Contents of article "October mumbles in the mountain"

 October 18th 2009

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October 18th 2009 October is a lovely month up here in the mountains. There is a freshness in the air and the trees are now dressed in their full autumn plumage of gold, yellow, red and scarlett. The Rowan trees are hanging heavy with berries and if old wives tales are to go by, we should be in for a hard winter……I know that the chap on the TV said that the buds are set in the previous spring and therefore there can’t be any truth in it. However, many years ago on Yorkshire TV there was a north country gentleman who made a living by giving the weather forecast by looking at the trees and wildlife. I just can’t remember his name.. I’m sure in time it will come back to me. Or does anyone know of the man in question? It has been quite a busy time with friends who own holiday properties popping up to check out their houses and stacking their winter wood. I have tagged along for walks with Lilli who is rapidly becoming the size of a Shetland pony. The company has been lovely and I realise that my French vocabulary has increased because I sometimes struggle with remembering the English word for something. My French is just plain awful but I do try to get a good base of words and try hard to use them in general talking with people. My French friends think it’s quite funny that I have word of the week. Something obscure but it will stick in my head and will be used at the appropriate time. My friend Netta came across from Guernsey which was lovely. She was my fishing partner. We used to sit on the rocks in the pouring rain and watch the sea, never caught much but it was a lovely way to chill out after a stressful week at work. I do miss those days and the close friendship that we formed, but the friendship will last forever. We had something of a shock early on Friday morning. I awoke to the faint sound of the phone ringing downstairs. Mike said just to ignore it but with his elderly mother being in the Uk and family in Guernsey I said that we should maybe just check it out. It was fortunate that he did as our daughter and grandson were standing outside in -5. They had rung the door bell and no reply and knocked on the doors and still no reply. We would have expected Lilli to bark or at least try to be the “guard” dog we were told she would be but she slept right through it. They had driven though the night because their confirmation at the Premier Class hotel was not accepted. They had arrived at 9-20pm and it was an automatic check in but it showed there was no booking. She had the paper in her hand with the booking details but the machine must have malfunctioned as other people couldn’t access the place either. So she made the decision to keep driving and arrived here at 5-30am. Had I known I would have been frantic but I had slept all night blissfully unaware that our daughter was hurtling through the night from St Malo. We have e mailed Premier Class but up until now we have had no reply. Yesterday was the Potato Fete in Matamale. It is always a a great day out and when you see the amount of work which has gone into the growing of this much sought after veg, it is amazing that anyone will part company with them. Entire families plant them and then six months later entire families pick the crops, sort, clean and bag their precious spuds. Amazing! Today I am going to the fete in Bourg Madame, The main road is blocked and the stalls start in Hix and run either side of the road right down into Bourg Madame Centre and into the streets. Even the chimney man has a stall so it is a fete for everyone. Good grief I seem to have rabbited on for a while today, so I’ll close now and wish you all a fruitful autumn. TTFN Jen

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