les Davey de France

Well I just attended what will probably be my last Synode. The Synode of Montauban was held yesterday and today. I couldn't go yesterday, but I went this morning on the 6:30 train from Alouette. Now there's a story! I wandered happily down to the station and bought my ticket from the machine. 33€. I thought that was very reasonable for a single to Montauban, which is a good two hours away. Got to Bordeaux. Train for Marseille leaving from Platform 3. I hasten thither, hop on and settle myself in. The train leaves the station. A man says over the tannoy, "we remind you that on this train a seat reservation is compulsory". Problem! My ticket doesn't have a seat number on it. I find a little gang of traffic police. Let me see your ticket. Oh yes, that ticket isn't valid on this train. What? The ticket inspector came. I think I have the wrong ticket.. Let me see. Oh yes, that's a TER ticket and this is an Intercity train. But at Alouette t...

Winter is on the way. They're decorating the Festive Holiday Tree in the middle of Bordeaux.

This morning Catrin left for a school trip to Caen to visit the peace museum, the D-day beaches and the war cemeteries. She had to be at Gare Saint-Jean for 6:40. A train from Pessac at 6:33 gets to the station at 6:40, but we booked a Citiz car and I picked it up last night. 5 am found us all bustling about the house and 6 found us hurtling towards the ring road in the car, to find that the slip road was closed. Quick change of plan, to get to the next slip road would take too long, we headed for Pessac station and got that train. Catrin hurriedly texted her friends to say that she would not arrive by 6:40. We caught the train, alighted, found her friends, then Pat and I got on the next train back. Before leaving we searched the departure boards for a train leaving soon after 6:40 in the direction of Caen, but nothing. I texted Catrin. So what time's this train, then? 7:23. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! While I had the car I took a load of old worthless treasures to th...

it's so embarrassing I hardly dare confess it. I used to read the reformation 21 blog until they finally drove me nuts with their various antics and I forsook them forever. One of the somewhat less-infuriating antics was their habit of inventing various different characters with crazy names and blogging in that name. A sort of pythonesque humor, I suppose. We all did it, as schoolboys. Except that one by one I am discovering that these fictional imaginary names are real people . No, I promise, they are! Yes, the truth is stranger than fiction!

After our lunch at Miles we popped in at Maison de la Bible to collect Pat's mobile phone, left there the previous day, then we had a couple hours to get ready quietly for the Bordeaux Church Thanksgiving Meal Invitation Extravaganza. The evening was starting at 7pm at James' flat. I had prepared a Thanksgiving Turkey and Prune Tajine - with chicken instead of turkey because they didn't have any in Auchan the day I looked, accompanied by Cranberry Couscous. Pat was planning to make a Banana Custard Tart, but she was saved from this by having the rest of the lemon meringue pie from the morning. We intended arriving at 6:30, but we waited longer than intended for the bus so ended up arriving at about 10 to 7, just in time to put up the pasting table (call yourself an ex-plumber) and help set up the food corner. 7pm came. One person arrived. 7:15. A few more. By 7:30 we were buzzing' and almost half the folk were there for the first time. James welcomed people. I...

The day began with a short lie-in as Catrin didn't start till 10 this morning, which meant the girls getting up at 8. Then off to the book group, where I was presenting "The Shock of the Fall" by Nathan Filer. One of the folk had ordered a birthday lemon tart, which was both very kind and very delicious. We then went for lunch at Miles, recently given a joint first prize by Fooding magazine with a restaurant in Paris. Their prices are very reasonable, the team is young and friendly, all was just great. Now getting ready for the Thanksgiving Meal this evening.