HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Phew! I feel quite deflated. All that baking and freezing and buying presents and singing carols, then it happens, and then it’s all over.

Just like the coming of Christmas is heralded by boxes of chocolates stacking the aisles of our supermarkets, so too the end of the year is marked by small wooden boxes piled up in supermarket car parks. Next to them are crates of lemons and next to those, bags of shallots. It’s time for the oysters to be cracked open and eaten alive!

Then, no sooner have the shelves of bed linen, pillows and towels been cleared, the pancake mixes and frying pans appear. Next come the chocolate eggs and little chicks and fluffy rabbits….all the way throughout the year come these seasonal bullet points.

So isn’t it such a joyous thing to be taken by surprise by Nature. An ominous morning sky turns into a bright blue day. Swirling hill fog which hides chapels and towers and grand houses, lifts, and there they all are, an hour or so later. Giant plane trees that were leafy before Christmas are now suddenly bare.

I can no longer hear the rustle of a breeze as I stand under my friend the ancient oak tree – those leaves are now all around me, ankle deep. Green fruits have turned into orange fruits. You take a route you always take and you’re surprised by a purple bougainvillea draped over a garden wall. In my garden, the builder has left a lot of dust and dirt but a bright blue lavender bush has defiantly bloomed and small bumble bees hover around it.

Mother Nature has her own way of marking time and she never stops to check what month it is.

Part-time vacancy for a P-O representative

As you know we are still looking for someone to replace Maggie Longworth as P-O Representative. Her job involves co-ordinating events and activities across the P-O and participating in the general organisation of CSF Sud.

It’s a job that can easily be shared between two people. The applicant can be French or English and he or she does not have to be a part of CSF.

In fact we have someone who is willing to share the role with someone else so, if you have a few spare moments a month and you’d like to be involved in something worthwhile, please do contact Maggie by email sud-maggie@cancersupportfrance.org or by phone 06 80 38 65 96.

Drop Ins

Wednesday 4 January, Pablo’s Bar, Céret, 10.30

Wednesday 18 January, Villa Lafabrègue, Prades, 10.15

Please come along to Prades. When I visited during our Bien Être event, I found it a very welcoming and tranquil place and perfect for a coffee and a catch-up with friends. It’s not difficult to find.

Other events

Wednesday 25 January, AGM – Sud de France, 10am