Monday 26 September 2011

Viva la difference........

The Autumn light in late September glows in south west France, picking out the orange, pink, red and plumb of flowers still in bloom. Fat figs hang heavy, striped and fit to burst. Amber coloured, quince-jellied drips blob the kitchen table, coffee-marked mugs and the French crumbs of broken bread finish breakfast. Outside, the hum and buzz of insects are warming to the late morning heat.

I read a book. I make more coffee. I read a magazine. I drink more coffee.

Red, white and chequered with quails eggs, cheeses ripe and firm, tomatoes rich and deep, bread from which a whole meal can be made, potted shrimps: pink-brown and buttery; lunch on the terrace is shaded by plump, black grapes that hang low over the view of fields freshly harvested. The silence broken only by the squawking of force-fed geese and rutting-bulls or the the whine of le facteur's moped, buzzing through the twisted lanes to deliver a fine new pair of Crocs with a fancy-Nubuck-finish, going-out Crocs.

Plus ça change plus c'est la même chose..........

Top tip: keep your mind agile and alert..... learn a new language.

9 comments:

  1. Oh, a lovely still life, with sound.

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  2. A gorgeous French scene and written so beautifully as always.
    I actually had quails eggs and ham for my lunch but, it's not quite the same in the suburbs of London ! XXXX

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  3. I am in pain. Tortured by the pictures you paint. It has finally turned wet and grey here on Vashon. I did bake some bread though, and I have some fine local cheese. Maybe things aren't that bad. However, I am still sooo jealous.

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  4. Wonderful! Lucky, lucky you............

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  5. What a luscious description of a rural Autumn. x

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  6. Hello:
    Such a wonderful image you conjure up here and so beautifully European. Clearly you are enjoying enchanting, lazy days in the South of France. How lovely!!

    As for learning a language....we suggest you try Hungarian. When we came here we thought that, alongside cryptic crosswords, learning Hungarian must surely be one of the finest antidotes to senility!!!

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  7. Oh, what a lovely description. It almost made me feel happy and content. I'll try and keep the delicious images you conjured up in my thoughts when I'm teaching my classes, so it may well keep me sane.

    Au revoir.
    La plume de ma tante.
    Les escargots goût comme de la merde

    See! I can speak French too. It's only been 38 years since I failed my O level French for the third time.

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  8. Sounds absolutely wunnerful! Am dead jealous!

    Ali x

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