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.