Is there a ghost in the house?

When I took breakfast this morning to our Irish guests staying in the Studio/Mezzanine/Loft apartment (we can't decide what to call it) I was greeted with a comment I hadn't had from any of our previous visitors.

"Do you know that you have ghosts in this apartment? I noticed them as soon as I went to bed. It's more noticeable because you are sleeping higher up on the mezzanine and are closer to the ceiling which is where they are. I lit some incense and they went away but they were back again in the middle of the night. I could get you a sage rubstick which would cleanse the room of them."

I wasn't sure what to say. I don't believe in ghosts so had to try hard not to laugh about it because she was clearly very earnest about the whole experience. If ghosts exist then maybe they would live in an old house like this that has a long history - who knows.

Interestingly, he, the writer with a touch of James Joyce about him (according to Debrah who was flirting with him on Friday evening when he came to borrow some dvds) didn't say a word on the subject at all - did he feel them too?

Maybe there is a new marketing angle for us here - 'The Haunted Apartment'?

Coming back to the reality of things that we can explain - it has been a quite miserable Easter weatherwise here in Carcassonne, with pretty much constant pouring rain for two days. It always makes me feel sorry for the poor guests who are only here for a couple of days because there is nothing worse than trudging around the Cité or the market in the rain.

It's not great for Debrah either who is also just here for a couple of days. the market in the rain is a constant battle against umbrellas and shopping trolleys and drips from the awnings and puddles underfoot - takes all the pleasure out of it. The only thing to do is to find a good restaurant and have a good long lunch with plenty of wine - which is what we sent the Irish to do at La Roulotte yesterday. It might explain things.

We were so housebound by the weather and twiddling our thumbs a bit that we started a jigsaw! I can't remember the last time I did a jigsaw but I am enjoying it despite it now being a little bit in the way on the kitchen table and it becoming a bit obsessive to the point of monopolising our time.

As I sit here writing this I am listening to one of the most beautiful sounds in the world - the bells of all the churches here in town are ringing out for the end of the Easter Sunday mass. I just close my eyes and let the gloriousness of it wash across me - wonderful.

And No, I haven't been to church - not for a long time.