One minute past seven. The mayor arrives just as the cork pops out of the bottle. '' M'Ongoose, welcome back ! Could I possibly borrow a ladder ? ". He's in a blue boiler suit and red tartan pork pie hat . The mayor stays just long enough for two glasses of champagne and then heads off with the ladder to hang out the Bastille Day tricoleurs on the war memorial. Angus is sent off to make sure he doesn't fall off the ladder and injure himself.
Into the breakfast room to find Madame Bay sitting at the head of the table, large coffee cup in hand. She's wearing an improbably large straw hat, Marie Antoinette style, and reading her magazine , a French version of the National Enquirer . This week it has a lead story about aliens. A recurrent theme for magazine and readers. Most sightings it claims come from ' farmers, policemen , doctors and ( in a typically French touch ) lovers '. It then goes on in a brisk educational tone to say that ' many people think that UFO's are a recent phenomenon but they are not. There are reliable reports of strange objects in the skies dating back hundreds of years' . After more , much more, in a similar vein it concludes with the line ' earth may be on a list of interesting places in the universe that intelligent life forms might wish to visit. Tourism by aliens is almost certainly a reality '. Madame Bay emits a loud clucking noise as she reads and digests this final line . It's in print so it must be true. Why alien space tourists should wish to come to deepest France Profonde and congregate in Madame Bay's orchard at four in the morning remains a mystery .
The electricians arrive , then leave. The security light has a fault. '' We'll be back tomorrow with a replacement ". They do however repair the lights in the downstairs kitchen . In doing so they fuze all the bedroom lights.
Tomorrow, when less jet lagged,I'll definitely get round to writing about the inn from hell in Ogunquit , the amazingly good restaurant in Camden and where to get the best breakfast pancakes in the world.
Is that an alien dog in the window?
ReplyDeleteThat second picture reminds me a bit of Wilf. I miss him.
ReplyDeleteI know that I would love to visit deepest France Profonde, so perhaps aliens wanting to visit there too isn't really that far of a stretch....
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying your pictures, and this morning I'm grinning at the dog-clock--Did you find one as a souvenir?
Resurrect X-Files...There's NEW material in deepest France Profonde...and wouldn't Madame Bay's orchard be a perfect setting for the opening episode? I know I would be watching!! Loved all the photos...On second glance I noticed the adorable dog statue was a clock...wonder if it really keeps time?? :-) If so...it should bark or howl on the hour! ;-)~ You keep us waiting with the "stay tuned" post endings!! (*Your mayor is a hoot.)
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty deep reading for so early in the morn! Can't wait to hear of your travels. Boy, does that second picture look like Wilf! We miss him....
ReplyDeleteHave a splendid day!
i'm exhausted already and i don't even have jet lag!
ReplyDeletei thought at first the little white dog that looks like wilf was
a villager's handmade tribute to wilfee... then i realized it's a clock...
only then did i realize it's showing 'time for a cocktail.' lol.
i was just so taken by that darling black nose i loved so much.
were you followed by any of the 18 ft great white sharks that are
spending the summer at the cape? talk about jaws re-runs!!
can't wait to hear all the news about the trip.
i'm so glad you two are home again.
hugs,
tammy j
The mayor has GREAT timing as usual...he would never think about the prospect of falling off the ladder when he is so "happy".
ReplyDeleteThe "Wilf" dog clock is just so cute...what an uncanny resemblance.
Loved all the photos especially the Chocolate/Peanut Butter cake, which made my mouth water.
I'm waiting with baited breath for your next post.
It is so good to have you back. You and your daily dose of "Ongoos and the Font" were sorely missed. I am looking forward to reading of your eventures.
ReplyDeleteI could eat all the chocolate rosettes on that cake by myself. Sweet images, one in particular brings memories of a wee polar bear angel dog.
ReplyDeleteYour post title gripped me from the start. Imagining a teetering mayor on the ladder; the mayor with such impeccable timing! Love the idea of Madame Bay communicating with aliens in the orchard...a true meeting of great minds, I am sure. Angus, you are terrible to show us that cake, oh mon Dieu!!! Best wishes to you and the font as you recover from your enviable trip!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you put the dogs in the blog.
ReplyDeleteRe-entry is always so discombobulating. For humans as well as aliens, no doubt. Can't wait to hear about Maine... wonder if the restaurant in Camden is the same one we loved back in October?? Welcome home!
ReplyDeleteThe post lady showed up at the door this afternoon. She had a parcel fom America. She'd tried to deliver it while we were away and had only just now remembered that she had put it for safe keeping in the back of her little yellow Peugeot van . Many, many thank for such a personal, beautiful and heartfelt thought. It has pride of place alongside a much loved and admired 'good dog ' box.
DeleteAs tammy j said, the big black nose reminded us of Another big black nose we loved so. The smile, the sadness.
ReplyDeleteThat cake is an artless specimen, easily refused, after the delightful offerings of you bake shop. And those reservations that you were encouraged to make months in advance, worth the effort?
For some reason, when I saw the title of this post, I imagined you and the fon't were the "alien" tourists on our fair shores and getting out of trouble with the mayor of a Massachusetts town...perhaps by trying the tested method from France profonde...popping the cork on a bottle of champagne!
ReplyDeleteLoved the Wilf/Digby lookalike.
Joan and the Barkalots
I am visiting a friend and reading blogs using her computer and really thought I commented on your post early this morning--Must be the aliens! :-) But after reading your post, for lunch I chose a piece of chocolate and peanut-butter cake for dessert that looked just like this!
ReplyDeleteHope you and 'the font' are catching up on your rest and have had an enjoyable day!
Maybe they are saying "It's all the security light's fault!". You know how things get lost in translation :)
ReplyDeleteYour posts always make me smile, despite whatever dilemma they might record. I fainted dead away at the price of the chocolate peanut butter cake. If I was just a decade younger I could make my fortune.....
ReplyDeleteHee hee! Well, this is not the first mention of aliens there in your corner of the world! I'm sure that it must be true -- seeing it in print is almost as sure a thing as if you saw it on the internet!
ReplyDelete