Little girl & cat

This is a very nice video of a little girl making friends with a black cat.

No, it is yellow

I thought this poppy would turn out to be red like the other one.  When it finally opened out fully, just before we left Montjoi, it turned out to be yellow!  I took this photo for the KLM photo competition.  The subject can be anything, so long as it is very close up.

GFT

We went to the GFT with Harry & Louise to see a live theatre performance of "She Stoops To Conquer".  It was actually happening in the National Theatre in London and being broadcast at the same time to over 200 cinemas all over the world.  The place was mobbed - almost every seat sold.

Flying home

 
We had a very easy journey back from Toulouse with a rather long wait at Amsterdam.  On the flight to Glasgow, I got a free KLM pen and a bottle (only a little one) of champagne from the flight crew for filling in a questionnaire.  Marion is full of the cold and caughing a lot.  I feel as if I am getting a cold too.

Concert

Well done, Jess!  Sorry we were not able to be there at your first major performance.

Jam today

 
This is the door to Linda's chicken shed.  I suggested that she should rename it "Chicken Hell".  She was not amused.

Another long lunch, then a long drive back home. There must have been a terrible accident because the motorway had been closed and all the traffic diverted off it.  This caused a horrendous jam and it took us about an hour to travel four miles into Moissac.

Lundi lunch ... encore

We had a very light lunch with Fidelma in the restaurant outside the big church.  Even so, it lasted almost four hours!  Today we are driving an hour to visit Linda (the one whose chickens got killed) so that will be another long lunch,

It is very hot so we will need to remember to water the new plants we have bought to replace all the ones that have died off during the hard winter.

Springtime

It is spring.  The clocks went forward an hour.  Feels more like summer.  Went to Agen yesterday wearing only a shirt & linen trousers and It was still too hot.  Bought a nice blue linen shirt for me.  Marion got nothing at all.

Today we are going to meet Fidlema (the journalist) in Moissac for lunch.

Funny noises

Wakened this morning by strange noises above our heads.  Slowly realised that someone was walking on the roof.  Threw clothes on and rushed downstairs, saw a big ladder outside our door.  That was when we remembered we had asked the men working near the entrance to the village if they would come and check our roof.  There were signs it had been leaking, maybe because of all the snow this winter.  Eventually M. Couffignal came to the door and told us that we had two problems, one small, one big.  In short, we need to get the roof re-tiled this year and we are waiting to find out how much it will cost.  At least the sun is shining, as promised.

Red poppy

At market, we bought a pot of red Icelandic poppies like this.  The ones we bought were not quite open because I wanted to take photos of them opening up for a competition.  Only one snag:  it has been dull andrainy and they need sunshine to open.  We'll need to wait till tomorrow, Friday, when it will be sunny.

Great-looking gateaux

 

That's how to decorate cakes!  Moretto in Moissac is probably one of the best patissiers in the whole of France.  Bought three little ones and ate two right away.

Take your pick ... carefully

There's a big flowering bush near the house that had gone all back & sooty because it had been half-killed by the extremely cold winter.  We decided that we (meaning me) should dig it out.  Not so easy.  After an hour of digging, I still had not managed to find and cut all its huge tough roots. I took a small pick-axe and started to hack at the earth.  I hit something hard.  It turned out to be a drainpipe, which now has a huge hole in it!

We'll need to find a plumber to fix it.

Meeeeeeh Oui

How to stand out from the crowd (but remain one of the flock) on a campsite.

Saw this in the KLM magazin on the flight from Amsterdam.  It costs over £500 ... can you blieve it?

Warm welcome

We arrived in Montjoi about 7pm to find the log fire blazing and flowers on the table to welcome us .... all thanks to Maryse next door.  Everyone is talking about the mad gunman who shot three Jewish kids and a teacher  yesterday.  He also shot four soldiers last week.  It is a terrible thing.  I hope they catch him soon.

Road Sign, Botanic Gardens

 

Here is one of my photos that the Herald used a while ago.  This sign used to say 'Diverted Traffic' until some students got hold of it and moved the letters around.

So, Papa, how d'you like the new iPad we got you?

Watch this video!   OK, it is in German but you don't need to understand the words to get the joke.

Choc shock

The postman rang the doorbell today to deliver a bulky package.  It turned out to be a box of chocolates from Fortnum & Mason - the most expensive fancy food shop in London.  Who could have sent us chocolates?  And why?  There was no note or anything in the packaging.  Eventually I noticed the letters I and Q on the back of the label.  It was an apology from Toyota because the IQ needed a repair to a manufacturing fault.

Now we have opened the box of chocolates ....Mmmmmmm.

Fleeces & feathers

Big box arrived from Lands End, full of fleece tops and down gilets for our Arctic trip.  Because winter is over, they were selling them off really cheaply.  Still need to get waterproof over-trousers because you can get a bit wet in a rubber dinghy and the average temperature up there in May is -4C!

The invisible car driver

 

Herald Diary again!

For the first time in 20 years, I have an entry and my name in The Diary two days running!  Plus they used a story I sent them about a road being closed by exploding cream cartons.

Sobering thought

THE Scottish Labour Party is to put forward proposals that would see high-caffeine alcohol drinks such as Buckfast banned. Its health spokesman Richard Simpson declared: "The combination of caffeine and alcohol is a toxic mix that has been proven to increase aggression, anxiety and the likelihood of violence."

"One wonders," ponders reader David Donaldson, "if Richard Simpson has a sign on his desk that says,

 'The Buckie Stops Here'."

Herald Diary

The Herald Diary used one of my pieces today, Tuesday.  This is how it appeared:

Bird brain
DAVID Donaldson reads on the BBC website that "Police have appealed for information after budgies were stolen from an aviary in Moray." He tells us: "Can't wait till they arrest an accomplice and make him sing like a canary."

Montjoi trip

Getting organised for our trip to Montjoi next week.  Sent an email to Maryse next door so she can open the house and put the heating on for when we arrive on Monday.  Phoned Linda to let her know we would come and visit her:  she is very upset because her neighbour's dogs killed two of her chickens - now there are none left.  She will have to buy more at market and also put up a wire net fence to protect them.

Fidelma Cook lives not far from our village.  She writes every week in The Glasgow Herald about living in France.  On Saturday, we read that her Afghan hound (called Portia .... a posh dog needs a posh name) had been run over and very badly hurt.  Marion phoned her too.  Portia is sort of OK but will need another operation.

Piste off

Chinese for beginners

Funny Chinese Words: Hu Yu Hai Ding? (Who are you hiding)

It helps if you say each one out loud.
(I had to read some of them twice.)

• That's not right..................................Sum Ting Wong
• Are you harbouring a fugitive?...............Hu Yu Hai Ding?
• See me asap......................................Kum Hia Nao
• Stupid man........................................Dum Gai
• Small horse.......................................Tai Ni Po Ni
• It's very dark in here...........................Wai So Dim?
• I thought you were on a diet................Wai Yu Mun Ching?
• This is a tow-away zone......................No Pah King
• Our meeting is scheduled for next week......Wai Yu Kum Nao?
• Staying out of sight............................Lei Ying Lo

How To Speak Chinese - Advanced

• He's cleaning his automobile.................Wa Shing Ka
• Your body odour is offensive................Yu Stin Ki Pu
• Did you go to the beach?.....................Wai Yu So Tan?
• I bumped into a coffee table.................Ai Bang Mai Ni
• I think you need a face lift...................Chin Tu Fat

Photos from the walkway

     

Tall ship

Walked from Kelvinbridge with Izzy all the way to the new Riverside Museum.  It was a bit farther than I imagined!  On the way there, we saw three canoeist doing their white-water stuff and a woman on a bicycle nearly strangle her little dog round a lamp post. The museum was really busy inside but there was nobody aboard the S.S. Glenlee.  No wonder - it costs £5 to get aboard.  Then we walked back to Hyndland and baked brownies.

Fowl taste

Photo: sign at a stall in the Farmers' Market, Partick today Saturday 10 March 2012

I am intrigued by the idea of a non-vegetarian chicken .... could this be some carnivorous macho creature reared almost exclusively on cheap mince and stale mutton pies?

Kermit the frog joke

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the clerk. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.

'Miss Whack, I'd like to get a £30,000 loan to take a holiday.'

Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name.

The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.

Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.

The frog says: 'Sure. I have this.' and produces a tiny porcelain elephant about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.

Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.

She finds the manager and says: 'There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow £30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral.'

She holds up the tiny pink elephant. 'I mean, what in the world is this?'

The bank manager looks back at her and says:   ...

'It's a knick knack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone.'

Doctor Who

Dany came up to our house for lunch today.  She has been in Cardiff to see her son Saul shooting an episode of Doctor Who for the BBC.  Saul is a film director.  The good news is that he has been given two more Dr Who episodes to do and one of them is the Christmas Special.

UFO

A woman in my French class saw the giant shooting star that zoomed across Britain earlier this week.  She was out walking her dog, looked up, and thought it was a plane on fire, it was so big.

Decathlon

Going out in the pouring rain (& snow!!!) to Coatbridge to deliver Jean's self-portrait.  This takes us past Glasgow Fort shopping centre so we are going to stop off there on the way back.  There's is a huge Decathlon (where we got  your walking boots) there where we can get more stuff we need for the Arctic like heavy gloves   and new waterproof trousers.

When we got back home, there was more hail like this.   Why are we bothering to go to the Arctic?

Big Wellies

Drove out to Go Outdoors at 6pm to buy Wellingtons for our trip to the Arctic in May.  We are going to the island of Svalbard which is much nearer the North Pole than we have ever been before.  Since we will be going ashore in rubber dinghies and stepping into freezing sea water, we have to have proper wellies.  And since it will be below zero all the time, we need to wear loads of socks so we had to buy boots that were two sizes too big.  In fact, we had to borrow some socks from the shop and put 2 thick socks on the one foot so as to see if they fitted properly.  Here is a map of the route our ship will take:-

Portrait from Jean

Jean's painting arrived today from America.  Jean is a painter we met years ago.  He lived in New Orleans until the huge flood caused by a hurricane.  He is called Jean because that part of the USA used to be a French colony and 'Jean' is French for 'John'.  Now it is our job to deliver it somewhere outside Glasgow so that it can be taken to London for the B.P. Portrait Competition.  The first prize is worth £25,000. I have unpacked the painting and  I don't think he's going to win it.

The Sun's History of the Universe

At first I thought this was all nonsense because of the jokey front pages of 'TheSun'.  When you look into it, they are actually very good short explanations of important events.  Have a look at this.

SATURDAY NIGHT BLOW-OUT

Picked up Louise & Harry and drove through the Clyde tunnel to Lynn & Jon's for what was supposed to be a simple supper.  We had asked specially to have only a little food because we all want to try and lose some weight.   This is what we had:

Fizzy wine, nuts, crisps, falafels with dips

followed by

2 kinds of pizza, sliced roast ham, 4 kinds of salad, with small new potatoes

followed by

Home made spiced apple cake with cream and strawberries

followed by

Coffee and chocolates

We're going to have to eat nothing but celery and water for days now!!

Sandi & Dany

Tuesday 28 February was a busy day.  First, we went to lunch with Dany at Sandi & Jim's house.  Sandi had arranged this because Dany is a bit lonely these days.  It was a huge lunch -- Sandi is a very serious cook and goes to a lot of trouble over every meal.  The biggest surprise came from Dany:  she told us that her son Mark & his wife are expecting their first baby in August.  The only snag is that they work in a University  Salt Lake City (where the Mormons are) which is very far away in America.

We didn't get home till after 5pm and had to quickly tidy up and prepare for Rachel who was arriving at 6 to stay over.  When she finally arrived, she didn't want any food!  Just wanted to talk and talk about a big project about the Grand National race she had been working on for nearly a year. With only a month to go, it had been cancelled.  Was she angry about that?  You bet she was!

I've just realised that if you click on a photo, you get an enlarged version.  That is neat.

STARTING FROM HERE - March 2012

This is my first post.  Since we are fortunate in having two lovely grand-daughters, this diary is written mainly for their eyes only.

Last weekend we drove up to Aberdeen to see Kate, who used to work for us in the 1970s.  Kate was one of the most talented fashion designers we ever had, as well as being an very nice person.  Although she comes from London, she now lives in Aberdeen where she runs an important architecture & design company.  We arrived late on Friday and stayed in the Malmaison Hotel.  We had intended travelling on up North to the fishing villages on the Moray Firth but we spent so long talking to Kate on Saturday that we just stayed another night in Aberdeen.  On the Sunday, we drove home past the Queen's Highland castle at Balmoral and then on down through Glenshee where there was still a little snow.  Not enough to ski on though: the ski station was closed.

The skies were very clear at night.  Look closely and you can see the whole circle of the moon. During the day it was a bit wet and cloudy in town.

On the way to Braemar, we took a break at the Burn O'Vat nature reserve near Aboyne.  

There is a famous geological feature carved during the ice age in a giant split in the granite, forming a huge 'vat'.  The only way in is by stepping stones in the river through a narrow gap in the rock fall that hides it.  The whole place was ringing with birdsong and the birds were very hungry and were pushing and fighting to get at the peanuts in the feeder.

When we got back home, I put out our bird feeder in the back garden and filled it with mixed birdseed.  Town birds are fussy and spoiled - they take their time and throw out all the stuff they don't like to get at their favourite sunflower seeds.