Life without Wifi
We have had nearly a week without internet here at La Ville au Roi (Eleusis). Although we missed being able to communicate with all our friends in the usual way, it has been rather nice to have this little retreat. Initially we thought that our equipment was faulty, but replacing it achieved nothing and in the end the problem was traced to the outside phone line. Of course, there is now a backlog. I have 400 e-mails in my intray.
Spring Clean
My main practical activity during this period has been to have a spring clean. With guests coming soon I decided to sort the place out a bit. Now that we have new storage space in the barn through installing a floor it has been possible to rationalise to a considerable degree and get living space and storage space largely separated which makes a big difference. Of course, this has involved shifting a lot of grime accumulated over the winter. The old fashioned tradition of a spring clean makes a lot of sense when one lives in old fashioned accommodation as we do.
Still Waiting for Summer
The weather has continued mostly wet, though warm. Many of our rose bushes are in bloom, but I can see that others are just waiting for some sunshine, with buds waiting, reluctant to open in present conditions.
Disquieting World News
Visitors have been telling us the news - the shooting in America is very unpleasant, but, of course, the imbalance of making the deaths of Americans in the West so much more news worthy than the deaths of Arabs in the Middle East makes one wonder how sanity is ever going to be restored. The shift of opinion in UK toward leaving the EU. This latter is certainly not welcome when one is a British person living inside the EU, though it is in part because of the extent of British xenophobia that one chooses to do so.
Reading & Writing
I have continued work on my book about Dogen and am starting to feel that it is 'nearly there'.
I finished reading 'Myself When Young' by Daphne Du Maurier and have moved on to the novel 'Trilby' by her grandfather George DM. It is amusing, satyrical and erudite in a light kind of way. He was evidently a lover of Paris and its 19th century bohemian life.
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