We've never seen so much broom in flower in these parts. It really is magnificent, and the hillsides are carpeted with it. I guess it has to do with the number of vineyards that have been grubbed up or abandoned, though the vineyards tend to have been colonised by wild oats. We stopped for a moment earlier this afternoon at a red traffic light not far from here, and as usual, shut off the engine and opened the window. The scent from the broom by the roadside was colossal - and within seconds my eyes were stinging and I was on the way to another sneezing fit. Senile-onset hay fever. Not fun.
We've been to the préfecture town today to get a few bits and pieces. Though we have our two laptops with us, there are also two desktop computers in the house, and a few bucks have brought the one that remained unconnected back into service: a tiny wireless adaptor and a wireless mouse and we're back on the air throughout the curtilage. We've also replaced some kitchen bits and pieces, so are a little more confident of not poisoning the guests. But I struggle to understand the willingness of French retail customers to stand in line - we must have stood in the queue for 20 minutes before we got to the cashier. Maybe I haven't been here quite long enough this time to adapt to the pace of life. But I notice that there's a growing 'Supermarket Drive' tendency: people now tend to buy on the internet and drive in to collect the order. Not quite the constant stream of delivery vans we see in England these days, but I think I see the logic.
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