Sophie has laid claim to her new bed. She makes it quite clear to her oaf of a brother that this is her territory. After a busy morning digging up mole hills she decides there is nothing better than a quick nap in the lap of luxury.
A bright start to the day. The Rickety Old Farmhouse catches the suns rays. Angus has been up early talking to men in dark suits about Kurdistan and resignations. ( Men in dark suits may not talk much about honour but they need it to conduct business and notice if its absent or leaving ). The mayor stops at the gate to tell us he's got his stomach diagnosis from the hospital. Seems he has kidney stones. He'd been fretting that it was something altogether more serious. He laughs and tells me he's probably the only man in France who thinks kidney stones are a great Christmas present.
We park outside the market. Some crab for lunch. The PONs get some squid. This they love as in '' this is the best thing I've ever tasted ". Angus shudders involuntarily at the thought of eating raw squid at breakfast time.
Outside a silver metal tree has appeared by the children's carousel. Bob ' dethreats ' it. He is hurried along.
We hurry along the street towards the bakers. Outside the Ladies Exotique Lingerie store two five foot high lamp posts make a seasonal debut. They have signs on them saying 'Let it Snow'. In the glass enclosure where the lantern should be there's a small Christmas tree and snow that is blown by a small fan . The artificial snow does a pretty good job of representing a blizzard. This year the design staff at Chengdu Christmas Decoration Factory #21 have surpassed themselves.
No croissants this morning but the girl behind the counter brings me a freshly baked chocolatine and two slices of baguette for the PONs.
Squid and baguette. How's that for a great start to the day ?
Christmas song #18 comes from Australia :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Bx16RV0mY
Non verbal communication makes it quite clear the PONs are fit and ready for action. Clear skies and a bitter wind from the North make it a hat and scarf morning. Just the way the angelic duo like it.
Mineolas from Israel in the greengrocers. 2.50 euros a kilo. The same price as Spanish Valencia oranges. Don't think I've ever seen Mineolas before but it's quite possible that I have and assumed they were run of the mill oranges. The sign says they're a cross between a mandarin and a pomelo.
The devilish self assemble Japanese Christmas trees are found in the cellar. Slotting them together requires concentration and mind motor skills that Angus clearly doesn't have. The baubles are hung on by the tiniest hooks known to man. Angus thinks he may help the gremlins in the basement lose these demonic decorations.
Sophie gets a new bed. The old one is declared a health hazard by 'The Font'. We get it home and put it in 'her' special spot behind an armchair in the hallway. This is where she goes when she wants peace and quiet. Bob promptly settles down in the new bed and makes himself comfortable. Within minutes he's sound asleep.
Christmas song #17. Something very Norwegian :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lC5gHo03JM
A strong wind blowing outside. It makes roaring noises as it storms through the trees in the orchard. When I come down the stairs Sophie is curled up and sound asleep. She wakes with that 'Where am I' look on her face.
After she's had a few moments to compose herself ( and have her harness put on ) Sophie's out with her brother to watch the school bus pass the gate. This morning there is much activity on the other side of the lane. It seems The Old Farmer has sold his trailer. He shouts instructions from his balcony as two men in a white VW van attempt to tow it away. The Old Farmer is in the process of 'decluttering'. A stage of life thing. Eagle eyed readers will spot the new pole that supports his Christmas star.
A more festive display at the bakers this morning. The pretty girl that serves behind the counter is back at work. The PONs recognize her a someone who can be counted on to give them some slivers of choux pastry. Bob graces her with his 'I love you look'. Sophie lets her tail bang against the display counter.
This morning they get some Palmier slivers.
Some Swedes sing 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' while a man in Hawaii listens and makes noises.
Guess this is mega cool. There are subtitles. Christmas song #16 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzj8StIFjy8
Good morning from him ....
..... and good morning from her.
On our morning walk an old Mercedes passes us and stops. Out gets the German billionaire. He speaks lovingly, in English, about how he came to acquire this 1953 classic. ' I found it in Berlin. It has a full service record. Indeed it has the fullest ! You would not find such a thing in France ". After that Angus doesn't pay much attention to what is being said, his attention consumed by what our wealthy neighbour is wearing. Brown check trousers with non matching brown and red striped pockets. A lilac jacket with purple edging to the lapels, green suede loafers and an orange polo neck . The tout ensemble gives him the look of a racy Edwardian era music hall comedian. Quite remarkable. Angus silently vows to stick to a blue dress code. We are invited to the chateau for pre-Christmas drinks. Bob and Sophie watch on in bemused silence.
The Police have finally cleared away the protesters encampment.
All that is left are the charred remains of some cars and a large pile of still smouldering tyres.
Christmas Song # 15 . A favourite of four year olds : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwfqhXhvUTs
5:57 am. Bob wanders into the bedroom to stick a cold wet nose in my ear. Sophie remains curled up in her bed until she hears me in the hallway. Then, quick as a flash, she's standing by her brother waiting for whatever excitement the day will bring. For good measure the family diva emits a shriek of delight. For humans 'just another Monday morning'. For PONs the start of the best day ever.
Paris may have had a respite from the yellow jacket protesters but not here. The gendarmes were out in force stopping cars.
At the motorway toll booths there are effigies of Macron hanging from makeshift gibbets ...
.... and the burnt out shells of passing cars that have been stopped and set alight by the protesters. There is a large sign that somewhat philosophically says Revolution est l'evolution.
At the bakers we have our morning croissant ( which is ever so slightly past it's best ) and buy two small Buche de Noel. The bakers wife is in a good mood this morning. I show her the photos of the burnt out cars on my i-Phone. She tuts loudly and tells me that after five weeks of this she is ready for everything to get back to normal.
Christmas song #14. A haunting number sung rather beautifully by two ladies ( and two men ) in black : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWTdLD5w92c
There were 15 of us crammed into the town hall alongside the mayor, the mayors secretary and the young garagiste and his bride ( who turns out to be the sweet girl from the supermarket cash desk ). The bride to be greets us like long lost friends - which considering we see her three times a week we might well be. The wedding was due to start at eleven but the mayor showed up at quarter past. He had to go to the neighbouring village to buy a small bouquet for the bride but found the florist was closed. The celebrations started at one and went on for quite some time. The local restaurant pulled out all the stops. A six course meal was produced - cottage cheese, lobster terrine, foie gras, venison, more cheese and then chocolate mousse. This was washed down with 'local' wine. All the guests, with varying degree of conviction, declared this meal to be the finest they'd ever had. A single storey wedding cake - three feet long and two feet wide - was wheeled out on a trolley to be cut. It was a very happy affair.
More about the event tomorrow when Angus has fully recovered from the effects of the 'local' wine.
This morning the PONs are up early. It's pitch dark and pouring with rain outside but the angelic duo are keen to get the day started. Angus could also do with a long walk.
Christmas song #13. And here are some people standing on the edge of a sand dune looking beatific : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEtUGgBwzEM
This morning Sophie's 'bangs' are near perfect. Outside it's cold and chill and misty. The PONs love it. Let's hope it clears up for the young garagistes wedding at eleven.
We're early at the bakers. No cakes at all this morning. Being early has one advantage - the croissants are still warm from the oven. The PONs are doubly grateful for warm croissant slivers. When he finishes Bob emits a tiny sigh.
We toy with the idea of going to Jerusalem for a few days - a place we've never been to. 'The Font' thinks it might be fun to stay here : https://www.americancolony.com/. The kennels can take the PONs for three nights next week but the return trip is a nightmare. It would require flying at four in the morning. By the time we've allowed for check in, security and the drive from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv airport we'd have to check out of the hotel at midnight. The killer is a six hour layover in Frankfurt for the connection to Toulouse. Seems the PONs routine will not be interrupted.
Angus puts up the eight foot tall Chinese artificial Christmas tree which comes fitted with six hundred pre-installed lights. These seem to have some form of installation malfunction that makes them flash on and off, violently, in rapid succession. 'Goodness' says 'The Font' when observing this remarkable design feature for the first time.
Sophie sniffs the tree and soon gets bored with it. Bob, by contrast, wants to become intimately involved in its decoration. He is 'encouraged ' outside before he can run off with the baubles.
Christmas song #12 . A very Danish affair : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIYzU-6HNB0
After being closed for a month the local motorway pay booths are open again. The gilet jaune protesters have moved to a muddy encampment by the roundabout. It looks remarkably cold and uncomfortable. This may explain why their numbers have dropped from more than a hundred to around a dozen. Those that are left are collecting wooden pallets and old tyres in case they need to rebuild ( and set fire to ) the barricades.
In the greengrocers a 'special' on tamarind. 'The Font' uses tamarind sparingly in Indian cooking but to not enough to buy it by the half kilo box .
Local carrots for the PONs. As treats the angelic duo get either carrots ( cut into four length ways ) or rice cakes. The ingredients label on the supermarket brand dog biscuits hints that this might be a wise choice. The PONs love carrots. Bizarrely, they also love rice cakes.
Sophie is delighted to welcome me home. She shrieks.
Angus has laid a plastic sheet over the louvred swimming pool cover. This stops the leaves working their way through the segments and into the water. Sophie loves to stick her backside in the air and drink from the water that's collected on the plastic sheet. She seems oblivious to the fact that this is inelegant behaviour for a family diva.
Christmas song #11. These people all seem very happy. I'm guessing they come from some sunny state : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYtlzWE1YUU
Only in America. KFC scented firelogs would drive the PONS insane. It's on the website so it must be real : https://twitter.com/kfc/status/1073215970527694851
Gone are the days of visas being issued overnight. Starting this week there are new regulations which require fingerprints to be taken and a full list of previous visits to be written down in exhaustive detail. Background checks require at least four full working days. The trip is delayed until the New Year. Angus quietly curses the visa agency for not having found this out sooner.
There are seats on the first flight back to Toulouse. At 5 in the morning London is quiet but the flower stall is ready for business. Who buys flowers at 5 am ?
At the airport a young lady is unpacking a large cardboard box containing the hire car company's Christmas decoration. '' It's a sheep with horns " she tells her colleague as what appears to be a quarter size albino reindeer emerges from the packaging. Angus refrains from pointing out that a sheep with horns would be a ram. What she's holding would appear to be that rarest of beasts - a sheep with antlers. The young lady toys with putting it on her desk. It proves too big. She finally opts for a position on the ground as far away from her as possible.
The sandwich shop in the departure terminal is doing a roaring trade. The staff all seem rather jolly. Some are in red Santa hats. Others in head scarves. Very cosmopolitan.
In the airline lounge guilt ridden parents on business trips have the chance to enter a competition to win an enormous bear. The enormous bear is the sort of thing that one might get tired of very quickly. In fact Angus has to wonder what you would do to get it through the front door ? Any toddler finding this under the tree on Christmas morning would probably lose the power of speech for a week.
Song # 10. The girls in the choir, being Swedish, are quite unperturbed by all the naked flames : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wIRw0m0xrk
A beautiful morning. We stop on the storm drain at the edge of the ridge and watch two foxes slink across the long grass into the safety of the hawthorn thicket. Bob and his sister are both clipped onto their leads in case they are tempted to give chase. On the way home a long drink from the water filled ditch by the horse field. The under 10's school bus slows so that the children can press their noses against the windows and wave at Bob and Sophie. I wave back.
Back at The Rickety Old Farmhouse the creche is brought out of the basement and carried upstairs. The collection of Christmas tree lights ( put in an obvious place so they couldn't get lost ) are rediscovered after a gap of three years. There are a lot of them.
'The Font' starts setting out the angels and the wise men. Angus rushes off to change. He has to go to China and is going to London to have his fingerprints taken for the Chinese visa and booster injections for Yellow Fever, Hepatitis and something else which he forgets.
' His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame '. Surely one of the most beautiful lines in the English language. From Bloomington, Indiana a rather medieval sound : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ5wmFi9sfA
Bob starts off his day looking presentable. Sophie, who has excavated something tantalizing to eat, less so.
The yellow jacket encampment at the roundabout is a shadow of its former self. A white tent, a solitary car and a blue and black tarpaulin are all that's left. Many of the protesters seem to have got bored now the weather has turned colder. We were hopeful that the demonstrations might be coming to an end but breakfast radio informs us that the farmers are about to start blockading the roads. No one seems quite sure why.
Our morning croissant a masterpiece. Crispy outside, buttery on the inside. The PONs get the curly ends.
The first Buche de Noel make an appearance. Angus buys two secure in the knowledge 'The Font' will take half a forkful and pass the remainder over to him.
The cafes Christmas lunch menu looks appealing. The new wallpaper less so.
' A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices '. Christmas Song #8. All the components of every French villages chaotic carol service are in this video. Some things are universal. The serious youngster aiming for the high notes ( how everyone prays as the top note draws near ), the errant toddler at the 2:00 mark and of course the draw for the Christmas raffle. The singer demonstrates great kindness and what might best be described as an 'emotive' style. Elvis never had to deal with this sort of thing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQkykxGj3sY
