Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta.

 

Fellow students of Latin, may remember having to translate the exploits of Cotta.

Personally I never thought to enquire about who this Cotta actually was; all I knew was that he marched around, on Caesar's behest, with several cohorts; out to conquer parts of Gaul.

Yesterday I decided to find-out more. Unfortunately not much is written about him other than in the famous De Bello Gallico where some details are given of his being wounded, losing battles, and eventually his death.

He was obviously a much admired soldier, and Caesar promoted him as joint Senior Officer in his Gallic Army along side his fellow officer Sabinus.

Caesar sent him to 'Gaul' to conquer the area around the German/Belgian borders. He came across fierce fighting, and eventually was defeated inside his own compound (above).

I'm really no better informed about dear Cotta, but at least some of my past 60 years of ignorance has been laid to rest. 

The strange thing about learning Latin is that one ends-up being able to say that Cotta is advancing to the north with two cohorts, but one never learns how to ask for a pound of Apples, or even ask the way to the Coliseum.

Less than a month until Christmas.

 

Possibly the most asked question of the moment is 'What do you want for Christmas?'.

And possibly the most usual reply is 'Nothing'.

Amongst the presents I gave last year were an Apple tree, a large bag of bird seed, a mushrooming penknife, and some things specifically asked-for that have never been used. With the two boys joining us again this year, no doubt our focus will be on them.

I have already decided on my gift for Lady Magnon, it is simply a matter of buying and bringing home.

For the others I really am at a loss.

This year, especially, excessive spending seems almost immoral. Maybe rather than giving lots of expensive and unwanted gifts, we should simply be grateful for our good health. The world's problems are far from over, so maybe the best gift might be something specific to the pandemic.

For years I gave people 'scratch cards' in with their Christmas or Birthday cards. The idea that someone could win a Million quid always appealed to me (one person did win €100); this year it might be more relevant to give a voucher for a Covid-19 vaccine jab.

Anyway, the important thing is to have a good Christmas. A pleasant lunch, one or two welcome gifts, and no hangover. As usual, I'm really looking forward to it.

N.B. Yesterday I was pruning the Wisteria on our 'tower'. I had leaned a ladder against the wall which the boys soon discovered to be the 'toy of the century'. Up and down they went (whilst being surveyed) and had a wonderful time. 

Why buy a £200 X Box (I have no idea how much these things actually cost) when you can go up and down a ladder for nothing!

Swiss News

Switzerland is an interesting country. More correctly known as The Swiss Confederation, she lies land-locked amongst other larger European countries. She is not a member of the EU, but still benefits from most trade agreements.

Switzerland is also a wealthy country. She has the highest nominal wealth per adult in the world, and comes eighth highest in world 'per capita' GDP.

In a country known for neutrality and the brokering of peace deals, she still has military national service for men over 18. They serve about 21 weeks, and about 30% of the population legally hold firearms.

When we think of Switzerland, we think watches, cheese with holes, alpine horns, penknives, chocolate, skiing, fondue, bicycle regiments, and snow tipped mountains. 

I have never been there, and have no real desire to go. However my father and my 'Uncle John' did once go there mountain climbing together. They were half way climbing up some glacier when they stopped for lunch. My Uncle John pulled out an apple from his rucksack, bit into it, and broke his dentures. The apple was frozen solid. He spent the rest of his holiday 'speaking in tongues' and dining on liquids.

That's the extent of my knowledge of Switzerland. If you have anything exciting to add, please feel free to do so.

What is life, without a project.

Up at the barn, there is construction afoot. The final surface is, at long last, being applied to the terrace.

50 by 50 cm flagstones are being laid, and it will make a really beautiful outdoor dining/dancing area. I'm not sure yet what they'll use for shade, but no doubt a solution will appear in time.

I always say that the most important room in the house here is the auvent, an outdoor room where one lives from Spring to Autumn. It really should have a roof for when it rains, but I expect they'll soon realise that.

When the barn's exterior wooden cladding is renewed (possibly this winter), a couple of doors made for upstairs (gawd knows when), and the second bathroom completed; all will be finished. It's already a lovely spacious home.

We might even invite Wills's older brother, Kimbo, to come over and cut a ribbon. He's used to such things, and probably by now even has his own scissors.

Things advance, little by little.

What a shambles.

The barn behind ours is currently being turned into another home. The new owner has been working on it for about a year.

During all that time he's had no water or electricity. The water people came about two weeks ago, and the necessary pipes do now reach to the edge of his land. All it needs is for his plumber to connect the pipes..... The electricity connection has proved more complex.

The nearest point to connect to is behind our house (above), and the EDF have now been to connect a temporary supply. But rather than connect it to our barn's supply (below left), to which the new owner had already fed his cables (the red tube), they have connected to our supply on the other side of the track (below right); meaning that those cables on the bank will now have to be dug-up, re-positioned, and buried underground in the track.

As I said, this is a temporary connection to a building site. For the actual connection they will have to wait another SIX MONTHS.

Now, I may be a bit dim, but what the hell is the difference between a temporary connection with its own meter etc, and a pukka connection in the same spot, with its own meter etc. All the wires and cables are there, but rules are rules, and when they say six months; that's what they mean!

I don't wish to be rude about the EDF (we've never had any complaints, other than power cuts), but it does seem as if they are very fixed in their ways.

When the men were here yesterday, I asked if they were sure I wasn't going to be paying for the other person's electricity; they assured me that I wouldn't be. When I then asked them if they could fix it so that he would pay for mine; they unfortunately said 'no'.

It now looks as if we'll have that horrible temporary box hanging on a nail from the back of our house until May 2021.

I apologise if the above all sounds rather confusing. It's difficult finding the right words to describe what's going on here. Believe me; the world (and the EDF) works in mysterious ways.

Blondes have more fun.

The boys change by the day.

Boo Boo is learning fast. He can tell you how many 20 Centimes are in One Euro, what is the speed of sound, and how he likes his pasta.

Mischa (the Cherub) is only just constructing logical sentences, so it'll be a while before he starts quoting The Iliad. He can build monsters with Lego, use the pedals on his big brother's Go Kart, and knows what flavours of Ice Cream he prefers.

It's wonderful having them here. Lady M is constantly elbow-deep in cake mix, or preparing 'cheesy-pasta', or putting plasters on knees.

The children always come first. 'Cheesy pasta' for the boys has priority over a cup of coffee for Grumpy. But that's the way it should be.

Lockdown means that Boo Boo isn't going to school at the moment, but I honestly think he's learning more at home than he would if he was in kindergarten. He has the advantage of two ex-teachers, various degrees, and plenty of different languages. How many kindergartens can match that!

Cosy Nook.

For any recent visitors to this page;....this (below) is where I live.

The fireplace is always the focal point of every home, so I'm showing you ours. It'll give you an idea of what a 300 year old French peasant cottage looks like.

The fireplace was, of course, originally the cooking section of the kitchen; the washing section was performed in the stone sink which you might just see centre-left.  

At first we had an open fire with metre long lengths of Oak burning on ancient fire dogs, which I loved. These days we have installed a wood burner which means we can close up and go away without any risk of the carpet catching fire. The wood burner also doubles as baked potato cooker, and simmerer of stews casseroles etc on the top; whilst belting out heat. 

Generally we only light the stove in the evening; we're hardy folk. Only if we're forced to be indoors during the daytime (snow, rain, locusts, etc) do we light-up earlier; otherwise it's reasonably economical.

I know what you're thinking; it looks old, dusty, cobwebby, spider-ridden, full of mice, draughty, cold, etc, etc. Well you'd be right on most counts, but that's what bucolic life is all about; not forgetting dog hair all over the place. The only things guaranteed to be sparkly clean in this house are things to do with food or it's preparation; on that there is no compromise. 

I'm not keen on modern homes. I find them characterless, and unwelcoming. I want my home to have history as well as future, but mostly I want it to feel 'cosy'; which our does.