France 2014 Number 8

My goodness! What a boring week. Each day brought more chilly, grey, damp weather with the only difference being that on Thursday it simply poured with rain. Which was a great shame as Thursday was the day that we had arranged to drive to Angouleme, about 75 kilometres away, to meet some friends for lunch. They actually live about 150 kilometres away so we split the distance and Angouleme came up as a handy halfway point. We left home in mist which gradually became  drizzle which eventually turned into pouring rain. What a pity. We had never been to Angouleme before but had read a bit about it and were looking forward to seeing the wonderful old buildings that they have, some of which have been decorated with amazing 3D murals. However, it was good to see our friends again, to have a delicious meal and to catch up on what we have all been doing. On the way back to the parking garage where we had left the car, we came across one of the decorated buildings. This has just whetted our appetite and we will have to go back and see more of the city.

The copious rains of the past month, and the months before that, have ensured that everything is growing at a remarkable pace. Trees that are quite bare one day will be covered in blossom two days later. The fields had just been ploughed when we arrived here – now they are ablaze with the bright yellow of canola/rape-seed, which is known as colza here. Seen against the dark clouds which we have had plenty of lately, the great swathes appear almost luminous. While driving through a forested area the other day, we noticed masses of bluebells on the forest floor and crocuses on the verge. Most people are keen gardeners and every house has a vivid splash of colour in front of the house – daffodils, tulips and a number of flowering shrubs which we have never seen before. It certainly brightens up the day.

My computer too, brightens up my day and entertains me enormously. When we arrived here, Mr Google realised that we were in France and decided that we were probably French-speaking. Consequently, everything that I looked up on the internet came through in French and I had to keep asking to have the page translated. Eventually I got tired of that game and set the computer to automatically translate everything into English. The results are sometimes hilarious. For example – there is a river near by known as the Boutonne River. At its source is a small town that we have visited , called Chef Boutonne. I suppose it got its name by being the main town on the Boutonne River but when I ask Mr Google anything about it, he persists in calling it Big Buttons. On another occasion, we were looking for a small village called Coudre, not far away. We couldn’t find it on the map so asked Mr Google for help. Well, he wasn’t much help because I kept getting websites that offered me help with sewing instead. Coudre in French means ‘to sew’, and of course I had set the computer to translate all the French into English, automatically. It gave us a good laugh though and I’m sure will come up with a few more.

One of the highlights of each day is going for our walk. Strangely enough, the sun often peeps under the clouds at about five o’clock and bathes everything in that wonderful yellowish light that we sometimes see in South Africa too, in winter. The lawn and trees, now in full Spring green are a real sight and the little lane that we walk down has changed from the muddy path lined with bare trees to an enticing green walkway. We enjoyed it previously, but we enjoy it even more now.