MUMBLES IN THE MOUNTAINS: Life in Les Angles
With Jenny Rhodes
A summer slowly slips by and September doesn’t all that far away I feel that the years are getting shorter, or is it that I am getting older.
This summer has been odd to say the least. I had plans to decorate, paint the garage, weatherproof the fences and do all the odd jobs I had been saving for when Mike was away in the Alps guiding groups of people round Mont Blanc and walking the Haute Route.
Unfortunately, after nearly a fortnight away he had to return to look after this very stupid woman who has put the lead on Lili the dog at the top of the stairs and kept hold. The dog raced down in excitement for her nightly stroll, sniff and tinkle. Her regular party piece is to jump the last three steps as the staircase turns to the lower porch, I know it well so there is no excuse. I kept hold of the lead and fell with an almighty crash to ground. Stunned I tried to get to my feet and found that “things” were not working properly.
I have read in newspapers about “old” people being found on the floor after a week or so,and always felt dreadfully sorry for them, but now the “old” person was me. On the floor and couldn’t get to the phone. Panic set in.
The floor was cold slate and the nearest person was, fortunately, in the barn farthest away from the house. I say fortunately because there could have been no one. I knocked for ages on the window and shouted, but they were watching the final of the World Cup and were obviously not expecting anyone shouting for help.
Eventually, after crawling to the loo, I grabbed the toilet brush and banged the glass in the door until they looked outside.
I will always be grateful to my guest for coming to my rescue. She sat for over an hour holding my hand until her husband found my son in a darkened village.
After that things became a little blurry but the outcome of the whole disaster was that I broke my leg in three places, Mike had to come back from the Alps, and I have spent weeks hopping around on one foot like Long John Silver.
So much for doing all my saved up jobs. Not one has been done and now I am gnashing my teeth at all the things that need doing.
One bonus of this nightmare is that I have had both my daughters and a grandson down to see what has been happening to the old girl and I have loved having the excuse to see them all unexpectedly.
Other than that things here have run smoothly with the exception of some horrendous storms that appear to have been sweeping the country. The lightning is always spectacular up here, showing the mountains in all their glory by night.
So guys enjoy the rest of the summer, and take care. See you in September for more news about life in Les Angles.