Reflections on a Sunday Morning

I'm going to have to be quick today. I'm skiving off Church. I should be there, but some friends invited us for lunch and, though they said that we could take Jasper the Lunatic Spaniel, I think it is asking too much. However, it would be unfair to lock the little boy away in his prison cell, sorry crate, for the time it takes to go to Church and then lunch as well. So I'm skiving off. I shall take him a decent walk, though not the length we have managed the last four days, and then get ready for lunch. So I cannot waste time.

I do not know how I do it, you know, I write a post and correct it when Daniele tells me what I've got wrong, and I still get things wrong. Ah me, it's what comes of being English. She won't comment on the blog itself, but sent me an email. I really enjoyed reading that email and so I'm going to quote from it here, so you can get a flavour of our conversations. " "Square" in France, has a different meaning from the English word. It means a little park...So, the place is "Le Square du Ranelagh". It's the same with what you call gallery is a museum in France! In France, a galerie can be a private shop where you can buy art works, or a big corridor in a castle, a manor or a museum... like "la Galerie des Glaces" in Versailles. By the way, les Anglaises, refers only to women.. A male, is un Anglais.. Take your pick. About Bon, ben... Don't forget the comma between the two words, to mark a pause.. and I forgot to tell you that ben is pronounced bain...

So if you say it without making a pause between the two, it might mean "have a good bath!.... French is a difficult language!" I've made one or two further corrections to yesterday's post, but anything else can stand.

Mind you, I think that English is just as difficult a language, and we have just as many words that have multiple meanings. Mostly because we've stolen them from French. Maybe if I enjoy going to evening school for Digital Imaging, (which starts for me a week on Monday, though it started for everyone else about three weeks ago) I can start doing Beginner's French in September, or maybe "French for the merely stupid". Or I could do like the lady I read about last week. In order to make sure that her son grows up speaking good French she has sent her 9 year old son to live with a family in France for six months. In that time the boy will call, and treat, his French "parents" as Maman and Papa and will have almost no communication with his English family. No email, no phone calls, no letters. Drastic perhaps but I bet he comes back speaking beautiful French. Now, I wonder if Pat .........

I only took one photograph yesterday. I walked a route that I often walk and nothing really caught my eye, except this one little building by the side of the main road. Have a look at this.

I've seen this building many times before and never really stopped and looked at it. It's obviously quite old, built of stone, not bricks. The door is planked up and looks to be nailed shut. All the windows have white cloths over them, except the top floor. I don't think anyone can be living there now. But there are big, strong stone lintels over the doors and windows. Between the tarmac pavement and the front wall is very old cobbling. It exudes an air of fatigue as if it is a little tired of it's decline into old age. But I think it has a real story to tell. I think that it is a weavers cottage from the days before weaving moved into the mills. It stands opposite an area that was once full of cotton mills, so in the early days it would have served them by weaving goods that were spun in the mill sheds. A big house like this might also have been the home of an overlooker or floor manager in the mill.

At the moment I have no answers, just questions, but I just might try to find out a little more.

Ah well, not the world's best posting today, but it will have to do. Bye bye for now!

Bon, ben (pronounced bain). Fait des beau reves!