11th July 2014
Lydie’s husband, whose name I have forgotten, collected me this morning to drive me to Bergerac airport for my return home. En route, I had good cause to be thankful for the French I do have. The driver does not speak English, but we managed reasonably well. On the approach to Chateau Cousteau he asked my if I had received his wife’s message telling me it would be him picking me up. I was just about to say that I had a very poor signal so probably hadn’t received it, when I realised I had to say something else. Quickly.
This was: ‘Please turn round and go back. I have left my phone in the bathroom’. Then I went into the explanation of why the phone had been left there. It is because normally the only feeble signal I receive is when the mobile is perched on the shelf behind the loo. This was somewhat entertaining in translation. No harm was done, and I arrived in good time for the plane which arrived ten minutes early into Southampton where Jackie was waiting for me.
On my return I wandered around the garden to see what had progressed in my absence. Everything is coming on nicely.
Of particular interest now is that section of Jackie’s portable garden that fronts the garage doors that have become a library wall.
Probably more than in most gardens, we find all sorts of bits and pieces, such a polystyrene, seafood shells, plastic bags, pegs, old bits of metal, and CDs. I was mystified about the CDs until Jackie told me they were hung up to rotate in the wind, thus making useful scarecrows. Of course, I then recollected I had seen them about.
I spent most of the afternoon putting right my post of 8th, and publishing those of the last two days that I hadn’t been able to enter in France.
Although on my brief trip this time, thanks to Saufiene I had not been deprived of spicy food, we still went for the traditional returning home curry this evening, to The Jarna, which is the current favourite.