Happy birthday to me

The day began with hanging out the washing under a clear sky, already hot in the sunshine at 9am. There was an intermittent sound like thunder, but what was it? Didn't sound like a distant agricultural vehicle, nor a plane. Finally I saw a small dark cloud passing to the south, growling like a kitten. Sudddenly the wind changed; the cloud passed overhead and exploded in big raindrops and was gone. So I had my Birthday Thunderstorm :)

I went to the Foyer Rural for a talk by local painter Caroline Grassiot. Very interesting, not just because of the paintings but the story of how she became a painter, and the political passion which drives much of her art. I can't afford her paintings, but there was one of a few poppy seedheads in low sea (the poppies of Monet after the water rises) which I loved, so I asked if there will be prints, to which the answer was perhaps in a year or two. There was Cake.

Next was a rapid dash to Port Maubert for the Fête au fil de l’Estuaire. The afternoon was very hot (33C) so I came home to rest in the cool house for a couple of hours before the evening programme. The Samba band from Brazil danced while playing. The waitress from L'Ecluse made me repeat "St-Dizant-du-Gua" several times because my accent is apparently pretty. I danced to the band from Burkina Fasso: the singer was good, the band were excellent, and I want to know the name of the instrument used for the quieter pieces - sounded like rather like a lute but was held with the strings facing the player. Fireworks went off on the river bank behind the band and they carried on playing.

Finally I drove home under, or possibly through, millions of stars; and for the first time here saw a rabbit.