Monday, August 22, 2011

A classic ...of sorts .



42 degrees yesterday. The same forecast for today . An insufferable wall of heat . A day for living in the pool .Wilf sensibly spends most of his time on the cool tile floor in the downstairs hallway . He ventures out for a long walk through the sunflower fields at first light but after that he's happy to stay close to the house. He's particularly happy dozing in front of the kitchen fan while 'the font' cooks.

The old farmer has bought a Mercedes. It's what an opportunistic car salesman might call a 'classic '. One of those with the headlights inset in vertical clusters either side of the radiator grille. Thirty five , maybe forty years old . Largely silver with a not quite matching spray job on the rear passenger door. Two hubcaps .

He's rigged up an arc light on his driveway and is working feverishly away as we set off on our morning perambulation. On the ground next to him a transistor radio tuned to Radio Nostalgie . The sound of " If you go to San Francisco - Make sure you wear flowers in your hair " wafting across the lane. A disembodied voice attached to a pair of maroon bedroom slippers sticking out from under the rear axle shouts - '' Bonjour ! Going to be hot again. This'll be worth a bob or two when I'm finished "
. Optimism , you will be glad to hear, is alive and well in this part of South West France .

16 comments:

  1. Optimism - lol! Any reason for a bob is well worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. As we enter a round of quake anniversaries I am all for optimism :) Go Wilfee....
    the pool sounds good - but not the heat!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like all the Merc needs now is a string vested driver behind the steering wheel. Perhaps with flowers in his hair...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I guess its hot weather in most countries now..i often remark with delight whenever a friend from my home country visits me here and they are aghast at the oven like conditions of 45 Deg. Celcius temperatures "welcome...to Saudi Arabia!"

    Stormy..

    ReplyDelete
  5. 42 degrees - lucky you - Bournemouth was the epicentre of England's floods last week!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Optimism is good, 42℃ is not. Hopefully the temperatures will start to cool off for you soon.

    Blessings and Love,
    Janelle and Maggie Mae

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really hope the "canicule" will stop rapidly !

    Don't forget to give Wilfee a bath to rehydrate him during this canicule. Animal like humans suffer so much during this period. But i know you do the best for him, Angus.

    I wish you three, a lovely news week, and a happy Monday.

    AmitiƩs to you, cuddles and bisous to my sweet Wilfee.

    Your yesterday's post, Angus, was so beautiful and touching. Thanks for sharing your words of love to Wilfee, with us.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I guess you didn't have the heart to correct the farmer on the error of his ways? It sounds like it might turn out to be Madame Bay's style!

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh my goodness. i will quit complaining about our 41.6 !!!
    i looked it up in the celcius chart. we do have air conditioning everywhere, which helps. the problem is... it has no end this summer. has gone on for 3 months now day after day.
    ENOUGH ALREADY!
    how can wilfee look so pensive, thoughtful and adorable and then burst out laughing?
    at least that's how the pictures look. he just makes me feel so good.
    stay cool angus, you and the lovely font and the sweet wee polar bear... that is dangerous heat.
    love,
    tammy j

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, I want another Triumph Spitfire ragtop before I die; envy and joy mixed for the old farmer and his Mercedes :). Heat is abating here somewhat - at least, no more heat advisories. Wilf, you are a smart dog, laying on the tile in front of the fan. Good boy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. May 'the font' drop many morsels of food on the floor. Stay cool.

    XXXOOODaisy, Kendra & Bella

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ah, Roberta, I had that same car back in the '80's - bright yellow with red and blue and silver racing stripes, customized so it had overdrive in every gear! And since I learned how to drive a stick shift in that car, I'm sure I stripped those gears on a regular basis!

    I was dreading coming back from the beach to New York in August, but we've lucked out with September-like weather, sunny and breezy. Which means we'll probably have a scorcher sometime in September! In the meantime, Petey has decided like WIlf, that cool tiles are the best form of air conditioning when one wears a permanent fur coat.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Goodness! 42C! Are you totally wilted? The old farmer and his classic! What do you think? Wilf, again, listens to the story,PONders the situation and breaks out laughing. He knows!
    Try to heep cool. Lots of fluids for Wilf. No need to have a diabetic problem due to dehydration. And lots of love. Oh yes, lots of love!8:

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'll bet that the car fits right in parked next to the camper and the mechanical digger! :-)

    Cool evening here--Temps tonight supposed to dip down into the 50's.

    ReplyDelete