Four years on from what? In March 2020 Madame and I were living in rural SW France, in the Pays Basque, where little occurred to disturb the calm of rural life. Millions of lives were then turned upside down when the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced a nationwide lockdown, or confinement. Covid 19 had arrived.Continue reading “36. Four years on”
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35. Toby’s return
This post has nothing to do with the stout, jovial man holding a mug of beer and wearing 18th-century attire, a long coat and a tricorn hat. It was the picture that was appealing. There was a time when no British antique shop would have been complete without a Toby jug, but this concerns aContinue reading “35. Toby’s return”
34. Riding the Waves
As our Boeing Dreamliner from the Middle East started its descent you could, with a little imagination, make out moving bodies on the waves far below. This was February two years ago; summer here, but a cold grey winter in the Pays Basque that we had left behind. Biarritz had been our nearest seaside resortContinue reading “34. Riding the Waves”
33. Pride
What does Pride mean to you? The 2023 Mardi Gras Parade? Maybe it’s the 2014 film Pride, when a group of LGSM activists raised money to help families affected by the British miners’ strike in 1984. But why the red carnation? Because it’s a symbol of pride. I say a symbol because the few readersContinue reading “33. Pride”
32. Tattoos
Don’t you think that shopping malls have a ‘sameness’ about them? Our local Westfield probably has a similar layout to those in New Jersey or the Netherlands or the other 32 sites worldwide. One shop that has opened in the mall near us is, as you have guessed, for removing tattoos. Why have them doneContinue reading “32. Tattoos”
31. Home sweet home
I’m on my wayI’m on my wayHome sweet homeYeah, I’m on my wayJust set me freeHome sweet home Have you heard of Mötley Crüe? Maybe not. They’re an American heavy metal band who’ve been around for four decades and who will be touring Australia from November. Why choose them? It was the logo that wasContinue reading “31. Home sweet home”
30. Whither the Weather?
Don’t be put off by the title. It just happens to be the heading of a report produced last year by a meteorological office. Loosely translated it could mean ‘where is the weather going?’ Or, to put it more directly, what on earth is happening to the weather? Today, in rural NSW, the temperature startedContinue reading “30. Whither the Weather?”
29. Saints and sinners
If we had told you that we were going to see a sample of the blood and some strands of hair of someone long dead you might think this at least bizarre and, at most, macabre. This is precisely what Madame and I did today, Saturday 22 October 2022. The occasion was the installation ofContinue reading “29. Saints and sinners”
28. ‘Rain, rain go away….
…………come again another day. We want to go outside and play. Come again some other day’. Well, it did and it did; go away and come again, that is. The previous post six months ago (was it really that long ago?) was about never-ending rain, wind and floods; the TV news tonight is more ofContinue reading “28. ‘Rain, rain go away….”
27. Beach closed
The few hardy surfers might find it exhilarating but loss of life and the damage paint a different picture in this ‘Premier State’. Since our arrival five weeks ago it has, apart from a week on the beach, rained, but not just ordinary rain. Forget ‘cats and dogs’ and stair rods’ this is tropical, verticalContinue reading “27. Beach closed”
Another Down Under diary 