And here I am, back in my nice tidy caravan, the bed properly made up, a night time cup of tea. A nice chat with Henriette (she's here for two weeks) about the Rule and community and my dilemma about Naxos and Bonnevaux. H v wise and sensible. 'you can change your mind, nothing is certain, or forever'. Dig out my notes on Fr Aidan's talk on the 12 degrees of humility. None of my objections e.g. to Benedict on authority, sounded very convincing. Told her about the fig tree - destroy beautiful but useless things (like Naxos maybe, or here, also, instead).
Must do my paper for Elba on water etc
bloody smoke alarm keeps going off, for no obvious reason.
Woke at 7.10. No bell (or I didn't hear it) and I deliberately didn't set my alarm. It looks like a nice day, can't really see, windows need a clean. Slept really well. Pooh, shower, meditate, breakfast, mass. I reckon this is the last day of my holiday. Lovely to sleep again in my own bed, in my lovely neat and tidy and clean caravan. Too many lovelys.
It was good to make real progress on Stuart's book ('The Second Coming - an historical drama'). Knock that on the head this week. Try and do it all on my Chrome. My only real problem is different odd and even page layouts - the wider margin at the binding edge. Maybe Lulu has an answer.
I've started my paper on water, energy and waste at Bonnevaux.
I almost feel disloyal not missing Naxos more. That I ought to be trying to be sad.
Naxos the (my) past, Bonnevaux the (my) future?
My milk's not gone off (so the fridge must have been working OK most of the time, and it was a few days old when I left) - real milk in Naxos went off in 3 or 4 days. Presumably because it's still real.
I've restored the caravan to its proper state (i.e. benches down the sides). It's easier to put away the bedding, and easier to make a better bed, and I think I slept better too.
off to mass at Vivonne at 9.20. Nice shower. Porridge for breakfast.
Only the last and first days in Greece were duds (looking at the last of my pictures) - grey and a bit miz.
I keep hearing echoes of all their voices in my head. 'yassu David' or Eleni saying 'row-add' for road, or 'malacca' with her snicker. Mostly 'yassu David', from everyone.
Mass and first commmunions at Vivonne - St George's. Singing. Frescos. I had an epiphany about the stations of the cross. Stained glass - very Victorian (inapproriate for the country). Jesus looking very realxed on several crosses, one where he's rather smugly presiding over a WW1 battlefield. And a good one of St George with a rather inconsequential virgin nailed to a rock in the background, and the dragon with his teeth buried in George's horse's bum. But the horse doesn't look bothered.
Singing helps with 'the gift of tongues' 'le don de langues'. huitres and poulet chasseur for lunch (14 of us). We're going to set Pascale on to Thierry to 'negotiate' a better deal (he only charges €12 for his prix fixe menu and we provided the plates, table, cutlery and service - so he charges us €15 a head!) He was very nice to me when I turned up and offered me a verre but had no sans alcool biere (says there's no call for it - well obvs there isn't if he doesn't have any). I was surprised he recognised me as he last saw me when Marie Dom and Frederique and Andrew and I had lunch there in January. He doesn't sell rolling tobacco, only fags, although he smokes roll ups himself. Apparently he has a yacht in La Rochelle. I should be nice to him, or find out what the French for crew is.
Went to the Vide Grenier (enormous car boot sale throughout Marçay - had no idea the village was so big, it's like Sweffling, all hiding up back streets. No wonder it has une Maire). Spent all my money looking for a small fridge to test on the genny. No fridge. Nice teapot, clasp knife, a candelabra and a candle sconce, a chive plant, a tea strainer (which I'm now using with the tin of Twinings English Breakfast I bought in Vassilopolous) and a small pan for boiling water. And possibly something else which I've forgotten. And another bag to put it all in. I nearly bought a hat because it sported exactly the same material as the bag I bought in Naxos last September, but the hat was silly, (and 100% paper apparently). Who wears a matching hat and bag anyway? The Queen I suppose. I wonder how the wedding went?
Came back and had a swim in the lac. It's nowhere more than 2 feet deep, very solid clay bottom so cannot understand how it's leaking (if that is what it is doing). Pissed off a couple of musk rats. And then Kathy appeared and said that Henriette said I'm not allowed to swim in the lake. Typical Dutch Nazi. I shall have words. I think she just made it up because she was trapped in a meeting in the salon all afternoon talking to Giovanni and Laurence and was annoyed that I was literally swanning around. I did do some washing up earlier.
The oysters were delicious. Philippe (husband of Frederique unfortunately, but smokes and is very nice / amusing) is a bit of a fan. They were fresh yesterday from La Rochelle. We're having a lot of proper food now the French are here in force - hurrah for the Frogs! My picnique on the bus yesterday was delicious - worth every sou of the €15 I spent on it. 2 botts of water, 1 giant sandwich de jambon and crudities, an enormous hunk of potato pizza (surprisingly tasty) and a giant mushroom in cream sauce with lardons vol au vent, and a free plastic knife and fork.
My cup of proper tea is really nice. The bottom of my small pan fell off while I was boiling water, but it doen't seem to matter. Maybe it's for inductive hobs or summat.
Henriette says Jean Christophe and 'the Environment Committee' have banned swimming in the lake. WTF!? So it's alright for muskrats to swim in it, but not human beings.
Must go and meditate. It is very nice to be here.
Must do my paper for Elba on water etc
bloody smoke alarm keeps going off, for no obvious reason.
Woke at 7.10. No bell (or I didn't hear it) and I deliberately didn't set my alarm. It looks like a nice day, can't really see, windows need a clean. Slept really well. Pooh, shower, meditate, breakfast, mass. I reckon this is the last day of my holiday. Lovely to sleep again in my own bed, in my lovely neat and tidy and clean caravan. Too many lovelys.
It was good to make real progress on Stuart's book ('The Second Coming - an historical drama'). Knock that on the head this week. Try and do it all on my Chrome. My only real problem is different odd and even page layouts - the wider margin at the binding edge. Maybe Lulu has an answer.
I've started my paper on water, energy and waste at Bonnevaux.
I almost feel disloyal not missing Naxos more. That I ought to be trying to be sad.
Naxos the (my) past, Bonnevaux the (my) future?
My milk's not gone off (so the fridge must have been working OK most of the time, and it was a few days old when I left) - real milk in Naxos went off in 3 or 4 days. Presumably because it's still real.
I've restored the caravan to its proper state (i.e. benches down the sides). It's easier to put away the bedding, and easier to make a better bed, and I think I slept better too.
off to mass at Vivonne at 9.20. Nice shower. Porridge for breakfast.
Only the last and first days in Greece were duds (looking at the last of my pictures) - grey and a bit miz.
I keep hearing echoes of all their voices in my head. 'yassu David' or Eleni saying 'row-add' for road, or 'malacca' with her snicker. Mostly 'yassu David', from everyone.
Mass and first commmunions at Vivonne - St George's. Singing. Frescos. I had an epiphany about the stations of the cross. Stained glass - very Victorian (inapproriate for the country). Jesus looking very realxed on several crosses, one where he's rather smugly presiding over a WW1 battlefield. And a good one of St George with a rather inconsequential virgin nailed to a rock in the background, and the dragon with his teeth buried in George's horse's bum. But the horse doesn't look bothered.
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| The fresco above the altar must be 13th Century |
Went to the Vide Grenier (enormous car boot sale throughout Marçay - had no idea the village was so big, it's like Sweffling, all hiding up back streets. No wonder it has une Maire). Spent all my money looking for a small fridge to test on the genny. No fridge. Nice teapot, clasp knife, a candelabra and a candle sconce, a chive plant, a tea strainer (which I'm now using with the tin of Twinings English Breakfast I bought in Vassilopolous) and a small pan for boiling water. And possibly something else which I've forgotten. And another bag to put it all in. I nearly bought a hat because it sported exactly the same material as the bag I bought in Naxos last September, but the hat was silly, (and 100% paper apparently). Who wears a matching hat and bag anyway? The Queen I suppose. I wonder how the wedding went?
Came back and had a swim in the lac. It's nowhere more than 2 feet deep, very solid clay bottom so cannot understand how it's leaking (if that is what it is doing). Pissed off a couple of musk rats. And then Kathy appeared and said that Henriette said I'm not allowed to swim in the lake. Typical Dutch Nazi. I shall have words. I think she just made it up because she was trapped in a meeting in the salon all afternoon talking to Giovanni and Laurence and was annoyed that I was literally swanning around. I did do some washing up earlier.
The oysters were delicious. Philippe (husband of Frederique unfortunately, but smokes and is very nice / amusing) is a bit of a fan. They were fresh yesterday from La Rochelle. We're having a lot of proper food now the French are here in force - hurrah for the Frogs! My picnique on the bus yesterday was delicious - worth every sou of the €15 I spent on it. 2 botts of water, 1 giant sandwich de jambon and crudities, an enormous hunk of potato pizza (surprisingly tasty) and a giant mushroom in cream sauce with lardons vol au vent, and a free plastic knife and fork.
My cup of proper tea is really nice. The bottom of my small pan fell off while I was boiling water, but it doen't seem to matter. Maybe it's for inductive hobs or summat.
Henriette says Jean Christophe and 'the Environment Committee' have banned swimming in the lake. WTF!? So it's alright for muskrats to swim in it, but not human beings.
Must go and meditate. It is very nice to be here.
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| mes huitres. Delicieux |
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| It's hell here. Don't come. |
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This is what I call a car boot sale (they call it a 'vide grenier')
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| funny name for a girl |
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