Friday 21st August

Someone, can’t remember who, wrote a book with the idea that the UK had become a state of America, called USUK.  Hahaha.  But it feels so true after returning from our quiet corner of South West France. Everything here seems so commercial.  It is all about money.  Even the only programme I got to watch on TV last night, a feeble documentary by Anne Robinson about how we spend our money.  It seems we are rapidly becoming absorbed by the Capitalist monster…

One of the slight frustrations of Eymet is that on a Monday two of the three Boulangeries are closed.  Firstly the lack of any collaboration, as all three are open on six days – it just happens that on a Monday two are closed.  Secondly, the one that is open runs out of croissants before eight every Monday, and out of bread itself shortly afterwards.  But like some blinkered horse they do not appear to see a business opportunity staring at them.  Why not make more croissants and bread on a Monday?  And this is more or less the French way.  Whether it is stubbornness or stupidity, or just a different way of looking at life, I am not sure.  Most of the shops close for the obligatory two-hour lunch and at 11.45, even though they only opened at 10, they are stopping you from coming into the store, in case you attempt to buy something at one second past twelve.

Well, of course, we chose to live here.  And part of that is the un-commercial attitude to life.  Making money is not the main thing; enjoying yourself seems to be.  They spend a long time buying, cooking and eating food, and drink wine with everything. In USUK we have no time for cooking or eating even and buy ready meals from Waitrose or cheap takeaways, bolting our food down so that we can get back on the computer and read our e-mails. Getting on and watching spiralling house prices are our main concerns.  So, welcome to USUK.  But I cannot wait to get back to the home of true culture.  Vive La France.