BACK IN THE LANGUEDOC
We have been back in residence for a couple of weeks in St.Pons de Thomieres and now I have to really get my head around that this is our home - more of that later.....
But firstly, yesterday - what set out as a typical Wednesday took a bit of a turn.
Wednesday is market day, at this time of year it is a fairly small subdued affair but I went off to have a look at the plant stall (not great/too early in the season) and to purchase some epice jamaique from the tea/spice/oriental odds and ends Lady. This little bit of shopping done I returned home and spotted a rather lost looking man on the horizon who I thought might possibly be the deliverer of a package the Husband was waiting in for. Said Bonjour but he made no inquiry and continued to look a bit 'occupied' and was joined by another working man. Once inside I went to our bedroom which overlooks the road to see if they were still loitering, indeed they were but now were joined by a sapeur pompier van and 2 Sapeurs, much mobile usage ensued. I'd intended on doing my ironing and by this window is my spot of choice so I was able to follow the activity as it turned sinister!! The Sapeurs wore latex gloves, the police lady ran up the road, yes ran!! and too donned gloves, clip boards appeared, more phone calls, lots of worried looks down the road and much scuttling up and down the public path between us and the neighbours. Heavens! Eventually another sapeur Landover arrived and 2 gendarmes - obviously beckoned by the phone calls and awaited for by the worried troup. All coming and going up the little path, lost to me because of a tree in the line of vision - darn!
Evidence was being collected, what on earth had happened, it looked to me the original men had obviously discovered something suspicious just out of shot. Then the Sapeur Medicin appeared, possibly an hour had elapsed (ironing finished I was just snooping by now), no one could be injured surely? there would have been a much quicker response. More Sapeurs! Ever the optimist I supposed someone was dead, and the someone must be our elderly neighbour, after all throughout all this activity she hadn't made an appearance and surely she would have been right in there even more curious as to what was transpiring than I? Other folk looked on, cars stopped and finally my suspicions were conformed by the arrival of the undertakers. The bizarre thing was everyone else only wore their gloves at the possible 'crime scene', now that an accidental death must have been confirmed the 2 undertakers donned full CSI outfits to remove the remains ( is this normal? I've no experience of a home death and removal of the body). I communicated the sad news to the Husband, and we marvelled at how well Madame had appeared just yesterday and considered the fleeting quality of life and then had lunch.
Later it was time to go out, I opened the front door, who was walking down the street ..... you guessed it, Madame!!! where the hell had she been all this time?, there she was back from the dead - literally - as she was returning from a walk to visit the graveyard above us.
And the body in the bag? must have unfortunately the man who lives behind Madame's house, he's been there 4 or 5 years and after returning mail to him in the early days that had mistakenly been left in our mailbox I haven't had anything to do with him, sad none the less as he was a relatively young man and the original 'furtive' men in the street had been his workmates who had arrived to pick him up to go to work, discovering him dead they naturally appeared confused and at a loss.
So what a morning!
Wednesday was also the day of our first VEEM event. VEEM stands for Vivre ensemble en Minervois, we don't live in the Minervois but I have been at a loss to find a walking group anywhere closer to home, so that is why I signed us up for membership, much to the Husband's fear and loathing of meeting new people.
After my long winded tale of the a.m. I'll not go into the ins and outs of the VEEM welcome evening, suffice to say, thank goodness, the Husband actually enjoyed himself. On Saturday we will be going walking with some of the group and hopefully they will be as nice and interesting a bunch of people as those we met last night.
Establishing contacts like this will make this seem more like home, that's my theory, also having the structure of events to attend; walking, lunches, language class will make life seem less of a permanent holiday - of course everybody looks at me as if I have a hole in my head when I say I don't want my life to seem like a permanent holiday!
But firstly, yesterday - what set out as a typical Wednesday took a bit of a turn.
Wednesday is market day, at this time of year it is a fairly small subdued affair but I went off to have a look at the plant stall (not great/too early in the season) and to purchase some epice jamaique from the tea/spice/oriental odds and ends Lady. This little bit of shopping done I returned home and spotted a rather lost looking man on the horizon who I thought might possibly be the deliverer of a package the Husband was waiting in for. Said Bonjour but he made no inquiry and continued to look a bit 'occupied' and was joined by another working man. Once inside I went to our bedroom which overlooks the road to see if they were still loitering, indeed they were but now were joined by a sapeur pompier van and 2 Sapeurs, much mobile usage ensued. I'd intended on doing my ironing and by this window is my spot of choice so I was able to follow the activity as it turned sinister!! The Sapeurs wore latex gloves, the police lady ran up the road, yes ran!! and too donned gloves, clip boards appeared, more phone calls, lots of worried looks down the road and much scuttling up and down the public path between us and the neighbours. Heavens! Eventually another sapeur Landover arrived and 2 gendarmes - obviously beckoned by the phone calls and awaited for by the worried troup. All coming and going up the little path, lost to me because of a tree in the line of vision - darn!
Evidence was being collected, what on earth had happened, it looked to me the original men had obviously discovered something suspicious just out of shot. Then the Sapeur Medicin appeared, possibly an hour had elapsed (ironing finished I was just snooping by now), no one could be injured surely? there would have been a much quicker response. More Sapeurs! Ever the optimist I supposed someone was dead, and the someone must be our elderly neighbour, after all throughout all this activity she hadn't made an appearance and surely she would have been right in there even more curious as to what was transpiring than I? Other folk looked on, cars stopped and finally my suspicions were conformed by the arrival of the undertakers. The bizarre thing was everyone else only wore their gloves at the possible 'crime scene', now that an accidental death must have been confirmed the 2 undertakers donned full CSI outfits to remove the remains ( is this normal? I've no experience of a home death and removal of the body). I communicated the sad news to the Husband, and we marvelled at how well Madame had appeared just yesterday and considered the fleeting quality of life and then had lunch.
Later it was time to go out, I opened the front door, who was walking down the street ..... you guessed it, Madame!!! where the hell had she been all this time?, there she was back from the dead - literally - as she was returning from a walk to visit the graveyard above us.
And the body in the bag? must have unfortunately the man who lives behind Madame's house, he's been there 4 or 5 years and after returning mail to him in the early days that had mistakenly been left in our mailbox I haven't had anything to do with him, sad none the less as he was a relatively young man and the original 'furtive' men in the street had been his workmates who had arrived to pick him up to go to work, discovering him dead they naturally appeared confused and at a loss.
So what a morning!
Wednesday was also the day of our first VEEM event. VEEM stands for Vivre ensemble en Minervois, we don't live in the Minervois but I have been at a loss to find a walking group anywhere closer to home, so that is why I signed us up for membership, much to the Husband's fear and loathing of meeting new people.
After my long winded tale of the a.m. I'll not go into the ins and outs of the VEEM welcome evening, suffice to say, thank goodness, the Husband actually enjoyed himself. On Saturday we will be going walking with some of the group and hopefully they will be as nice and interesting a bunch of people as those we met last night.
Establishing contacts like this will make this seem more like home, that's my theory, also having the structure of events to attend; walking, lunches, language class will make life seem less of a permanent holiday - of course everybody looks at me as if I have a hole in my head when I say I don't want my life to seem like a permanent holiday!
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