Well I’m pleased to say that the jungle is being cleared, slowly but surely and my goal of getting to my neighbour’s lane before the end of June might be achievable. I have a few friends and some family members visiting in June so there’ll be quite a few days when nothing will be done.
Over the last few weeks I’ve actually looked forward to getting down there in the mornings and immersing myself in undergrowth so thick that I am almost invisible. But not so invisible that some passing neighbours don’t shout the occasional ‘bonjour Thomas’.
There’s Daniel, a retired IBM’r who walks his dog every morning and stops to have a chat. He knows that I’m also an ex-IBM’r but our chats normally revolve around my progress that morning, the state of my fire (for burning the rubbish) and motor racing – Daniel is a keen Formula 1 supporter.
Being an ex-IBM’r in an international lab (La Guade), Daniel had to learn English, so each morning the language of our discussion changes between English, French and Franglais. I don’t suppose he gets much chance to use his English a lot these days so sometimes we find that he talks in English and I respond in a mixture of French and Franglais.
After our normal 20 minutes, a break which comes at just the right time for me, he continues on his walk with his dog and I get back to the jungle, trying to find my tools which I’ve laid down somewhere!
Next it’s Patrick or his wife, Anise who pass in their car and shout a greeting. They don’t stop as they’re usually on their way to work (the French seem to start work quite late !) but a cheery wave from me in return and they carry on.
Occasionally Gunter, a German who lives in our lane but further up the mountain, stops and we have a chat. Gunter actually climbs into the cleared bit of the jungle and congratulates me on my progress. It’s like a ritual. This morning was something of a bonus however, as Gunter noticed that I was cutting and storing wood as I hacked into the jungle and he suggested that I go up to his place as he had loads of mature, already cut, wood for me.
It’s just about this time of year (i.e. a couple of months after our last fire in the lounge) when I start to have to plan next year’s wood stock but having cut down a couple of trees in the jungle, I should be ok for next year’s fires. But, never one to say no to a freebie, I’ll be up at Gunters asap to load my trailer.
And so yesterday morning, after a longer than usual set of little chats, I was bemoaning my lack of progress and was slashing and burning with gusto when about 5 minutes later a stranger stopped to say ‘bonjour’. This guy was smartly dressed and carried an official looking black leather folder and started talking animatedly in French. I stopped him to say that I spoke only a little French but he carried on as before. I did get something about my fire and the direction of the smoke (I do try to light it when the wind direction is away from the other houses but the wind changes frequently) and I immediately came to the conclusion that he was from the council and was reprimanding me on having a fire during the prohibited period.
I am unsure as to when the ‘prohibited period’ starts but as it rained heavily on Monday I thought I’d be ok but he carried on lecturing me, waving his free arm about. Just occasionally I managed to understand a word or two he was uttering but it all pointed to me receiving an official reprimand. He then started to open his black folder and pulled out a sheaf of papers. This is it I thought. After leaving the jungle to flourish for ten years against local regulations, I start clearing it and then I get into trouble with the council. Bugger !
He handed me the paper and along the top, in bold blue lettering it said, ‘Jehovah Witnesses’. I nearly fell over. They can get to you – even in the jungle!
PS – the picture might give you a view of my progress. Just in case you haven’t spotted it – the cleared bit is in the foreground.
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