Contents of article "April 2007"
Tuesday April 2nd
Sunday 8th April
Friday 13th April
Sunday 15th April
Monday 23rd April
Saturday 28th April
Tuesday April 2nd
Forget about April showers. How about April flippin’ storms? We’ve hardly had a rain-free day since Dad placed his foot on the tarmac of Barcelona airport last Wednesday, convincing him that it is time for us to return to live in sunny Leeds, as it’s so cold and miserable here! The forecast, however, informs us that the good weather should return on the day that my Dad leaves! Need I say more? It’s very difficult to entertain guests round here when the weather is non-stop nasty. No beach walks or strolls through the vineyards, no bike rides or relaxing hour spent sitting on a trottoir outside the local café, nursing a beer and watching the world go by, no picnics or barbeques... Am I complaining? Well, yes, I suppose I am actually which is rather unlike me, but I had such big plans for my Dad this week and they’ve kind of fizzled out like a damp squid! (Or is that squib?)
At the weekend, we took him to the bike and motorcycle salon at the Palais des Expos in Perpi "I’m thinking of treating myself to a motorbike" sez I. Guffaw, chortle, splutter, tears of mirth! They were laughing at me! I will show them. I am now determined to buy myself a motorbike as soon as I have mastered Lulu’s scooter and can find a bike where I can put both feet (or even one foot) on the ground. Motorbikes are actually very unfair to short legged people. Also, nobody told me they had gears. I thought you just got on and went forward, like a scooter, so I shall have to master this new skill. And where the hell is reverse?
Sunday 8th April
Youpi! Summer’s here! The frogs they are a-croakin’ and the lizzards are a-basking! Olivier was delighted this morning to see a long line of ants busy busy busy on our morning walk. He said that he really respects these little chaps because they are so hard working! Good. That’s fine but don’t let them come and work hard chez moi please! The blossom is turning the P-O into an artist’s paradise - it is so pretty and so sweet smelling - everywhere you look there is cherry blossom, wild flower, green and red and purple and yellow - absolutely beautiful.
I went out on the back of ’the motorbike’ today - it was quite fun but I didn’t like the bends and having to lean into them. When I get my bike, I think I’ll just go straight.
My computer is playing silly b-ggers and won’t let me open my photos so you’re going to have to trust me on this for the time being! I’ve got some great photos of my Dad on the back of Olivier’s bike, proving that there is life in the old dog yet, and several piccies of the ants being assidous! There is snow on the Canigou and that feeling of a world sketched in green and blue is returning. I must admit that the weather has been awful - it really helps you to appreciate the sun when it returns so not such a bad thing to have occasional bad weather round here.. We do tend to take it all for granted after a while so a gust of Tramontane up your trouser leg and several days of rain and general yeuchy weather are needed every now and then to put everything into perspective! Photos to follow when I find a computer expert to sort me out!
Friday 13th April
I’m expecting Noah to walk in any moment leading a two by two crocodile of wild boar, to proclaim my house an arc! It has now rained steadily for forty days and forty nights, or certainly at least three. The dog refuses to do more than pee on the front doorstep and I think that I am going to have to get her one of those herbal constipation remedies if she goes one more day without a poo. Too much information did I hear you say? No shiny happy faces around Maureillas and Céret - everybody is miserable and thinking of emmigrating to Britain for a bit of decent weather. It’s not cold - just damp and un-south-of-Francish and I feel so sorry for people who have come over here for a week’s holiday or even two weeks as the weather has been pretty cr-p since the beginning of the month and there is not a great deal to do round here in inclement weather.
The restaurants and cafés are deserted - shops are pretty quiet too. I think that business must be very poor in this kind of weather - people tend to go into hibernation and wait for it to go away. We had friends round yesterday and spend the afternoon looking out of the window, nodding and tutting and uttering predictions of doom and gloom. Bisou has the permanent whiff of a wet sheep, even though she hardly puts her delicate little paw past the front door, and Lulu has spent two weeks of Easter holidays either in front of the telly or his computer. If you’re plotting a holiday here, I’d leave it at least a week if I were you! However, every cloud has a silver lining - there certainly won’t be a hosepipe ban round here in the forseeable future.
I still can’t open my photos. The programme that I use, Nerophotosnap, seems to have corrupted and the only way I can see round it is to uninstall and reinstall. However, the programme came with the computer so I don’t have the CD and will have to buy it again - it really annoys me to have to do that - not because of the money but because of the principal. Why should I have to pay for it twice? (Oooh - I think the rain is making me agressive!)
Sadly, I have had to give up my morning jog and fortify myself with regular visits to the sweetie shop.
Sunday 15th April
..... and yes, mon Dieu! Il continue à pleuvoir comme vache qui pisse! It actually stopped for an hour yesterday afternoon, and Olivier and I snook out for a bit of a canter with the Bize, but as soon as we got far enough away from home not to be able to run back in case of down pour, it downpoured ! Right now, it’s dry but the sky is looking very moody. Oh no, mon pote! You’re not going to catch us out this time!! We’re going to stay in and watch a DVD and have a great time without you !
A friend of mine from Céret died a couple of weeks ago. Not a really close friend but someone I liked and respected a lot. My Life in the PO is not really the place for this kind of reflexion - it’s a bright, sunny, lucky account of my life as it is, who I am, what I have become, and wrapped up snugly in my bubble, I don’t pay as much attention as I should to the world around me. I stood in the street in Céret, giggling with Kim just before Christmas. Now, three months later, she’s no longer here. She was in her late thirties with a young family, and a great future ahead of her! Get up every morning and live that day as hard as you can. Don’t moan about the rain, work, your partner. Don’t miss out on the chance to see old friends, make new friends, tell somebody you like them, or love them. Say something nice to everyone you meet - you can always find something even if it’s a bit of a fib - if it makes them happy, it’s worth it. Stand back and take a look at the things that are stressing you out, irritating you or upsetting you and compare them with the really important things like life and death. Here’s to you Kim wherever you are.
Monday 23rd April
Yo ho ho and a bucket of sun (with thanks to Robert Lewis Stevenson). It took a while to arrive but now it’s here it was worth waiting for! And an added bonus to my day! I have managed to download a programme for editing my photos - now I just have to work out how to use it! Back soon!
Saturday 28th April
SPLAT! Somebody’s been playing paintball! They’ve thrown great splodges of green at all the trees and fields with shots of poppy reds and iris yellows. The PO is shaking off its winter colours with a vigorous shrug of its vine covered paysage and beckoning us into the game.
And yes! Oh happy day. I’ve finally downloaded a programme which I think I can use - do let me know if the photos are taking too long to open as I can’t quite get the hang of regulating the weight of them - I thought I’d done it with an image optimiser but they still seem to be heavy and taking a long time to load (I’m only telling you all this so you’ll think I’m a computer clever person which unfortunately I’m not at all - I just like to pretend!)
The PO is gearing up for the festival season and although we’re not quite in that wall-to-wall sunshine period yet, it’s not far away. By mid May, we are usually hitting the thirties on a more or less consistent basis and it becomes easier to recognize the Brits - the only ones sitting out in the sun at midday! The cafés are starting to fill up, traffic is building up in Perpignan and Le Boulou and other known spots, blacks and browns and dark blues are being discarded for yellows and reds and pink and white polka dot - melons and artichokes and fresh tropical fruits have replaced the comfort food of winter and there is that smell. Just close your eyes and try and feel it - a mixture of pine and eucalyptus wafting on a slight breeze......bliss!
