A Great Day (Out), 10 Oct.

 

The restaurant was fully booked for tonight when we tried booking last night. Despite that disappointment, I had a FANTASTIC day today – I think Sally enjoyed it almost as much (though she appear a little reluctant to admit it).

It started very early. I was awake, so I got up. Then, after visiting the bakery (I was up so early, the newsagent was still shut as I strolled by) and breakfast. Then we went chestnut hunting. We discovered a tree, this time last year, where the nuts fell around your head as you collected them. We wanted to see if we could find it again; we had a rough idea where it was so,  loaded the car with three bags of excess soil that we had in the garage (there are still ten bags to go) and set off.

It was quite a drive and took us down a number of single-track roads, but it was a nice morning and the drive in the countryside was half the fun. We discovered another chestnut tree dumping its nuts in the road (in fact there were several en-route) so we stopped, dumped the soil and collected nuts. Eventually we reached St R (I'm not being cryptic, I can't recall the name of the hamlet) and quickly found the tree. It was as bountiful as last year – if anything, the nuts seemed bigger. Once we had (probably more than) enough we headed home for lunch – taking a longer route but one that stuck to main roads.

After lunch (a really nice St Feliciene with bread and beer), we had a snooze and then decided to take the bikes down the old railway line. Sally isn’t keen on the bikes but as this was likely to be the last nice day of the visit (it was very nice), and to humour me, she agreed. 

Espartignac Station House

We went further than before, passing the old Espartignac station house (now a very nice cottage) and eventually leaving the track and heading into Espartignac itself. A quaint village and a lot smaller than I was (for reasons unknown) expecting. 

Our Intrepid Explorers

Then we realised we had been here a couple of years ago, when driving around to explore the region. There is an interesting (faux) Dolmen nearby (which we didn’t visit this time – the trail isn’t suitable for push bikes) and the well outside of the village church is where I received a phone call, on the previous visit, to be offered the job I now have (and enjoy) - the wish came true.

On the way into the village we passed a fountain with the tale of St Martial who visited the village en-route from Tulle to Limoge. The story was shown by the well, but the placard was low down and the writing very faded. I was pleased with my translation ability but, before too long, the bending and struggling to read, led me to decide to look it up on Google when I got home. 

Here’s what it says:

One summer day, on his way, Saint-Martial met a woman carrying water that she had just sought further away. He asks her for some water to quench his thirst, but the woman walks by without stopping. Unhappy with his refusal, he said to her:

“You might regret it because I have come to bring you good news and I am a friend of God. Look and see how I take revenge for your refusal ”.

And, striking the ground with his stick, he makes a clear spring gush forth from which the water still flows.

Apparently, the fountain is known to cure scabies and other skin conditions – though a sign at the fountain clearly states it should not be drunk. Mind, the scum on the top of the water probably makes the sign unnecessary.

A pleasant ride back, the way we came, saw the temperature drop noticeably.

  

Early evening, I was proof reading the rules for a game I’m working on and which should be published this month. I also had a Skype call with the designer and publisher to close the last few issues.

Then Sally served me up a beautiful home-made curry. The perfect end to a perfect day.