an update after prolonged absence

[lobelia321]

Holiday: The highlights

The Luberon. This is a lovesome area in the hilly mountains south of Mont Ventoux (famed by Petrarca's climb; on the outskirts of Avignon we drove past a Lycée Fran¸ois Petrarque... ah, Europe) and north of Marseilles. The air is fragrant with thyme and wild sage. The light is lambent and golden. The land is harsh, sweetened by vines and silvered by the frothy, crusty foliage of olive trees. The days were hot but the nights were fresh so I always slept quite well.

Etang des Bondes. We went swimming in a lake nestled at the foothills of the southern Luberon. We drove through a pass, along serpentine roads, singing 'I'm happy, feeling glad, I got sunshine in a bag'. The lake had only one restaurant and a camp site on its shores. The water was fresh and smelled mossy; it was murky and had a sandy bottom. It was gorgeous to swim in a lake, with the sky above and the trees on one side and off in the distance, in the reeds on the far shore, somebody playing the sax.

Cucuron. Near the lake, there is Cucuron where we bought tablecloths and aprons that still bring the sunshine to our northern home now. In the centre of the tiny town, there is a long basin, raised to about waist-height, the length of two Olympic swimming pools and about half the width, filled with water. Surrounding the basin, there are high plane trees. It is an oasis of shade and dappled sunspots. We sat at a round table, drinking iced coffee and pastis. We all read our books. It was very tranquil.

Lourmarin. We wandered the pedestrian zone and had coffee and fig-and-peach tart. A lovesome little place. On the outskirts, in the cemetery, is Albert Camus's grave which is not a stone tomb surmounted by angels or ceramic photographs but a patch of earth and lavender with a rough-hewn rock bearing his name. Next to him lies his wife. Someone had attached a slip of paper with their favourite Camus line to a plastic butterfly stuck in the soil.

Nîmes. What a wonderful town. The pedestrian zone is paved in large beige shiny stones. There is a lot of civic furniture: fountains, monuments. I love the mix of the ancient (Roman arena, still used for bullfights; Roman temple, the famous Maison Carrée) and the modern (Norman Foster's Mediathèque, right opposite the temple; modernist fountains and sculptures). It had a bit of the Brighton about it as well, with gay couples ambling along.

Pont du Gard. A Roman monument of truly majestic import spans a cool green river. We didn't bring our togs so go swimming in underwear. The water is delicious. Swimming between trees and a viaduct/aquaeduct is magnificently wonderful. We eat our picnic and loll. People go past on kayaks. This is bliss.



Uni trauma
My sabbatical ends today. I am traumatised. Emails are flooding my intray. I am being made to teach on 5 modules. I am having to teach 4 hours straight on a Monday. My office is being moved from a nice office to a hole in 2 weeks. I hate all my superiors; they are petty-minded bureaucrats. They have no intellectual commitment to academe. I hate my job so much. It is poisoning my brain.



Kittens
We have kittens. We have had them for 2 1/2 days. One of them is male, black with a white snout and white paws. He is called Zizou. The other one is female, chocolatey black and is called Coogee. Zizou = Zinedine Zidane, football god, headbutter and his name sounds cat-like and can be easily called. Coogee = beach in Sydney, cognate of kucing which is Indonesian for cat and can be easily called. They are incredibly cute. The children are in a transport of delight. I love their animating presence. We are too hopeless to take pictures and know how to upload them but will attempt it.



I am going to see the Argentina/Brazil friendly on Sunday.
omg liek 111 @-@ omg squee shriek eep *thud* *dies* 11111111111
A friend who lives round the corner of Arsenal's Emirate Stadium has bought me a ticket for 70 pounds. I hesitated at the expense but then I thought, I will regret this so much if I don't go, and I want something to sweeten the pill of being back at work. And omg, everybody is playing!! Kaká! (Omg, he is my desktop pretty; I have slashed him; he was my pretty boy number two of the World Cup) Robinho!! Ronaldinho! Teves! Messi! BRAZIL! I will post pics anon.