Anduze pots

To the garden centre with Wilf and Digby in search of Anduze pots. For some unknown reason Wilf always sits on the right of the car while Digby reposes regally on the left. Clearly, at some stage in the past nine years the two boyz hit on a mutually acceptable division of their travelling space and have adhered to it rigorously , and without complaint, ever since.

Anduze pots are still made in the factory set up by Louis XIII in 1610 and have a most unusual green and orange glazed finish. Under the brilliant summer sun of southern France the colours shimmer in the light and when planted out with closely trimmed box they can bring an air of cool, understated formality to any garden. Sadly, under yesterdays February skies there was a decided lack of sparkle and they just looked like rather uninspiring ,newly made, brown and green pots. Altogether rather underwhelming. I'll go back again to look at them when the sun pops out and hope for an Emmaus Road experience.

At the garden centre it was amusing to see the owners Dalmatian keeping a watchful guard on his territory from a vantage point on top of the bags of peat. He didn't make a sound all the time we were there but every time a new customer arrived he would scurry proudly down from his perch, check them out, and then return in readiness for the next arrivals. No wonder humans and dogs forge such close links . The Dalmatian clearly felt he was providing a vital service to his master. For me it served as another reminder to enjoy the gentle, happy, clown like pleasure of the boyz company as they go about the ( to them) serious daily business of looking after the family.