Harvest

It was the annual olive-picking day today. Olives on ornamental trees around the village that would otherwise fall to the ground are picked and turned into olive oil that is sold for the benefit of the school. The harvest was smaller than last year, but most of the olives were big and juicy, in better condition than last year. We were pretty much done by 12:30 so we repaired to the terrain des fêtes for grilled sausage, bread, cheese, and rosé. All very convivial.

In the evening I went to Conilhac for the jazz festival. Although S isn't here I was tempted by the all-female Rhoda Scott Lady Quartet -- two saxophonists, drummer, and Rhoda on Hammond organ. It's so rare to see female instrumentalists in jazz bands, and four on stage at once was great. They were having a whale of a time, just having fun making music together. The younger members of the quartet look ... young, but they've been playing together since 2004. Here they are in an old video.

The first half was the Naima Quartet, led by the eponymous Naima. Another unusual feature -- a band fronted by a female double bass player and vocalist. They were very good -- here's a sample.

When I looked back at this date last year, I saw that we'd had a hilarious time introducing our French friends to the concept of bonfire night, courtesy of S and R. We couldn't possibly have imagined that a year later R would no longer be with us.