A Lost Weekend in the Village

These signs made me think there was a lot happening.

Window Weather Observation Fails

Le Village:- Saturday-Sunday, 4-5. April 1998:- For various reasons I could not go into Paris last Wednesday. I figured on less reporting from there, and from signs I've seen around here, I thought I could fill up the issue with some local events.

On Friday evening there was to have been a sort of 'town meeting' in a little hall we have here. In ten years, this was the first I'd ever heard of, although it is advertised as 'annual,' and I thought it would be worthwhile to go.

In the end I didn't. I worked on photos instead. Actually, I forgot all about the meeting. As far as I know, no discussion was planned. The Mayor and the Council members were supposedly intending to tell the citizens what they are up to, and claimed to be ready to answer questions. When the tabac opens tomorrow, I'll find out what happened.

The local photo club took over the ground-floor of our 'city' hall for an exhibition on Saturday and Sunday, and I went over and took a photo of this. People go on trips with cameras and bring back photos and some of them are good. Some others read photo magazines, and try to make good photos; but it is only nervy people who are a bit crazy who can pull this off.

I thought there was to be a dance in the little hall for some reason on Saturday night, but now I can find nothing about it. I should have popped over to look, but I was doing photos again after writing up Papon and Le Pen all day. This afternoon, when I was looking for the painters, there were two ladies in the doorway of the hall, and a couple of colored balloons were poking out - maybe it was an afternoon dance?

I am mulling this over, with the municipal information thing under my nose, and now I see that next Sunday is Easter. Why so soon? I thought Easter only happened when I wasn't expecting it anymore.

That means I have no Easter Egg in this issue. I guess it means I have egg on my face.

I did remember to go and look for the open-air painters, at about 16:30. From what I remember, they are finishing about this time and admiring their stuff, or having café and cakes after winning the prizes.

Before going out I remembered to look out of the window to see what the weather was doing. I must have forgotten why I looked out the window, because when I got outside it was raining fairly seriously.

This makes me remember I forgot to shoot this morning's Paris Marathon off the TV in the hopes of capturing Metropole's runner - if he arrived in time. Last week's update from the email coordinator indicated he was still someplace in India. He was running up mountains there to get into shape.

Over in the park of the Marie, there is nobody in sight. Under the overhang of the coach-house I see a election-poster panel with a sign on it and when I get close enough I can read the word 'annulé.' So that's that.

I walk around a bit to try and get a good shot of the rain so I can put it in here as an excuse for these sorry open-air painters, but the sun starts breaking through the western overcast.

Remembering now, the last time I saw the painters outside, it was a really gloomy day with extra-dark clouds and most of the painters had raincoats handy. It didn't rain that time, until the café and cakes, and we all - practically everyone in the village - stood under the coach-house overhang, and watched the rain bounce off the tables of cakes and other food.

Maybe it was last year, and everybody except me remembered. The rugby match between France and Wales started at 16:00 and it's possible everybody was home watching that. I only remembered it when the radio said France had won.

Without giving the score as usual. I don't know enough about rugby to know what a good score is. The football club, Paris-Saint-Germain, won last night to win some big pot, and there was no score for that either. I have heard zero-zero scores praised on TV, so I cannot understand why a definite winning score is not worth mentioning.

And this is written by a guy who can't remember if it's raining after looking out a window to find out. They same guy who has a calendar right under his left hand and can't look at it to see when Easter is.

Sometimes I don't know why anybody reads this magazine. It's got more left out of it than is in it. Don't worry about our village life though. If it is ever sunny on a Sunday sometime this year, I'll get another chance to try and get those painters in action.

I am really determined to do it. So long as there's no sporting events on TV at the same time.