Sound Investment

Most days I hear sounds of other lives but today is Sunday. When I was a kid in the UK my mother was a bit concerned if we made a noise on the Lord's day - not that she was religious. In St.Savinien folk work hard. Yesterday there was a sound of a generator making power for a guy rebuilding a nearby ruin. There was a radio, somebody singing, car horns doing that marriage cacophony so popular in France and of course the sound of voices talking. Today, even the dogs are silent. How do they do that? If you could develop Sunday France Canine Silence into a product you'd be on a winner. Gilles decided to make some progress with the patio and I went out to help. In the silence it seemed almost sinful to chisel at pavé knowing that the noise would probably travel to Bordeaux. In the end we gave up and watched the last stage of the Tour de France.....won of course by a BRIT. I didn't say anything, or leap about or offer any magnanimous smugness. I might do later though.

Sunday being so special creates certain niche opportunities. Americans and Brits holidaying in France will know that shops still close for anything up to 3 hours in the middle of the day. However, the Intermarché at St. Savinien opens on Sunday morning. Now, South London Asdaholics and the like would just think this was normal. These great cathedrals of consumerism open 24 hours to keep the faithful junkies supplied. This in itself becomes addictive. It's like having Wikipedia or a million Euros in the bank. If you need it - you can have it now. All around the region you see reassuring posters telling you that Intermarché is open on Sunday morning. Don't worry citizens - YOU ARE CONNECTED. It is so popular that you have to fight for a trolley. Oh - the attached bakery is brill and les pains don't go stale until the next day.

During the Tour de F, I heard a French commentator say that there were ten thousand camping cars in, on and around the Col du Galibier - a famous climb. As you travel South from the Channel ports you see several massive dealerships selling motorised caravans. You know, I've never been sure whether their popularity is because the French are paying homage to the Roma Gypsies or to snails. Probably both.


Emma thinx: A slug is just a homeless snail. Be kind.

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