Bonjour from sunny France!
Hope you had a good week.
Here where I am, the whole place seems to be a hive of activity. Last July, a freak hail stone storm hit a tiny pocket of the Seven Valleys where I live, including my village. The hail stones were bigger than cricket balls and caused immense damage destroying cars and property in the 6-minute tempest that was immediately followed by blue skies. It was weird.
90% of the houses in the village needed new roofs and almost a year later work is still ongoing. All the renewal seems to have sparked a bit of DIY enthusiasm. Hedges have been cut, houses and gardens are getting makeovers and the village is looking rather smarter than usual. It’s known locally as a “ville tranquille” – basically because nothing ever happens here. Or at least it didn’t until the hail storm.
As I sit here writing this there are two blackbirds outside the window, trilling away, competing with the sound of the roofers at work down the road and someone cutting a hedge. A cuckoo just landed on the window sill and jumped in surprise when I turned my head to look at it. In the distance cows are mooing loudly as they are escorted down the road to their field after being milked. Their daily walk is the only source of gridlocked traffic I’ve ever seen here. When I say traffic, I mean cars actually at a halt in the road from the village, though I’ve never seen more than three in a row! There are goats baa-ing in my neighbours’ garden, my geese are honking, ducks quacking and Gregory Peck my handsome cockerel is singing loudly.
As I say, a hive of activity – and I mustn’t let the side down, so now I am back off out the garden to paint yet more shutters! I only came in to wish you a very bon weekend,
Bisous from France,
Janine
Editor
ps photo is of bumper to bumper cows causing gridlock in my village!
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