Good morning from Bob.
On our morning walk Sophie is accompanied by her shaggy shadow .
To the railway station for a croissant. The waitress at the railway station greets Bob like a long lost friend. The weather is warm and cloudless which means we can sit at the outside tables. Sitting outside, well away from the platforms, enables the PONs to observe the other patrons while remaining untroubled by the screeching and hissing noises as the TGV from Paris comes in. The PONs get given three quarters of a croissant that had been left by someone rushing to catch the fast train to Bordeaux. Bobs tail goes wild.
Across from the station a church that is all out of proportion. A huge spire and a tiny nave. All steeple and no body. It has somehow been squeezed - shoehorned more like - into a corner plot. I'd assumed that half the nave had been knocked down in some road widening scheme. Closer inspection shows that this isn't the case as the sandwich bar on the corner has been around for a lot longer than the church. Perhaps the thing was put up as a chapel for rail travellers when rail travel was a thing? I guess it could have gone up any time between 1890 and 1910.
Angus goes to the Syrian refugee barber. A tall,thin, late twenty something man in grey tracksuit bottoms, an orange tee shirt, brown leather jacket and black baseball cap comes in. He plonks himself on the faux leather sofa, sighs, looks around, notes that the barber is an immigrant and suddenly launches into a tirade of vulgarity that even a seasoned rugby player would have difficulty matching. Angus initially thinks it might be Tourette's Syndrome but it isn't. The angry man is of the opinion that his taxes are paying for the Syrian barber and his wife to live in idle luxury. The irate man storms out slamming the door and banging the plate glass window three times with his fist as he goes. Angus addresses some reassuring words for the poor barber. He thanks me but says he's used to it. There's a lot of rage about.
The economics of running a restaurant or why appetizers cost what they do - a strangely informative read : https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/young-hungry/article/21059630/what-makes-restaurants-sink-or-swim-we-asked-a-woman-who-helps-them-stay-afloat
Angus broke his alcohol free Lent while watching this nail biting draw : https://youtu.be/xm2fZkD78nQ?t=11
8 comments:
Still the middle of the night here for me - Long story of why I am up at nearly 2 AM... You are right about there being a lot of rage. Even Chelsea Clinton was confronted at a vigil for New Zealand. But interestingly enough Donald Jr defended her. I think everyone needs to take a breath and find a dog like Bob!
I hope it's an enjoyable Sunday in deepest, deepest France profonde.
Good score Bob.
Some people like the customer should keep their rude thoughts to themselves. Treat others as you would like to be treated. I have little sympathy for rudeness.
I’m a New Zealander, and we are reeling at the events in Christchurch. We had thought extremists only lived in other countries, and that we were not in that loop. The huge upswell of support for the muslim community, and refugees generally may have the ( definitely unintended) consequence of making us a more welcoming people, but at the moment we’re raw with emotion. There’s a huge sense that we have got to stand up for moderation and tolerance, and stand against lies and hate speech.
Virginia
My cousin, who lives in Texas, shared an appalling bile filled rant against the young climate activists who've hit the headlines. I was horrified that she, as an immigrant and a woman would have bought into the things this guy was saying.
How sad, the incident at the barber.
But you are forgiven the alcohol lapse given yesterday's rugby at Twickenham..
Hari OM
Firstly, let me say, I am now angry with myself - so disgusted was I with the state of play, I actually switched off... I am greatly dismayed at my lack of faith!
As to the barber incident - it is shocking when one experiences such, is it not? Having it directed at oneself even more so and I have experienced that here. Ignorant and close-minded folk of this land cannot cope with seeing a sari or thika (headmark). Doesn't matter the skin is pale and freckled and the eyes are blue, they see only the coverings. A very limited few, thank goodness, but yes, there's a lot of rage about. YAM xx
Sophie’s shadow looks like a large upside down pineapple! I encountered rage at the end of my driveway on Tuesday when a woman stopped her car in the middle of the street talking on her phone, refusing to move her car so I could back my car out of my driveway. I was told it was a public street and I had no right to ask her to move, even though I asked nicely. Yes rage is hitting way to close to home.
I suspect that much of what we're now calling "rage" has always been there, but civilization tamps it down, keeps it below the surface. Now, thanks in large part to the vulgar talking yam, it's been given leave to surface, and it's exploding all over the place.
Sophie's shadow does look like a pineapple. Given that's a food item, best not tell her about it.
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