A pepperoni elastic loaf and easy on the elastic

Jan with the Lloyds. From left to right, Tom, Jan, Glyn, Gill, Katie and parents Edith and Terry, enjoying an apero before dinner last night.

***

I have always been amused and dismissive of the French habit of trying to keep their language 'pure', especially from the invasion of English words. They even have an academy that oversees all of this. Language is a living thing, constantly changing and evolving and attempts to keep out foreign words or let new words evolve, is just plain stupid. Anyway, the Iranians are at it as well. This article amused me. The President of Iran, no less, has dictated that from now on pizzas will now be known as elastic loaves. How stupid can you get?

***

Talking about stupid, tourists are thick on the ground at the moment and this appears to be making the locals drive even more stupidly than normal. Every time I venture onto the roads I see an 'incident'. This usually involves an incredibly moronic overtaking manoeuvre. It's a dangerous combination of heat, impatience and an apparent death wish.

***

Like me, they were small but perfectly formed (stop it, I nearly choked - Ed.) but I picked 10 of the tastiest white peaches out of our little orchard today. It was hardly a crop, but was grown with love and tender care (that's it, I choked - Ed.) and offered them to my beloved Jan. Talking about fabulous offers, Will mailed from Vancouver Island and invited us to eat here. That's the kind of friend we all need. And there we were wondering what to do next week.

A placket of five splice please

An early trip to the market in Sommieres yesterday morning was followed by a quick trip to Nimes to drop Rob and Lorraine for their flight home, and then on to the Chinese supermarket in Nimes for some essential spices.

***

We popped into Quissac this morning to buy bread and the Sunday Times. I seem to remember that somebody once said "Man shall not live on bread and the Sunday Times alone," or something like that. Well, I disagree, because it does ok for me. Anyway, I bought the bread and Jan went off to buy the paper. She met Alain the artist (both paint and piss, you can choose) who is going to pop in for a drink next week. (Note to self: get a fresh supply of drink in!) Whatever, Jan is hopping mad at the rudeness of three French men who barged passed her as she was leaving the paper shop. This made me think about what etiquette I adopt when entering or exiting a space. Generally speaking I always let people out of a space, because it makes more room for me inside. The exception to this is when leaving a toilet, because those entering always have a far greater need than those exiting. Sounds fair?

***

I can't help but feel that we have been burning the candle a bit too fiercely just recently and I'm looking forward to a bit of a break in the next couple of weeks. Having said that the Lloyds came round for dinner tonight and Jan prepared amongst other things her famous barbecued ribs. Hence the visit to the Chinese supermarket yesterday. See how neatly it all fits!

Things that go "click" in the night

Our guests, (Rob "I wax my chest" Warren, and Lorraine) didn't sleep very well last night. A huge thunderstorm raged overhead (having a clear conscience, I slept through it) but what was really spooky was the music. They could hear a song being played over and over and thought that it was coming from somewhere in the village. Oh no! The storm had somehow set our DVD player running and not only had music started (we left a disc in by accident) but the song was playing on a loop. How's that for weird?

***

Jan found this article which is mildly interesting but what is more interesting are all the comments.

***

It was amazing to see how fast Rob slid through the water, now that he has waxed his body hair. I let his unkind comments about me escaping from the zoo pass right over me, however Jan then joined in and started to have a go at the hair on my back. (That's about as much information as we need thanks - Ed.)

Do as I say, not as I do

If ever proof were needed that France needs to move forward into the 21st century, this news is evidence. For the first time ever, a black face has presented the news on mainstream French television. How sad that it has taken so long. Whilst Chirac preaches to his citizens to stop racism, the establishment hypocritically carries on in the same old ways. 10% of the population is a black or brown minority but only 11 of the 577 French deputies come from a minority group. This is an interesting article.

***

On a lighter note, it's Thursday so it's off to Nimes for the night market. We take Rob and Lorraine (above) and start with a drink at the top of the Carre d'Art. I really love the atmosphere at this market. Lots of people milling about, people eating out on the streets and a very relaxed atmosphere. There are lots of above average stalls selling ceramics, glassware, jewellery, clothes, toiletries and other household paraphernalia. Additionally there is wide variety of music in the streets like jazz, rock and flamenco. The Nimes tourist office has details. Recommended.

A big brave boy

Yesterday Max had his bandage removed so that his wounds could dry out a little quicker. He spent a lot of the day licking his damaged paw but otherwise he is fine. We were both very proud at his stoic behaviour as the nurse removed the dressing and fiddled with his stitches. Despite his scary appearance he is such a gentle dog. Who's a big brave boy?
On a similar theme, Chris sent me this link which we both thought very funny. Dressing up your scary dog to look like a French poodle gave us a good laugh.

***

I spent a large part of the afternoon sitting around whilst they fixed the car window. What was promised to be a 1 hour job turned into 2.5 hours as they uncovered a further problem. Ah well, at least they cleaned the car so it was nice and shiny as I drove away.

***

What was meant to be a relatively quiet barbecue turned into dinner for 12, after yours truly invited lots of extra guests in a moment of thoughtlessness (let's be honest, you were pissed - Ed.). Jan, as usual, was the star, producing stuffed peppers to start, and array of scrummy salads to go with my barbecued lamb, as well as chicken kebabs, cheese and poached peaches for pudding. Let's just say we got through a lot of wine.

Happy birthday, Katie

I woke with a bit of a head this morning but nothing too serious. All self inflicted so no sympathy asked for (or given - Ed.). Whilst Rob takes the car to Aigues Mortes, we have a lunch date with Katie (pictured right), whose twelfth birthday it is, and her family.
We start at Le Bar Castelas in nearby Montmirat for their excellent, 4 course, 11 euros lunch followed by several glasses of home made smoothies and marshmallows dipped in chocolate from her new chocolate fountain. Glyn really knows how to make smoothies, he has a natural knack for the fruit combinations. He made three different types, the first involving peaches and apricots, the second oranges and lemons and the third kiwi and melon. You could call him a Smoothie Star. You heard it here first!

Robert out and Robert in

Robert and the children leave today and we're sorry to see them go. They've enjoyed their stay and are sad to leave. However the good news is that I pick up my very good friend Rob from the incoming flight that Robert and the children leave on. I do like it when things work out like this because airport runs, whilst necessary, aren't my favourite activity.

***

Most of the rest of the day was spent laughing, eating (and drinking until the wee hours). I do enjoy Rob's company. He is a very witty and intelligent man and arguably one of the best tennis coaches around.

Texas

Where did the morning go? It seemed like no sooner had we got up when it was time for lunch. Robert, pictured here with Michael and Ella, had very kindly invited us out for lunch. Mas de Roux had space and, as usual, provided a really good lunch.

***

Tonight we went to see the band Texas in the arene in Nimes. I always get a real buzz sitting in this 2000 years old amphitheatre and watching some event. Whilst the installed seating isn't the prettiest, there are still lots of original stone seats to sit on, which puts a real strain on your bum after a couple of hours. After 4 or 5 hours you're in danger of doing yourself some damage. Next time we must take cushions. Whilst I didn't know a lot about the band and was only aware of a couple of their hits, they put on a very good show and we thoroughly enjoyed them.

La Journee Estivale

One of the great things about French village life is the regular get togethers throughout the year. Last night, eleven of us (including our neighbours the Lloyds - above but with Katie missing) went out for what we call 'the sausage evening'. They call it La Journee Estivale. The whole village is invited for aperos, a meal and dancing in the cool night air. Previous events involved cooking sausages over an open fire but this time it was more upmarket. For the princely sum of 15 euros, a wide range of 20 different salads were offered, in addition to cheese and coffee. One of our neighbours, Roger, a retired chef prepared it all and jolly good it was too.

Mad dogs and Englishmen

We were due to pick up Max today from the kennels but an early morning phone call had us shooting over to St Mamert. Olivier sounded a bit worried. Max, in trying to escape over the fence from his dog pound, had hurt his paw and might need a vet. When we got him home, apart from losing a little blood, his paw seemed fine. But later in the afternoon he started to limp and lose more blood. To the vets it was and they checked him over. They had to knock him out to deal with the 2 wounds and, several stitches later, we got him back home to rest. We're glad we went because both wounds were quite deep and without intervention would have taken quite some time to heal. Bless.

***

It's the Journee Estivale today in the village, with a grande buffet d'ete and dancing. More about that later.

Good to have you back, even if you are late.

I don't often go overboard in my praise for sportsmen but I make an exception for Lance Armstrong. After everything that he has been through, to win 7 Tours de France in successive years, makes him one of the very best athletes that the world has ever seen. I'm missing him in this year's Tour de France. However, the French are not!

***

Jan arrived back this afternoon on one of BA's late arriving planes. Both BA and this route (Gatwick /Montpellier) are jinxed and I would never use them/it out of choice. It eventually landed 38 minute late. Better than the 12 hours delay last time I went to Montpellier. Anyway it was good to see her and life can get back to normal.

A table for how many!

For the second day running I have smoked salmon sandwiches and fruit for lunch. This is real comfort food for me. I'm in heaven. It will all change when Jan gets back so I make the most of it.
The Lloyds invited me to the night market in Nimes tonight and very good it was too. The only problem was where to park. Every bit of above ground space was taken and all the central car parks were full. This was quite unusual. The answer became clear as we drove around the arene where we realised that Depeche Mode were playing. At this time of the year Nimes holds it's festival of music and in fact we are going to the arene on Saturday. In the past we have seen Elton John and Joe Cocker (who was fabulous) and this Saturday's treat will be Texas. Anyway, we eventually parked at the railway station which is only a short walk out of town.
The night market had brought thousands of people into the streets and the place was really humming. A table for 10 was starting to look a bit dodgy but your hero came up with the goods and we actually all sat down in the street at my favourite pizza place. An excellent evening.

You want a what!!

You'd think that being footloose and fancy free, your body would take advantage of the space and time and let you lie in a bit. Not mine. When Jan's around I can sleep forever, however when I'm on my own I wake and get up early and do lots of little jobs around the house. Which is a bit of a bummer.

***

The driver's door window on the Golf has not worked for a while so I popped into Nimes this morning to get it fixed. With a lot of sucking of air through their teeth they pronounce that the motor was spent and needed replacing. Great!

Whilst I have got the 'right hand drive' car in town I decided to go and get a Telepeage badge because they cost so little but are very useful when having to retrieve a ticket or pay at a motorway toll booth. My first mistake is to tell a somewhat hyper Madame that I already have a badge with Sanef (in the north of France) but that I want to take one out with her company Liberte. Well, she started to bollock me, saying 'that a customer could not have 2 badges from different companies' and 'that if I tried I would be found out and caught'. Unusually for me, I remained cool and slowly explained what I was trying to achieve and that I was not part of a criminal gang. Instead of calming her she got even more agitated and said that 'she was leaving this place forever, never to return, on Thursday', and proceeded to tell me how to beat the system, presumably so that she could earn some commission. By the time I left the office I was exhausted (it doesn't take much to tire you out - Ed.) and so when I got home I called my existing supplier and asked for another badge. (Why didn't you just do that in the first place? - Ed.)

***

Being a kind neighbour, I took an English translation of how to maintain their pool round to the Lloyds and was promptly rewarded with an invite to dinner. Grilled trout and grilled vegetables on the bbq. Very, very nice. It actually turned into a 'boys night in' because all the women left, before dinner, for the hospital to get a stitch in Katie's knee. But that's another story!

Home alone

When I first saw this answer to an exam question, I burst out laughing. Maybe I should have cried?

***

Our guests left this morning and so now the house is empty. Now there's just Minnie and me (that's a good name for a song - Ed.). I will probably enjoy this for a day or two but then it will wear off. Minnie isn't the greatest conversationalist. There are upsides, like I can choose my comfort foods and also when to eat them. For lunch I made myself a tomato and basil sandwich, well 2 actually - bread and butter, sliced tomato lots of salt and lots of basil leaves. Heaven.
For dinner I made a salad, barbecued 2 lamb steaks and finished some apricot crumble that was taking up too much room in the fridge. It has been there so long I can't even remember when it was first made. It tasted ok to me (but then most stuff does - Ed.).