Update for the last month

Goodness me, nearly a month has passed and I’ve written nothing.

It amazes me how people like Z and LOM can lead far busier lives than I do and yet still  post regularly.

Well my first ‘excuse’ is that I got the job teaching English on Mondays but it takes quite a bit longer to prepare for the classes -  all at different levels.  However, my students, mostly retired teachers, are really pleasant and friendly.

At the end of September one of my ‘new sisters’, Daphne, came to stay for a few days with her partner, Johnny. The last time they came we went to a little bar on Belgium where Johnny took a fancy to the beer glass they served his Guinness in.  It was shaped like a thistle. We asked the lady if she would sell it to us but she refused and said they were on sale at the little supermarket in the town. Unfortunately  it was closed and when we went back on the following Monday we found that, like many shops in this area, they were closed for the day.

So we went back to the same Belgian town and looked in vain for the glass Johnny wanted. The supermarket had a wide range of beer glasses but not the one we wanted. We went back to the bar and asked again if they would sell us  the glass. The younger lady said if it was up to her there wouldn’t be a problem but – ‘Maman . . . . .’ with a glance in the direction of the miserable looking woman behind the bar.

“That’s OK,” I said, “We understand” and off we went.

We hadn’t got more than a few yards when she ran after us, stuffed the glass in my hands, saying “Shhhh” and then she scuttled back to the bar before we could thank her properly.

Johnny thought, at first, that I’d knicked it, and was quite embarrassed but when I explained, he was over the moon. We have decided that we will take her a little present next time we go that way.

The kitchen makeover gound to a halt at the end of August and Pascal hasn’t been near nor by since then. However, we have found another neighbour who has made a start on the tiling. He seems much more efficient than Pascal and certanly makes a lot less mess so I think we’ve found a little treasure in Guy. CC chose tiles ‘a l’ancienne’ which are not straight edged. They look really lovely but are not so easy to put up. Guy’s word was ‘chiant’ (shitty) but he is tackling the job without complaining.