29 October 2008 Wednesday – Snow and a mystery to solve

I decided to take a break from painting today. It is a grey day. New tenant leaves for his work at about 9.30am. I listen three times. to the choir music CD with the tenor part for the little mass. A lot of it is really rather too high for me and will require 2 bricks or singing falsetto.
It is a Choir holiday this week, but there will be an extra night’s practice the week after next. There is also a whole day’s practice somewhere miles and miles away sometime in November.
An email comes through from our Choir presidente to all members with email, headed.
“When the bees are in crisis”

This is what you get if you put the email through Google’s translation tool.


“WHEN ARE THE BEES CRISE

BONJOUR! I have this small review: For this young man beekeeper who has problems with his bees and which offers gingerbread. If you are interested ME GO ORDER and I call Tuesday 4 November so that we can deliver Wednesday 5 at our next repetition. For the record 250 gr = 4 € Breads nature spices, nuts or hazelnuts. Pending Good luck with your CDs work (do not forget the bottom of the bags) ... ...”

My brain, which is of course on French speed (pace not drugs) clicks into gear. About a month ago some new blokes came to the choir practice. There was an Eengleesh called Teem, who lived in Belesta (members of the choir keep asking me about him as being English I must know him well) and a young Frenchman. This young Frenchman turned up at the end of last weeks practice and was allowed to speak at the end. I could not hear a word he said, but of course at the back there was a basket containing buiscuits wrapped in cellophane. I ignored them and whizzed past them on my way home.

So there we have all the evidence. What do you make of it?
The answer will be revealed in tomorrow’s blog.

I get into my car after one pm and pass Madam on her way up the steps.
I dazzle her with my French “It is cold”
She replies, “It’s because of the snow”
I continue on my way to the car and head off towards Intermarche. The weather forecast is cold and more rain, so I have decided to get some more food in and perhaps buy some more gloss paint.
I turn right, onto the Barcelona Route and as I drive along I lifted up mine eyes unto the hills in front of me. The top third of the hills / mountains had a generous covering of snow. So that was what Madam was talking about, and perhaps explained the Russian hat that she had been wearing.

Here is a phone picture of the snow. It was much more clearly defined and impressive in real life, honest!
















Food shopping done, I have to hang about until 2.15pm for the other shops to re-open after lunch. Casa has Christmas trees, hats and other festive items. The bargains display in Intermarche had been replaced with toys and games, and a Christmas kinder egg promotion display.
Bricomarche then for paint. In the good old days there was gloss paint. Now there is glycerine paint, which requires white spirit to wash your brushes, and acrylic paint which you can rinse your brushes through with water after use, and which dries really fast.
I have used both and wondered at the streaky effect that I could achieve as my brush or paint pad got more and more clogged. Reading the tins, you need a special paint brush or roller to apply acrylic paint. I look at the rollers, I look at the brushes. The only difference between the brushes for gloss, and acrylic that I can see, is that the gloss or emulsion brushes have red and black handles and the acrylic have blue and black handles.I retired confused and did not buy any paint today.