A cooler day today.  I have been reading the rest of my current french book by Francois Mauriac 'Destins', it has been quite an interesting story and I managed to persist with it. The language was of very good quality and it was well written. The moral of the story was clear, and after much sadness, all went well in the end for those who were left behind.
The story of two young boys and how their lives had taken different paths. It is also about the people involved with looking after them, their family, friends and neighbours.

I  read my french novel 'Destins ' by Francois Mauriac.
I am sitting in the shade in my garden,  where there is a slight cool breeze,  it is not as hot as the heatwave of last week, but still very warm.

All around me, I can hear the sounds of people living their lives. It is fairly quiet at the nursing home behind us. During the pandemic a lot of people caught the Covid19 virus. Occasionally the care staff call out "goodbye"  to each other, as they go off after their shifts. 

On the right hand side, is a small allotment, then the church yard and  the vicarage.

To the left hand side of us lives an elderly gentleman very quietly moving about in his kitchen of his bungalow,  making himself a cup of tea. 

Next to him is a young family with children, who are playing in their paddling pool, so lots of loud splashing and happy laughter coming from their garden!

I decide to go to the park because it is usually fairly quiet at this time of day. So I can sit and read my book in peace.  There are only a handful of children in the play area, as many families have already gone to the nearby beach. We have taken a small picnic basket with us to the park with a flask of tea as well as some cold drinks.

We have plenty of sandwiches with us,  cream cheese and salmon,  mushroom pâte and herb pâte,  and some salad sandwiches too. Little cubes of cheese which we eat with slices of apple. For the dessert,  it is a little pot of strawberries with a pot of fresh cream.

Now to find a perfect spot for our picnic. Just beneath a fragrant sweet smelling lime tree would be perfect, there we place a soft blanket on the ground. It is a lovely afternoon, sitting in the shade of the lime  trees, watching the birds flying down to pick up the crumbs, brightly coloured fluttering butterfles and beautiful bumblebees, they are visiting the wild flower area just behind us. 

After eating our picnic I open my book and  read another page,  as I sip my lemonade. Soon we will have to head off back home, but first we will have a long slow stroll around the park. What a great staycation we have had!

With the intense heat of the last few days,  and the heaviness of the foliage,  part of this tree has broken off into the cemetery.

Yet another sign of Climate change !

Finding all sorts of jobs to do in the garden, like watering flowers in pots,  but the flowers and grass all looking very dry!

Today with the help of my very kind neighbours,  we have managed to put up a bird station,  so that my son and I can sit in the garden and watch the visiting birds.

Hopefully we will be able to see lots of visiting birds passing through!

(Unknown artist)

(Source artist unknown)

Sitting in the shade of my garden this afternoon. It is very hot but under the trees it is not too bad.  The french book that I am currently reading is 'Destins' by François Mauriac.

It is a moral tale centred around 2 boys Bob and Pierre and Elisabeth as guardien looks after the children, and of the neighbouring bourgeoisie families. Set in the Gironde region on the South West of France.The story follows the life stories of the two boys and what becomes of them. This is the summary in French.

"Jean Gornac et sa belle-fille Élisabeth font prospérer un domaine viticole à Viridis en Gironde. Dans la maison voisine vit Maria Lagave, une femme âgée dont Jean aida naguère le fils Augustin à poursuivre ses études pour devenir un fonctionnaire respectable à Paris. L'action débute alors que le fils de ce dernier, Robert, est envoyé en convalescence auprès de sa grand-mère en Gironde. La vie de bohème que mène Robert Lagave (dit Bob) dans la capitale est mal acceptée par son père. Son passage à Viridis va troubler l'équilibre bourgeois du domaine et provoquer une révélation chez Élisabeth."

Source- Wikipedia

A lovely quiet day today, so we had a lovely picnic in the park, under the trees!

I finished my latest book in french it was very good! "Guingette à deux sous." (The Tavern of the two pennies) by Georges Simenon.

In the end there were three people implicated in the murder. I was a bit suspicious about one of them, but  surprised that three people were involved.
I liked the fact that there were also women in the story, it was not just Male characters only. 

I liked the setting by the river with fishermen, the canoeing, the dancing the party, the bridge game and Maigret who was undercover, to find out who was the suspect,  following a tip off earlier on in the story. There was the occasional moving the scene to the city so this brought in some variety to the story.

My next book is "Les vacances de Maigret " also in french and is set in Les Sables d 'Olonne situated on the west coast of France in the department of Vendee. 

Maigret is supposed to be on vacation but he then becomes involved in a crime scene. I have only began reading the first chapter, but it seems quite engaging. I am so glad I bought all these books from Oxfam bookshop in the city just before the Covid19 pandemic hit !

What a hot day it was today! but fortunately there was a nice cool breeze blowing so this made it a little more bearable.

After doing my daily tasks. I opted for sitting in my 'Hideaway'  beneath the trees at the side of my house. I am still reading my book in french. It is slow plodding through  this book (Still reading La Guinguette à deux sous) and using my dictionary when I need to do so. 

I am also watching France24 which is a french speaking news channel on my mobile so I try to watch this once a day, this is very helpful for getting used to listening to the french language on a regular basis and learning to speak the french language.
It is a long process learning a language! I can write and read in french now, yet I still struggle to pronouce the words correctly.

Just been hearing on the news about the fires in France caused by the heat and the global warming. That's a great pity because there are some beautiful trees and woods in France.

We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.

Albert Schweitzer

Shed behind fence where my hideaway is,  with  bench and paddling pool.