Candes Saint-Martin, my favourite spot in La Touraine.

Sunday 16 March 2014

Magnolias for ever

Except for a gloomy Saturday morning and early afternoon, spring has definitely arrived in our small country. Today’s sunny and warm again … the smell of BBQ is in the air. Living in an apartment, I don’t do BBQs, unless I’m invited or staying with friends who do have the right ‘infrastructure’.

Nevertheless, seeing all the beautiful magnolia trees all over the place bursting into flowers, show that winter is coming to an end. Yet, one can’t be too careful, because this time last year, we still had 10 cm of snow!!!


Magnolias always remind me of Claude François’ song ‘Magnolias forever’ <= click on the song title to view the 1978 video. You can skip the ad if you want to. (I'm not too keen about his Claudettes' attire - but this was the 70-ties and it was all part of the show). Last Tuesday, it was 36 years ago that this extremely talented French artist and composer of ‘My Way’ (Comme d’habitude) tragically died while fixing a light bulb in his bathroom … while standing in a water-filled bath tub. The artist was electrocuted!

At the time of his death, I wasn’t a fan of him. But later, when the French comedy ‘Podium’ was released with the Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde featuring as the ‘sosie’ (lookalike) of Claude François, I learnt to appreciate and even love Claude’s music. The film, although a comedy, is a real tribute to the man and I warmly recommend it to all of you who love Claude François’ music or who would like to discover his great talent.

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Update on the burglars: Last Monday my mother learnt from the lady who lives in the house at the far end of our back garden that her house had been broken into and that her jewellery had been stolen …. As I mentioned before: too close for comfort!

7 comments:

Niall & Antoinette said...

Very much too close for comfort!

Everything here is 'exploding' with the warm weather. Our little peach tree is in flower.

[tzt --laat je me de 'hoe en wat' weten van je plannen voor je vakantie in de Loire i.v.b de jaarlijkse BBQ?]

Amanda said...

"Les Claudettes" would be considered fat by today's US standards. There was only one Claude Francois song I liked : "Alexandrie, Alexandra". Hopefully the burglars have moved on.

GaynorB said...

A fortunate escape for your mother!

Unusually the weather in the Uk has been glorious for the past couple of weeks. I've never needed to water the garden in March before. The forecast is for it to continue until the end of the month, but I'll believe that when I see it!

VirginiaC said...

So sorry to her about the robbery...I hope that your alarm system will work well for your mum so that she will not be robbed as well.
I hope your neighbour is okay....robberies can be quite unsettling.

Bob said...

Often single, elderly people are targets for robbery since the crooks feel they will give little or no resistance. Would you consider one of the new wireless security cameras? Or one of those motion exterior lights that that come on when it senses motion. It might be enough to scare people away. We are bursting with blooms here in Georgia!

Louise said...

Your photo is lovely...you have spring, and autumn here is in full swing...my gardening is all about raking leaves daily! So sorry to hear about the unsettling breakins nearby...

ladybird said...

N&A, I'll send you an email explaining my summer plans!:)

Nadege, At the time they were considered as skinny and every girl wanted to look like them. Times have changed!

Gaynor, We had a glorious day last Thursday ... almost summery. Yesterday, though, we had hail!

Virginia, We are not really close with our neighbour because she's abroad most of the time. But she didn't seem too much affected when my mother saw her.

Bob, I keep warning my mother, telling her to be careful when someone she doesn't know comes to the door. Camera's are not really an option, but the motion light is on our list.

Louise, I hope your autumn and winter will be mild, without too many heavy storms and rain like you had in the past years.