Jungle

In the garden this afternoon, I spotted these brilliant red leaves sprouting from a rotten tree trunk. It was a glorious day, certainly hot enough to lounge in the garden, but we didn't get there till mid-afternoon. 

Last weekend, the young woman who had taken over as deputy mayor from our late friend Christophe died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. When S told me on the day it happened, it seemed so unbelievable that I thought he must mean someone else with the same name. She was in her mid-40s with two teenage children. Awful. 

The funeral was today, so at 1 pm a crowd gathered outside the Mairie for an official homage. Probably two hundred people, most of the population of the village plus her family and work colleagues, stood in stunned silence for 20 minutes while her flag-draped coffin with her sash of office was brought out and the mayor Serge made a speech. There were no words really ... we all left in near-silence.

Extra: the ugly loaf I made today. It was delicious though -- 5-grain flour with cheese, thyme, and dried tomatoes. We've just eaten some of it as part of our apero, taken on the bench outside our house for the first time this year.