Spring Weather ?
I realise that I go
about the weather rather a lot but then I am still English. The
point this time is that English weather, in principle, doesn(t happen
here. Specifically, the inconsistency that makes weather such a
common topic of conversation in England is normally absent here.
However, while England is experiencing untypical weather, we have
typical English spring weather here. Over the pat two months the
weather has varied from warm, sunny days, with the classically
Provencal cloudless deep Wedgwood blue skies, to cool, even cold,
days of overcast skies and drizzle. Provencal spring, equivalent to
early summer in England, keeps promiing to arrive but is still
struggling to manage it.
One welcome
side-effect is that spring flowers, such as primroses and violets,
which normally appear here only in shaded damp places, are all around
in abundance. In that and other ways, this part of Provence is
experiencing a typically English spring.
However, in the
Wednesday market in Buis this week I found the first local asparagus
and strawberries, including some wild asparagus. I haven't tried
that before but will do this Friday when Steve, Jo and Nick come to
eat. Driving along, I also noticed that the fruit orchards are
starting to bloom : cherry, almond and maybe apricot. This is
welcome as there hasn't been much colour by the wayside apart from
the ubiquitous rosemary, which has been in bloom for some time.
Coronilla is also starting to break, including the bush in my back
garden. And I can finally say that all the plants I hoped would come
through the winter have done, the three solanum in the front all now
showing signs of new growth.
Joke
I owe
this joke to friend Armelle.
A boy is buying a new car and the
salesman is impressing him with one that has the very latest radio
technology which reponds to speech commands. You can ask it to play
any track and, if your request is not precise enough, it asks you for
more information. The salesman invites the boy to try it out for
himself.
The boy thinks for a moment and then
says : « Halliday ».
The radio responds : « Johnny
or David ? »
« Johnny » says the boy and
the radio duly plays a track by Johnny Halliday.
Trying again the boy commands :
« Iglesias ».
The radio responds : « Julio
or Enrique ? »
The boy is so impressed he buys the car
and drives off. Alittle later on, driving through town, the boy is
carved up by another motorist cutting sharply in front of him.
Indignantly the boy shouts :
« Bastard, arse-hole ! »
The radio responds : « Berlusconi
or Sarkozy? »
