The Spanish frontier ?

This morning the conversation at the cafe under the arcades uncharacteristically muted . Everyone , beer and absinthe crowd included , avidly watching the television above the bar . Three soldiers shot dead last week and now three children and a teacher . This sort of thing doesn't happen here in deepest France Profonde .

To everyones surprise the BBC's news report , carefully dubbed into French, describes Montauban ( our departmental capital and the scene of the second shootings ) as a charming little town on the Spanish frontier. Geographically, this is a bit like saying New York is just down the road from Canada.

Despite the sombre mood Wilf still gets his half croissant and hair tousle from the waitress. On our way home a quiet walk in the sunshine . Here by the river the days dark shadows seem a long , long, way away . The only sounds the woodpeckers, the squabbling finches and a foreigner chatting away quite happily to a small, white , polar bear trotting along by his side.