October has been catchup month for us. September saw the organisational extravaganza that was our annual get-together of our year at university, an event that we organised in France six years ago in a chateau just up the road from us and, despite that traumatic experience, have been coerced into self-flagellation once more. A video of this unforgettable event has been stuck down below for those interested in seeing how young we all look these days.
That experience swamped my other responsibilities, such as the fundamental care for my blog follower(s). So, as remarked, let's catchup.
In August we managed to get away, visiting friends near Gaillac before heading on into the mountains once more.
Devoid of kids, it was now just the two of us and an aging dog. We visited the mother of Toulouse's hometown, appropriately named Letrec.
This is the only village in the Ariège nominated as one of "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France".
Also including...
La plus belle femme de France...
Moving on...
Our drive along the backroads of the Ariège was dominated by trees. Almost two hours of continuous unending plane trees lining both sides of the road. Absolutely mind-numbing. I mean, who in their right mind would plant so many trees?
Well, apparently it was mister Bonaparte. Although, maybe Napoleon did not actually plant them all himself, but it is reported to be his idea. The reason? To shelter his troops as they marched across the country putting down rebellions and generally intimidating the local population. Really? Pull the other one. Did he have any idea how long it takes for these bloody things to grow? Unless his soldiers were dwarves they would get little shelter until their grandchildren were hobbling along here instead.
Time for some famous quotes...
Chinese Proverb - “Two decades ago would have been ideal for tree planting. And right now is the second greatest moment.”
Also... “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit” – an ancient Greek proverb I think.
“Ancient trees are precious. There is little else on Earth that plays host to such a rich community of life within a single living organism.” – Sir David Attenborough
“A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.” – D. Elton Trueblood
And my favourite...
“A tree never hits an automobile except in self-defence.” – Woody Allen
Despite all those trees acting in self-defence, we managed to arrive in Bonnac for an overnight stop.
For some it appears to have been a permanent stop...
The next morning, back into the foothills of the pyrenees...
...to one of our favourite stop-overs, Guzet-Neige.
There are some great walks here with fantastic views, but on explaining this to Sky...
...she simply went on strike.
Her arthritic knees are sadly giving up the ghost.
So we sat together watching the sun slowly drift away.
We spent a calm couple of nights there...
...before heading back to our favourite restaurant.
The weather had been good to us. Upon our return home it kindly supplied our garden with some much needed water before heading back into an Indian summer. All my carefully tended plants took it upon themselves to go back into flower so as to make the most of this opportunity, probably sensing the apocalypse to come.
This cute little video shows the variety flowering in a single day this week.
So there we go. Home for six weeks leading up to our next great adventure at the end of this month, included a much anticipated visit to several castles in the Loire Valley. Definitely one to tick off my bucket list. I bet you can't wait for the blogs...
And finally, as promised, a little taste of the get-together of many of my 'old' friends from college days. Almost every year since qualifying in '77 we've held a reunion. Twice in our first year and only missing the pandemic year. We nearly did one even then, but finally realised that an act of mutual genocide probably was not a great idea.
These reunions are a continuation of our annual College Ball. Every year we had a massive party in the college in Camden Town, always with live bands. One year we had a little known band called Supertramp play, not long before their album 'Crime of the Century' was released. This explains the music used in this video.
Don't we all look so young! 😵💫
Lovely and interesting to read Phil. Glad you both managed some stress free time together. Love the song with the video. Mellow and calming. Love to you both ❤️
ReplyDeleteHahaha Don't know why it says anonymous. It's me Ruth your most argumentive friend
ReplyDelete