7.30 am. The
oil delivery man arrives in the courtyard. 'I was passing and wondered if you
needed a top up ?' We take 1000 litres on the principle you should never look a gift horse in the mouth.
7.35 am. The
builders show up. They’ve come to demolish what’s left of the barn wall after Loic, the
heavily bi-focaled gardener, drove the
lawn tractor into it. "The whole thing could come
crashing down at any time " says the foreman .
8.03 am. Caroline
, the bad tempered cleaning lady, drives through the gates. She's working twice this week before heading off to see her family in Cannes for Easter. “ My sister has a lovely
Mercedes “ she informs me by way of greeting before adding, bizarrely, ‘ I’ll be washing the chair legs in the dining room today‘.
Caroline is in Women's Cooperative summer wear. Cargo shorts, black tee
shirt, black Timberland boots. She’s had a fresh buzz cut. One of the builders shouts out ‘ Ca va ma
jolie ? ‘. This is not well received.
The sound
of the argument between Caroline and the builder carries into the downstairs kitchen.
‘’ I wonder how many people have such a an exciting start to their day ? “asks
‘The Font’ with only the merest trace of a sigh.
Bob and Sophie observe the comings and goings with great interest.
Everyone, red trousered kitchen designer included, promises to be here tomorrow. Having so many people - electricians. plumbers, fitters, builders - in such a small space should be either interesting or challenging. The PONs will of course wish to be intimately involved in everything.
10 comments:
Never in my life having washed a chair leg, or even thought to do so, now I am worried that I fall short in the domestic goddess department…
Cheers, Gail.
Perhaps Caroline thought the 'jolie' was sarcastic......
Well I hope they all remember to bring biscuits with them
Washing chair legs - is it a peculiarly French thing? If Caroline is bad tempered, then she probably sees insults in even the simplest remarks.
So, with luck, tomorrow the ROF will be plunged into chaos, Bob will stand firmly on guard, Sophie will seek out the Emmenthal crisps and you have a bottle of Pomerol close by at all times.
Caroline's comment reminds me of Mrs. Bucket (pronounced Bouquet) from Keeping up Appearances. Mentioning random things at odd times....
Love it!
By the serious look on both their lovely faces, nothing is going to get past the delightful duo...and certainly not emmenthal flavoured crisps or biscuits of any description.....
I'm glad all those people are showing up to perform services at the ROF, but do they come bearing crisps?
Washing the chair legs -- the mind boggles.
Humans. The perfect PON entertainment.
"Washing the chair legs in the dining room today" seems rather a sarcastic remark as to how the PON's love rubbing against the chair legs....but heck it's their house!!
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