Still the Normans round here would say that you're the foreigner as you
live the other side of Condé-sur-Noireau. Have you noticed how parochial
they are? My next door neighbour was outraged once because some people
from St. Omer came and picked over the déchets in our commune. "Who do
they think they are?" he demanded.

I've noticed there something going on between Parisians / none-Parisians.
The lady we bought our house off indicated with a snort and air of contempt
that the house just up from us is the weekend holiday home of a Parisian
family. I get the impression that Parisians are considered more of outsiders
than the Brits!


But he was a great gardener. He looked after our vegetable garden while we
were away. When we were there we had the vegetables, when we were back in
England he had them. He kept rabbits in our hutches and sheep in our
meadow and he shared the meat with us. Unfortunately he died last October.
To be more precise, he committed suicide because he was 81 years old and
was losing his strength rapidly to the point where he couldn't do our
gardens any more. He couldn't face life as a permanent invalid unable to
do any gardening and so he topped himself. He went up to his cider shed
and hanged himself.

Sad way to go. It must be horrible to lose ones independence and spiral into
decline, especially for someone so active.
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006, David (in Normandy) wrote:

Still the Normans round here would say that you're the foreigner as you
live the other side of Condé-sur-Noireau. Have you noticed how parochial
they are? My next door neighbour was outraged once because some people
from St. Omer came and picked over the déchets in our commune. "Who do
they think they are?" he demanded.

I've noticed there something going on between Parisians / none-Parisians.
The lady we bought our house off indicated with a snort and air of contempt
that the house just up from us is the weekend holiday home of a Parisian
family. I get the impression that Parisians are considered more of outsiders
than the Brits!

Absolutely! The problem is that Normandy is further away from Paris than
the Parisians realise and they soon get fed up with the slow trek along
the A13 at weekends.

David

--
David Rance http://www.mesnil.demon.co.uk
Fido Address: 2:252/110 writing from Le Mesnil Villement, Calvados, France