Spring is rapidly evolving into summer but is it too late to empty those packets of seed into the ground in the belief that they will not sprout just to become food for the slugs and snails. This is reality gardening.
‘We have been planting tiny grains of seed in the front bed, in the pious or religious belief that they will resurrect next spring as Clarkia, Calceolaria, Campanula, Larkspur and Scabious.” Virginia Woolf
The petals folded back as if squinting against the bright sunlight. Spring has arrived at last but how the year is flying by.
As I walked along the gravel path, the star magnolia with it’s masses of pink flowers cast a dappled shadow across my face.
So it has happened. The Brexit deadline has passed making the no deal option almost certain. Jesus. At least my worries are spread. I fear for the future of the UK and I fear for our individual status as ex-pats here in France, particularly regarding our health care.
Just discovered sriracha sauce. It is superbly spicy and at the moment is going into everything I cook. Thankfully, my wife uses it less so we do get the odd spice free meal.
Listening to Spem in alium by Thomas Tallis. Such a beautiful piece of music.
Having just installed 16Gb of RAM and a 1Tb SSD into my Mac mini in order to extend its life, I have started thinking about using my iPhone as a desktop replacement. Technically, there is no reason that it can’t be done using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and mirroring the screen to a monitor. Oddly enough, the only disadvantage that I can see is that you lack mobility in that you are tethered to your desk. Strange! Somebody, somewhere must be using this daily. However, I still prefer a laptop in my old comfy armachair.
And finally, chaos reigns here at ‘Tarrant Towers’. Because we live in the sticks, the trade off for abysmal internet connectivity is the peace and quiet. Not at the moment though. The local commune has obviously decided to spend up on its road budget and our road which goes from nowhere to nowhere is being resurfaced. The house is shaking as the tarmac is pounded into place and I can’t even get to my orchard garden 20 meters away across the aforesaid road. We’ve gone from seeing perhaps 2 tractors and maybe a herd of cows each day to having an army of workmen camped outside our gate. Help!
The weather. June has been grim. After some glorious weather in March and May, Mother Nature has extracted her revenge and this month has largely been wet and windy. At least the weeds and the slugs have been happy.
OK. It’s time to cheer up and who better to do it with than that master of wit – Oscar Wilde.
“With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy?” So true.
Oscar Wilde
What is happening in the UK? Boris is indecisive and populist and the virus rages on. Amid plans to lift the lockdown, we hear that one city, Leicester, is to continue to be isolated. Late to the Corona virus party, unable to decide whether he wants to drink wine or beer so gets totally legless drinking both, backing his friends who break all the rules but condemning everyone else, Boris Johnson aka BoJo the clown is an unmitigated disaster. Eton prepares you for a soft life of privileges not a leadership role where incisive accurate decisions are required to protect large numbers of other people. Why oh why are these self centered, silver spooned idiots voted into power? Of course, I insulted Scotland by including them in this rant. Stronger leadership has led to 3 days in a row with no reported cases. It will be strange times north of Carlisle when Scotland is protecting its citizens with continued lockdown but England with a world record of contamination across an open border has no protective measures in place.
So that’s my selection for this week in Plourac’h. Stay safe.
Under 1000 days 