I am back from France with a vengeance pirate flag. I’ve been to Val Andre several times before staying at the same house so its all pretty familiar. The beautiful beach, the other beautiful beaches to drive to, the wonderful ice cream place and the restaurant with the pirate figure outside. This pirate always creeps me out, not because hes scary, but because i’ve seen him in England (outside Radio Jackie headquarters, though i believe it has been replaced with a skeleton pirate now). It was cloudy most days (except the day we had to drive back, how typical) but we still went down and swam every day despite the occasionally screaming when i got into the water.
Two different things this holiday: We visited St Malo (where i got my pirate flag!) which is mainly famous for having ramparts all the way around it. But more exciting we went to the circus! Okay, it wasn’t like an amazingly exciting circus but it did have a lion tamer which was so awesomely awesome. I can actually feel the RSPCA giving me evil looks for going to a circus just to see the animals, however i couldn’t resist. There was a lion cub (which wasn’t in the show, but they had all the animals outside before it started), it was the most adorable thing ever, especially when it tried to roar which the larger lions did (everyone stepped away from the cages when they did that). There was also: a bison (not part of the show again! which was a shame because it was surprisingly cute),two very tiny ponies, a beautiful black horse, a random billy goat (im not sure if he was with the circus or was just in the field for jokes) and a camel. The other impressive thing was a balancing act (so convinced he was going to fall and die) by the twin of the lion tamer.
I am very glad to be back so things can get on with being normal. I didn’t read so much this time- though it was all french themed: Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky (which was amazing, though i was surprised by her plans for the future books), Jules and Jim by Henri-Pierre Roché (which is weird, slightly disturbing at times and ultimately just plain sad) and Germinal by Emile Zola which i haven’t yet finished because my father stole it off me and is reading it, but so far is amazing. Unfortunately, i know how it ends because i have seen the film(which i think is quite true to the book, and as i have said before i find the existance of Gérard Depardieu very reassuring) which is the case with too many good books because if my father hasn’t got time to reread a book he has to teach we end up watching the film (or watch it to see how much it has ruined the book).
I continued reading the Mitford letters, which made me think an awful lot about John F. Kennedy. I was happily reading thinking “oh how nice, Deborah is friends with JFK!” then i realised these letters were dated 1963 and that if i continued reading Kennedy was going to die. This also happens if i happen to see the footage of him getting shot (“oh no! Kennedy watch out!!!”) and i get rather distressed even though this happen 30 years before i was born. Later i was discussing it with my mother and she seemed rather upset that George Washington was dead. I have decided i get this weirdness from her (oh: people in my head are talking about George Washington and Clark Gable and whether or not they were actually giant wooden puppets…which is a long story) I also began to read Tess of the d’Urbevilles because i had nothing else to do (this quite ruined by french theme).
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