Friday, August 12, 2016

What a waste of money.


A car with Moscow number plates overtakes us on the road to the bakers. The Cyrillic alphabet an unusual sight in deepest France profonde.


Blue wine for sale in the supermarket. Angus shudders, involuntarily, when he sees it and thinks what a waste of money. Another reminder, if it was needed,  that I have turned into my father. In many things Angus becomes more liberal as he gets older. This open mindedness does not apply to blue wine.


Sophie looks glum. She has lost 'Lamb' - her much loved dou-dou. It has been buried somewhere inaccessible. Tomorrow we will go to the garden store and find a replacement. Sophie does not take her loss well. We all somehow end up sharing her sorrow.



Last weeks visit of the flower judging panel hits the newspapers. It seems that it was more of an event than we'd been led to believe. It is not just a regional thing but a national event. There was however a problem. The man with the anger management issues had used copious amounts of organic fertilizer on his garden. This has leached into the village pond resulting in a healthy growth of green algae. The judges are incensed. They inform the mayor that it's illegal to use fertilizer near water courses and instruct him to inform the gendarmes. The mayor wisely commits to nothing. Why stir up an anger management problem ?

An unlikely selection of photos of the churchyard wall,  the reconstructed 16th century pottery kiln and the offending village pond with its algae and half smothered Water Lilly's ( nenuphars ) illustrates the article. The results won't be known until November.


The PONs watch the sunrise and the sunset. In between they chase birds, bark at the village cats, play a little touch rugby, nap and dream of their next meal. 


Probably, with the exception of the missing dou-dou, the best day ever. 




9 comments:

Taste of France said...

I'm with you on blue wine. Kitsch. Also, it's from Spain. No thank you. According to the Independent, "non-caloric sweeteners are then used to modify the flavour and create a sweet drink with 11.5% alcohol per volume." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/gik-blue-wine-comes-to-the-uk-from-spain-a7094866.html
Already, adding sweeteners is a no-no, and then to do it with, what, aspartame?
They probably will sell barrels of it, because it's all about marketing. The creators probably break down in giggles over the fools they've sold their gop to.
Sophie seems to lose doudous at an alarming rate. We saw one on a path in the garrigue. Husband thought a kid lost it, but I thought of Sophie, and said it was more likely a dog.
Re the flowers: http://www.villes-et-villages-fleuris.com

WFT Nobby said...

The village pond, the Olympics diving pool - green algae are clearly having a moment.
Cheers! Gail.
PS Bertie is most impressed with Sophie's 'Sad Face' performance.

Emm said...

Didn't you buy a spare dou-dou against this eventuality? Your father probably would have.
So you're safe, after all.
I'll stick with red wine, thank you.

Coppa's girl said...

Ugh ..blue wine? Are you sure it's not methylated spirits in the wrong bottles...then again, it probably tastes like it anyway.
Angus, you really will need to put a tracking device of some sort on Sophie's next dou-dou. You can get them for cats, so why not dou-dou's?

Kari said...

For some reason, I usually find blue food items appealing but the line must be drawn with wine. I believe the label says it all.

Vicki said...

Thank you for "making my day" everyday. I try to read Bob and Sophia first thing every morning over here in Houston,Texas. It is HOT (110 F heat index) and dry and I am ready for a change in weather. It will change in about 60 days if we are lucky. Your adventures with your beautiful pups always puts a smile on my face!

Unknown said...

Sophie is the very picture of dejection. She takes everything much to heart, doesn’t she? I’m not surprised that an air of melancholy has fallen upon the Rickety Old Farmhouse, in spite of it being a likely best day ever.

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Hmmmmmmm...is Bob behind the missing dou-dou?

BaileyBobSouthernDog said...

Of all the photographs that could have been selected for the newspaper, those were the chosen ones? REALLY???