After the rain

I got up early to go to the tax office despite a late night last night. It was a friend's seventieth birthday and the evening was an elaborate affair with a full sit down meal for over twenty people. I had hoped to beat any queues in the morning. I knew that some places would be shut on the Friday after a Bank holiday when the French like to 'faire le pont' (make the bridge) and have a long weekend. I did not reckon on government offices being affected but, sure enough, there was the notice on the door, 'fermeture exceptionelle.' It was, therefore, a wasted journey. I got on with some jobs on my return and then went for a walk when it eventually stopped raining to see what the rain of the last two days had done to the river and the arboretum.