I've just been reminded that I haven't bloggeaued for ages - nearly three months to be almost exact. No reason. Well, maybe a few, which could include laziness, the covid plague and the fact that nothing much has happened recently, apart from autumnal dogwalks and the occasional trip to the local supermarché to stock up on essentials such as vin rouge and crisps; both of which are frowned upon by my lettuce, haricots vert and mozarella-loving partner Georgie.
Hmm, now I come to think about it, there's been a few things happening in our backwoods hamlet. Deaths, mainly. Recently Didier dropped dead quite unexpectedly. He was a youngster, about mid-50ish, quite fit, didn't smoke or booze to excess, a bit rotund and red-faced, but a proper country lad. Anyways, a neighbour who was the last person to see Didier alive said the lad seemed fine when he said "bon soirée" as Didier stepped inside his maison to, presumably, prepare his supper. Apparently Didier then collapsed indoors for no apparent reason. Maybe a heart attack. Maybe not. This was about a month ago. Not the sort of thing to blog about, but when nothing much happens, maybe it is. All the locals were shocked and very surprised by his passing. As, I said, he didn't seem ill. Not one bit. Hence the shock.
His funeral was quite an occasion. Church was full. Standing room outside. Mayor burst into tears while giving his speech at the wake in the Mairie. Poor old Didier. Well, relatively young Didier. He will be remembered as the son of the hamlet who took care of the church, kept the bells working, tractored the veg patches, helped out with all the local 'do's' and was always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needed help. He'll be sorely missed.
A few other hamleters have sadly passed away too. Catwoman's hubby died some time ago and, more recently, neighbour Alain, hubby of Colette. Didier's elderly mum is currently in hospital and apparently wants to go home to die, but she can't go home cos now Didier's gone there's no-one to take care of her. So that's two more houses currently empty. And the old man who lived in the little rented house in front of Isabelle's seems to have moved on, so that's a third empty house. That leaves about ten or eleven still occupied, mostly by elderly peeps.
Youngsters seem to steer clear of the old hamlets, much preferring modern boxes on the edge of town. Fair enough, makes sense. I presume it's the same throughout France (and maybe Britain too) - small villages dying and towns expanding. But..., with fewer neighbours, the threat of covid is reduced. Trouble is, it just takes one visitor - a son, daughter or family member from a town or city - to decimate a hamlet's elders by innocently introducing the dreaded plague.
Anyways..., enough of all that. On a brighter note I'll dig out some recent photos which I rather like. Might be a bit boring for loadsa peeps, but what the hell, ç'est la vie.
