My impending trip to London has caused a couple of problems, one of them my own doing and one of them a result of people depending on me being here.
Lesa looks after a holiday let property for an American couple and last week asked me to handle a 'meet and greet' this Friday and check-out a week later because she has gone off to Australia for three weeks to see her folks. I agreed, because I expected to be here, and then Debrah and I got talking over the weekend, and my clients next week pushed back their arrival by two days, and it made complete sense for me to go to London this week. I have to admit that somebody else's client check-in completely slipped my mind in the intensity of discussions with Debrah about what needed to be done in London and how we are to resolve our living apart dilemma - understandable in the circumstances, I think, but embarrassing nonetheless.
So it is that I have to show Lesa's holiday stand-in, Christian, what is what tomorrow morning and send explaining emails to both owner and client with profuse apologies.
Then, this morning, Brigitte rang my bell to drop off the garage keys for Denis and tell me that the electrician was coming on Friday morning to sort out the outside light problem, fully expecting me to be here to deal with it as she is at work that day.
"Merde", she said, when I told her I had to go to London, thus confirming Debrah's view that for a sophisticated Parisienne she has quite a filthy mouth (see previous blog re 'con') For all her 'allo Peeteer' charm and fluttering eyelids when she wants something, I know where my priorities lie and they are in London this Friday.
We do however need the lights fixed and so I suggested that maybe Christine, who runs the beauty salon below, could give the electrician access to the fusebox, which actually is all that is needed. "Ah, bonne ideé", was the enlightened and non-blasphemous reply to my suggestion. Voila.
This evening I was just getting over the disappointment of finding out that there would be no showing of Champions League football on TF1 when Pierre shouted from the street that a game of boules was imminent and that I really should join them immediately at the grandly named Boulodrome at the top of the hill, conveniently located across the road from the Makhila bar.
So I left my dinner cooking slowly in the oven and went up the road to lose heavily at boules to Bob, who was in inspired form with his balls - and that probably hasn't happened very often. Naturally, we partook of some wine, courtesy of Bob, and Jos and Cathy bought some baguette and saucisse and camembert for an impropmtu picnic.
It's the taking part, apparently. My own boules and much practice will soon be in evidence, I'm sure, if my forced jollity on losing badly is to be sustained. I am English and, therefore, will be a gracious loser, but it doesn't mean I like the experience. Oh dear, I feel a new obsession coming on !
Imagine my frustration when I got back home to find that in the eight Champions League games this evening, 36 goals were scored including 5 by Arsenal, 3 by Man Utd and 5 by Lyon, who I would undoubtedly have been watching if there had been a game on French TV.
'Merde', is all I can say to that.
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Monday, 20 October 2008
Dilemma
As this year has progressed and weekends have come and gone, a Monday when Debrah returns to the UK has become harder and harder for us both to deal with. We spent a good deal of this weekend talking about how to solve the problem of weekdays apart from each other without coming to any concrete solution.
I don't think that Debrah is ready to come and live full time in France - she enjoys London and her work (sometimes). She is scared that she will be cut-off from what is new and exciting because that is such an important part of her job. We also have Christian to settle somewhere in his new college life and an apartment whose value is dropping like a stone in common with everybody elses.
Likewise, I would have to start again from scratch if I moved back to London and all that we have achieved here at 42rvh would be lost - and after such a good first year too.
What a dilemma.
So it was that, yet again, I dropped Debrah at the airport in warm sunshine. She arrived in London, where it was raining and cold and the trains were running very slowly and consequently felt very depressed about the whole thing. I came back to an empty apartment here and no amount of sunshine made me feel any less alone again.
So, current guests check out tomorrow morning and then we have a break for 7 days until the next ones - so I am going to London on Wednesday, obviously to see Debrah and also to catch up on jobs and paperwork over there. Whatever needs doing here (and there is always plenty) can wait for once.
I don't think that Debrah is ready to come and live full time in France - she enjoys London and her work (sometimes). She is scared that she will be cut-off from what is new and exciting because that is such an important part of her job. We also have Christian to settle somewhere in his new college life and an apartment whose value is dropping like a stone in common with everybody elses.
Likewise, I would have to start again from scratch if I moved back to London and all that we have achieved here at 42rvh would be lost - and after such a good first year too.
What a dilemma.
So it was that, yet again, I dropped Debrah at the airport in warm sunshine. She arrived in London, where it was raining and cold and the trains were running very slowly and consequently felt very depressed about the whole thing. I came back to an empty apartment here and no amount of sunshine made me feel any less alone again.
So, current guests check out tomorrow morning and then we have a break for 7 days until the next ones - so I am going to London on Wednesday, obviously to see Debrah and also to catch up on jobs and paperwork over there. Whatever needs doing here (and there is always plenty) can wait for once.
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Wine, women, sun and sausages
I collected new guests from the airport last Thursday and then more guests and Debrah on Friday - roof down in the glorious Autumn sunshine that has since lasted all weekend - a perfect Languedoc Autumn weekend in fact.
Not only did the sun shine but the wine flowed. The 3rd 'Fête du Vin' kicked off on Thursday evening with a good dose of rock/dance music and local wine producers and restaurants teamed up together to bring, well, wine and food to the crowds gathered in the square, followed by a bangin' street party with DJ outside 'Le Conti' club on the rue Aigle D'or (Golden Eagle Street) just behind the main square. Much wine was consumed and many inhibitions shed, not by me of course - I'm far too sensible, but Lesa was dancing on a table in true uninhibited Aussie style and Brigitte was just dancing, with anyone and everyone, male and female - "I am a leetle bit drunk", she confided. 'Bien sûr', Madame La Presidente.
Chris had finished the work on Denis' apartment late on Monday night just before he left to go and shoot some wild animals in the USA. I hadn't had a chance to go in and clear up and so we went up on Friday afternoon because Denis' cousin was coming out the following day for the weekend. There was quite a bit of clearing up to do, which I expected, but I was disappointed to find one skirting board unpainted and one bathroom shelf without mastic - the result of Chris leaving it all until the last minute and running out of time. I shall have to explain to Denis when he comes out next Sunday.
Debrah and I went back into the fray of the Fête early on Friday evening and ate some deliciously sweet oysters and sampled more of the wines on offer before returning to chat to our new guests over canapes and cocktails. Bizzarely, both sets of guests come from Suffolk and live about 20 miles apart from each other - a couple of weeks ago it was Americans and Australians, this week all very close to home.
The Saturday market was a bit disjointed, what with all the wine tents and the music stage, but all the more fun for it too, with bandas playing their unique style of French brass band jollyness (not quite in time and not always the same tune but very evocative of a French town en fête). The lovely Autumn sunshine and the music and the wine seemed to bring out the warmth in everyone - it really couldn't have been a better advert for a weekend away in Carcassonne and I wish I could capture it's essence somehow to use in our own marketing and on our website.
Instead of my usual Saturday rendez-vous at Saillan, Debrah and I went out for a little drive up into the Minervois. I know I am over-playing the mellow Autumnness theme a bit, but it couldn't have been more perfect - there was virtually no breeze, the sun shone with deceptive warmth out of an azure sky, there was virtually nobody else on the road, the vines and trees were a patchwork of beautiful shades of yellow and red and brown and orange, there was the occasional whiff of woodsmoke in the air and the distinctive 'caw' of birds of prey circling above us in search of a kill.
We were on a mission to find, what Debrah had assumed, was an abandoned farm that we had passed about two months earlier on a previous drive through the area, because she wanted to take some photographs of the old iron gates. We found the farm and it's new owner, who, very kindly, not only let Debrah wander around taking photos but also showed her the old stables with the old horse names still above each stall and told us about the chateau next to the farm which was being renovated and was up for sale. Whilst Debrah was off doing her designer thing, he told me he was waiting for the local hunt to arrive for lunch - he had a fire going and everything ready for some serious butchery. He told me that last week the hunt had taken 8 wild boars and that they made sausages and stews and grills from the catch. I am actually quite sorry they didn't turn up whilst I was there - they might well have asked us to join them if their hospitality was anything like as lovely as his.
Saturday evening was a guest dinner and a bit of last minute stress about food because we were doing something untried and so timing was all a bit of guesswork. I'm the first to admit that I don't like 'winging it' when paying guests are involved and I would always like to be ready ahead of time and have everything totally planned and under control, whereas Debrah is much more a last minute sort of person, or even "I'll do it tomorrow", which of course wouldn't be any good for clients waiting for their dinner. There was a small falling out and a few harsh/cross words and a bit of a rush but as ever what was put in front of our guests was both delicious and beautiful and this morning both couples thanked us for a lovely dinner and very entertaining evening.
So we missed the last night of the Fête, but not to worry because today was the second day of the 'Ronde de Malepere', a two day wine festival in the wine region of that name to the south and west of Carcassonne, which this year was held in the village of Alairac. At the airport last week they had been handing out invitations including a voucher for a free glass (usually €5) which then entitled one to free tasting at all the producer stands. One hour and ten producers later we were a bit confused by the tastes and aromas we had sampled and desperately needed the plate of 'saucisse and frites' that we found at the grill run by local ladies, who fussed around us cleaning the table and bringing us bread and mustard and telling us about the duck fat that the chips were cooked in - bless them for their lovely hospitality.
We sat under the plane trees and sobered up with the protein and carbs before stroking the noses of the two horses that were tethered just outside and then heading back to Carca for an airport run and new guest check-in and an afternoon lie down.
We had forgotten that we were having sausage and potatoes for supper as well - but that didn't stop us wolfing them down too - sometimes it's just right.
Not only did the sun shine but the wine flowed. The 3rd 'Fête du Vin' kicked off on Thursday evening with a good dose of rock/dance music and local wine producers and restaurants teamed up together to bring, well, wine and food to the crowds gathered in the square, followed by a bangin' street party with DJ outside 'Le Conti' club on the rue Aigle D'or (Golden Eagle Street) just behind the main square. Much wine was consumed and many inhibitions shed, not by me of course - I'm far too sensible, but Lesa was dancing on a table in true uninhibited Aussie style and Brigitte was just dancing, with anyone and everyone, male and female - "I am a leetle bit drunk", she confided. 'Bien sûr', Madame La Presidente.
Chris had finished the work on Denis' apartment late on Monday night just before he left to go and shoot some wild animals in the USA. I hadn't had a chance to go in and clear up and so we went up on Friday afternoon because Denis' cousin was coming out the following day for the weekend. There was quite a bit of clearing up to do, which I expected, but I was disappointed to find one skirting board unpainted and one bathroom shelf without mastic - the result of Chris leaving it all until the last minute and running out of time. I shall have to explain to Denis when he comes out next Sunday.
Debrah and I went back into the fray of the Fête early on Friday evening and ate some deliciously sweet oysters and sampled more of the wines on offer before returning to chat to our new guests over canapes and cocktails. Bizzarely, both sets of guests come from Suffolk and live about 20 miles apart from each other - a couple of weeks ago it was Americans and Australians, this week all very close to home.
The Saturday market was a bit disjointed, what with all the wine tents and the music stage, but all the more fun for it too, with bandas playing their unique style of French brass band jollyness (not quite in time and not always the same tune but very evocative of a French town en fête). The lovely Autumn sunshine and the music and the wine seemed to bring out the warmth in everyone - it really couldn't have been a better advert for a weekend away in Carcassonne and I wish I could capture it's essence somehow to use in our own marketing and on our website.
Instead of my usual Saturday rendez-vous at Saillan, Debrah and I went out for a little drive up into the Minervois. I know I am over-playing the mellow Autumnness theme a bit, but it couldn't have been more perfect - there was virtually no breeze, the sun shone with deceptive warmth out of an azure sky, there was virtually nobody else on the road, the vines and trees were a patchwork of beautiful shades of yellow and red and brown and orange, there was the occasional whiff of woodsmoke in the air and the distinctive 'caw' of birds of prey circling above us in search of a kill.
We were on a mission to find, what Debrah had assumed, was an abandoned farm that we had passed about two months earlier on a previous drive through the area, because she wanted to take some photographs of the old iron gates. We found the farm and it's new owner, who, very kindly, not only let Debrah wander around taking photos but also showed her the old stables with the old horse names still above each stall and told us about the chateau next to the farm which was being renovated and was up for sale. Whilst Debrah was off doing her designer thing, he told me he was waiting for the local hunt to arrive for lunch - he had a fire going and everything ready for some serious butchery. He told me that last week the hunt had taken 8 wild boars and that they made sausages and stews and grills from the catch. I am actually quite sorry they didn't turn up whilst I was there - they might well have asked us to join them if their hospitality was anything like as lovely as his.
Saturday evening was a guest dinner and a bit of last minute stress about food because we were doing something untried and so timing was all a bit of guesswork. I'm the first to admit that I don't like 'winging it' when paying guests are involved and I would always like to be ready ahead of time and have everything totally planned and under control, whereas Debrah is much more a last minute sort of person, or even "I'll do it tomorrow", which of course wouldn't be any good for clients waiting for their dinner. There was a small falling out and a few harsh/cross words and a bit of a rush but as ever what was put in front of our guests was both delicious and beautiful and this morning both couples thanked us for a lovely dinner and very entertaining evening.
So we missed the last night of the Fête, but not to worry because today was the second day of the 'Ronde de Malepere', a two day wine festival in the wine region of that name to the south and west of Carcassonne, which this year was held in the village of Alairac. At the airport last week they had been handing out invitations including a voucher for a free glass (usually €5) which then entitled one to free tasting at all the producer stands. One hour and ten producers later we were a bit confused by the tastes and aromas we had sampled and desperately needed the plate of 'saucisse and frites' that we found at the grill run by local ladies, who fussed around us cleaning the table and bringing us bread and mustard and telling us about the duck fat that the chips were cooked in - bless them for their lovely hospitality.
We sat under the plane trees and sobered up with the protein and carbs before stroking the noses of the two horses that were tethered just outside and then heading back to Carca for an airport run and new guest check-in and an afternoon lie down.
We had forgotten that we were having sausage and potatoes for supper as well - but that didn't stop us wolfing them down too - sometimes it's just right.
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Come on England
It's a rare night with no guests this evening and so I have been lording it in the studio suite watching the big telly.
Sadly I had to content myself with watching Belgium v Spain and then Portugal v Albania on a TV channel called Direct 8. Belarus v England would have been too much to hope for, especially since the Irish mafia at Setanta have taken over the rights to the away matches. We all hate Setanta, which I am sure wasn't in their business strategy when they decided to bid for the England games.
My support, though hidden. obviously helped and England did the business again with Rooney scoring twice - hurrah, hurrah.
It was another fabulous Autumn day here - not that I saw much of it. After breakfast I took the departing guests to the airport, then cleared out their room and got stuck into the ironing left over from the weekend guests. I resisted the lure of the square for lunch because we had so much good food here - and I so hate to throw stuff away.
This afternoon, I have to admit, I succumbed to an afternoon nap. Debrah has been slowly passing on to me the benefits of a little lie down - it has taken a long time for me to come round to it but I am now a fervent fan of a short afternoon siesta. I never really had the opportunity when I worked full time in London but now it makes complete sense - after a late night dinner and clearing up and an early breakfast and airport drop-off, a siesta is the perfect battery recharger.
It did get in the way of my plans for a beef casserole this evening - by the time I got around to getting it sorted it was far too late to be eaten tonight - not to worry, because it will be all the better tomorrow or even on Friday when Debrah returns.
As I passed through the square late this afternoon it was a hive of activity ahead of the 'Festival du Vin' which starts tomorrow evening. I missed the event last year so I am really looking forward to what is on offer this week as well as the music and the general party atmosphere in the town - my new guests couldn't have picked a better weekend to visit. Salut.
Sadly I had to content myself with watching Belgium v Spain and then Portugal v Albania on a TV channel called Direct 8. Belarus v England would have been too much to hope for, especially since the Irish mafia at Setanta have taken over the rights to the away matches. We all hate Setanta, which I am sure wasn't in their business strategy when they decided to bid for the England games.
My support, though hidden. obviously helped and England did the business again with Rooney scoring twice - hurrah, hurrah.
It was another fabulous Autumn day here - not that I saw much of it. After breakfast I took the departing guests to the airport, then cleared out their room and got stuck into the ironing left over from the weekend guests. I resisted the lure of the square for lunch because we had so much good food here - and I so hate to throw stuff away.
This afternoon, I have to admit, I succumbed to an afternoon nap. Debrah has been slowly passing on to me the benefits of a little lie down - it has taken a long time for me to come round to it but I am now a fervent fan of a short afternoon siesta. I never really had the opportunity when I worked full time in London but now it makes complete sense - after a late night dinner and clearing up and an early breakfast and airport drop-off, a siesta is the perfect battery recharger.
It did get in the way of my plans for a beef casserole this evening - by the time I got around to getting it sorted it was far too late to be eaten tonight - not to worry, because it will be all the better tomorrow or even on Friday when Debrah returns.
As I passed through the square late this afternoon it was a hive of activity ahead of the 'Festival du Vin' which starts tomorrow evening. I missed the event last year so I am really looking forward to what is on offer this week as well as the music and the general party atmosphere in the town - my new guests couldn't have picked a better weekend to visit. Salut.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Looking Ahead
Today seemed to disappear in a blur without me knowing why or how - suddenly it was time to start prepping dinner for the guests and the day had gone.
But what a day - not a cloud in the sky and the temperature in the upper twenties - a perfect Autumn day in the Languedoc - which meant that I meandered about the market for maybe longer than I would have done normally and lingered for a coffee and watched the world go by for a bit and was then persuaded (not with any great difficulty) to return for lunch at Bar Felix.
It was the sort of day and the sort of lunch that was just going to be me but ended up being me and Richard and Janet and then Gary and Tom and Cathy and then Susan and then Patrick and another Tom, fresh off the Shannon flight. It was civilised and relaxed and lazy - we all lingered about an hour longer than we had intended, partly because it seemed to take that long to get the bill and pay it!
I wasn't looking forward to the dinner with guests this evening. I think that I am coming to the end of my season and I need a break from it too - so in a way, I am happy that we don't have any November bookings at the moment. I am feeling like it has been a long summer slog of entertaining and I think I will welcome a couple of weeks without it before we get to Christmas and New Year.
As ever though I gave my all for my guests this evening and they seem to have had a lovely stay here and enjoyed dinner tonight - hurrah for that. After dinner they wandered out to have a look at the Cité illuminated by it's lights and also, tonight, by a very bright and beautiful full moon. How sweet.
Looking ahead, our new website went live today and it looks fantastic - well done Debrah for another piece of inspired creative magic. The new site features more information and more fabulous photography and next years prices - hopefully everyone will have recovered from the banking/recession crisis soon and start booking up next years dates. Fingers crossed.
But what a day - not a cloud in the sky and the temperature in the upper twenties - a perfect Autumn day in the Languedoc - which meant that I meandered about the market for maybe longer than I would have done normally and lingered for a coffee and watched the world go by for a bit and was then persuaded (not with any great difficulty) to return for lunch at Bar Felix.
It was the sort of day and the sort of lunch that was just going to be me but ended up being me and Richard and Janet and then Gary and Tom and Cathy and then Susan and then Patrick and another Tom, fresh off the Shannon flight. It was civilised and relaxed and lazy - we all lingered about an hour longer than we had intended, partly because it seemed to take that long to get the bill and pay it!
I wasn't looking forward to the dinner with guests this evening. I think that I am coming to the end of my season and I need a break from it too - so in a way, I am happy that we don't have any November bookings at the moment. I am feeling like it has been a long summer slog of entertaining and I think I will welcome a couple of weeks without it before we get to Christmas and New Year.
As ever though I gave my all for my guests this evening and they seem to have had a lovely stay here and enjoyed dinner tonight - hurrah for that. After dinner they wandered out to have a look at the Cité illuminated by it's lights and also, tonight, by a very bright and beautiful full moon. How sweet.
Looking ahead, our new website went live today and it looks fantastic - well done Debrah for another piece of inspired creative magic. The new site features more information and more fabulous photography and next years prices - hopefully everyone will have recovered from the banking/recession crisis soon and start booking up next years dates. Fingers crossed.
Monday, 13 October 2008
Problem solving
Debrah and Mel have returned to London and once again I am on my own here in France, well, except for the guests in the Apartment suite and Chris popping in for coffee as he finishes off the final bits of work in Denis' apartment upstairs.
Chris flies to the UK tomorrow and then on to the USA, so tonight is his last chance to finish the work and give back the keys to me - I know I will have to go up there and clear up and remove the tools and materials after he has gone - great, another cleaning job to do. This last minute rush could have been avoided, but that's Chris for you - the mastic will look fabulous when it's finally done though!
Ironically, given our falling out earlier in the year over the unnecessary removal of my internet connection, Chris will have to come and print out his flight information from this very computer because an electrician has clumsily disconnected the broadband in his apartment - I shouldn't laugh or feel smug about it, but I can't help it.
I forgot to mention that I can finally see what I am typing and reading - Debrah picked up some reading glasses for me at Boots at Stansted airport on her way over here and they are a revelation - and all for the extremely reasonable sum of £25. I have known for a couple of years that my eyesight was getting worse for close up stuff and especially in poor light - not any more - but I'm still getting used to having glasses on my nose.
With a heavy heart I took Debrah and Mel up to the airport this afternoon for their flight home and then who should I bump into but Gary, who was waiting for his nephew off the same flight that Debrah was due to leave on - so naturally I offered them a lift back to town and popped in to see Des too, as I hadn't seen him for well over a month. No change there really, except that Gary's fortune is now going to be made as a novelist rather than as an artist - always seeking the glory solution that boy - he just needs to get a job.
So there we are - it was a momentous day in the world of banking and the refurbishment of Denis' apartment has finally been completed - all of which is a massive relief - but whilst the macro and micro issues have been, hopefully, resolved, Debrah and I are spending another evening apart from each other - and for the moment we are no closer to finding a solution to that problem.
Chris flies to the UK tomorrow and then on to the USA, so tonight is his last chance to finish the work and give back the keys to me - I know I will have to go up there and clear up and remove the tools and materials after he has gone - great, another cleaning job to do. This last minute rush could have been avoided, but that's Chris for you - the mastic will look fabulous when it's finally done though!
Ironically, given our falling out earlier in the year over the unnecessary removal of my internet connection, Chris will have to come and print out his flight information from this very computer because an electrician has clumsily disconnected the broadband in his apartment - I shouldn't laugh or feel smug about it, but I can't help it.
I forgot to mention that I can finally see what I am typing and reading - Debrah picked up some reading glasses for me at Boots at Stansted airport on her way over here and they are a revelation - and all for the extremely reasonable sum of £25. I have known for a couple of years that my eyesight was getting worse for close up stuff and especially in poor light - not any more - but I'm still getting used to having glasses on my nose.
With a heavy heart I took Debrah and Mel up to the airport this afternoon for their flight home and then who should I bump into but Gary, who was waiting for his nephew off the same flight that Debrah was due to leave on - so naturally I offered them a lift back to town and popped in to see Des too, as I hadn't seen him for well over a month. No change there really, except that Gary's fortune is now going to be made as a novelist rather than as an artist - always seeking the glory solution that boy - he just needs to get a job.
So there we are - it was a momentous day in the world of banking and the refurbishment of Denis' apartment has finally been completed - all of which is a massive relief - but whilst the macro and micro issues have been, hopefully, resolved, Debrah and I are spending another evening apart from each other - and for the moment we are no closer to finding a solution to that problem.
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Wherefore art thou?
It has been a real pleasure having Mel here for the weekend - drinking partner, sous-chef, dishwasher and town excitement for a couple of days. Thank you enormously for all your help.
One thing that constantly puzzles and worries Debrah and me is why Mel is still single, considering that she is so lovely, and to that end Debrah has spent quite a bit of time today on Mel's 'dating direct' website vetting prospective candidates and sending out emails on her behalf - a veritable 'Cyrano de Bergerac' situation. As I type this they are monitoring responses with an inevitable mix of astonishment, hilarity, fear and potential possibility.
"I bet he's got a pierced knob", was just one of the many remarks I have been listening too this evening.
Whatever happens, Mel, don't lower your standards - there is someone just for you right around the corner.
Yesterday, Debrah went into one of her mad cooking Saturdays - pickled vegetables, fig jam, plum jam, chicken liver paté and poached pears were produced in an intense four hours of kitchen frenzy.
The paté and pears were consumed over a very entertaining dinner with our guests last night, where we discussed the success of current policing policy in the UK and whether the jury system needs to be amended for certain cases - heavy stuff indeed but actually extremely interesting to get their point of view on our legal system and, maybe surprising to some, they were on the whole totally in favour of and supportive of our whole judicial process.
They all left today and a new couple arrived and it rained a bit and was cloudy and windy and generally not very pleasant to go outside - so we stayed in and didn't visit the rice and apple fete at Aigues-Vives, which was a shame, but I don't think anybody really minded that much.
One thing that constantly puzzles and worries Debrah and me is why Mel is still single, considering that she is so lovely, and to that end Debrah has spent quite a bit of time today on Mel's 'dating direct' website vetting prospective candidates and sending out emails on her behalf - a veritable 'Cyrano de Bergerac' situation. As I type this they are monitoring responses with an inevitable mix of astonishment, hilarity, fear and potential possibility.
"I bet he's got a pierced knob", was just one of the many remarks I have been listening too this evening.
Whatever happens, Mel, don't lower your standards - there is someone just for you right around the corner.
Yesterday, Debrah went into one of her mad cooking Saturdays - pickled vegetables, fig jam, plum jam, chicken liver paté and poached pears were produced in an intense four hours of kitchen frenzy.
The paté and pears were consumed over a very entertaining dinner with our guests last night, where we discussed the success of current policing policy in the UK and whether the jury system needs to be amended for certain cases - heavy stuff indeed but actually extremely interesting to get their point of view on our legal system and, maybe surprising to some, they were on the whole totally in favour of and supportive of our whole judicial process.
They all left today and a new couple arrived and it rained a bit and was cloudy and windy and generally not very pleasant to go outside - so we stayed in and didn't visit the rice and apple fete at Aigues-Vives, which was a shame, but I don't think anybody really minded that much.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
