Saturday, June 13, 2020

Three year olds will be enthralled.



The hens have escaped from the neighbours hen coop. As we set off on our morning walk they are strutting up and down the lane as if they own the place.  Sophie takes a few moments to understand the enormity of the situation before throwing her head back and letting out the PON howl.  She heads off after the chickens. They make a beeline for The Old Farmers wood shed. This is where Angus catches up with her. The hens have enough sense to fly up onto the top of the wood pile and safety. Sophie is 'encouraged' along.


Today is one of those perfect days. Clear skies and despite the early hour some warmth in the sunshine.


The French President is coming to the UK on June 18th to meet Prince Charles and award London the Legion d'honneur on the 80th anniversary of De Gaulles war time rallying cry. The fact the French President is meeting the heir to the throne speaks , silently, of change.


On our way for the breakfast croissants we pass a small circus that has set up on a neighbouring village green.


It is a small circus. No lions or tigers here. The attractions are a llama, a shaggy goat and a Shetland Pony. There are also two circus dogs. One is lying watching the llama. He looks at me without moving. His tail wags. This tells me that he is THE circus dog . ' I herds the llama and guards the goat ' the clear but unspoken message. The other dog is ferreting in a ditch. Her message is equally clear -  ' Some folks would say what I've just found is inedible. I just proved them wrong '.  Sophie wonders over to see both of them but being circus dogs they take her presence in their stride. In the marquee all the chairs are spaced a metre apart. There are forty four of them.  This may well be one of the most charming things I've ever seen. What's not to like about a socially distanced circus with a llama, a shaggy goat , a pony and two dogs ? The innocent other worldliness of it is pure delight. Three year olds will be enthralled.

So starts a Saturday morning in deepest, deepest France profonde.


American history : https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/la-belles-mysterious-bones/

You can't get away from plastics : https://www.wired.com/story/plastic-rain-is-the-new-acid-rain/

The L.A.Schools Police - I first thought this was a spoof : https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-schools-weapons-20140917-story.html



9 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Best keep an eye on Sophie in case she has a notion to run away with the circus. It does sound charming. Will Angus and the 'Font' be buying a ticket for a performance?

Lisa in France said...

I agree, it would be lovely to see a circus without feeling guilty (other than Cirque de Soleil) - life as a circus llama doesn't sound too bad. It was interesting to read that Sophie wanted to mingle with the circus dogs - I get the sense she's usually pretty aloof, but maybe she sensed their seriousness of purpose? I was also surprised by the article on the LA School Police, although I dearly love Los Angeles (it's not at all like what people imagine). Cherry came through her checkup yesterday with flying colors, although she has to stay on antibiotics until her stitches finally dissolve away in a couple of months. Unfortunately, everyone at the vet's office thought she looked "kawaii!!!" (cute) in her shorn state, and they think we should keep clipping her. Cherry can normally be a little intimidating if she disapproves of something/someone, so maybe people don't take her as seriously now? Interesting psychological experiment.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Three very interesting reads this morning, ta. Meanwhile, I too had visions of Sophie disappearing off the roguish circus type... YAM xx

Fay said...

I, too, am enthralled with the thought of the circus' small mysteries.

Tigger's Mum said...

And loving the elegance of the purple clematis

Coppa's girl said...

Mmm that clematis is beautiful - it looks so healthy.
I, too like the idea of such a minimalistic circus - and it might appeal to us oldies too!
If Sophie had a chat to the two circus dogs, do you think that she might be tempted to run away from home and join them!

The Life of Riley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Life of Riley said...

The circus sounds fun! Three-year-olds and older ones will be enthralled here too as, with social distancing no longer required, rugby has started again in NZ. The first INVESTEC SUPER RUGBY AOTEAROA match was held in Dunedin last night with over 20,000 there, and a sellout 43,000 crowd will be at Eden Park to watch the Blues v Hurricanes this afternoon. Games are scheduled every weekend until August, so life in our small corner of the world is getting back to normal (apart from border restrictions, tracing apps and getting the economy restarted as we head to the election), plus there have been zero active cases for 22 days.

liparifam said...

A night of unrest and violence here in Atlanta, and my heart is heavy this morning, so the description of the little circus actually has brought me to tears. Bless them - I hope they have a good turnout. How I wish I could be one of the attendees...