Tuesday 23rd January
There was a comedy song in the Sixties, (in fact there were several, a trend that seems to have completely disappeared) I can’t remember who it was by – some American comedian. It was about a Summer Camp where disasters followed each other and the kids were miserable and accident prone. The punchline was “and they say we’ll have some fun when it stops raining”. Of course, in the song by the last verse the sun came out and it was all great fun.
Well – although we haven’t had snow (yet), it has been raining here for days if not weeks. And it is miserable. We came to France for the Summer sunshine. Of course we do realise that there are seasons, and that Winter will be cold. In fact it is often really cold; in November we had minus temperatures most mornings with a dusting of frost, but the sun came out and by lunchtime it was around 10 degrees and pleasant. Now it is gloomy dark grey skies, and even when the rain slows down and you scan the sky for a glimpse of sunshine, just like that song “Ain’t no Sunshine”.
I have always hated Winter. Not the cold; in fact I quite like those brisk chilly mornings, but the persistent rain. Just as in England the pavements haven’t been dry at all in 2018 so far. In fact walking the dogs is now a question of finding the least muddy route and avoiding huge puddles everywhere. I also, like many others, seem to suffer from SAD (seasonally Affected Disorder). I hate the dark mornings and the even darker late afternoons. Every day I look at my watch while walking the dogs to see how fast the year is progressing, but it doesn’t seem to be moving very quickly at all – still dark at 8 (7 for you in England) before a glimmer of lightening skies heralds in another day of rain.
It is the first and almost only topic of conversation in the Café. Everyone seems to hate it. All we can do is hold tight and believe that the Summer will be good again. Sitting out and drinking wine and listening to music in the Park, and enjoying the Night Markets and the Gourmand Evenings. They say we’ll have some fun when it stops raining.