Back From Scotland

 

Back From Scotland

I had been looking forward to the trip to the UK but not the journey there. I had decided to do it by train, as last year, Avignon – Lille – London – Glasgow, and in the event it was easy. I’d booked assistance at Euston and Glasgow as I had a heavy case and the trains can be very long; lugging a case with two wheels the length of a long platform, a possible 18 carriage-lengths, was at the limit of what I could manage. However I was in the middle of the train for the Eurostar connection to London and so had to trundle the case only 9 carriage-lengths at St Pancras. I’d tried booking assistance at Lille and London St Pancras but the system defeated me. I resolved the problem when in Glasgow by buying a case with 4 wheels. The journey back from London to Avignon was again impressive, 15 minutes shorter than last year at only six and a quarter hours. Although I didn’t then know it my glimpses of sun on departing northern France were the last time I would see it until my return. It wasn’t cold in England or Scotland but, boy, was it cloudy.

Natalie met me at Glasgow and so my stay started. The next day we went to the local garden centre for breakfast, the mandatory Scottish morning soft roll (mine with back bacon), and I bought presents for friends here and plants for Natalie’s garden. Much of the time during the stay was spent around the house but on the Sunday we went to Eddlestone to see Steve and Jo and, as arranged, René and Armelle who were visiting. René and Armelle were staying at the local pub so we went there for lunch. That is where I had the fish and chips I have to have at least once when I come over. It was good to see them both again. Armelle, it seemed was the braver, having had haggis for breakfast. When they left Mollans they had given me a picture so I reciprocated by giving them one,a framed image of a scene from the Rubayat of Omar Khayam painted on bone which I had purchased in Esfahan in Iran 50 years earlier. They weren’t familiar with Omar Khayam or the Rubayat but will no doubt be doing the Internet searches. A poem about love and wine should ring bells with any French person.

On the Monday, on an impulse, I bought Eilidh a large cardboard castle construction kit. It proved an inspired move. The castle was large enough for Eilidh to get inside and needed colouring all around it. That was where Eilidh resided for most of the rest of my stay and the colouring still hadn’t been completed, despite help from Natalie, Andy and me, when I left. Eilidh had decided she would be a bat for Halloween so I bought her some bats’ ears and stickers and thought the castle should be Bat Castle. However Eilidh decided it should be Primary Palace and who am I to argue?

We didn’t do a lot on my birthday itself although I had some lovely presents from my family but the afternoon was given over to gardening, planting the bulbs and plants I had bought on my first day there. In the evening we had the ritual cake. There wasn’t enough room on it for 84 candles so Natalie had placed 4 and, to my shame, I had to have two goes to blow them all out.

On my last day in Scotland we went to the Transport Museum which was having a children’s day, having to find small effigies of people hidden amongst the exhibits. Glasgow really has some fine museums, as well as parks, a world away from the grubby industrial centre I had known 50 years before.

As always it was great to be with the family again, if only for a few days. Eilidh seemed to have shot up inches between July and then.

I left on Thursday and went meet my son Carl and friend Margaret for lunch the next day. Unfotunately Margaret had brochitis and couldn’t make it so Carl ended up with the cheese, olives and lavender essence I had bought for Margaret. I expect Carl’s girlfriend will at least appreciate the lavender essence. I was pleased to find Carl fit and on form and we had a good chat as well as a good meal at Zedel, a French restaurant in the heart of Piccadilly. It’s an amazing place with the restaurant three storeys underground which served as a bomb shelter during WW2 for people letting their hair down in the area.

On my return (to the sun again!) I was met by Jacques and Claudine at Avignon TGV and we had a meal in Malaucène on the way home. I couldn’t face unpacking my case entirely then but just extracted the necessities and went to bed.

Sylvie came round the next day with some things she’d looked after while I was away and insisted we celebrated my birthday here also. So this Thursday she, Sophie and Daniel and Jacqueline came round for a meal of sausages and mash, the sausages I’d brought with me from the UK. I’d put bottles of Worcester and HP brown sauce on the table, both alien to France, and Sophie fell in love with the HP sauce; so I’ll have to buy her a bottle the next time I go to a supermarket and can find it.

From now on it should be life as usual. A colloquial French term for grandparents is “les chicoufs”. It’s chic when grandchildren come to stay and ouf when they depart. I think I’ve done the ouf, but have no idea when the chic came; as every body who knows me knows, it’s not me. I must have somehow done that already.

Gardening, Politics And Rebooting

Gardening

Somewhat to my surprise there is still a decent floral dislay in the front. The red sages I planted a year ago are in full bloom, as is a solanum in a pot by the front door. One hanging basket has petunia has surfinas still in bloom and there is another on the balcony. And the argyranthemum is providing its usual golden autumn show to add to the blue and red. I planted a half dozen Nepeta in troughs in the summer and these I’ve moved across the road where they are still blooming. So it’s all looking quite good for the time of year. I’ve lifted and pruned about half the irises across the road and am not sure whether I’ll get around to the other half. I’ve decided that next year I shall no longer use troughs ; they need too much watering and I’m not getting any younger.

The allotment is ready for closing down for the winter. I’ve already culled all the tomatoes and made chutney with the green ones but there is still the celery to be had. That apart it’s ust a question of clearing out the debris, which I shall do on Saturday. The shallots, garlic and leeks for next year are already planted.

Politics Again

In France the next elections are looking like a gift-horse for Marine Le Penn or her chosen acolyte if she is not allowed to stand. It’s not clear what anyone can do about it other than by a large and broad coalition of the centre and left and that looks unlikely.

In the UK a recent poll fore cast a victory for Reform and a government headed by Nigel Farage, God help us. Fortunately a new election is 4 years away and little is likely to change that, even the saying that a week is a long time in politics. Unfortunately intermediate bye-elections are likely to see Reform gains in members of Parliament. Unless these new members make complete fools of themselves, or even if they do as is quite probable, the Reform bandwagon looks set to continue. What can stop it ?

I can think of only one thing and that is to change the current political narrative, which is all about immigration. It would mean centre and left politicians of all parties, whilst acceping that immigration is an issue, forcing a focus on economic and social issues. The economy would not be fertile ground at the moment but that could change. Social issues and the cost of living are where Reform is at its weakest and they could be a way to change the olitical narrative. But these issues would have to be forced into the debate. Invited to comment on immigration, as all MPs often are, centre and left MPs need to interject on every occasion that important social issues are not being adequately addressed and need to be. The centre and left media would need to take up the baton too.

Would that do it ? I can’t think of any other strategy that curreently could.

I believe that the immigration problem in Europe can be solved only by a Europe-wide strategy. The EU seems to be dragging its heels on this and yet the very existence of the EU could be at stake. Does the EU fully realise this ?

The Eternal Reboot

My computer printer seems to have a life of its own. No paper ? Yes there is paper in the tray ; it still insists there isn’t. Not connected ? Yes it is connected. So what do I do ? I reboot it. Then it is a happy printer. When my PC locks up (a so-called transient error : no one knows what is going on) what do I do ? I reboot it. When I have an electricity cut what do I do. I reboot it to see if it’s an appliance or EDF. I think rebooting has become an essential part of life.

Summer Visit And Politics

Summer Visit And Politics

Natalie and family ame to visit this summer as usual and I think enjoyed their holiday doing nothing very much but swimming and, Andy, cycling. I was pleased that the front of the house was in full bloomwhen they arrivedand we sat for a while on the bench in front as they arrived too early to go directly into the gite. He photos below are of the front of the house and their visit. 

They took back with them the two old figures sitting on a bench (i told Eilidh they were her mum and dad when they will be my age) and the spinning wheel which I had bought at the Telethon auction. I bought the spinning wheel because I thought it a beautiful piece of wooden machinery. But I thought that, rather than here it belongs in Scotland where there is a tradition of spinning wool, especially in the islands.

Politics

I’m still struggling to understand French politics, which seem much more complicated than their British counterparts. The sheer number of political parties is in itself daunting. For me at this time the political imperative is to ensure that the far right does not gain majority power. I feel that the wealth imbalance in the developed world, let alone the less developed countries, threatens something akin to feudalism if the far right gains power. And wider war in Europe becomes a stronger possibility.

To gain power far right parties exploit stupidity which, as Bonhoeffer has pointed out, is the hardest obstacle to counter. However it means that there is a depth of stupidity in their power base that will be shunned by a majority using at least some ntellect so the only intelligent people who will be attracted to them are those who seek power at any price, the Goebels of the world. I have found comfort in the idea that power and wealth alone don’t imply any coherent set of domestic policies and I have always presumed that, given some small measure of power, far right party representatives will openly display their inadequacies and thus won’t gain more power. A strong focus on nationalism gets you only so far.

This would seem to be the case in Britain and the USA at the moment. But can I be sure that this will always hold true ?

At base my contention is that far right parties cannot succeed in a democracy, they will be shown to be inadequate and that to succeed they need a dictatorship. I think that whether this is true or not depends on the level of stupidity (and irrationality and prejudice) present in a society. A colleague of mine once said that we plumb the depths of oceans and space but the depths of human stupidity have never been plumbed. 

The Book And The Meal

 

The Book Is Out

On Tuesday friends Daniel and Gérard took me to the printers to collected the printed books, 300 copies. I’ve since distributed them to the tourist shop, the tourist office, the Bar du Pont and the baker’s and I’ve put up two posters. There’s quite a bit mre to do but it’s a start.

I’ve set myself a goal of selling 100 copies by the end of August. If I achieve that the costs of the book will be covered and there will be more or less 200 copies to sell for the school, which has the potential to raise more or less 2000 euros.

Fingers crossed.

The Street Meal

On Sunday we had the annual meal in the street when everyone brings something for others to eat. This year, as last, I brought along a baklava and a coronation chicken. Both were completely eaten and I got a number of compliments incluing one from Audrey who also makes a curry to sell from her food cart and asked for the recipe. So that really was a compliment.

I also managed to sell four books. Selling the books is preoccupying me now but Claudine has warned me to back off. I’d gone into the tourist shop on Saturday and none had been sold. A man came into the shop when I was there so I picked up a book, showed it to him and he bought it. I complained to Claudine about the lack of salesmanship in the shop and she poited out that that wasn’t allowed. The lady in charge, Magali, had to be impartial and couldn’t promote one item over others. That was news to me so I shall indeed back off. Softly, softly catchee monkey.

It's June

 

It’s June

It’s June so I really need to write an update to my blog and that is just what this is.
On the flowers around the house the work is more or less done (more on that later) and the compliments have been flowing so that is gratifying. The roses are more or less over, as is the honeysuckle, but the jasmine has started blooming so the scent on the balcony is maintained. I need to replace some pansies that have been in a trough since winter but that is mostly it.

The allotment has needed watering every other day but that is mostly it too. I have lettuces and rocket at the moment, also some chillis, and a bit of weeding to do. The garlic has been harvested and is a reasonable if not generous crop. The rest is planted with the usual selection of vegetables. The unexpected development is that where I planted bean seeds I seem to have a crop of sunflowers. I’ve no idea how that happened but they all look strong and healthy. I’m going to have to remove a lot of them and propose to transplant several of them into spaces in front of my house. I’ve no idea if that will work but I’m going to try it. Earlier this week I had the English conversation participants here at home and it’s possible they will take some when we have our final meeting before the summer break over at the allotments.

On that front the work on the scrapbook we have been doing is almost complete and next week I hope to be able to take the scrapbook to the Mairie for display in the hope of attracting more students.

The book, THE BOOK, the visitors’ guide to Mollans, is with the printers and should be available in early July. Most of the shops in the village are happy to sell it without commission and I’ve made a poster advertising it to place in camping sites around. I need to sell around 120 copies to get my costs back but if and when that happens it should make around 1800 euros for the village school. For me that will be a good result.

With all this going on boules as taken a back seat I’m afraid. And I need a new project for nextwinter.

It's That Time Of Year

 

It’s That Time Of Year

France where I am is seasonal in more ways than you might expect. I like dark chocolate, in truffles for instance, and you can get them only at Christmas. Something similar happens in Italy where my Italian cousin resides and who sends me dark chocolates with an intense coffee interior that are obtainable only at that time of year. There is no weather related reason for this so it must be something to do with perceived commercial interests.

Anyway it is strawberry and asparagus time here now and I think I have just about had my full of both. You have to indulge when they are available because neither will be in a couple of months’ time, asparagus in much shorter time; and neither is suited to freezing. The good news on that front is that cantaloupe melons are already obtainable and they, unlike strawberries, taste the same whether they come from France or elsewhere. And I can look forward to the soon arrival of cherries and then apricots, peaches and nectarines.

But this is the time of year I really like because there is so much to do. Being retired one thing I have a lot of is time. In winter it is a problem but not now and the weather allows lots to be done. It’s work, which can be a controversial issue here, but the kind of work that I like. I have heard some people here, maybe newcomers to the area, complain that the French here don’t want to work, they are lazy. But that seems to me a misunderstanding of the underlying attitude, which puts quality of life before work. The people here can work, and often do, very hard, but they want to do it when it suits them. If they have earned enough for the week and the weather is fine, why not go fishing? No one is trying to, or expecting to, get rich and create a commercial empire. It is counter to the northern European (protestant?) ethic of having to improve your circumstances through hard work (which will necessarily be rewarded?).

Anyway my hard work is on the allotment and on the flowers in front of the hose. I’ve not yet done a lot in the front apart from some plants to replace daffodils on the balcony. This year I’m going to try some sunflowers in the front. One of the reported sayings that is always in my mind is that, around 1917 Diaghilev apparently advised Nijinsky “Etonne-moi” (astonish me). It echoes a thought from a cousin of mine many years ago who said that if you are going to fail, fail gloriously. I think sunflowers could be stunning and I could put two or three in pots on my balcony and across the road. We’ll see if that works. I’ve bought another jasmine for the front so maybe I should rename my house jasmine or honeysuckle house but the rest is still to be decided. The lilac next to my front door is already in bloom so I’ll have a perfumed balcony from now on.

The allotment is under control at the moment. I have to erect the plastic greenhouse friends Steve and Jo gave me before they left so that I can transfer seedlings now growing on my balcony. There’s a bit of weeding to do but not much. Over the next three weeks I have to remove the remaining leeks and cabbages and prepare that area of the allotment for planting tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, peppers and chillis. I’ll adjust these according to the space available and plant lettuces, spring onions and carrots where there is remaining space. The aromatics, mint, winter savory and oregano, are already there. I probably won’t bother this year with basil which I can grow on my kitchen window ledge and rosemary, parsley and sage I already have in abundance in front of the house. Thyme grows wild al over the place so I don’t need to cultivate that.

Rebirth At Easter

 

Rebirth At Easter

There’s not a lot holy about this one but it is nonetheless something I very much look forward to. For different reasons distant friends whom I look forward to seeing have delayed their arrival beyond the usual date but should be here around Easter. Easter, a bit late this year, is also when a lot happens on the gardening front. The allotment needs to be in shape to receive the vegetables I shall be planting at some point in the first half of May. I’ve spent considerable time clearing the over winter debris and weeds and still have a bit to do but that should be completed in good time. I want to re-erect the fragile (plastic) greenhouse that friends Steve and Jo gave me on their departure two years ago to hold the seed plantings that I’ve made and which are now sitting on my balcony. I also need to think about the flowers I shall plant in front of the house and which I shall purchase in the first half of May. A visit then to the market in Vaison is on the agenda. The planning and the doing keep me preoccupied and that is great. At this time of year I feel rejuvenated and that is a kind of rebirth after the winter months.

Book Number Two

Writing is an obsession for me and has been since my schooldays. It has continued into my retirement and there is quite a lot I have written for my own amusement and to clarify my thoughts; writing, I find is a way to do that. Anyway I’ve decided to put what I have written together in a book I shall simply call writings. The English version is essentially done in three sections. One section is articles I have written inspired as a converse to Voltaire’s Lettres Philosophiques or Lettres Sur Les Anglais: an Englishman’s observation of the French. Another is a collection of reflections on subjects that occupy my mind from time to time, late in the evening when I sit in the summer on my balcony with a glass of Calvados to hand. The third is my sole attempt at fiction. My mind tends to be analytical so I do not find fiction easy but I have felt the need to attempt it. So I invented a character, in retirement like me, who goes through some adventures of which I have experience. The effect is intended to be humorous, the reader will decide.

Claudine Cellier, a close friend, is not just my translator but also my encourager and critic, has already translated much of the text. So the book will appear in French as well as English.I’ll publish the book myself so it will be a case of vanity publishing. In my case, I think, not so much vanity as obsession.

World News

Much that happens in the world passes me by in my small secluded French village. However I cannot escape the headlines. I have come to see history as a struggle between a small coterie of powerful and rich to become richer and more powerful in which the vast majority of populations have been mere pawns. Only in the last couple of centuries have the pawns united on occasion to briefly state their case. In the latter part of the 20^th century they managed it for longer and there could be hope that the interest of the majority might prevail. However events have since taken a backward turn and I fear that the age old fight is on again. War of any kind is never in the interest of the majority and I can only hope that the majority will realise what is in their interests and act to ensure that their interests prevail.