An evening in the Loir et Cher

[NickP]

Yesterday evening the doorbell rang and two scouts asked if they could camp in our garden. Of course, was our reply, so they picked a spot down by our mill stream under a tree. My wife was starting to prepare supper and suddenly dropped back into "Mum" mode, asking the lads if they would like to join us for supper. Of course, being large growing boys their faces lit up and said Merci bien. So she cooked a large pot of Pasta, Bolognese sauce, and garlic bread. This disappeared in no time, and while we were sitting outside on the terrace demolishing our ice cream supply the Guinguette along from us and on an island in Le Loir started their Friday evening music show, which was unusually a tad loud. We had said to the boys if it rains you are welcome to come and sleep in the house. Half an hour after disappearing down the garden there was a gentle knock on the door, Madame the music was so loud we could not sleep, so once again Mum mode took over, they left this morning after a hearty breakfast faced with another 25 kilometre walk to their next destination. Overall a delightful episode which involved us in a touch of French country life.

[menthe]

Nick, I'm not trying to "top" your story but I thought you might like to hear of a story from my part of France, the Dordogne.

A good friend (French) lives on one of the routes on the Compostelle but of course a long way away from the Spanish border.  She puts out a flask of coffee  and biscuits by her gate  each morning with a note to pilgrims to help themselves.

One year, a young German man appeared, helped himself to the biscuits and the contents of the flask and stayed chatting animatedly until lunch time.  Martine and her husband invited the young man to have some lunch which the young man gratefully and charmingly accepted.

After lunch, it being a very hot afternoon, the German asked whether he might be permitted to take a dip in their pool.  Go ahead, they said and the man didn't need a second invitation.  He spent most of the afternoon swimming and relaxing by the pool.

He came back into the house after his swim, spotted the piano in a corner of the lounge and asked whether he might have a tinkle on it.  My friends, by now thoroughly bemused and not knowing how the young man's stay would pan out, said OK, why not?

After his piano session, it was getting for dinner time.  Martine felt obliged to say, well you might as well have something to eat before you leave.  Again the young German accepted with gratitude.

As you can imagine, the next step was bed as my friends, being my sort of age, are not used to late nights.  The end of the tale approaches.  The young man slept the night and left the following morning after a hearty breakfast and left with many expressions of thanks and a slip of paper with his phone number for keeping in touch.

My final question to my friend was, and did you hear from him again?  Oh no, never, but it was an entertaining tale, the way she told it but I don't think I have reproduced the telling here.  She told it with many gallic shrugs, mischievous looks and smiles and I laughed my head off

[NormanH]

Two heart-warming stories. Would it were like that in town 😒

[Martin963]

Lovely stories indeed.   I can't though help wondering whether the German guy simply wandered along the route and - without any malice I hasten to add - simply rather enjoyed seeing how far he could chance his arm.    He no doubt gave a lot of pleasure,   but I do genuinely wonder whether he actually wasn't really on the Camino at all....

 

That said,  I'm not sure what this has to do with satellite and telephones 😀

Edited July 29 by Martin963

[DaveLister]

6 minutes ago, Martin963 said:

I'm not sure what this has to do with satellite and telephones

Well spotted that man 😁