Diary of Covid-19 confinement, day twenty-seven

Happy Easter

Day twenty-seven

Happy Easter

It is Easter Sunday and the first one since 2005 where we haven’t treated Ed to a homemade egg from the village boulangerie. It isn’t that he is now too old for chocolate eggs, just that this year, with life being so different, Bernadette at the boulangerie didn’t make any, boo-hoo, sniff, sniff. 

 

An Easter treat, coffee eclair from the boulangerie

I did have an emergency packet of small chocolate eggs tucked away, (everyone does right?) and at the boulangerie this morning I decided a chocolate éclair was the next best thing I could get him. I even added in a coffee one for Adrian, as it’s one of his favourites, and later on I will also be treating them to a proper roast dinner with pork, vegetables and roast potatoes. As I can’t remember the last time I cooked roast potatoes, this will be a rare treat.

An Easter morning walk around the village

View from the dog walk

Our morning dog walk was delightful, with bluebells, cherry blossom and wide, open views of gentle green hills, and the only manmade activity coming from a lone tractor preparing a field to sow. With so many of our family and friends much more restricted than we are in terms of being allowed out or having access to quiet country walks, I felt not only privileged but very grateful too and I hope you all enjoy sharing my views.

One month together, one month apart

We are coming to the end of four weeks of official confinement in France and President Macron will be addressing the nation tomorrow evening at eight o'clock, to advise what comes next. As a family, today marks the one month point of being back together and we have easily slipped into a comfortable routine, although a month apart from girlfriend, Pearl, can’t be easy for Ed. 

For the first time since he got home, we took Adrian’s blood pressure this morning and it was at the lowest we’ve ever recorded it. Obviously being stuck with me and forced not to work, while ‘enjoying’ the benefits of my homemade nettle and bone broth soups on a daily basis, is doing him the world of good. I’m also happy to report that despite the stress of having to think up and cook a real meal for all of us each day, my blood pressure remains rock bottom too, in fact if it was much lower, I’d probably pass out.

In Carcassonne, 12th April 2010

April holiday memory

Carcassonne, 12^th April 2010, where our first wander around the town began with an afternoon beer in a bar with a terrace bathed in sunshine. I remember being the only female customer and as the cliental were mostly Arab men, sitting alone with strong espresso coffees, we were also the only two drinking alcohol. Our first view of the turreted ramparts towering above us as we walked over the bridge, will stay in my memory forever along with the delicious meal of cassoulet that evening. It might have been in a slightly touristy restaurant, but it was a perfect end to the day.

Stay indoors, stay safe.

Lockdown library

My choice today seemed an obvious one as the novels from Kate Mosse, The Languedoc Trilogy and book one, The Burning Chambers, from her next series bring Carcassonne and its history alive. You can also now pre-order book two, The City of Tears, on Amazon. The release was scheduled for May of this year but has now been rescheduled for 14^th January 2021.