Le Weekend in the Week

 

 

We went to see 'Le Weekend' on Wednesday. Like everyone else who went, who were mostly middle aged to elderly, we expected a romantic and joy filled romp in Paris for the two main characters Nick and Meg. It was certainly a romp in many ways, but at the point the film ended, and the subtitles and music started, instead of everyone just getting up and leaving as usual, people stayed in their seats and a hushed chatter filled the air. This was a film that made one feel uncomfortable most of the time, and yet stay riveted. Maybe it's because there are some parts to the various characters that we could all see in ourselves in some way. Was the film good.......OH YES!

 

As for other things, on the gardening front, the schedule is a little easier, but the leaves are coming down in droves. All of the usual contract work is the same as usual at this point in the year, leaf clearing, and yet more leaf clearing. There was however one small job that I have mentioned before, and that's the hedge cutting for an elderly couple that I do twice a year.

 

Each time I visit they become less and less able to keep things up together themselves. Even though he is ninety, he still gets around as best he can, and up until this year even grew vegetables (very well) in the level ground in the photo. That's him opening the gate at the end of the garden, so that I can take ladders through to do the other side.The hedges and shrubs only had a slight fuzz on them this time, as I had given everything a good hard trim earlier in the year.

 

 

Usually his lovely wife keeps the household running, as she is more nimble on her feet, and quicker in her mind, but it looks as though she has broken her hip and is bedbound for some time. It's hard seeing such a lovely couple face such difficulties in life at their age. She is angry and frustrated at everything and everyone around her for where she finds herself, and him being from an age and background where the lady of the house was the one that cooked and kept things running in the home while the man went out to work, finds himself not only fairly useless because of his own disabilities that come with such age, but also has to rely too much for his own liking on friends to cook hot meals etc. I don't know, it just seems so unfair on everyone. But we all have our lives, and they all come with difficulties of some sort, and so after taking tea with him, I said my farewells and arranged to come back in the spring. That's some months away again, I wonder what will have changed by then?

 

On the home front, I am dabbling in homemade wine. After the foraging we did in the late summer, we now have a freezer full of wild fruit, and so I've put some of the elderberries to good use, and made a couple of gallons of wine. It's my first endeavour in this area, and memories of my mums lovely, colourful, clear and strong wines came to mind as all of the ingredients were put together, and the first few days of fermentation in the big bucket took place. It's really quite exciting watching things hiss and bubble, wondering just how the end product will finally turn out in a few months time. I've siphoned off the wine into demijohns now, and the airlocks on top are making regular popping sounds as the yeast does it's job. I just hope the wine tastes good in the end. If not, at least it's been fun making it.

 

 

 Hobies getting old now, and seems to sleep most of the time. He's also getting thin, but none of that appears to stop him getting into the occasional fight. He's taken to staring out of the lounge window a lot. I wonder what he thinks of?

 

 

 Early morning sunrise catches the last of the autumn leaves in the garden, but it's the Acer 'Senkaki', with it's golden yellow, that appears to glow the most.
 

 

We have tomorrow off, and I think a walk in the forest is in order.

 

Have a good week.