For Mandy

Heated disagreement

- Wow Mummy, look, it's 35 degrees!

- Yeah, it's a real scorcher!

- A scor...?

- A scorcher. A hot day is called a scorcher. And today is a scorcher. A real scorcher.

- Could you please stop using that word? Because I don't know what every word in English means.

- But I've just told you, it means a hot day. A scorcher is a hot day.

- Well say hot day then.

- Scorcher.

- Hot day.

- Scorcher.

Then we arrived at the pool.

 

And very thankfully cooled off.

From the SCORCHER.

Au revoir grand-papa Charles

C's grandfather Charles died early last Sunday morning. Ninety-two years old, working in the vines until he was 90, living in the village chateau until just the last 10 days of his life, a perfect mind to the end, a peaceful passing in his sleep... truly, there's a lot to envy in his life.

My limited French means I didn't know him very well, although in many ways I know/knew all four of C's grandparents better than my own. Above all, I will always be thankful for his warm welcome into his clan.

And I will always remember the time his joke about that clan put me in an awkward situation.

It was Easter a few years ago, and we had a Japanese friend of C's visiting. A polite, respectful person who I'd never met before.

We took her to the family get together for lunch, featuring Charles and his wife of then nearly 65 years, their five children and spouses, most of their 14 grandchildren and partners, and the first of their great-grandchildren.

C's friend was seated next to Charles, and I was next to her.

Charles said to her: Look at this big family, it's amazing to think I'm responsible for everyone being here today.

He waited for me to translate.

Then, eyes twinkling, he added: Well, at least my wife is.

Which I not only had to translate, but then explain.

Four generations of first-born sons. All, I am 100% sure, with the same Y chromosome.

Compare and contrast

At a friend's house when Téo was four, where the kids were playing pirates:

- (Friend's son) Choose your weapon!

- (Téo) What's a weapon?

In my kitchen the other day, when Lukan pointed his battery-operated toy drill at me:

- I'm killing you with my machine gun!

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What gets me is not that Lukan knows about weapons at a younger age than his brother, but that at three he knows enough to specifically choose a toy that most sounds like a machine gun.

Where has heard a machine gun? Or even seen one??

Sunday snapshot

Cherry season

Straight off the tree.

There, here, and there

Oh look, a photo of all four of us! That means just one thing: my mum is here!

As you can see, we were in the mountains. Now we're back home. And in 36 hours we're off again, to Germany for C's sister's wedding.

Have a good weekend!