"If I had my way, I’d remove January from the calendar altogether and have an extra July instead." Roald Dahl
July is hot here but the mornings are wonderful. I wander out with the cat, a cup of tea and just enjoy the sounds and smells of a fresh, new day- don’t worry I am not going to burst into ‘Morning has broken’. I’m not an early bird, I struggle to start work at 9am and I only have to walk to my study. Early bird This morning however I had to be up early, as I needed to go to the market in Argentan. French markets (Marchés) are delightful, you can find the obvious things such as gorgeous fruits, vegetables, fish, plants and cheese but also other interesting items that include mattresses and a team of hunky men to remove the moss from your roof-don’t tempt me! I sat with a coffee and listened to the church bells, people chatting over their morning espresso (French people all seem to drink black coffee with sugar- no milk for them!). I chuckled at the man continuously ringing a bell and shouting ‘Moulay!.’ he was touting mussels (moules)- lots of them and very reasonably priced. The word Marché I’m guessing originates from the verb marcher (to walk) you also hear the French use it for a step
French Markets
The markets are a delight, though they are not quite so jolly in the middle of January when everyone goes about their business very quickly but the stall holders still turn up week after week and there’s always a warm café open. Most towns have a weekly market, some are bigger than others and the local tourist office should have a weekly schedule. The market on a Monday at St- Pierre-sur-Dives is the biggest in Normandy but you will need to get there at a reasonable time as they start packing up for lunch by 12.30. My absolute favourite is the covered market In Narbonne (not in Normandy I admit- so it's a bit of a long way to go for a cafe au lait), as it has bars and cafes and you are surrounded by the most amazing food. I also visited Perpignan outdoor market recently (also over 500 miles away), I could sit there forever and watch the world go by and I would never be hungry. You don’t haggle here, it’s not like in other parts of the world (‘Lady, Lady look! genuine fake handbags’) it reminds me of a fabulous sketch in A life of Brian, here's the link if you fancy watching it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2iZjxSGca8&t=3s Anyway, I was at the market as there’s a lady in a caravan who alters clothes while you wait- not a problem as I had a coffee and bought some plants. I have a new outfit for a wedding we are attending in a few weeks and (as ever) it was too long for me. I tried it on yesterday to decide how much it needed taking up and was shocked how tight it felt. ‘Zut alors’ I thought, I can’t have put on that much weight! what the hell am I going to wear now? there’s no point having it altered if it doesn’t fit!. So I tried it on again, turns out I had put it on back to front!- this has happened before, I had a dress that had buttons all the way down the back and someone asked me if I had it on back to front- cheek! as if I would!!
Busy busy
Tim and I are working in the garden and just enjoying being outside. Guests are starting to arrive so we have lots to do. I love it when people visit but it is hard work and they do tend to have minor accidents, such as breaking shower doors (it wasn’t your fault Peter and Lisa). My friends recently had someone to stay and they managed to pull the sink off of the wall!. I can remember our first Summer here, it was so busy and as one lot of visitors were driving off down the drive another lot were arriving and I hadn’t even changed the beds! it was also the worst Summer in Normandy on record and it rained constantly- thank God for ten-pin bowling (though I never thought I'd hear myself say that!) Well, I’m off to iron some fitted sheets (as I don’t normally) Have fun and don’t forget your sunscreen!!
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