Today has mostly been about shopping. I no longer enjoy going to supermarkets so I try to do it as infrequently as possible. However about once a fortnight, sometimes less, it has to be done. After walking the dogs this morning it was a case of walking around the house and making a list in order to do the deed.
I do however enjoy French markets. There are markets in the UK but somehow they cannot be compared to French ones. I used to live near a market town in the UK that had won awards for its market however there was almost no fresh fruit and vegetables, meat or fish in it. Here they are the heart of the market. People seem to love shopping in markets and I have rarely seen a quiet market.
A few weeks before our latest lockdown our local market at Huelgoat was beginning to enlarge again. Over winter there are only a few stalls that keep going. However by the summer you can buy anything from potatoes to pyjamas, from windows to watermelon and many other items too numerous to mention. The latest lockdown has meant that we are back to essential stalls only. However it was lovely to go into Huelgoat and see people wandering around buying from local artisans and enjoying the camaraderie of being in the company of others. The trees are also beginning to blossom which adds to the sense of well-being.
I have learnt that the French don’t tend to go to the supermarket at lunchtime. So finishing at the market at a little after midday and driving straight to the supermarket does at least mean that it is relatively quiet, which makes it more bearable. It is strange to see that areas of the supermarket are cordoned off at the moment because they are considered to be non-essential items. You cannot buy pants or socks even if you need some!
Given the lockdown I met with a client in a supermarket carpark today. As I have said several times I have finished the coatigan, so today was delivery. I know I promised no more photographs of it; however I think it looks so much better on, than on a hanger. So; here are a few.
Are there cultural aspects of where you live that you particularly enjoy? Are there things that you wished happened that don’t?
Tales from the Sheshed France 
You did a wonderful job with the coatigan. Having never heard that word until you introduced it to me, it now rolls off the finger into the keypad with ease. Sheakspear made up many words and I think your. Should be added to e dictionary.
Huelgoat looked quiet, but at least the sun is still shining. Possible there might be another announcement tonight about the lockdown, but don’t hold your breath.
Intermarche was quiet. Same in Super U at Pleyber Christ. Lunchtimes are when I prefer to shop in those places myself for the same reasons as you.
Culturally different, yes, very. So many things that are different but eventually they become normal . The kissing for one thing took me a while but there was a big flu thing here some years back and it has become less common in general since then. Not really much that I wish happened here that doesn’t really. Quite happy with the differences in general. Oh, dog shit everywhere in Morlaix makes me cringe, but they do is infect then every few months and pressure wasn’t into tiny particles that hit your windscreen as you drive past ! Hahaha. Heaps of cultural difference but I like to be an observer. Not visiting unless invited is another one here. Not phoning someone over the hours of repas is another. It certainly takes a while. Xxx
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I’m glad you liked the coatigan. I’d love to be able to claim that I created the word but I didn’t, I saw it on a pattern somewhere and used it!
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Lol my storage is almost full and the keypad isn’t working properly. It will be like reading another language making sense of my post ! Xxx
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I understood most of it!
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Well done Zenna your client must be over the moon. So colourful.
Tesco today was so busy, I didn’t like it very much. I am finding I have no need to go to town shopping but I would like a market. Montgomery sell veg, bread and meat on Thursdays but they are more expensive so win some loose some I suppose.
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Isn’t it always the way! Shame Montgomery doesn’t have a little more, it’s such a lovely little town xx
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