Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Bedlam and good news.

Tuesday morning starts calmly and uneventfully enough .... but soon descends into bedlam. Complete bedlam. There is a great howling.  No words can describe the sudden drama of the PONette finding a black C-A-T calmly sitting under the car looking as if it owns the place. Let's just say Sophie is not best pleased and leave it there. 


There is good news ... of sorts. Loics home is suffering from an outbreak of a stomach ailment. This explains his absence and the phones ringing off the hook. Not so long ago an outbreak of  gippy tummy would have been a trauma. These days the diagnosis could have been worse. So much worse.  Loic, his friends and the staff are all recovering. He should be back blowing leaves on Friday.

This German government ad on staying at home displays a wry sense of generational humour :https://twitter.com/i/status/1327696963274465287

French music du jour :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY803uik2BY

We'll be alone for Christmas. Over dinner we consider going here. Takes dogs. A door onto a ground floor terrace for Sophie. An hour away in the car. Maybe, it's best to wait until next year after the vaccines arrived ? :https://www.relaischateaux.com/fr/france/chateau-lafaurie-peyraguey-lalique-bommes





15 comments:

Lisa in France said...

What I would like to know is how the cat responded to all of this. I'm happy to hear the very good news (in the circumstances) about Loic. I guess he will have extra leaves to blow by Friday, so it should be a great day for Sophie as well. The hotel looks lovely, I guess the thing you need to do is put yourself there in your mind and consider how comfortable and relaxed you would feel. We've thought about visiting Kyoto, to take advantage of the rare peace and quiet, but we can't quite get ourselves there. On the other hand, my firm has just announced that we will go forward with the year-end party, which means that somewhere upwards of 500 people will be gathering in a hotel ballroom in late December. They are taking lots of precautions - every attendee will be tested in advance - but still... This being Japan, if we responded that we will not attend, we were asked to explain why - I went with "doctor's advice," which I think is a variation on 'no speakee the language so good'. Loved the German ad.

Poppy Q said...

And yet the cat sticks around. Maybe your garden is quite appealing to it.

WFT Nobby said...

Thanks for letting us know the qualified good news about Loic. Here's hoping he has a great day at the ROF on Friday.
Bertie shares Sophie's outrage at the black C-A-T.

Angus said...

Black C-A-T has clearly decided that Sophie is no threat. The PONette had been in the garden for nearly five minutes, and passed the car 3 times, before she noticed the feline presence. C-A-T was under the car , out the other side and off while Sophie was still in her head back howling mode. Much circling of the car followed. C-A-T will be back tonight.

Doctors advice is a very measured response to an invite to a gathering in an airconditioned subterranean (Unless it's The Imperial ) hotel ballroom.

Angus said...

Why black C-A-T has opted to make the garden at The Rickety Old Farmhouse its home is a complete mystery.

Angus said...

Black C-A-T seems to have adopted a stoical attitude towards the presence of a dog. We are left wondering about Sophie's observational skills.

Coppa's girl said...

If the black C-A-T is anything like the tabby who regularly visits our garden, then it's hoping to wear Sophie down! "Ours" has become such a fixture that Inca now accepts it - most of the time!
Good news about Loic, Sophie will be so pleased that there will be piles of leaves to demolish, she'll forget all about that intruder.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
I join the relief chorus for Loic et al. No doubt 2020 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons... YAM xx

paphosmuseum said...

If their Covid measures are adequate, you should go.

We had three nights here:-

http://argyllhotelkintyre.co.uk/index.html

last week. And it made me feel so much better.

I note the words "fermeture exceptionnelle" on the website?

Camille said...

So relieved regarding the news of Loic. I think a visit to the chateaux over Christmas is a lovely idea and looks like it would perhaps be a brief and safe escape for the holiday. The german ad is cleverly done and made me smile over my coffee this morning. I think wee black c-a-t has adopted you and needs a home. Now I'm worried about where it's eating and sleeping.

Fay said...

The cat is French; Sophie is not.
Great news about Loic and his friends, given other possibilities.
The German "ad" is a marvelous, along with the selection of music. It reminds me of this: Florent Pagny, Pascal Obispo et Marc Lavoine se mobilisent pour le personnel soignant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgFVXAuUCBY

Taste of France said...

Good news for Loïc.
More family in the U.S. with Covid. Including one who works in the maternity ward at a hospital and who has to keep going to work because she isn't too sick to get out of bed. I think if I were having a baby and learned one of the attendees had Covid and knew it, I would sue.
The song of the day is a real who's who of French celebrity. Zidane, Sophie Marceau, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling, Amel Bent, Gérard Jugnot, Jean Reno, Thierry l'Hermitte, Carla Bruni, Belmondo? And that's just on a first glance. Also the swimmer was in there...

Hailey and Zaphod and their Lady said...

Glad things are not more serious for Loic.

EAS said...

I guess naming the new addition would be considered high treason by Sophie.

Angus said...

I think you'd be right.