Saturday, April 17, 2021

Zero interest.


One of those perfect mornings. We pass the new mayor who is standing behind a trestle table outside the village hall kitchen door. That's all he's doing. He greets us but then continues standing there, immobile, peering into mid-distance. Perhaps he's finding his inner karma ? The trestle table is bare of anything - paper , pencils, wallpaper brush, can of paint , sandwiches - that might provide a clue as to what he's doing or who he's waiting for. Food is not involved so Sophie has zero interest .


No less than four delivery drivers show up. New cushions for the terrace, risotto rice ( which is delivered by a frozen food van ), a replacement printer ( the third in 12 months )   and a book on the environment written by Prince Philip in the 1970's. The book comes from America in less than 36 hours. How fast is that ? Parcels from the UK are still taking three weeks - if they don't fall foul of French customs and sit in a warehouse for months. Sophie sits on guard for the arrival of the next van. This is her idea of excitement.

We thought we'd seen the last of the pool man for a while. We were wrong. He's forgotten to cut a hole in the liner for the cleaning tube. While he's here the pump gives up the ghost. He'll find out what a replacement will cost us and come and fit it when he can. 


We're running late and by the time we get to the strawberry lady she's down to her last three punnets. Something about this years weather that is filling the strawberries with flavour. Warm afternoons and cool mornings must be the perfect recipe for strawberry growing.
 

 

This is an unusual occupation : http://www.rushmatters.co.uk/rush/harvesting/1/

The Trug she makes is the sturdiest and most practical garden companion you'll ever find. Someone has 'liberated' ours so a replacement needs to be ordered. She made medieval style rush wall coverings for the chateau at Azay-le-Rideau. Quite something for the French to call in a British artisan. You can see them in the two links below:

https://marieguiselorraine2015.com/2013/08/31/renaissance-living-comfort/

http://www.rushmatters.co.uk/images/pdfs/dAzay-le-Rideau-web.pdf



5 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

The strawberries sound heavenly. I'm hoping our present run of frosty early mornings and mild sunny afternoons will produce a similar result in Scotland in a month or twos time.
The Rushmatters products all look appealing.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
I have just taken my first punnet of strawberries (via M'sons)... all the look, nothing but water... I can only dream of some like yours! YAM xx

Lisa in France said...

Sometimes, your blog reminds me of the New Yorker magazine. My father used to send me the magazine after I moved to Japan so that I would not forget my roots. My rule was to read each issue cover to cover, which led me to read about all sorts of things I would otherwise have assumed I had no interest in. Like rushes and the things that can be made from them, which turn out to be fascinating.

Coppa's girl said...

What gorgeous strawberries - do they taste as good as they look? Strawberries in the punnet I bought earlier in the week look similar, but has very little flavour. I should have known of course - they are shrouded in plastic and came from a chiller cabinet, but hope springs eternal.
Such speedy delivery - 36 hours from the US. I'm still waiting for the parcel from the UK, posted at the beginning of November last year, and I've more or less given up hope! If it ever arrives no doubt there will be customs duty to pay too, despite the senders posting it well before Brexit deadline.
Inca is totally in agreement with Sophie - no food = zero interest!

Sharon said...

You have the most interesting links. It is like going on a tour of other countries while shut down due to Covid-19. As of today Ontario has closed the borders of Quebec and Manitoba trying to control interprovincial travel. Meanwhile thousands arrive every week at Pearson airport in Toronto. Tsk Tsk the Federal Government needs to step up and due it's duty. I watched Prince Philip's Funeral this morning. It was very moving and what a beautiful Church. Sophie looks her lovely fluffy self.