Saturday, April 30, 2011

Reappearance of a different sort.







The artisinal baker has set up a stall under the arches in front of the cafe. In Scotland bread buying was a mundane experience. Here it's a journey into a wonderland of different shapes, sizes, textures and grains. The baker chats with Wilf and cuts off a tiny sliver of rye bread from the end of an enormous loaf that looks as if it could feed twenty. Wilf devours it there and then with lip smacking, unselfconcious, enjoyment. On the other side of the cafe a stall selling the freshest of new potatoes. Picked that morning. Home to find that the portly electrician had returned and was working away in the attic as if nothing had happened. Maybe displays of ' emotion ' are a particularly French thing. Neither the blue coated workmen or the chain smoking plumber seemed to be either surprised nor alarmed by his reappearance.


Reappearance of a different sort just before lunch . ' The font ' and yours truly were happily sequestered in the downstairs kitchen watching the wedding on the tiny television. I had just got a bottle of champagne out of the fridge in readiness to toast the young couple, when the bell rang. It was the mayor and two of the over sexed ladies from the Friday morning arts class in the Salle de Fetes. " Are you watching the wedding on television ?" . After eighteen months in our little village even Angus knows that this is French shorthand for ' can we come in and have a glass of champagne ? '. So it was that the royal couple were wished all the best by a group of French fifty something ladies ( another five of them had laid down their brushes and mysteriously appeared in the kitchen ) , the mayor of our little commune and his wife with the whistling hearing aid, two workmen in blue coats, a portly electrician and a plumber who , for once , was not smoking. Oh, not to forget the buxom young lady from DHL who amidst all this festivating delivered a parcel from Libertys. She stayed just long enough to wish everyone a ' bon mariage ', enjoy a slice of hastily warmed up quiche lorraine and do justice to a glass of Gosset Celebris Extra Brut . Wilf, who thrives on attention and dropped quiche, is hoping that this will become a daily occurence.

18 comments:

  1. Splendid, sounds that the villagers really get fond of you.... happy daily occurances for you and Wilf especially - you never know who turns up at your house... pilgrims, comitee ladies, mayor, etc. Wilf we love you - Susanne, Daisy and Foxiie

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  2. Only in France, would a delivery person take time to have some quiche and Brut. Here in the states our delivery people are on such a fast schedule that they barely get the package on the porch.

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  3. Beautifully written, I say.

    I envy Wilf the fresh bread and the dropped quiche.

    It was Buck's Fizz (whatever that is) in our house but no unexpected visitors. It sounds fun in France.

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  4. What a lovely way to celebrate the wedding!

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  5. Funny how everybody knows that the food and drink at your house are so good! After reading the title of the post, when I saw that the ladies from class had come to visit, I wondered what was going to happen!

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  6. The 'reappearance' shows how welcome you make your guests (and workers) feel and that you do indeed have the best champagne!

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  7. Wilf! That second photo! It says it all! Not a word needed. Now, in every one of "those" situations, I shall think of your photo and smile.
    A full bottle of champagne could lead to a bit of trouble for me, being home alone caring for mum. And since sharing some with her via her gastric feeding tube didn't sound like the best of ideas, I celebrated with a very small Pimm's.

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  8. Your home is becoming the village social center. It sounds like a fun time for everyone but where was Madame Bay?

    I'm sure that Wilf loved the small party!

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  9. ...and why not? It sounds like a great day. Americans are always in such a hurry. I like the French speed better!

    Wyatt and Mom

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  10. There's always a wedding happening somewhere every day!

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  11. Many celebrations at once indeed: the uniting of a beautiful young couple in a fairy tale wedding for the ages, harmony among the trades, the arts and politics! Cheers !! Sounded like a lot of fun around the little TV.

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  12. How funny they all appeared to watch. Here in Alaska the wedding went by with no comment and only a very small but front page down on the bottom article in the paper.

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  13. I think it is so endearing that your French villagers wanted to spend this special British moment with their friends from the UK!

    And it was indeed special -- the cynics had their say -- but they seemed, to me at least, badly out of touch!

    xxx Joan

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  14. Sounds like quite the motley crew!

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  15. Goodness, you really had quite the housefull! It's funny how everyone appeared at just the right time so that they could watch with you.

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  16. 'Dropped quiche'.....we love clearing up after everyone....parties are great.

    We watched the wedding, too. (It was on EVERY channel....even the Rugby was delayed.)

    XXXOOO Daisy, kendra & Bella

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  17. If Wilf had been here, he could have relived the wedding, if not the tasty treats, about a dozen times. We have 2 PBS stations here that bought the BBC rights and, wanting to get their money's worth, rebroadcast it all day Friday and again most of Saturday. Mama has been bouncing between wedding coverage and the postponed World Figure Skating Championships coverage for days. We've been napping.

    Jed & Abby

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