pete and Nel, Jamsie, Ren and Guillame.

If Ren hadn't taken charge of the spaghetti, which she can cook perfectly, and bought the pudding - a pear crumble of St Ferriol chateau pears - it would have been dreadful. As she did all of these things, the evening was a great success :)

Not starving in Esperaza

 Last nights dinner with Gert and Elisbeth was glorious fun.  Gazpacho, well garlic'd; ratatouille with entrecote; cheese; apple tart. Each with its own wine. Concluding with liqueurs. Company en forme, much laughter and joy (though Bob is in blighty and was missed)

Rather a nice snap of Gert... who took the preceding photo which is why he isn't in it. 

I had no idea that the street lights went out at some point in time. Pitch black, not even starlight, when we left the dinner. Mercifully Roland and Kat offered to walk me home by the light of their mobiles, so there was no falling giggling into gutters.

My turn to do lunch today! John and Claire Rushton and Gracie came and ate my experimental chicken with mangos. Then we had christmas pudding. 

Here's Gracie and her doubt of custard

Actually todays big news is RAIN. Not heavy and not for long but enough for wet wear and a truncated market. Very cozy...

breakfasts

It transpires that the Matthews have been here all the time I was away, and left yesterday. Some point being made?? Good to catch a glimpse anyway, and they claim they'll be back at the end of the month.

It was Margaret's birthday! Safe travels to you darlings :)

This morning was spent tete-a-tete with 

Claudine, a major catch-up...

and I must thank Gracie who piled in with a marvellous meal last night, unrecorded in the glee of gormandising 

xxxxxx

 

Esperaza lingers

I'm back in place, slightly dizzy with it all - England was hard despite some wonderfulness's - and now I find, quelle horreur, that our own Tibetan takeaway has closed down. What are we supposed to eat?? Gutted -

The very very good news is the our Gracie is here, staying a little while. Joy joy joy unconfined :)

Here's the square this morning, temperature veering towards cold - though the sun ain't properly up yet.

Frightfully fin de siècle.

And the river. Clearly its not rained here for a while. 

There is precious little going on, which is something of a relief to me after three weeks of galloping  activity.

Dawn and a long day

Caught this beautiful dawn as I was out early to catch enough cool air to walk in - magic. Been hot and hotter since, culminating in a tiny shower and a noisy thunderstorm. Still hot.

After a baffling letter from the authorities asking that I renew my permission for a temporary structure NOW, or else, l carried it round the corner to the town hall where Christine obligingly deals with such stuff. 

Christine is on holiday. The new lady on the desk suggested Mark-Antoine (of le Studio Solidaire)  - whom I know is ridiculously busy- or that I find computer competent French friends to have a go. I'd already tried two.  Then I remembered it is Tuesday and Ronan, the towns computer genius, would be just about open.

Galloped down the road and was in time to catch him. For once there wasn't a queue of sad people hugging their wounded digital kit demanding help; he was happy to have a go at my paperwork.

Not wanting to re-live the details, suffice it say that the expert thought it, shall we say, unnecessarily cumbersome. He did it though, we think - so the water pump in the garden by the river gets another few years.

-----Not that it signifies as we ain't allowed to use it on account of the drought. We were forced to put in a water meter a few years ago and since then have barely used the thing - despite that we pay regular fees for water extraction.

Anyway, BIG THANKS to Ronan. Long may he prosper.

I'm off to Blighty tomorrow and wont be back for three weeks. What with the Ladies Walking Group being away as well, the town will change timbre.... be good, y'all.

 

O-B in recovery

Siggy has sent this of Ole-Bendik from Carcassonne hospital :"He's well cared for and looked after and is in a good mood and says hello to everybody", she writes.

Hurrah! Now he has to crack on with the autobiography :)