Here and there in the Gard

I have worked for three full days in Sommieres and have gotten a chance to learn the process enough to be given the tools and to work along side them. Bertrand is a great congenial fellow. Rene a little reserved, but I somehow got him talking about his involvement in a troupe that travels with big paper marche  puppets. He's never heard of Bread and Puppet… until now. It's a long day counting the drive. Up at 7:30. At work by 9, lunch cobbled together on site, quit at 5:30, home around 6, fix the evening meal, eat at 8 or 8:30, wine and conversation until 10 or 11.

Last night in another medieval village, Saufe, where Benoit has a second house from a first marriage. Beautifully restored with the older part dating back to the 11th century. Dinner with Bertrand and guest. A family, Patrice (guy), wife, from Netherlands and 10 yo son. We shared about living the itinerant life. Me new to it and him well versed. He works for Cirque de Soleil, the connection being a neighbor in Saufe, Frank who is a C d. S. trapeze artist. (Robert Crumb… remember, the 60's comic book artist... is another renowned inhabitant of the village). Patrice has been restoring Frank's house bit by bit over the last 20 years. A great time all around so far. I have gotten to seen these old places from soup to nuts. Beautiful places layered with history. Nothing confined by simpler geometry.. everything looking like it grew organically from the ground. Endless variations on a theme. Tomorrow we put the final coat of lime wash on the restored facade in Sommieres.

I have several people acting as my agent now, helping me set up a situation for the holiday week around December 22 thru 31. The connections and hospitality have been great. I got the bus from Saufe to Nimes today to meet Benoit… a third little place … very rustic… where he is building some display tables. On the way home a car failed to stop at a yield as we were coming back to Saint Quentin de Poterie… home base…. Wham! ,,,,,Nobody injured, but the van is Kaput. It's pizza tonight… with wine, of course. Life has been rich here.