May 2011

This month just appears to be slipping away. The weather is pleasant, and the days dreamy. Helen’s gold-and-purple irises emerged after the more ubiquitous purple irises had already finished – touching us nostalgically with her much missed spirit. Rowan Fairgrove and one of her husbands, Russell, were with us for Beltane Eve, and we had a small bonfire that burned through the night. The evening was appropriately enchanting, and May Day itself was gloriously beautiful. We drove around the lake – visiting Riez and Moustiers and getting some goat cheese from Bounas. On the day that Rowan and Russell were to leave, I ran quickly through the living room to get back upstairs for the Radio 4 News and was either misheard or I did the same thing that Tom Brokaw and Fox News had and said that Obama rather than Osama had been killed in Pakistan. It was only later that our houseguests learned the truth. They may never fully recover from the initial shock. Regarding the assassination itself, I think Noam Chomsky probably sums up my own feelings the best:
 (http://www.guernicamag.com/blog/2652/noam_chomsky_my_reaction_to_os/)

Thanks to such wonderful people here, life has flowed on almost seamlessly. I asked Petit Claude about the possibility of re-registering Marionette temporarily so that I could get insurance for her in France. When that was proving too complicated, I asked if he had an available and decent second-hand vehicle for me, and he came up with a Ford Escort that used to belong to the wheelchair bound lad just down our street – the same who had left his house to Wilko’s owner Eric when he hung himself last year. We now with Melissa have insurance covered transport.

Guy Grejon has been and cut our meadow and raked much of the grass into a pile that we are now using in the vegetable garden. The property is manicured and looks lovely. He has been a delight – as has been our dear Renaud who came and installed an air vent into the bedroom sink which now operates in blissful silence instead of loudly belching throughout the night. We feel completely blessed knowing such helpful people. Uniquely I think for a plumber, Renaud phones me rather than my having – and elsewhere repeatedly and endlessly – to phone him.

Thanks to Russell’s suggestion, I have purchased Photoshop Elements and have installed it but have yet to figure out how to use it. I have also assessed two papers for the journal Ecozon. Between Cherry Hill Seminary, preparations for the ISSR conference in Aix, the ethics manuscript re-write, Facebook and the perpetual email, there have also been some lovely social moments. One evening we went to Liliane and Renaud’s for an enjoyable dinner and time with them, Jim and Joanne. With Hamish off in London to arrange things for his mother, Penny invited us to dinner with Stephen. It was relaxed and a nice chance to catch up. Late one afternoon, Joanne and Jim arrived to see Wilko and just as Renaud arrived to check on our sink. While our dear sanglier gets larger and larger by the day, he is still adorable, friendly and intelligent. The rest of the evening erupted into a spontaneous party, and Liliane joined us as well. Two days later, we had drinks (rum) with Renaud and Liliane in town at the Café du Cour for the first night of the fête. We were then joined by Adelaïde and Pascal. The following day, we went in for the blessing of the bread in connection with the Feast of St. Pancras – the bread then being handed out to everyone in front of the Mairie. We had our own celebrations the following day for the Ides of May and the conclusion of our bean-casting rites of the Lemuria for whatever unquiet spirits of the dead may be lingering around our domain. The fête concluded with Monday’s tirage and then with all the lads inebriated, costumed or in drag or both jumping into the central fountain. Everyone turns out for this, and everyone is happy.

We had dinner with David and Marguerite at the Hotel Provençal and then the next day drove with Micheline and Nicolas to Le Puy-en-Velay for two nights. It was a marvelous time, everything went well, and both Mailaenders are easy and absolutely lovely. We stopped en route for lunch in Vivier for what turned out to be a completely delightful menu rapide at the charming Relais Vivarais. At the hotel/restaurant’s suggestion, we detoured to see Saint-Montan en Vivarais – a totally reconstructed fortified medieval town dating from the 5th to the 15th centuries. From the beauty of the Ardeche to the beauty of the Haute-Loire, we feasted on the sheer magnificence of the landscape. We dinned the first night at Comme Ma Maison next to the Cathedral. It was perfect, but the next evening we splurged at François Gagnaire, the Hotel du Parc’s renowned restaurant where we were also staying. This last was over-the-top. People everywhere were friendly, helpful and most pleasant. This was Richard’s and my third visit to Le Puy. The Cathedral is lovely in itself and focused on Notre-Dame du Puy: The Black Virgin. But it is the doubtlessly pagan in origins Stone of Apparitions / the Fever Stone which is to the left of the main altar which holds our fascination. A most powerful presence.

All in all, it was a splendid excursion, and Melissa performed flawlessly. I needed a bottle of champagne and a few of olive oil for Petit Claude in gatitude. We visited from Le Puy the town of La Chaise-Dieu with its impressive église (Abbatiale St.-Robert) and perhaps even more fascinating salle de l'écho. Even our late stop in La Roque-d’Anthéron on the way back to Aups for an impromptu lunch at the Bar Central was accommodating, perfect and lively. The following day, Liliane and Renaud brought our exhausted (from the Cannes Festival) but stunningly gorgeous Lorna-Lee over so we could say hello and catch up with her even briefly. I fixed negronis, and it was another great time. Earlier that same day we went to our second of Jane Emery’s literary luncheons at the Hotel Les Esparrus. If the speaker, Robert Camuto, was not particularly impressive, we still had a good time meeting various people and getting medical contact information.

I have also begun the teaching of my online course for Cherry Hill Seminary on the World’s Religions from a Pagan Perspective. It is always a learning experience for me as much as, if not even more so, it might be for my students. I have ten, and they are by far the most loquacious of any I have had previously. We have covered ‘defining religion’ and ‘paganism versus gnosticism’ so far and are now onto Judaism. It has been to date an exciting venture.

We’ve been to Chateau Cresson to pick cherries. Stephan and Koen arrived from Amsterdam, and we have been with them both around the lake (followed by two rounds of negronis) and to Aix (followed by two rounds of gin-and-tonics). We are shortly expecting Michael and Pierre also from Amsterdam to join us and then the next day Kevin and Frank from Hawaii as well. The weather has been virtually full summer. There was also a lovely luncheon at Penny and Hamish’s with Elizabeth, Graeme, Danny, Anna, Janet, Roland and Keith, and the days all in all have been full, busy and wonderful. By this point, however, I am actually looking forward to June’s dies nefasti cessations and a chance physically to rest, catch up and possibly even to thin down.