22/23. 09. 07. Perfect weather, warm and sunny. We did not have quite as many people through as last year but, both Martin and I agreed, they seemed more knowledgeable and more interested than last year. Martin sold two paintings and I have one out on approval.
20. 09. 07. Arrived back here on Tuesday afternoon after an uneventful flight via Zoom. Stopped in Ottawa and then came on to TO where Jason picked me up. Arrived at his house to discover Alisa and Poppy waiting outside for me. Poppy has really grown in the last couple of months and is more a toddler than a baby now. After a few moments she recognized me and decided I was OK and smiled. After a tasty BBQ retired fairly early.
Wednesday. Went to the storage to pick out a few things and wondered why I was in fact storing some of this stuff! Had lunch at the pub with Poppy, Jason and Fran and then Poppy, Jason and I went off to Riverdale Farm to see the goats, pigs etc. Had an even better BBQ dinner.
Thursday. Sorted out more banking stuff and then caught the 12.20 for Smiths Falls where I was met by Martin and Beryl.
17. 09. 07. I had scattered Dad’s ashes at Kew Gardens after he died and wanted to scatter Mum’s there too. Mum has been kept in a cupboard at Julia’s since then, so today was the day. Carole and I took the train to Richmond and then on to Kew Gardens. Dad was illegally scattered in the Lilac garden so we found it again on the map and after lurking and checking no one was looking, I scattered them. Again I was amazed at how many ashes there were. I remember when I scattered Dad’s there was this huge white cloud blowing around the garden which I tried to ignore. This time there was no wind so the whole operation was more discreet. Afterwards when I was well away from the Lilac garden I had a great sense of satisfaction and of having done the right thing. As a young boy I remember being dragged off to Kew Gardens seemingly every Sunday as both Mum and Dad loved the place so its seems a fitting resting place for both of them. Today there was a new Henry Moore show on too and his sculptures work very well at Kew. Unfortunately the batteries on my camera ran out so I couldn’t take any pictures but you can see them on the highlighted website.
16. 09. 07. Beautiful morning, warm and sunny. We had decided to take a trip on the Regent’s canal so caught the train up to Paddington and then tube across to Warwick Avenue. Walked over to Little Venice and Jason’s boats and queued up for the 12.30 boat. The trip took about 45 minutes and went from Little Venice past Browning’s Island through a couple of tunnels, under bridges, even through the London Zoo, to Camden Lock. A very leisurely trip seemingly miles from the bustle of central London until we arrived at Camden Lock and Camden market. After the tranquil canal with its overhanging trees and regency mansions the market was a rabbit warren of colour and activity. There seemed to be countless stalls selling everything from celtic jewellery to Goth gloves to sculpture withj of course the ubiquitous Starbucks. It was medieval! We wandered around here with about a million other people amidst the smell of food and the sounds of many different languages for a couple of hours before catching the boat back to Little Venice and then back to Windsor on a very crowded train.
11. 09. 07. Went to the art gallery in Lodève today which is part of the Musée de France and always has well curated shows. Today was the collection of Oscar Ghez, a French industrialist who made a fortune in rubber. The show is mainly French painters from the Impressionists to the 1930s, mostly unknown to me. Apparently Ghez liked to buy artists that he thought were good but were frequently not well known. He had a good eye and it is an interesting and inspiring show. I particularly liked Gustave Caillebotte, Armand Guillaumin and Michel Kikoine. Great ride to and from Lodève – I have now found a new route which snakes up to La Coste and then on single track roads around Lac du Salagou with great views across the Languedoc plain.
09. 09. 07. Marie-Pierre and Olivier came over from Bordeaux to spend the weekend with me. They arrived mid-afternoon bearing gifts of wine, fruit and home-made jam. After unloading we had a pastis to relax with and then dinner of Summer Pasta made with brie, basil and the local ripe tomatoes. After dinner we had a little promenade around town with a stop at the Negociants for a coffee. Saturday we had decided to go on a hike. After breakfast we drove to St Guilhelm le Desert, parked and wandered through the village. It is very much a tourist village in the medieval style. A bit too clean and neat for me but quite pleasant. At the end of the village we started our walk. It is quite a steep climb out of the village on what I think was a mule track which is also part of the Compostelle de St Jacques.
It passes through some old terraced olive groves and continues up to the Cap de la Croix. After that it climbs again through the garrigue to the Hermitage where we stopped for our picnic lunch. L’Hermitage was built in the 14th century for the monks who worked in the hospital at the abbey in St Guilhelm. It is a very shady, tranquil place to rest. After lunch we continued through some pines across a pass and then rejoined our original path back to St Guilhelm Here we replenished our water at the fountain and walked back to the car. We were all pretty hot so we decided to find a place to swim and found a stony beach just along the Herault. It was great – clear, cool water and a lot of fish. Finally we packed up, drove home and then had dinner at Le Venizia which is just nearby. Again had a walk and a coffee at the Negociants before turning in. Sunday had a kind of Franco/English Sunday breakfast with scrambled eggs, stuffed tomatoes, fruit salad with grapes, peaches, melon and figs, a baguette and again home-made jam. Delicious! After washing up had a quick tour of Lac du Salagou and the abandoned village of Celles before M-P and Olivier dropped me off and continued on their drive back to Bordeaux. It was a great weekend!
03. 09. 07 Was determined to get started today on some painting. It was a bright, warm morning so after the usual chores – reading the paper, listening to the news, posting letters, paying a parking fine etc, hopped on the scooter and headed for a hill just outside Nebian which is about 3 kms from here. Drove up and down the roads for a while checking out light, shadows etc and driving behind tractors hauling wagons full of grapes, found a spot and settled in to paint. Of course as it was more or less the first time this year, I had left some things at home but improvised. I have been using Griffin Alkyd paints which are quicker drying but they are so quick that they seem to dry up in the tube between outings! After finishing my painting had an interesting conversation with a guy who stopped by for a picnic lunch just where I was painting. We did not discuss painting at all, but scooters. He seemed to reckon that all scooters now have their engines made by the same Chinese/Korean company and the different brands just put their particular shell around the motors. Went home for lunch and then went out again, this time completely equiped and with real oil paints. Found a road looking towards Aspiran and settled in. As usual the second one was easier but it was quite hot and windy so I had to make sure nothing blew away. Lots of people in the vines but couldn’t quite make out what they were all doing. A lot of discussion going on. Below are not very brilliant photos of today’s efforts plus a painting I did earlier of my living room and another of a house near Montagnon which I painted when Julia and I went out together when she was here.
