Rain there, sun here

So, none of you unlucky people living in England managed to get to rent my house this week, which is most unkind of you as we have been looking after (and living in) a fabulous old house in nearby Plascassier whilst our house has been empty.

It is not as if you have had a late summer burst of sunshine over there in England, I know, I get Sky TV and see the weather forecasts. I suppose I can understand that those poor souls in Yorkshire would all love to rent it  but it’s probably out of their price bracket, they probably all prefer a charabang day trip to Bangor or Whitby or wherever.  But there is little excuse for you in the civilised south of England, unless you have all already been abroad on holiday, or indeed are still there, which of course could be most of you!. Just a tip, if you are reading this abroad and if you are thinking of coming home in the next few days, don’t, the forecast is abysmal, winter has already set in, so stay abroad for as long as possible.

So we went back to have an early beer under the old oak tree, it being still too hot at 5 30 to risk the sunshine that was warming the pav, and I saw by chance a butterfly, perfectly camouflaged by the bark  of the old oak, which I show below. Some may think it a welcome change to the unfortunate sheep theme which seems to have us all in its thrall. I for one am pleased to be able to be able to  bring you some rustic french wildlife into this blog, which sounds like a cue for that nice lady decorator.

Butterfly on our old oak trees, so well hidden, you probably can't see it, in which case this is a study in bark

The summer excesses have affected my whippet like appearance.  The Washington Post had a word for it, Abdicate.  This means to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. Hard walking is on the horizon in September, but before that, we have  decided to go to church tomorrow.  Not the religious version you understand, but an informal Friday morning gathering at Cafe Latin in Valbonne, in the hope that those pesky tourists have stopped over running our beautiful village and normal life can at last return.

Sunday sees a return with the Landlubbers golf group to the Grand Bastide, when I expect the various sheep themes from this week to be fully discussed.  I am excited, although this excitement is tempered with slight trepidation, to hear what Steve Weston has to say in his defence.  However, as we have seen in his golf, the best form of defence is attack, so I am very expectant that I may glean a whole lot more questionably material from this encounter.

It is my mantel to have to visit the nasty north of England again next week.  I have a wedding to attend at a place called Louth, which probably has an h too much in its title. The only solace will be the possibility of  pint of Timothy Taylors Landlord, and of course, the fact that I can revisit and reinvigorate my anti Yorkshire prose. I am not looking forward to the first frosts of winter, perhaps some sleet for good measure, and have decided to wear my kilt for the event, as it is the warmest outfit I possess. For some reason I could never fathom, my family are entitled to wear the Stewart tartan, and having been given a kilt as a present by Scottish friend John Gilchrist of The Ringmaker, have enjoyed wearing it over the years with all the benefits it brings.  Sadly I don’t have enough space to go into details today, suffice to say, the undergarment arrangements are a source of continued obsession for any number of women folk…

Chris France      

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