Windswept

Our normal morning trip to the cafe routine has been upended by the lockdown. The President was on television last night saying that in the big cities like Paris and Toulouse there will be a 9pm until 6am curfew for the next four weeks. Bars and cafes closed. Everyone here seems mildly surprised at the speed with which the virus has returned. It's almost as if they thought it had gone, never to return. The one big change is that people in the village now stand well apart when talking to each other. We foreigners tend to position ourselves at least eight feet away when talking. The locals a more intimate four feet or so. The days of kissing on the cheek are gone.

Instead of curly croissant ends Sophie is getting a lot of walks. Today she heads off for a long stroll on the far side of the village.  Usually we see few, if any cars, but this morning  three with Dutch registration plates pass through the village. Europes new population movements.

My shaggy companion rather enjoys these trips in the car. Attention and excitement. What more could a girl ask for - apart from that elusive start of day viennoiserie?

We walk a couple of kilometres along a farm track and a couple of kilometres back. After a hesitant start Sophie picks up her pace and storms  along.

By the time we return to The Rickety Old Farmhouse she is looking 'windswept'.

 A shortage of fridges ? : https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/10/coronavirus-why-there-is-a-national-shortage-of-refrigerators.html