Regarde ça.

Le marchand des légumes à l’Intermarché à Venelles a un œil pour l’artistique.

Bravo.

Today another new bird put in appearance in our back garden.

It was un pinson du nord – a brambling. Only the second time I had ever seen one.

Then, before you knew it there were four of them.

They really are a lovely bird – similar to the pinson des arbres but a bit more eye-catching – particularly the males with their black heads.

I managed to grab a photo of un pinson du nord, un pinson des arbres and un verdier d’europe in the same picture.

Today is Ash Wednesday and so it was time to go to Mass. I don’t think I’ve been before in France – I’m guessing work meant I always missed it.

So today was my first experience of getting ashed in France while the priest (Père Noel) said:

Souviens-toi que tu es poussière et que tu retourneras en poussière

Turns out French cendres are quite a lot lighter than their U.K. equivalent- so much so that you can hardly make out the white splodge on the top of my head.

I’ve had worse.

Cath has been ill for a while so we had to go to the chemist in Aix for some anti-sickness medicine.

As we drove through the city we saw this advert partout.

Cath, who is better at famous faces than me, told me it was Australian actress Margot Robbie – of Barbie fame.

But maybe less well-known is that she is a Fulham fan – thanks to her husband Tom Ackerley converting her to his love of the Whites.

So, as we were playing Manchester United in the FA Cup in the evening, I took it as a good omen.

Turns out I was right.

Allez les blancs! Merci Barbie.

At Marseille airport, ahead of another work trip, lots of panneaux have sprung up about Aix-en-Provence’s most famous son, Paul Cezanne.

I learnt lots of interesting facts:

• Si Cezanne était un animal il serait un caméléon because he displayed an ability to evolve with the world around him.
• Si Cezanne était une couleur il serait le bleu.
• Si Cezanne était un fruit il serait la pomme – he painted them a lot!

I also learnt that he painted Le Mont Sainte Victoire more than 80 times.

And that he lived in Jas de Bouffan – pres de chez nous – and it means home of the winds in Provençal.

And of course: Si Cezanne était une ville il serait Aix-en-Provence. Mais carrément.

I have just finished reading this book having seen it recommended as one of the 19 best books of 2024 in The Times.

As it is by a French author – a former police officer – I bought my copy in French.

And having just finished it I have to agree, it is nigh-on perfect.

The action surrounds the migrant camp in Calais called the Jungle and the desire of the migrants to reach Youké.

If you are a fan of les polars, then give this one a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Our weekend trip this week was to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie high up in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

It was about six buses away – my new measurement of distance is how many buzzards I see on the way.

Moustiers is quite simply gorgeous. In the mountains with une cascade running through the village, it is breathtaking.

We had lunch in a small café with a balcony overlooking the river Adou.

It came with a warning.

I also had the best croque-monsieur I have ever eaten. Made with locally-sourced ingredients, it was made with pain perdu. It was worth the trip alone.

Next door was a pottery shop. The shop assistant was very chatty and explained a few bits of local history as well as general French history.

In the village there is a star hanging between the two cliffs on a 225m chain.

It was said to have been placed there by the knight Bozon de Blacas who was held prisoner during the Crusades.

According to legend, he vowed to hang a star over his village if he was able to return.

And the icing on the cake?

We saw a griffon vulture flying around the mountains as we left.

We had two new avian visitors to our garden this weekend.

This female rougequeue noir (black redstart) was joined by the male – but he didn’t hang around long enough for a picture.

We also had a couple of verdiers d’europe (greenfinches) in among the other finches and tits at the feeders.

They threw their considerable weight around.

And of course plenty of les chardonnerets (goldfinch) as well.

While away for work in Prague, I got a push notification from The Economist on the top 50 most walkable cities.

Look who’s in fifth place!

Walkable cities are sometimes called 15-minute cities – which means everything that locals need is within a small radius.

I remember from our time in Lyon that everything was nearby – particularly when we lived in Cours Franklin Roosevelt.

Great shops, restaurants, coffee shops, bookshops etc.

And we certainly walked a lot when we lived there.

Unlike Venelles where our remote location means most journeys start in a car.

Quelqu’un a percuté ce panneau.

Mais c’est sur la droite de la rue.

Peut être c’était quelqu’un, comme un anglais, qui conduisait sur la gauche de la rue.

Mais ce n’était pas moi.

Ou peut être quelqu’un l’a frappé en reculant.