A new philosophy

Something about the light that tells you summer is coming to an end. The shadows longer, the colours softer. Sophie charges along the leaf filled drainage ditches - she loves the crunching noise they make when she ploughs through them.

On our morning walk we discover that not one but two tombstones had been vandalized. The stone mason has repaired one, the other still lies in two halves. In fact it lies in three parts. The base and body in the churchyard , the cross twenty metres down the lane on the other side of the churchyard wall. The churchyard is full. Angus wonders if this bout of vandalism is some scheme to free up space ?

Back at The Rickety Old Farmhouse Sophie takes up her position by the front door. This is the archetypical PON position. Nose out, rump in. From here she can monitor the passage of village life.

Most folks will be allowed to pass The Rickety Old Farmhouse unimpeded. Every so often an unsuspecting villager will saunter by only to be confronted by a vocal sheepdog standing on her hind legs at the front gate. Whistling or having shoes that make a 'click-clack' sound are dead certs to trigger this 'ferocious' guarding gene.

 From the BBC. The sound of dogs. Let's hope the link works. You'll need to click on at the 22 minute 15 second mark and keep listening for a minute or so.  Angus and New Blogger are still at the ' we speak different languages' stage of the relationship so this may not work : https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000mr9v

 This tweet and the subsequent thread are true philosophy for the lockdown era : https://twitter.com/MichaelPDeacon/status/1307651267506982914

Sacrosanct.

The heat of the past week has gone. Replaced by cloudy skies and a gentle  breeze. Late summer has segued into early autumn. Although it's seven am on a Sunday morning the local stonemason is sitting on the war memorial steps. He's  working on the stone cross that was broken off the tombstone in last weeks accident or act of vandalism. In a French village the churchyard is sacrosanct.

The cooler weather has brought out a motorcycle club. 30 of them congregate on the village green. They are all wearing helmets, apart from one man who seems to be some sort of organizer. Helmets are probably even better than masks as a Covid prophylactic.

Down in the valley the swallows are out in force. Hundreds of them. They dart backwards and forwards around Sophie. Swallows and House Martins used to do this to prior generations of PONs in Scotland. This is truly an amazing (and amusing) example of cross species communication. When they get tired the swallows sit on the telegraph wires while contentedly looking down at their furry playmate. All is well with the world.

 

2020 ! What a year.

No trip to the bakers for us today. After our morning walk down to the, by now, arid stream bed we return to The Rickety Old Farmhouse to discover the gardeners are here en masse. It would have been nice of them to let us know they were coming..

Sophie is disheartened to find that mone of them has brought biscuits. Not a single one !

Four of the gardeners trim the cypress trees which continue to add a foot of height a year. We lost some of them in the strong Spring gales, so a haircut ahead of the winter storms is a good idea. Another team of gardeners start work on trimming the laurel hedge that runs for a hundred metres or so along the lane.

Sophie manages to get a quick second walk while the gardeners stop for a cup of coffee. Sophie is not greatly enamoured with a garden that echoes to the sound of half a dozen chain saws. She and her master head off to the calm of the Holy Well.  On our walk we discuss the Supreme Court. Who would believe 2020 could hold any more surprises ? 

Another reminder

Angus is not happy. Heritage blogger has gone and with it his G-mail account for the second time. On top of it downloading the blog archive and associated photos is proving to be a tedious and unwelcome process. Thank you Google. All of this complaining about 'change' is another reminder that Angus has morphed into his father.

On our morning walk it looks as if Sophie is considering leaping into the village pond to chase the frogs who are cavorting on the water lily leaves. Thankfully, she thinks better of it.

Vandalism in the village. Overnight someone has broken a stone cross from a gravestone in the churchyard. We find it under a bush on the path that marks the route of the old village walls. I tell the mayors secretary and soon the old mayor, the German billionaires builder and the new mayor are in attendance. I leave them to their deliberations. A white motor home was parked on the square overnight. The finger of suspicion falls on them but why anyone should motor into the countryside with the intent of vandalising a gravestone is beyond me. 

Sophie and her master sit and have a lengthy chat on the village green. We comment on how frequently the word ' sedition' is being used these days. Of course one mans sedition may be another mans freedom of speech.

This morning we sit outside at the modern cafe. Sophie waits patiently while her master goes in for a coffee and a croissant. She glares at the sparrows who are flitting around so barely notices I've been away.

 

Frozen Italian

Sophie watches as Angus clambers up a ladder to trim the wisteria.  It's put on a vigorous end of season growth spurt and unruly branches have sprouted in front of the security lights. When the wind blows the lights come on and stay on. Being floodlit at night is something the inhabitants of Buckingham Palace might feel comfortable with but those at The Rickety Old Farmhouse most certainly don't. The security lights attract the owls who sit on the window ledges and have long discussions about vole hunting. They were particularly chatty at 1:23 am this morning.

We stop off at the frozen food store for some peas. Angus spots a variety of Italian products and opts to try the Meringata. Mozzarella stuffed truffles are deemed to be  perhaps just a shade too adventurous.

We've eaten this mornings croissant before we remember to take a photo of it. It scored a 9.3/10. Sophie gave it a 12/10. She also gets ear scrunches from the waitress .

Back home to root around in the wine cellar for something to go with an Italian dinner.

Not a subject I'd ever thought about :https://news.mit.edu/2020/early-human-hot-springs-food-0915

Looking at things afresh :https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-viking-age-vikings/researchers-have-examined-the-burial-mound-where-the-gokstad-viking-ship-was-found-what-they-found-surprised-them/1741928

No comment. Residents of Oregon and California will know this already : https://projects.propublica.org/climate-migration/

Tech-test.

Sophie is bathed, towelled dry and brushed. How easily those words trip off the keyboard. How complex this confluence of actions proves to be in real life. Today the towelling dry is accompanied by ear piercing squeals that alert the world to the fact that she's being tortured with an electric cattle prod. Angus informs the family diva that she's a walking advert for C-A-T ownership.

Within seconds of getting down from the garden table Sophie's morning torture is forgotten and she's ready to head off in search of croissant ends. After the traumas of canine bath time her master wonders whether a revivifying slug of Gods amber nectar might be in order but decides its too close to breakfast.

Todays croissant more than acceptable. Two men, cheek by jowl,  without masks, are busy having a heated conversation in a corner of the bakers. Angus glares at them. They carry on regardless. Some people just don't get the basics of pandemic hygiene.

The Zoom video call requires all sorts of set up. Seems you have to tech-test Zoom calls to make sure Zoom calls function properly. Trial dialling, sound checks and so on. At the last minute the laptop decides it won't work - ie it won't hold onto a signal - so the desktop it has to be. This is something of a surprise to Angus who suddenly finds himself facing a group of earnest Americans from behind a cluttered desk in his office.  'The Font' takes the view that anyone seeing this backdrop will feel that Angus isn't spending his fees on a life of sybaritic self indulgence. It is also hoped no one focuses on the coffee cup rings on the desk. The mood amongst the folks in dark suits ? Less than 50 days to go and there is near unanimity about the popular vote, much less so about the electoral college.

Those old willow plate patterns brought into the pandemic age : https://calamityware.com/collections/plates/products/calamityware-plate-volcano?variant=3658328645

PON owners will relate to this :https://www.instagram.com/p/CE-MQ98hYu_/

A further delay.

Those wonderful end of summer days when the sun is warm and the breeze cool.  The leaves now tumbling from the trees.Sophie rediscovers the crunching sound leaves make when you plough, head down, through them. Life is wonderful. 

We meet the man with anger management issues. The court case with the German billionaires builder had been rescheduled for today but he received a text at six this morning informing him that the judge has a fever and is self isolating ' out of a sense of prudence'. He will be informed of a new trial date in due course.  Angus can't help but think that these delays are doing nothing for the anger management mans anger management. 

At the town hall door a new antiseptic gel dispenser has been installed.  It's a very grand gel dispenser considering that in the four hours a week the town hall is open - two hours on Tuesday, two on Thursday - it receives a maximum of half a dozen visitors.

The defibrillator on the other side of the town hall door  has now been wired up. The plastic casing has been broken in the process.

Social distancing well and truly in evidence at the cafe by the roundabout.

To make our start of day even better the croissant is a gem - 9.5/10.  Sophie devours her curly ends with tail swishing relish.

As cakes go this is pretty sophisticated:https://www.foudepatisserieboutique.fr/produit/la-tarte-mure-sansho

A new hotel near the Loire . The suite du Baron is something else : https://www.sources-cheverny.com/

Scandinavia meets France in the Vosges:  https://hotel48nord.com/sejourner/

Svelte ?

Sophie starts her day sporting that svelte ' I've never been near a brush or a comb in my life ' look.  There is a strong, warm , wind from the west today which means things get worse in the canine hair department as the morning wears on.

Outside the church a van with a sign that makes me no wiser as to what the company actually does. Many French vans have signs for services unknown - or undreamt of - by Anglo-Saxons.

We drive down to the river for a long walk in the shade and out of the wind.

A pilgrim is dropped off on the bank near us by two fishermen. Sophie wanders over to see if he might be carrying biscuits. She is disappointed and issues a grumpy yelp of irritation before leaving him alone. Why he couldn't have walked across the bridge is a mystery. Perhaps he's trying to do what the medieval pilgrims would have done and taken a ferry across from the other bank. The outdoor motor on the fishermans boat slightly ruins the bucolic image.

It is setting up to be a day of cloudless beauty.

Wow, This is beautiful, I've only seen a lenticular cloud once - in Scotland in 1999:  https://twitter.com/ScienceIsNew/status/1304421663455416321

Abba and tax : https://www.messynessychic.com/2020/09/08/the-strange-anatomy-of-abbas-infamous-tax-deductible-wardrobe/

An aura of grandeur.

Sophie gets bored waiting for Angus to get the car keys . While he looks for them she opts for a quick legs in the air nap. The rising sun dusts her muzzle.

A walk through the neighbouring village. The castle has gone but the gate piers survive. This gives the remaining farm buildings and tractor shed an aura of grandeur. 

On closer inspection the lions on their plinths don't so much look like lions as PON's. This improbable thought makes me laugh.

Angus has to talk to a large Zoom conference tomorrow.  How hideous is that ? ' The Font' thinks Angus should give some thought to the backdrop,  This I'm told is reflective.

This is seemingly business like and uncluttered.

Or this, which Angus prefers but 'The Font' thinks is too regulated and borderline psychotic. Angus has a feeling this may be exactly right for the men / ladies in dark suits.

Four voices in lockdown  harmony ( thanks to technology )  :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDNgzsPMJV4

Here's to the brave ones : https://twitter.com/Lucian_Kim/status/1304804617079971841

The old receipt.

Opened a drawer in my desk and at the back found a yellowing Amex receipt. 27 coming on 28 years old so almost an antique. Amazing it wasn't shredded long ago . Dinner for three - with wine  - at Windows on the World came to $184 plus a tip of $36. If my hazy memory serves me correctly the view was better than the food. The two gentlemen I ate with worked on the 90th floor of the South tower. In those days they were young enough to be considered up and comers. If things had gone as planned they'd be retiring this fall or next. I shall have this dust gathering discovery framed. 

Loic is here. Today he is doing something with a watering can in a flower border. Usually he blows leaves but today he is doing whatever it is he's doing with great determination.

Sophie leaves Loic alone with his watering can and heads off with me on a tour of the village.

The pictures are unpacked. All have arrived safely. A picture of a Forfarshire landscape in autumn.

A jolly and colourful composition by an Edinburgh artist.

And a picture by a French fauvist artist that should be a warning against buying on whim in an online auction. The colours are strident. So too the brushwork.

This is charming : https://youtu.be/qUD2GxTeVcI