Thursday, October 4, 2018

Credentials.



The secret to avoiding the Toulouse traffic jams is to time your journey so it doesn't coincide with the shift change at the large Airbus plant. We don't.  This morning Angus observes ( bad temperedly ) that all French cars lack that important optional extra - a turn signal.


His humour is improved by a trip to the fancy little bakery by the town hall. It's further improved by the young lady behind the counter who says he speaks French with nearly no accent. When I thank her for this rare linguistic compliment  she adds '' I did stress the word nearly. "

A raspberry and pistachio thing for 'The Font' and a pineapple and coriander tart for me. Our respective favourites. It seems niggardly to buy so little so I also order a Rhum Baba and an Espresso Eclair for tomorrows lunch.


In the square for the morning coffee. A young man with a multicoloured mullet and an abundance of facial piercings appears. He is accompanied by a dog which is tied to a post. The dogs master then starts to play a wooden recorder in front of the cafe crowd. The noise is execrable. The dog looks on adoringly at his master. What music ! The recorder player gets given a Euro. Not so much for the music but for the faithfulness of his companion. The dog seems very happy.


A brief venture into the deserted cathedral. One of those mornings when the light streaming in through the windows lets you see the dust pirouetting in the air.They are practising for the organ festival. This rather jolly piece of music ( played with tub thumping enthusiasm ) a great way to start the day. Balbastre a composer I'd never heard of before. It seems that after the revolution, to stop the church organs being destroyed, organists would play revolutionary songs for the militants. This is why this mornings music is not the Marseillaise but the March of the Marseillois - a subtle but important difference that establishes the composers good revolutionary credentials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJLINE1mQbY



In the old days you went to a store and bought a mattress. Now these are the dynamics of the mattress industry. Intriguing  : https://www.fastcompany.com/90216464/the-29-billion-battle-to-own-how-america-sleeps


8 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

I like the look of the Eclair Espresso. The perfect thing for a morning boost, no?

Sheila said...

Always appreciate photos of the square in Toulouse with its red brick buildings. I read yesterday that Amazon is about to launch their own mattress line.

Poppy Q said...

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh I LOVE this bakery and might have to have one of each!! I hope they were delicious!! Thanks for taking such great photos for us.

Anonymous said...

I rather like the look of the one that resembles a fancy Walnut Whip.

Taste of France said...

More shoe-shopping?

Angus said...

Collecting.

Emm said...

In the US, there are mattress stores seemingly on every street corner, so someone must see it as a growth market. Or perhaps it's a money-laundering vehicle.
There is an entire trade association for mattress makers. Someone I know used to write their newsletter.

Susan said...

Casper are obviously moving into the UK too, as there are endless ads for their mattresses on UK TV. Along with several other brands. We bought a new mattress earlier this year. Did the rounds of the mattress shops, then bought one online. The one we bought was the same as our old one, which we loved, but didn't find in any of the shops. We love the new one too. We treated it as our 20th wedding anniversary present to one another. Seemed appropriate.