The past week has been mostly fine and clear to spectacularly beautiful weather. For the first time since we arrived, we have been able to spend the entire day without jerseys, and now, at the end of the week have even ditched the extra blanket over the duvet on our bed. From time to time we have had sights of the mountains still snow-covered right down to the foothills, but so far the rain has not followed . We have taken advantage of the good weather and have gone on long meandering drives through the countryside. It is quite hilly around here so every now and again we end up on the crest of a ridge with endless views in all directions.
On the first real day of sunshine, we asked our jolly bell-ringer if she had the time to show us inside the church. She quickly fetched the key and let us in. What a surprise! Not dark, dank and stark as so many rural churches are, but instead, lit by two magnificent chandeliers donated by a local chateau-owner before the chateau was demolished, we found the most wonderful and intricate wood carvings done by a member of the parish in 1869. I did not have my camera to hand, as I had not thought it likely to be necessary, but will definitely ask her to open up again for us so that I can take some pictures.
We also managed to make it to Marciac market this week, as the sun was shining. It is a big bustling affair and a great meeting place for people who don’t see each other very often. The coffee shops and cafes were doing a roaring trade, as apart from meeting up for coffee, it was a good place to rest one’s feet. Neels bought himself a cheap pair of jeans, which he tried on in the back of the salesman’s truck, so that he could work in the garden or on the car without fear of getting oil on his good trousers. And he had reason to use them the very next afternoon.
We had noticed some activity across the road from the turn-in to the village when we returned from the market, so had strolled across and found a very expert digger operator busy constructing a driveway into the property and a level place for what we thought was for a house. When he noticed us watching operations, a youngish man who turned out to be the owner came over and greeted us. We got talking and discovered that he was from Marseilles, and was, indeed, preparing to build a house but not on the level bit – that was for offloading building materials – but rather further down the slope, where two semi-ruined walls were all that remained of an original structure. When Neels went to inspect the site the following day after we had returned from an outing, he found everyone standing with their hands in their hair because they were in the midst of pouring foundations and the concrete mixer had died. In a short while, and wearing his special ‘work’ jeans, Neels had the engine going again and then stayed on to help until they had finished for the day, which was at about 8 pm. I must just say here that the foundations were dug in the morning by the digger, and the concrete pouring started in the afternoon. The only ‘labourers’ on the site were the owner, his wife and a rather old man. Luckily the house site was downhill from the mixer so full wheelbarrows went down and empty ones up, but it was a hot day and the work had to be finished in one go. No team of workers standing on the shovels here!
Meanwhile, Goldie had developed a spell of hiccups that was a bit worrying, so some time was spent inspecting her innards. New spark plugs seemed to be indicated so off we went to find the right kind. Unfortunately when we got to the shop, I discovered that I had left the dictionary at home, so we spent a few moments giving the poor salesman a minor heart attack trying to describe a spark plug in the limited words at our disposal. Well………..doesn’t a spark plug cause a sort of fire in the engine?? After a quick peep out of the window to see that our car was not on fire, he went off to fetch a parts catalogue and suddenly we were in business! With the new plugs fitted, Goldie was all smiles again and goes twice as well as before.
Our daily building site inspection showed us that even in this beautiful peaceful countryside, danger lurks. As Neels stepped down off the roadside to the leveled area, I saw a quick movement in the grass and a metre long, thick snake slithered behind his foot and away into the longer grass. We have been assured that the only poisonous snake is a viper which is a skinny little thing, but this looked horrid. We shall have to care if we are walking along the roads with their grassy verges if this warm weather continues.
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