Another social afternoon

Yesterday turned into another very social day.

We started by doing the dreaded big shop. As we contemplated whether to buy some ready made coleslaw to have with a salad later in the week, a cheery voice said hello. It was Linda & Ken. We haven’t seen them for a while. It’s strange. Only the other day, I was thinking about the regular last-Monday-of-the-month meals we used to have. Linda & Ken were regulars. Linda joined the merry group when her husband died. She needed somewhere social she could go without feeling awkward about being on her own or feeling pressured into finding a new partner. Eventually she did meet Ken & started to bring him along too. The years pass. It is good to see they’re still very much together.

We went home first as we had bought quite a few frozen things & it was a warm day. However, having got everything into the freezer or fridge as necessary, we set off for Snatchems. As there was nobody there we knew, we happily found a seat on the balcony overlooking the Lune & watched the birdlife – the geese & swallows – while chatting over our drinks.

Then I thought I recognised a face. He called “Orin”. This confirmed the identity – we don’t know many Orins - the son of a couple of friends, Jimmy & Dor. Sure enough, inside our friends had arrived. We joined them.

Even as we chatted Howie & his wife passed through, stopping only to tell us off for abandoning our usual village pub.

Jimmy & Dor are Manchester folk. They have a caravan just behind Snatchems. They try to escape up here whenever they can, often bringing one of their sons & their little grandson, Orin.

Then just as we were getting ready to leave in came Den & Fran. Fran seemed a lot happier today. We didn’t stop, but I suspect she’s calmed down about that scam letter she received last week.

But they weren’t the last people we bumped into. This time it was Steve & Kieran. They’re in the process of buying, restoring & hopefully then emigrating to Limousin in France. Steve is a builder by trade so he’s in a good position to do most of the restoration work himself. It sounds like it’s a barn conversion. They’ve now got electricity & running water installed. It’s all coming along.

When they first spoke about moving to France a couple of years ago we’d thought they were going to do an instant flit without so much as a word of French. They’d never even visited France before. We thought it was like so many of the couples you see on the property programmes on TV, with no realistic idea of what was involved. However, they’ve taken their time. They’ve found a property near where one of their friends live. They’ve coped with French bureaucracy. Kieran has started to go to college to try to learn some language. Steve is confident he will be able to find work as there are many English people living around that region who need an English-speaking builder. They’d just come back from their latest visit, taking a whole lot of tools he needs to do the renovation. They’re planning their next trip back in a couple of weeks.

We feel quite envious of them. The idea of moving to France does have an appeal. However my health benefits are not transferable to be paid in France &, anyhow, I’ve found it difficult enough explaining my medical problems & understanding what the docs have had to say in English. I don’t fancy my chances in French. But the idea of life in France does appeal. We make do instead with regular holidays there, like our trip to Provence next month.