Madame Bay arrives . The ' Wild Child ' voiturette scattering gravel as it comes to an abrupt halt in the courtyard. Radio Nostalgie is having a Billy Joel morning. ' Uptown girl ' evidently an absolute favourite of our saintly septaguenarian . She can be seen in the upstairs hallway pushing the hoover with her right hand while waving her left hand, minstrel fashion, vigourously backwards and forwards. Every so often she kicks her left leg out and rotates through 360 degrees . A beturbaned image of happiness in a quilted housecoat.
Real crysanthemums make an appearance in the supermarket car park. Inside, the day-glo plastic variety are flying off the shelves. Above it all the dinky little power generating windmills outside the fast food restaurant are whirring merrily away. Angus wonders if they're supposed to emit a high pitched hum as they generate.
The fiftieth anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis. As a seven year old Angus remembers his delight at being sent home early from school. Presumably there was no mention of the fact that we were being sent back to await Armageddon. Did they really make us practise hiding under our desks in case ' the bomb ' fell ?
I have just recently discovered your blog and am enjoying the little snapshot of your view of France very much...thanks
ReplyDeleteYep, SHE remembers being under the desk, or crouching in the corridor OR lining up to await buses to take us...WHERE?
ReplyDeleteLove the chrysanthemums.....they make the world less mad. Except for the plastic variety.
XXXOOO Daisy, bella & Roxy
The village graveyard backs on to the courtyard of the Convent. I wonder at the depth which some of the habitants might be interred and how frequently each plot has been recycled. Bubble and Squeak would occasionally bring home mysterious (and very desiccated I must add) bones they had happened upon. The dozens of plastic posies, faded by rain and scattered by the wind, I think are more grim!
ReplyDeleteThere should be more Madame Bays around - Southern Italy is still so warm, swam in the sea yesterday - all the fourlegged friends are fine our love Susanne, Daisy, Foxiie and Kiri
ReplyDeleteLove mums, they are one of my most favorite flower. Fresh preferred over plastic to be sure! Although the Cuban missile crisis was years before my time, I remember my parents speaking about it. I guess this world has always known panic in some way, shape or form. Sad really.
ReplyDeleteJust a word of warning, I wouldn't stand too close to the windmills, especially if they make such a noise. You might glow from that! :)
Yes, I remember crouching under the school desk or lining up in the hall and wondering what exactly this was supposed to accomplish in face of nuclear annihilation. After the crisis period had passed, we continued to have drills on a weekly basis until the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed a year later.
ReplyDeleteMadame Bay sounds like she just embodies "joie de vive!" I can't imagine her not having a zest for life.
ReplyDeleteWe have the giant turbine windmills here, and I don't think they're supposed to make that kind of noise...
Yes, you remember correctly.
ReplyDeleteHere in the South, we had Duck and Cover drills during which we would sit under our desks, confident that was adequate protection against the bomb. I recall being a tad skeptical, but I sat there like underneath my tiny little desk like everyone else. Sigh.
Yep, we had many drills hiding under our desks in the 50's and early 60's. BOL!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to "meet" the infamous Madame Bay...I have no idea how you can keep a straight face with her around...she seems a doll though.
ReplyDeleteAre those two turbines enough to get the restaurant off the electricity grid? I've got to do some serious research on alternative energy for my household....electricity rates are going through the roof!
Give my regards to The Font..hope her tooth has settled down well after her operation.
I was watching a program on PBS about the Cuban Missile Crisis and its anniversary and wondered just why I had no recollection of this event at all. Perhaps because I was a young woman of 23 with a job and a very healthy social life at the time. Obviously didn't care much for the TV news or the newspaper. So its true, Ignorance IS Bliss!
ReplyDeleteJo