Sunday, September 2, 2012

Wouldn't that be wonderful ?







The day of the annual harvest festival. By eight o'clock the field by the old windmill is a hive of activity. The mayor gives a few words of inaudible welcome. We all clap. Today he's in his grey crimplene trousers, black lace up shoes, red checked shirt and pork pie hat. The tout ensemble slightly marred by the fact that he's managed to do up his shirt so that the first button is in the second hole, and so on. This gives him a somewhat lopsided look.

No prizes for the very old farmers less than pristine tomatoes. However, better luck for Monsieur Bay's purple peppers. He gets a red white and blue third place ribbon. The school secretary, who is always late for work and speeds dementedly through the village every morning in her little black Citroen,  has decorated her squash with blue felt eyes to make them look like swans. The judges are greatly taken with this inspired creativity and award her joint second place .She shares this with the old widows garlic strings. Top prize however goes to Madame Mayors floral onion baskets. She is presented not with a rosette but with a sash. We all clap.

Outside the village hall four highly polished , and clearly much adored, vintage cars. Angus looks at a rather dapper red and white roadster and suggests that we should consider buying it . ' The font ' inspects the rather spartan , comfort free, interior and replies with a  less than enthusiastic ' wouldn't that be wonderful ? '. Sometimes it's not the words but the tone of voice that says it all.

This afternoon the tractor parade and the judging of the hens and geese. The hectic pace of life in deepest, deepest France profonde. 

18 comments:

  1. You need something with air conditioning!

    The vegetable competition sounds rigged to us...

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & roxy

    ReplyDelete
  2. The car is rather grand. Maybe if the seats were re-upholstered....?

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Mayor, in my mind, could be a close relative of Madame Bay...they are two characters I just love to read about.
    The old farmer should not have showcased those tomatoes at all.
    The purple peppers are plump and pretty. I had never seen those before.
    I agree with scotsmad above, seems to be a rigged competition....who did the judging?
    Loved the old cars, and the font's curt reply....just gotta love the font.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We knew someone who had owned a roadster--He said the two best days he had with it was the day he bought it and the day he sold it. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Madame Mayor should have given the Mayor a good once-over before the festivities.

    A delightful day despite the felt swan eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am quite taken with Monsieur Bay's purple peppers! Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. i think you may have to write a little book of simply font replies!
    she is priceless.
    love and hugs to the two adventurers in france profonde,
    tammy j

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have never seen purple peppers! I wonder where one gets seeds? Little doubt why they did so well in the competition, they love heat! You would need a pork pie hat to ride/own that vintage car!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The swans are nice.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the presentation of all that food! How beautiful! It seems like your corner of the world still has times to days gone by.

    Did the Mayor ever figure out that his shirt was misbuttoned, or did he wear that fashion statement all day long?

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a perfect autumn day! M. Bay's peppers are magnificent!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Those not-very-pretty tomatoes look like Brandywines, which have a shelf life of about 37 minutes and taste like heaven. Beautiful garlics, too.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The produce! I want it all! Everything looks delicious! And as you know, with tomatoes, it's all about the flavour and aroma, not the appearance. The ones we get here are visually lovely, but when eaten, taste like some generic, all purpose substance. I'd love to have one of those garlic strings. Bring a little joy into my house.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cheese yesterday, beautiful tomatoes today. Bring on a nice lump of Siegle and a splash of red. Those peppers look so pretty, I think Msr Bay should have won! I'm off to have breakfast....(honestly I am only 7.5 stone).
    x

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ηey! ӏ just wanted to asκ if yοu eѵеr have any
    trοuble with hacκеrѕ? Μy last blоg (woгdprеss) waѕ hackeԁ and I еndeԁ up lоsing
    months of hard wоrk ԁue to no bасkuρ.
    Do you hаvе any methods to prеνent hackers?


    Ηere iѕ my pаge: Where Can You Buy Electronic Cigarettes
    my web page - Electronic Cigarettes Buy

    ReplyDelete
  16. Amazing! This blog looks just like my old one!
    It's on a completely different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Outstanding choice of colors!

    Stop by my blog post Organic Green Tea

    ReplyDelete
  17. I don't know if it's just me or if everybody else experiencing issues with
    your website. It appears as though some of the written text within your content are running off the screen.
    Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me
    know if this is happening to them as well? This may be a problem with my internet browser because I've had this happen previously. Appreciate it

    My webpage Allaboutcargopants.Com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I don't know if it's just me or if perhaps everyone else
    experiencing issues with your blog. It seems like some of the written text within your
    content are running off the screen. Can someone else please comment and let me know if this is happening to
    them as well? This could be a issue with my internet browser because I've had this happen previously. Cheers

    Review my blog 7th grade math textbook

    ReplyDelete