The official inauguration ceremony

Once again, I am behind with my blips, and my comments to all of yours, for which I sincerely apologise. It has been a difficult couple of days due to the serious illness of the husband of a dear friend. They are both in their 80's and are due to celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary in 2 days time. Unfortunately, the husband, Basil, has been in hospital for the past 2 weeks suffering once again from a serious heart complaint. He has refused further treatment after being transfered to a leading heart hosptal in Paris for a valve operation. As a result, he has been returned to his local hospital, where it seems he will spend the rest of his days. His wife is very distraught, as you can imagine, and I am spending considerable time with her during this very difficult period, trying my best to comfort her and to offer some encouragement. It is not at all easy, and she spends most of her days in tears. She has now prepared herself for 'the worst', which could very well be within the coming days, due to the frail health of Basil. As a result of this, I have been unable to find the time or concentration to dedicate to my blip activities. In addition, this evening, we have some friends who are staying with us until Sunday, and so it will once again be difficult for me as far as blip is concerned. However, I promise to catch up as soon as I can next week. I haven't forgotten you all and thank you for your patience. Earlier this evening saw the official opening of our new Mairie. You may remember that in my blip of May 27th I mentioned that the building was undergoing repairs. Well they have now finally all been completed, and this evening saw the presence of a Senator, a Député (member of Parliament), several officials from the County Council, a number of local Maire's as well as Fabrice, our very own Maire who is responsible for having taken the initiative to renovate the building in the first place. My blip for today shows the moment the ribbon is to be cut by Monsieur le Senator, with the Député in the grey suit on the left and Fabrice, our Maire, on the right, all suffering from the pouring rain which just had to be present at that particular time!. A couple of glasses of champagne and some little bites followed, during which time Anne and I were amazed at being approached by an elderly lady who was speaking to us in English. She too was amazed at finding somebody from 'back home' in this small little village, especially when she has been coming here nearly every weekend for the past 50 years! She lives in Paris, but has a holiday home here. We have lived here for 17 years and have never met her before. What a small world it is. She said that she felt as though she was in the middle of the jungle, like Stanley, to which I replied to her "Dr Livingstone I presume?" We both had a good laugh, and another sip from the champagne glass! We gave her our address, and she has promised to pop by and spend some time with us in the future. Who knows, she may even become a future blipper! Well that's about it for tonight. I have a busy day once again tomorrow, starting at 7am, so must get to bed now. Once again I thank you so much for your following, and will catch up with you all just as soon as I can. Take care and have a peaceful night.