Friday, July 1, 2011

Its own ultimate gift .




The tall , General de Gaulle , lookalike is still working happily away on painting the shutters . At five thirty last night he emerged from the assembly line in the barn to announce that they would all be rehung today that and that he would start work on the windows themselves . Progress ! Now all we need to concentrate on is getting the pool pump working again and deal with the chlorinated water that continues to bubble up , mysteriously , from the lawn . Monsieur Risotto and his trench digging equipment are due later this morning to search for a possible blockage in the pools overflow system . " Might be a hedgehog in your pipes " he told me helpfully on the phone . That's a phrase you don't hear often I thought .

Down into the little market town with Wilf for coffee , a bowl of water and a croissant . The old fellow hasn't wanted to join me these last few days but this morning he sauntered slowly out of the front door ready to be picked up and put in the back of the car . As we sat down at the table outside the cafe he was greeted by a chorus of ' bonjour Vilfees ' from the plumber, the joiner, the electrician , the entire beer and absinthe set and the usually shy man on his motability scooter . Wilfs owner is ignored . A small white polar bear settles down with a sigh under the table. As he does so his rear end can be seen waggling with delight . As all PONs know , " In the end , life lived to its fullest is its own ultimate gift " .

18 comments:

  1. Ah, Wilfie! Sounds like his sore paw is better, if he's willing to resume the regular rounds again with Mongoose. May the road rise up to meet you, sweet boy.

    Jed & Abby

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear 'Vilfee' works his way effortlessly into everyones hearts. Good to hear he was up for his morning trip.

    x (for Wilf!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Surely, he who ventures out in the company of an appealing dog knows by now that he might as well be wearing an invisibility cloak!

    And good luck on solving the hedgehog on the pipes issue. I once spent a few September days in a huge house on Skye where my friend's underfloor heating system (of which she was very proud) had been rendered inactive by a 'stoat in the pipes'. Caithness flagstones can feel very chilly...

    Cheers,
    Gail.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Half your work crew is in the cafe! Oh, wait. France profounde... a slower pace... yes. That's right...

    ReplyDelete
  5. A beautiful post today, no pain for Wilfee and all his fan club in the village cafe to receive him this morning. Thank you for sharing this with us Angus.
    Things seem to go well with all your workers. For my own part, i can tell you that a frog had his house in one of our shutters, so, a hedgehog... why not ?
    Have a lovely day Angus, bisous to my beloved boy, and amitiƩs to you, and the Font.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A fluffy white polar bear is always a more interesting subject to acknowledge than.. urmm.. the owner of course :D Have a wonderful weekend.. and hopefully its not a hedgehog who got itself stucked.

    ReplyDelete
  7. sweet Wilfiee, you own my heart.
    Love from Southern Italy Susanne, Foxiie and Daisy

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good to know that the paw is a bit better and that he has such a great fan club. I have to admit I usually greet the dog up the road before his owner :-) Diane

    ReplyDelete
  9. Everyone should experience life at Wilf's pace occasionally. Life is good with friends around (even if you are hiding under the table)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good to see progress on the home front & it is good for Wilf to make an appearance at the cafe. Hope his paw continues to improve. Been following the posts but have been so busy getting prepared for the family to arrive (today!) Best regards to Wilf, the Font & you !

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank God Wilf's paw is feeling better! Such a relief for him and us! We were praying for him, and praying hard! I started to reply to your post several times yesterday, but the thought of a blind dog,with this terribly swollen foot crying, when he never cries, just rattled me so! Didn't know what to say; worse, felt so helpless. How we all so love a dog we only know through a blog! Bet the shy gent on the scooter missed Wilf most.

    An acquaintance had a skunk crawl into the exhaust vent of her clothes dryer (gas) and become trapped and then do what scared skunks do! Horrible!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hsppy to hear that Wilf is feeling better! How nice that he is greeted by an entire cafe! I know the feeling about going out with your pet, out little Weenie dog gets alot of attention, the owners, not so much.

    Hope the shutters go up today! Interesting hedgehog comment...if it was only that easy.

    ReplyDelete
  13. minimalist that i am, am actually liking the old farmhouse sans shutters. smile.
    my beloved wee fellow... if you only knew what a true celebrity you are. not only in your village, but around the world. your courage and love for life itself are beyond words.
    i suppose coconut ice cream aggravates the diabetes? but a fellow only lives once. and you fellow are such a connoisseur of the truly real and fine things in life!
    angus... please give him a special tummy rub from me. and use my name. he'll know.
    hugs,
    tammy j

    ReplyDelete
  14. We are proud to be members of Wilf's Fan Club! Have a wonderful weekend!

    Blessings and Love,
    Janelle and Maggie Mae

    ReplyDelete
  15. Alreet Wilf!

    I'm not surprised that you are receiving all the attention at the cafe. Afterall, you are one bonny lad!

    Love,
    Homer

    PS: Thanks for the barkday wishes! Aroo...woo...wooo

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love that everyone in town knows Wilf by name. It just adds to the charm of the village!

    A hedgehog? I'm trying to picture out how one of those gets into the pool pipe.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I like that thought: 'Life lived to the fullest is its's own ultimate gift!"

    And then:

    Picturing that wriggle-bum under the table.

    Trying to remember what the French word for hedgehog is.

    Wondering of DSK is innocent or guilty and what Vilfee thinks about it all.

    Joan and the Barkalots

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wilf, the celebrity. SHE usually gets ignored when we're out. Hope Wilf's up to christening all the tyres on the digger.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Kendra & Bella

    ReplyDelete