Autumn cheer

Edit: why do photos fade and look washed out when uploaded to Blipfoto? Compare the above with what it should look like.

I screwed up again yesterday by not taking any photos until I had a 10-minute gap between choir practice and hairdresser, when the light was already fading. The results, from my quick dash through the park in Lézignan, were not worth keeping, so it was another blipless day.

In the evening we went to see Molière's l'Avare (The Miser) in Ferrals, by Catalan/French theatre company Tàbola Rassa. We'd been in two minds about it, but decided to go for it out of sheer curiosity. How do you perform this classic play using only household taps (faucets to US readers) converted into glove puppets with bits of cloth? The play opened with two taps having sex, tastefully concealed under a sheet. I think this probably wasn't in Molière's original script. But the basic plot and much of the dialogue was faithful to Molière, except that some characters had been eliminated and the word or (gold) had been converted to eau (water) throughout.

We were really glad we went -- it was so inventive and hilarious that the audience was in stitches; I cried with laughter. The two puppet masters, half-hidden in darkness, manipulated their puppets with consummate skill, and adopted appropriate voices for each one. I especially liked Elise's squeaky voice, and the Chinese chef. The dialogue rippled with water-related puns: my favourite was probably the moment when Harpagon (played by a tarnished old brass tap dressed in sacking) and Marianne (a shiny gold-plated number) meet. "Qu'est-ce qu'elle brille !" says Harpagon. "Il est si terne," muses Marianne in response.

It was quite remarkable how with simple hand movements the two artists were able to make taps look and gesture like people. At one point Cléante and Marianne emerge from a passionate embrace during which their clothes get blown off by an electric fan. Their tap heads were so recognisable that when they inadvertently ended up in the wrong clothes, I noticed immediately (and so did Harpagon). Other highlights: the scene where Harpagon's precious store of water is extracted from its hiding place, and the arrival of the police in the form of a barking, water-squirting dachshund made out of a piece of blue plastic tube.

The whole thing was crazy, creative, magical -- one of those unforgettable theatre productions that stay with you for life. If only I could have taken photos! At the end, after a torrent of applause, the audience spilled out in a stream, babbling with delight (it's catching!). I can only urge my French blipmates to see this if it shows up anywhere near you. This Youtube video isn't good quality, but it gives a hint of what to expect. Actually, I have now discovered that they originally did it in Catalan, and it's also been translated into Spanish and English -- all by the same company of four people, so maybe it will appear elsewhere.

Anyway -- today I determined to do a bit better on the photography front than I have for the last week, so I went for a drive around Lagrasse. We missed all the autumn colours last year because we were in Begur, where there are no vines and few deciduous trees. The leaves are just starting to turn; they'll be even more splendid in a few days. For the first time since last weekend, I struggled to choose. S preferred Rule of Thirds and this classic landscape, but my weakness for bokeh made me pick this one. I think you'll be seeing plenty more vinescapes from me in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I made a small set on Flickr of the rest of the shortlist.

Finally, a thought for LoJardinier: a year ago yesterday we met chaiselongue for what turned out to be the last time, over a lovely lunch in Sant Feliu de Guixols.