eff star see kay

Monday 31 st of August

Put on the mask upon leaving the car, and

take the muddy short cut across the embankment.

A man approaches, he gives a cheerful' good

morning'. He is the man in charge of the technical gas.

He does not wear a mask. So many people do

not, it is uncomfortable, it is impractical. So

they do not. After all, wearing a mask will only make a statistical improvement to the viral

contagion in society, the chances of

an individual being affected remain not seriously changed. So they say, so they think and so they do. Like all safety precautions, they remain untaken if they are not enforced.

Inside the building, an older man without a mask keeps a great distance,

he has a guilty expression.

A younger man approaches, not

minding his distance. He does not care.

The fashion appears to be not to give

an f-star-ck

Eff-star-see-kay.

uncaring

 The rain has wet the flower growing on the bush by the path up to the entrance of the park. Large drops of water have coalesced on the bloom, the pale petals are almost translucent.

Think about taking a picture, then consider, and  do not bother.

Do not take the high path through the park, the hoodie is a warm piece of clothing but not waterproof and the rain may pick up again.

On this cloudy morning the path is very dark, gloomy, it is sinister in a romantic sort of way. Everything is wet and shiny. Walk on beside the path along the town wall, reentering the town's streets at the russian orthodox church. The first services have just finished, there are groups of churchgoers standing about chatting. The church seems to have more custom than the big catholic churches.

Walk on throught the town in the miserable rain. Look into the windows of the big watchmaker's store, there are very highly priced ostentatious watches there. They are all incredibly expensive, and they are all automatic watches, even a few that need winding. There are no electrical watches. 

They are mostly ugly ostentatious things. 

But fascinating.

There are a few pedestrians about, there are a very few people in the cafés. The morning's coffee at home has eliminated the wish for any further morning beverage. It would be nice to go to a cafe to have a breakfast now, but they are all full, there are no single tables, and 

really don't care that much at all.

insomnia

 on the hour, four bells, and then three bells, those are the big bells of the Martins's church.

then the  four tinkly bells, a few seconds later, then three bells, those belong to Jodok's church.

it is dark in the room, look in the direction of the cieling. Sounds from the town come in through the open window, people still up and about.

a quarter of an hour later, a single bell.

Saint Martin's church

A single tinkle

St Jodok's church in the Freyung.

It is dark, there is the sound of a car passing over the cobbles. This makes a rumbling sound. There is nothing to see, but the weak light from the globes outside the window. The globes are made of cracked glass, the electricity from the solar panel on their mountings stores electricity during the day and releases it as light during the night. The lights are not bright, but they are pretty.

another quarter of an hour,

two bells from the Saint Martin's church tower, that is the half of the hour.

two tinkles from Saint Jodok's, that is the half of the hour just a few seconds later

and then oblivion, the time of Hypnos, the time for sleep to take over the story.

The next time the bells sound there are four and then six, and the light in the window is grey, and there is the sound of rain outside.

As had been forecast on the night before.

not relaxed

 arrive at work today as the man driving the roller that compacts the sand in the building site outside starts to work. He drives his machine back and forth, every time he comes close and reverses the walls in the office shake.

They dug the hole in the place where the sheds had been. The sheds were build for storing technical gases, and also supplied the nearby buildings with electricity via underground cables. Their foundations were deep, hence the hole.

And now the hole has been filled with clean coarse sand, and that is what is being compacted.

The hole was one hundred metres long by twenty wide and three deep.

The noise is incredible, it is hard to concentrate on anything. 

And then people start to make telephone calls, and the computer beeps and 

how is all of this supposed to work. Somebody arrives asking a favour, now is not the time to blow up, it really is not.

At eleven thirty five leave for the 

cafeteria, and there is a crowd of people there, it is all stressed, they really are not being professional there is somebody new on the job and the chaos is 

A cup of coffee and a cookie.

The notebook is forgotten in the office! So is the pen! So is the mobile 'phone!

Sit down, admire the poplars, the one is turning yellow early on this year. 

In fact, it is the end of August, and things are going brown, this summer is over before it has begun, because of the virus

But now, it is after twelve o'clock and the building worker has finished his work, he is off into the weekend.

It is silent, and now the work for the day has been done.

discriminate

Thursday 27th of August 2020

The kitchen is a mess this morning. It is worse

than usual. The dishwasher is open, nobody

bothered to empty it, just the things needed for

some evening snack have been removed.

The shopping is still on the counter, in

front of the coffee grinder. Push the things

aside, and take the container from the machine

There is still coffee in it enough to fill the coffee maker.

Make a cup of coffee, despair at the

mess.

It is ugly, and there is no wish to clear it now

There is no time either, it will be necessary to go to work soon.

sit at the small desk in the corner of the bedroom, read the news. Discrimination

seems to be part of the way of life in

America. At least, in the United states of

America.

The coffee is finished, and it is time to go to work.

gale

Wed 26th of August 2020

The demolition workers in what is going to be the building site of the new physics building are making clouds of dust. It is a stormy day today , and the cluds of grey concrete dust rush around between the buildings, whirling and turning. The clouds rush along the newly tarred road, hurry aroung the corner of a building and disperse in a group of whirls and eddies.

Another cloud suddenly rushes up the facace of the grey building, and upon reachting the top disperses, going back in the direction from which it had come.

It is sunny and very windy. At lunch, watch the poplars swaying in the gale, their leaves seem to sparkle in the sunlight. The poplars are planted in  an unnatural straight line along the straight road that leads through the campus.

How would you take a picture of that?

cat communication

Tuesday 25 August 2020

go into the kitchen to turn on the coffee

maker. The cat is most active and attentive today.

There are two opened and empty cat

food tins on the table.

Switch on the coffee machine so that it will heat up. There is still coffee in the grinder, fill the little silver sieve. Take a clean cup

from the dishwasher and

put it under the machine. 

Whilst the machine is heating, cut a slice

of bread, spread butter upon it and

a slice of cheese. Plain old Gouda.

Press the button, the coffee machine starts to grumble. Look into the water tank on the machine

realise that the lark is nearly empty. Fill a

big glass of water at the tap, and fill the tank with that.

All the while, the cat has been fussing around for attention. Pick up the slice of bread and

cheese and the cup of coffee, and head on towards the small table with the computer in the bedroom.

There is a loud crash. The cat has jumped onto the table and has thrown down one of the empty tins. Stop  to look at her. She mews, reaches out with one of her paws, and throws down the other

tin. The cat knows her tins, and she is pissed off, and hungry.

six men in orange today

 Monday 24th August.

Beyond the entrance to the physics building

A row of workers in orange overalls

stand at the end of the short piece of

road that has been prepared last week.

This must be the tarmacadam crew

They stand their, surveying the area

that they are to pave, they are discussing

methods.

.

Later on, watch them from the office

window. There are many photos to scan,

This leaves plenty of time to observe the

things happening outside the window.

The men in orange work well as a team

each has his job. They have a small fleet

of machines, and each machine has it's operator. When no machine is required, each and every man takes a rake, or a shover to coax the hot steaming asphalt into the required place and shape. A stream of insulated trucks delivers the hot mixture and it is distributed with, or by hand with rakes and shovels.

At midday, the whole area is finished.

test run

 The son shouts, he loses his patience, for he has not found a way to load his moped onto the tiny trailer. The trailer is very light, as he attempted to wheele the moped up onto it, the trailer slipped away.  Go down the stairs with him, hold the trailer as he pushes the weakly motorised bike up onto the trailer. It was easy, he calms down again.

Tighten the green web band over the machine to hold it fast and immobile on the trailer, and close the back flap on the trailer too.

Pick up the keys for the bigger car upstairs, then go downstairs, and walk up the street to the car parking spots. There is the grey car, a small five-door station wagon. Start the engine. fight with the gear shift. The gears are different on this car, it is a manual system. Drive it down to the end of the road, and do a U turn in the right angle bend that the road takes there.

After that very short drive park the car before the house. This is actually a no parking zone, but parking is allowed for short periods. Take the tow hitch out of the storage area at the back of the car, and fix it to the fastening under the bumper.

Meanwhile, the son and the wife have opened the double doors to the hallway. The doors are painted red, and quite old. They were made probably over one hundred years ago.

Wheel out the trailer, bump! over the step and a second bump! into the street. Hitch up the trailer, and plug in the electric lights. The son checks to see whether or not they are working. He confirms that they are, and the wife and the son get into the vehicle

Twenty minutes later, we are out in the country, a small sider road suitable for testing the moped. The son puts on his new helmet, and after a few clumsy attempts with the pedals, the machine starts, and he vanishes slowly into the distance up the long straight country lane. He is nearly a kilometre away now, small in the distance. All seems to be well. Then, see him return. He is using the pedals, something is wrong after all. He arrives back at the car where his parents are enjoying the sun, and reports that the clutch is slipping. He has had the foresight to take tools along on this expedition.

Laying the machine on it's side so that oil does not flow out he removes a cover, a few screws, a rod. a spring. Then he tightens a larger bolt, and replaces all the other parts.

Then it is ready to go again.

But at the end of the day, the whole aggregate of machinery will develop another problem, but the excursion was a success.

And the son is learning to cool his temper.

hopefully.

drag

 it is such a drag. Dragging out of bed, there is nothing to go for. there is so little to go to. This misery is not over, but start to to do the things that were planned for anyhow. Read the news, look at the funny things on facebook. People just cannot be serious, desiderata, be placid!

when every movement is just another drag, wash the teeth, brush the hair and comb the mind.

There is nothing worth knowing about on the computer today, nothing seems to be going anywhere.

leave the house and walk to the park on the hill. It is not as extensive as the park in Hampstead, it was possible to go on long walks there, to watch the kites flying, and to visit the café in Southend Green.

The steep hill takes the breath away, take a turn along the hill rather than trying to climb directly up. There are a few old people out walking, they may be from the home nearby. They are having a harder time with the hill, but they do not give up.

At the top of the hill sit on the bench there, there are still few people about. The children say hello, their parents say good morning. It is a pleasant atmosphere here.

After a while the lady seen at the bottom of the hill turns up. She looks at this younger man sitting on the bench and says that climbing hills is hot work.

After a while, decide to go on, maybe to visit the shops.

Then realise that there is no wallet in the pocket.

Return home, to find it forgotten on the desk, only the cat is awake. The rest of the family is asleep.

such a drag.

go on to the shops.

buy a baguette.

just feel really antisocial.

vibrato

 there is no wish to move and there is no ability to sleep. Get up, make a cup of coffee, the kitchen is a mess and it is four in the morning.  A strange dizziness, the thought of work is terrible. In the bathroom feel ill, but really, there is nothing to complain about. There is a buzzing in the head, the eyes do not focus. A drink during the night might have helped, but that would have been the first drink in two years now. So that did not happen and it would not have driven away what is just a depression coming on. A perfectly normal dissatisfied depression. Drink the coffee, pet the cat.

Read the news. Trump shouting his capitlised tweets, Belarus in uproar, dissidents poisoned. The British exit has turned into an insular problem, people have other worrines now. Still those express newspapers give a silly bulldog picture of what should be serious negotiations. More a pug than a bulldog, really.

There can be no going to work today, not in this state.

Write a short mail, that will deal with that.

lie down, knowing that all of these feelings are no more than self-pity.

Several nightmare later wake up.

it is eight.

put on the clothes.

There is a woman at the bank to see.

Walk through the town.

There is child on a bicycle allowing the cobble bumping to modulate its voice. A long "Ah" with vibrato courtesy of the cobble stones.

In the bank, go to the counter. They have distancing regulations in force,  wait till the bank official comes out, and pulls aside a red rope blocking the entrance. In the office take off the mask.

He says he just wanted to say hello, everything is in order. He just wanted to see his customers face to face.

oh.

Ok.

Big deal, what was the appointment with the two reminders for?

dayglo

Thursday, 20Th of August 2020

Outside the window, two men and their

machines are working in an area that

used to be an area of parkland between

a path and a building.

Now the men and the machines are building a road, which is due to take up the space between the path and the buildings

It is a temporary road, but the two men are building  as if     

that should last for ever. With the greatest of care they are removing the surface with Their digger,just scratching off the top layer, then

flattening it with a compacter made by Wacker, then spreading small amounts to fill a few dips, then stretching a line, then

measuring the discrepancies, and then repeating the procedure.

Both men are dressed in bright orange clothing, the kind of colouring that is brighter

than it should be. There are reflective bands

in the shoulders of their jackets.

They are producing a flat surface ready for covering with tarmacadam. It is yet

another temporary road.

.

-

old negatives

  Wendnesday, 19th  July 2020 

This morning, in the office, turn on thecomputer, the coffeemaker and the scanner. There is a bit of work to do, somebody found negatives dating from 1995, and the y want them all digital, as one says today.
The person orderin al oof this had, as a prime concern, the removal and replacement of the negatives in their holders.

But the principal work is adjusting the scan and removing the dust.

The negatives are not good, they were badly developed in the nineties. The laboratory assistant was only interested in fast tesults in those days, she used an aggressive developing agent which gave results quickly, but she did not take the necessary care in the process.

What of it all, anyway, they are all pictures of people taken twenty five years ago. Some of them are dead now, and all of them have changed.

This is an occupation for the next week or so.

Just scanning.

persistent cat

Tuesday, 18th of July

Wake up, and after brushing the teeth and turning o the coffee machine sit down at the small desk to look at the computer.

There is a cat sound from the door, so open it and let the animal in. It jumps up onto the knees as soon as the computer starts.

She wants attention, her back needs stroking the hard boney head needs scratching. 

And the chin - Oh yes - the chin. Why do cats lie that so much?

Then get up, let ther jump down. Go to the kitchen, make a cup of coffee and butter a roll for breakfast. Return to the computer, read the mail. The cat jumps onto the lap again, she wants a second helping of stroking.

And the put her down, it is time to change the night clothes for the day clothes. Apart from the underwear, the clothing is much the same as every day, including yesterday.

Sit down again, the persistent cat jumps up again. She has pefected the jump so as to land on the knees light as a feather.

No more digging of claws into knees.                           

monday

$1 mday 17th July 2020

leave the office, put on a mask, traverse the

big hall of the physics building. A man

approaches, he hurriedly dons his mask.

It has become hard to believe the stories of the

virus, it has been driven back so well.

But It is still about, so the virologists say.

Leave the building,Take off the mask.

It is an overcast day, unlike the blazing hot

days in France last week.

climb the steps on the building with the

grey steel shutters, walk past the glazing

around the cafe, and put the mask on again

to go into the building, there is a young man

there, the proprietor's son. He is friendly

behind his mash and plexiglass screen.

Be recognised by the father working away

in the kitchen. He laughs and suggests the

same as ever, half a pizza, And a

medium-sized coffee.

Take a seat in the cafe after the

tracing information has been given.

Then sit down, this is the first Monday return to work after the holidays.

And there is nothing to write about.

pedelec

Sunday, ibth

July 2020

A cafe in Landshut with its tables the centre of the street. Watch the cyclists all hustle by, some on electric bicycles, no most of them on such electrical bicycles.

A man  passes, moving fast, with    

his small daughter in tow, on a sort of

attached single wheel trailer. He cannot see his daughter face, she without any sunglasses, dazzled, bouncing up and down. It looks dangerous.

All of these electrical bicycles keep up a higher speed than one would expect.

There is a small group on the opposite side of the street, a saxophone player, and two guitarists. They are playing popular melodies in the hope of largessefrom the customers in the cafe over there.

Landshut main street is full of cafes

It is also a pedestrian zone, no

motorised vehicles allowed.

Exept for electrical bicycles, of course.

biplane

Saturday, 15th of August

There is a sound from the sky, a slow rattling sound, it does not change in pitch but it is moving.

This is a hot summer's day, and this will be a half an hour on the park bench at the top of the hill. There are family groups having picnics here, and now, at around

four in the afternoon, the sky is slowly clouding over, the weather is cooling.

There are children everywhere, running in the fields.

A young child standing beside his little sister, points to what must be a rotten apple. He say's "Beh", an expression of disgust. A reminder of a photograph at home of two children, just the same.

Fifty-Sixty-one years ago, the scene was similar

The sound from the sky turns out to be a biplane, with transparent wings, a delicate small thing. Slowly: it moves across the sky, then an impossibly sharp turn, and it moves off the way it had

come. Another reminder of childhood, there are very few biplanes in the sky these days any more.

Rossini

 Seven, it is seven and though the wish to get up is there, the dense thick feeling in the head makes remaining in bed a so much more attractive idea. Remember now that the son had helped yesterday to load up the tiny trailer with things that were no longer wanted, and that it is standing in the middle of the hallway downstairs.

Rest a few minutes more, that does good, make a warm brown beverage, read the news for a bit, read a couple of pages of a lovestory involving machine intelligence.

Now, something really must be done. The son is in the land of Nod, nothing to be done there. Take the key for the bigger car, go downstairs and take the green net out of the plastic box where it is kept. Cover the diverse objects on the trailer, cover the lot with an old wooden palette that is starting to rot. Hold this down with a green restraining band with a ratchet tightner.

Now the trailer is ready to go.

Open the double doors to the street, and wheel the trailer out. There is a car standing outside, some tradesman has left his vehicle there. Carefully steer the unwieldy trailer around this hindrance, a scratch on the glossy lacquer of this vehicle would be unpleasant, and lead to unpleasantness.

Leave the trailer on the street, close the doors, and go down the street to collect the car from it's parking spot. The car is faster than the small black car, and it has no automatic transmission. Forgetting this do not press the clutch as the car comes to a halt in front of the trailer. The car stops, the engine stalls.

The tow hook needs to be attached to the rear of the car, take it out of it's compartment under the floor of the hatchback boot, and click it into it's holder. Now the hook is complete, drag the trailer to the car,press the little safety catch, allow the socket to fit over the ball, attach the cord for the lighting on the trailer, and that is the whole thing ready to go,

Not quite.

There are some old plastic toys in the hallway, they should go into the back as well. The son has finally decided to get rid of all these old memories of his early childhood, and the things are just too grotty to even give away.

So the day starts this way:

to the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump.

waste of time

 stand in front of the house, lean on the wall, admire the bare legs of the girls passing by all eager to go shopping and to strut their stuff in the old town. Mens fashions seem scruffier, they walking around like bandy legged bulldogs with arms loosely hanging to either side in a simian sort of way. The use of the body seems dictated by fashion too.

Wait, and after quite a while, the son comes out with the tiny crankshaft belonging to his scooter in his hands. He has packed it in a cloth Aldi back, those useful inventions which, when treated carefully, remain useable for a surprisingly long time. The way is to lead to the scooter repair shop, perhaps they can help him there to loosen the bearings from their seats on the shaft. The old bearings are noisy, they need to be replaced.

Walk through the town in the heat, the sun is blazing down today. The street offers little shade, and it is quite a long way to the mechanics garage. It is near to the son's primary school. 

After half an hour stand in front of the locked wire mesh gate to the mechanics yard.

He is on holiday.

Father and son agree that it would have been wise to telephone in advance, to ask. But it is too late for that now. Start to walk back, using a different route down by the river.

Before reaching the river, pause to admire the steel railway bridge, a construction of girders, sheet steel, and countless rivets. It was built in the middle of the last century.

Walk along the river, It is too hot for the son, he is a redhead with fair skin, and does not take kindliy to this overdose of ultraviolet.

The new beer garden is empty, it is too early in the day.

It is uninviting, placed as it is out in the open with limited shade. But later on people will go there to get thoroughly and uncontrollably pissed, as they always do. This is Bayerische Bierkultur, or Bavarian beer culture to you.

The son is suffering because of the heat, and the father is not finding it pleasant either.

So take the most direct route possible, lingering in the cool underpass by the river.

The walking about town has led to discussion as to methods of removing the two tight bearings. On returning home we try one of these, a hole is drilled in a piece of wood so that it may function as a holder when clamped into the vice.

The try the dislodgment thing again, with a sudden movement the bearing is released from the shaft.

As easy as that.

discontent

 in the morning wake. nein! nine!

late, but what of it, take a shower wash the sleep away, hope it is gone.

The son's alarm clocks sound, it has a different tone now,  a honking sound. The bad thing about it is that it does not stop. He himself is a master at ignoring that which he does not want to hear.

Go to his bedroom.

A short shout.

That is the end of the alarm, he just goes back to sleep.

Make the usual warm drink.

Then go to read the news. American politics, British politics, Lebanese disaster,  all one after the next. The big news from Germany is that the socialist party has a conservative-leaning candidate for the next chancellor. And he has good chances, 'cos mainly only Bavarians will accept a Bavarian and this man is from elsewhere. Olaf is his first name.

The day starts with the son and his morning visit to the café, it pleases him, or he would not do it.

Afterwards, to the shop in the shopping centre, baguettes, a bar of adipositas - inducing chocolate. The son spots the wife, she has come here to shop as well. Ten packages of gnocchi, reduced, for the freezer. They have reached their expiry date, but that is of no account.

And then walk back home, home to a day of laziness, of discontent.

Read a book.

warm and fragile

 be the first to awaken, to get up, to make a cup of coffee.

to have the cat jump up onto the knees to have it's head scratched and it's back rubbed.

to enjoy a cup of coffee and to read the mail on the computer,

and then to lie down again for a few minutes.

The son is up later, he makes a silly face for fun, and we decide to go out for a cup of coffee to the local cafe in the local baker's shop. First repair the paper bag with the eleven shirts in it for the attention of the man who cleans shirts, and returns them nicely ironed each on their own wire clothes hanger. Use a bit of packing tape from the wife's mail order service, a service run from the home.

the son and the father go out into the morning sun, the sun still low, the son still half asleep. To the bakery,  today a young woman new at her job. But she is efficient, even if it is in a sort of a french way. Fill out a covid tracing form, every place offering seating to guests needs to make the customers fill out one of these. Then sit down and discuss mopeds and Trabants and scooters.

And when finished, pack up and go.

Wiedersehen. Or just say Wirsing, it gets the same friendly reaction. Nobody pays attention really.

Down the street, the son wandering on ahead in his lanky way. He has oily marks everywhere, due to his new found mechanical passions.

In the shopping centre, go downstairs, both wearing masks now, go to the Syrian tailor and his laundry. Give him the eleven shirts, for a modest fee they will be ironed.

He is training someone new to do the work here, wish him luck in his business expansion

go to the Aldi supermarket.

Two rolls, called baguettes, from the baking machine, still warm fragrant and fragile. 

five Euros

 midnight north of Troyes and safely west of Paris, the maps system elects to choose a route that will avoid traffic congestion far away. Evening twilight was late, and the little cars motor hums on and on. The first stop for diesel, nearly a tragedy, the card gone. The card that is used to pay the tolls with, a blue credit card, a carte bleu as the people call it here. The missing card noticed ,search the ground, search the car. Then the woman from the filling station comes out, she holds up the card

"is it yours, le carte bleue"?

Check the name. It is the missing one, unmistakale.

Give a thank you tip, five Euros. The woman comes over later, she says thank you for the tip. It was not a big amount, therefore wonder why the many thanks. So thank her again for having taken the trouble to leave her place behind the desk to return the dropped card. The loss would have been costly. It is even as if the five Euros would make a difference to her day.

But that was yesterday, now drive into the early morning, climbing the hills near Nancy, leaving all the acceleration to the cruise control, feet comfortably back on the floor.

Cross the border at ifezheim, there is no motorway that crosses the border here. That is strange, it is as if the political differences in the past had never ceased.

Germany, the country of high speed driving, mind the mirror all the time. Mind the cars temperature gauge at those hills near Stuttgart, then Esslingen, They never seem to end, as the route takes the car over the watershed, the line upon one side of which water flows to the Rhine, and on the other side of which ultimately into the Danube and the Black sea.

Just before reaching Augsburg, a refreshment, a cup of poorly made coffee and a croissant that looks like a deep fried wasps' nest and tastes of sugared paper nothingness.

And at half past four in the morning, reach home, the earliest light is starting to pale the sky in the east.

pill

 awaken happy after last nights meal, a fantastic succession of dishes, food from France cooked by a far eastern man.

Happy to awaken despite the sound of distant voices from another cave  raised in strife during the night. But that was no problem, the strife must have ended.

It is the last day in France today, the time for the long journey back is there again.

Got to the bathroom, brush the teeth, spread toothpaste foam on the front of the shirt, by mistake of course.

Change the clothes from night to day, the fresh underwear and fresh socks.

Make the bed a bit, then go next door, to the host in her cave. Coffee is made, now that is another luxury.

Sit and talk. It is morning, the sun is low, and it is hot and stuffy outside.

Pack the suitcase, bring it to the car.

and then there is the matter of the cat, the cat needs to be given a pill. Pick up the poor unsuspecting animal, and then hold it gently by the scruff of the neck. A small pressure left and right on the jaw and the jaws open. The pill is popped in, and the jaws closed, held closed, until a swallowing reflex is to be felt in the cats throat.

Rest her chin on the hand and stroke her head.

Then let her jump down and go away. She goes to her bowl and drinks.

Unusual for a cat to do that. There will be a smell of strange cat on the trousers for the cat in Landshut to worry abour, this evening, tomorrow, or whenever.

Marescot

 A second visit to the Marescot café,  the host from the cave felt ill waiting in the queue for the bakery, so she went ahead and sat down there.

In the bakery, bonjour Monsieur, bonjour quatre baguettes et un baguette cereal, Merci madame Merci Monsieur, that is the way it goes here. There are only two people allowed in the bakery at a time, hurry to pay, Merci Madame, au revoir.

Leave the bakery as the next customer slips in through the door, everyon so polite, everyone just a little bit impatient.

Next door in the cafe, there is the host at her small table, we sit together and chat. She is feeling better again, that is good. The young man with the mask arrives and asks as to what the wishes are, deux café, d'accord.

Watch the reflections in the glass, people, those standing wearing masked, those sitting all unmasked. Outside the terrace, at a small table there, a young woman with a strange white veil in her hair. She looks spanish, perhaps they are spanish expatriats. But the spanish veils in that style are black. It is hard to tell, it is easy just to wonder.

Look at the reflections in the window, there are decorations behind the glass, an old coffee maker and an enamel advertising sign. There are the other guests in the window.

Take a picture.

Talk about things, then the coffee in the little cups is finished, it is time to go.

Stop to talk with people at the edge of the terrace. Take one step back, look up, see that there is sky above, not awning. 

Remove the mask.

The people at the table all burst out laughing, the one touches his head and grins. There is not really a regulation that masks are to be worn under the awning, it is just an assumption.

Walk around the square, pass the golden gerbil, there is the car.

Hang the mask upon the lever for the indicator, and start the engine. 

The next stop will be Super U, the local bigger supermarket.

This is the last day in France but one, there is another week of of holidays and then all will be done. There is work to be done at home.

yellow G

 The cave dweller awakes, there is light from the cave mouth on the stone wall, the walls are a rough stone, limestone. The caves were built to quarry the limestone, and were later used for all kinds of purposes.

Fall back to sleep, it is early yet.

Later on, the light is brighter, a sign that it is time to rise, even if shining is currently a difficult proposition. Go to the little speleological type of bathroom, walls set in stone. Brush the teeth with the electric toothbrush which is now loosing it's power, it must be looking forward to the charger in Landshut. As much as a dumb device can look forward at all.

The teeth brushed, the foreign body overlooked yesterday removed,  go out and get dressed, fresh socks, all those nice fresh clothes.

Put on a different shirt. 

Go out, outside the cave is bright and warm, the gravel crunches underfoot, it is just before nine in the morning. The owner of the caves is up, knock get invited in.

Wish a good morning

make coffee.

Then hear that things are not as well as they could be.

A recurring drama of dizziness, and a poor state of balance.

But there are messages to be done, bread and cigarettes to be bought.

So take the little black car down to the next town and buy the cigarettes in a bar called the Gerbe d'Or.

The expats call it the golden gerbil. That is there humour.

Go to the bakery, read the price from the cash register, the French are fast at their own language. Hand over the money.

The girl says that that is too generous, and laughs, and gives most of it back.  A misunderstanding.

The restauraunt and coffee bar next door is called the Marescot,  and take a coffe there, served by the man with the uncatchable eye.

close call in the evening

 There is a young woman serving in the café in La Chartre, she is neat and fast at her job. She brings a glass of green liquid and a yellow Gallopin. Sit there watching all the traffic pass on the busy street, drink the green dliabolo and watch the young woman in her light dress as she skilfully avoids the attentions of a large man at the next table.

The Gallopin subsides slowly, that is alright, there is no hurry. Stories of some time ago are told and fears for the future are shared.

The tables and chairs are all being cleared away by the person doing the service, her dress is blue green.

Finally, catch her eye, and pay.

And then the small black car.

After navigating the complexities of the streets here, leave the small town and move along the French country roads at a steady pace. Leave a hamlet behind, the signpost signifying the end of town passes.

With a roaring engine a big BMW car passes, swerving out, overtaking at high speed. A French driver in a hurry..

Some distance ahead see a big white truck come out of an entrance to the left. The driver wants to turn to the left as well.

Hit the brakes, feel the anti blockage system buzz in the pedals.

The white car swerves, and with only a short space to spare passes by before the braking truck.

The black car has nearly stopped, then carry on.

An accident nearly happened.

but it didn't.

striped trousers

After leaving the food department store, LeClerc; with a bag of apples, a litre of emergency motor oil, and three electric light bulbs, drive the small black car through the huge parking place. There, on the other side of the road is another store, this is one with electronic goods in it.

There is an obscure guidance system in the  parking lot, try to follow, but it does not make sense. Eventually, an empty spot, stop the engine, close the windows, leave the car. All done, get out, and walk into the media shop, observe social distancing all the while.

Find the radio section, there are no internet radios. That is a german expression, apparently. No one knows in France and it is hard to believe. But it must be a problem with the description.

 A young man refers the troublesome customer to a young woman. She is wearing striped trousers. She speaks some English, she is friendly and she wants to help.

She asks others in the building, she returns..

desolé

But she wishes a nice day.

Take the car back.

on the way, the telephone that should be the guide, refuses to work because of overheating.

Use signposts, the old fashioned way.

That works tolerably well.

And in the late afternoon, return to the cave.

83

Awake late, for the ventilator in the cave has been turned 

off.

There is a deep silence.

Then there is a voice from the cave's mouth, the owner ot the caves is asking if everything is in order.

There was worry, because it is so late.

No, all is well.

Get up, get dressed, go next door.

Wish the owner a happy birthday.

It is her birthday today, she is eighty three.

A fine age to have to worry about a guest's health.

Make a coffee in the old and damaged coffee maker.

This is a day to go down to the town

and have a meal.

A hot day in the northern part of France.

A day of celebration.

renaissance genius.

After cleaning the electrical contacts on the lightning connector, part of the ipad tablet, find that it works again, a cause of delight for everybody, even the cat who recieved attention during the times when the silly little machine was starting.

For the sake of the cafe owner's addiction drive to Montoire and find a tobacconist, buy a package of Marlboro Gold. Ask the girl behind the counter for a toothpick, and after consulting her telephone find out that they are called cure-dents in French.

No, no cure dents in the stationery shop in  Montoire.

After delivering the cigarettes, see that cleaning the tablet's contact has let the thing charge. The little lamp is glowing green.

Take the road to Amboise, to see the house in which Leonardo da Vinci died, It is a fantastic Rennaisance restored structure with a beautiful garden, filled with representations of Leonardo da Vinci technical ideas.

All things that could work, but some did not, things that have been realised since.

All of them.

The gardens are lovely, and full of masked tourists. A few vain young women are wandering about without their masks. They don't care, they care more for admiring glances.

The tour of the house is a disaster, a long socially distanced shuffle.

The other tourists ignore the portrait by Dürer,  and gawp at the models of the strange devices.

The show has many reprlicas.

But the painting attributed to Dürer is not a replica.

The drawings by Da Vinci are.

Afterwards walk past a store selling icecream.

Get one.

Strawbery.

Two fifty.

very nice.

Turn around, see angry faces.

The queue had been overlooked.

That was a hot day.

dark

In the early morning in the cave there is no difference between having the eyes open and closing them. There is no light.

No light at all, just a slightly uncomfortable feeling having the eyes wide open and there being no visual difference. Hold up the watch, with the eyes open the green glowing figures are visible in the dark.

It is before six in the morning, there is just the sound of air moving through the cave's ventillation system.

And the hiss of tinnitus in the head, that is all. The zisch in the right temple. Ziiiiisch.

Get up, find the torch, a small black device, very bright. Find the mobile phone, turn off the alarm, and go to the cave's bathroom. With hot water from the tap, wash the face and rub in shaving cream, then shave away the stubble of the last two days.

And when that is done, wipe the sink, then take a shower. All things in the cave are a little bit lower down, the owner of the cave is not a tall person. 

And when all that is over, find fresh clothing in the suitcase, and get dressed by the light now coming around the corner from the caves entrance.

Leave the cave, cross the little garden and look down over the river Loir. Down there a field with many parked cars on it is visible, the many cars are the car boot sale's attempt to create order in the traffic chaos caused by the popular event.

Go back and knock on the blue door of the other cave.

The owner is awake.

Later, a visit to the brocante, the french car boot sale, is planned.

brocante

There are small furry brown bees harvesting the pollen and the nectar from the purple flowers of the plants at the end of the table. The table is covered with a tartan-patterned oilcloth, a pink metal chair to the left and a white metal chair to the right.

The friend comes out and says that it is time to go.

Pick up the bag with the camera and go

There is an old telephone, a French machine. A man with grey curly hair says thirty five. That is a bit much.

There is a set of cut-glass drinking tumblers. The man says three Euros.

For the lot. That is cheap.

Ten coffe cups, porcelain. Three Euros.

Admire a decorative plate, complete with modelled food. It has been bought by a friend. She has a good eye for things like that,  that is a beautifully made item.

In its original box. 

complete 

ummarked.

Go back to the telephone.

Thirty euros.

It is nearly one hundred years old.

The sale is done.

Then it is over, eat at the food store of the brocante, the car boot market in french style.

And back home, to collapse.

into bed, the journey the day before yesterday was too much after all.