Lille, Braderie

Lille last weekend for the Braderie. Hot sunshine, meals eaten outdoors. A storm on the Saturday night, heavy rain. Geraniums in window boxes, leafy streets, lined with plane trees. A city taken over by market stalls, selling all sorts of junk, old, new. Wandering and wandering and wandering, picking up bargins in some places, sadly walking away from items in others because the cost was just too high, or, in the case of a beautiful forget-me-not blue formica table, because I couldn't have got it home. Stuffed foxes and antique prams. Stoning plums for a clafoutis in a dusky garden one evening. Eating runny cheeses, drinking chilled white wine. Saturday night, before the storm, a sixtieth birthday party, tables and chairs set out on the street, bowl after bowl of moule and frites brought out to guests.

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PinkCatJo asks when I have the time to do dull stuff like washing...the answer is sometimes I don't. This week has been another manic one, a trip to see War Horse (just wonderful), Dr Faustus at The Globe (very imrpessed), the book launch of this very fabulous book, a very very belated (by about six months) birthday dinner out, and last night, Crazy For You at the Open Air Theatre (fantastic). I have been waking early before work to put on speedy washes and catch up with internet banking, and feel pretty sleep deprived!

Still, off in about an hour for a much needed holiday...reading, eating, swimming, soaking up the sun, so will be back in a week hopefully feeling much rested. Hope everyone else is having a lovely September so far!