Thursday, June 23, 2011

Impersonal standoffishness




The weather forecast said that the day would dawn bright and fair. It didn't . It continued to pour down . Faced with an office and bedroom under water ' the font ' heads off early to buy dehumidifiers from the hardware store in Toulouse . While Wilf dozes in his bed , the sodden turkish rugs are carried through to dry on a table in the covered terrace. Who would have thought wet carpets could weigh so much ?

General de Gaulle arrives at seven thirty, holds out his hand, and helpfully observes " it's raining " . Angus bites his tongue . Madame Bay shows up shortly afterwards. She is wearing her disaster relief outfit . This comprises a blue one piece jump suit , as might be worn by a forensic team at a crime scene , her trademark lime green turban ( this one brightened up by what appears to be the cullinan diamond ) and black wellington boots . She surveys the devastation and exclaims in best French style " Oh la la - la -la " .

The pool man comes at eleven . The pump and filter seem to have given up working . He tinkers with them, they spring briefly into life, then as chlorinated water bubbles up through the lawn , they stop. The electricity in the rest of the house stops with them.

On our lunchtime walk Kelly , the hover dog , bounds out from the old widows porch . She rushes over to Wilf, tenderly smells each of his eyes, and then bounds off . She yelps happily . It's as if she's recognized that his standoffishness is nothing personal . Can her sense of smell really be so sensitive that it can detect blindness ?

Wilf ambles along , happy with all the fresh scents the storms thrown up . As any PON will tell you " Life is always lived in the eye of the storm " .

24 comments:

  1. A tender Kelly, blind old Wilf, and a cast of characters straight out of Clochmerle. A prefect mix of laughter and pathos. Your best post ever ?
    Natalie xx

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  2. Smelling blindness? I wouldn't be surprised!

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  3. Madame bay wearing a disaster relief outfit? So, finally, something appropriate then!

    Dear old Wilf, so pleased you're still enjoying the smells, and the respect of the younger ladies.

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  4. I may never get that image of Madame Bay out of my head. Too funny!

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  5. Madam Bay seems to have an outfit for any occasion. Would like to see her wardrobe.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Kendra & Bella

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  6. Don't suppose you have flood insurance? Sure hope the electricity is back on, so you can run the dehumidifiers. At least Wilf's bed looks dry.

    Jed & Abby

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  7. So Sorry to hear about your inondations... remarkable coolness how you deal with it. Hope you will make the house water proof.
    Kelly and Wilf - hopefully you will tell us a lot about these two.
    It's too hot for Foxxiie with his heart condition to go out - so during the day he will be in the house - he understands it... but he has company when I leave ... and he forgives me.
    Love from Southern Italy Susanne, Foxiie and Daisy

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  8. You are a born storyteller Angus. As I write rain is thundering on our conservatory roof. Our new dog is snoozing on my feet. It is the only thing keeping me warm!

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  9. It touches me that Kelly would recognize blindness but they (whoever they are) say that dogs recognize illnesses in people.

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  10. Rain rain go away! Loving the pictures of Wilf this morning!

    Blessings and Love,
    Janelle and Maggie Mae

    PS We did get your comment, thanks :)

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  11. oh my, and all i need is a new roof from our last golf ball sized hail storm... i'm lucky.
    still... would probably trade for a life in your neck o' the woods... only if you three were my neighbors of course! :)
    just when i think he looks adorable... be looks even more adorable.
    love and hugs,
    tammy j

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  12. I would say yes, Hoover dog knows....
    xoxo

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  13. Oh my, I hope that rain stops soon for you. It does sound like a disaster, and Madame Bay was dressed appropriately.

    As for Kelly smelling blindness, I'd believe it. I've concluded that R is the best at diagnosing K's urinary tract infections. If he sniffs that area, I take her to the vet. His success rate is 100%,and he catches the infections far before I would notice symptoms.

    Finally, I loved the lines from the poem that you quoted yesterday.

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  14. Hope the rain subsides and the mess gets sorted out. I also believe dogs can detect an impairment as well as how one is feeling. Kelly sounds like such a sweetheart.

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  15. I expected to read that despite being 'ready for action' Madame Bay would announce that she would come back when everything was all cleaned up--But the painter is there, so I guess not!

    I hope the dehumidifiers do the trick and Wilf's comfy bed isn't among the casualties of the rain!

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  16. Dogs definitely can sense another dog's blindness. I've seen this happen more than once when other dogs greet our nearly blind dog.
    Hope your home flooding problem resolves quickly.

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  17. Things are never, EVER dull at the rickety old farmhouse! Hugs to Vilfee!!

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  18. Chlorinated water bubbling up through the lawn? That beats everything! You do seem to have such unique issued going on at your house. We were sure, if anything, the newly instaled window in the atic roof would fail and send cascades of water through the ceilings.
    Well, you know, there is a digger sitting across the street , decrepit but stil useable. Maybe you can expand your skills base.

    Wilf' s photos are absolutely gorgeous . The show him in a whole different light/ mood. Love them.

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  19. Sounds just like what we are experiencing here in the vastlands called the Canadian prairies. We have been flooded in various parts of the province since April. And it does not look like it is going to get any better. Stay high and dry! If you need flood tips, do let me know, we are (sadly) experts at this by now.....

    Be safe, and keep on going Wilf!! Handsome boy today!!

    With love from your Canadian pals,
    Dianna along with Tor, Willow and Tucker

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  20. Oh please, please Angus can we have a photo of Madame Bay, it doesn't have to be a close up!!!Sue x

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  21. At least Madame Bay faces disaster in style! I'm surprised to hear that she wears common plain black Wellies. I figured her for a fashionable boot type!

    I have a bad feeling about that pool pump situation. I sense another epic tale in the mix!

    I'm betting Kelly really could smell his blindness. She's probably extremely relieved to know that she's not lacking in charm right now!

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  22. for a potentially sick dog he looks great
    lovely to see him lookin so good!
    nice to catch up
    x

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  23. Well of couwse Hovew knows..
    only hoomans have twouble seeing the wealities of life..
    Wilf can make any sitoowation calm and beawabull
    smoochie kisses
    ASTA

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  24. Sometimes I watch the various BBC sitcoms and the cast of characters always makes me wonder if that's what it's like at your house.

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