Monday, June 26, 2017

No swaying today.


The village has had a busy weekend.

One of Madame Bays great grand daughters has a birthday party in the village hall. Monsieur Bay arrives early to blow up white balloons. He does this all morning. By the time Sandrine, the hairdresser daughter, and the other Bay offspring arrive he has blown up at least a hundred of them. They are attached to the doors and windows by masking tape. A large barbecue is set up by the public loos. This is not the stainless steel Weber barbecue of Anglo-Saxon dreams, but three layers of corrugated iron suspended across breeze blocks. Underneath a raw fire sends plumes of smoke and sparks spiraling into the air. 

We return from lunch to see Madame Bay dancing on the village green, surrounded by a group of adoring four year olds. Her arms pump the air while her feet maintain a slow upwards and downwards motion. Madame Bay is wearing red cowboy boots, a voluminous, above the knee , white dress ( that looks as if it may be related to the net curtains we threw out last year ) a denim jacket edged in white lace and a turquoise Jane Austen style bonnet tied under her chin with more net curtain. 'The Font' usually maintains a diplomatic silence with regard to Madame Bays dress sense but mutters a barely audible '' Goodness ".


A group of pilgrims arrive in a mini van. They seem oblivious to the dancing four year olds or the cinder spitting barbecue . They look expectantly at the swaying Jesus. There is not the faintest breath of wind so they depart disappointed. No swaying today.


This morning we're woken at 4:30. The combine harvesters are out in force. They have to rev their engines hard to get over the speed bump outside our gate. Sophie howls. A mountain storm is forecast for tonight and tomorrow so the harvesting of the wheat has been brought forward. '' Two weeks earlier than usual '' says a young farmer in that offhand way we now discuss climate change.


Into the large market town with the PONs.  We buy strawberries and wholewheat bread at the market. The croissants have all gone. The PONs are rewarded with slivers of brioche. They approve.


The store that sells rugby rugby tickets is  very masculine place. The window displays of the minimalist '' tee shirt on a hanger " variety. Next door a new shop has appeared -Princesse Tam-Tam.  This sells micro-bikinis. It too is minimalist but in a different way. A  beauty and the beast retail pairing.


Back at home Bob has the sense to sleep in the shade of the orchard. Sophie has no sense whatsoever and would ( if allowed to ) sleep in the direct sun all day. She is encouraged into the shade.

Cats : https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/06/cats-are-an-extreme-outlier-among-domestic-animals/

10 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Oh joy! A stellar appearance from Madame Bay. And brioche for Bob and Sophie. Best day ever, definitely.

Coppa's girl said...

In view of the fashion notes on Mme Bay's sartorial elegance, I think perhaps the comment "Goodness" is remarkably restrained.
Brioche - what heaven - and an excellent start to yet another best day ever.

Taste of France said...

Mme. Bay sounds like a lot of fun. I hope I have her fashion sense when I am her age. And that I will be dancing with four-year-olds while wearing red boots.
Princesse Tam Tam has a sad story--one of the sisters who co-founded it was killed in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Bombay.

Anonymous said...

I would just love to see a picture of Mme Bay one day..she is quite the character and good for her!
Stay cool Master Bob and Miss Sophie.
x

Elle Clancy said...

I echo Taste of France above....I too hope to have such verve as Mme. Bay when I am her age.

At Rivercrest Cottage said...

I lost a bit of my morning tea when I read the line about your curtains possible second life. All is good in our world today with the inspiring Madame Bay's influence to follow.

Poppy Q said...

Sounds like quite the party. We love seeing your summer shots. Rugby shirts and bikinis must be in high demand in the village.

Swan said...

I admire Madame Bay's joie de vivre! We should all have a little Madame Bay 😊

Unknown said...

Glorious sunflowers!
Interesting article on the cats. It's a constant battle of wits with our cats (which we rarely win).
Millie maintains a respectful distance from the cats.

Emm said...

Your description of Madame Bay's ensemble makes it sound quite avant-garde -- perhaps we might soon be seeing it on the Paris fashion runways. The red boots are definitely chic!