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 :) 

gecko attack

Just opened my balcony door and a gecko fell on my head, surprising me no end... she looked startled too, before legging it behind  bookcase. 

What can it mean??

Mornings here are lovely, here's the river yesterday, but the day was awfully suffocating until late. Hoping to see an otter - did see the kingfisher -

 Later, have caught up with news on the street; O-B has been operated on, all well, will recuperate in Limoux it seems. Tomas leaves on Weds to commence restoring palace murals in Monaco. 

That's all that's pertinent and publishable, l think.

Tomas with new toy

todays chaos

It's not that the closure of one side of the square isn't well signed - it is - it's that drivers seem to think they are exempt. Bob and I had a lovely breakfast watching furious drivers hurling themselves down a one way street to the detriment of all.

Lovely Thursday market, sitting in the Argentinian café watching the fun. And here's a nice motorbike for those that enjoy such things...a Royal Enfield as used to be made in my last hometown of Woolwich. (pang of nostalgia there)

Talking of fast living, Ole-Bendik has taken a tumble. Rumour says he's broken his hip, the other one. News as and when.