Shiny

No apologies for the pylon photo. I do like it when the cables light up against the sky (you may need to go large to get the full effect). The weather had been pretty miserable up to this point so I dashed out while I had the chance.

In the evening we went to the season launch at the arts centre in Capendu. Unlike the one in Ferrals, it was free, with the same format: speeches, video presentation, show, bunfight. We gave Laurence and Valérie a lift. We got there to find the theatre already almost full; S found two seats together quite near the front, and I promptly realised we were coincidentally sitting next to choir member Nicole.

The speeches were long, and the video teasers were quite short; it was difficult to get a real sense of what might be interesting, but we can study the brochure at our leisure. The show was a Spectacle sur Céline, sans Céline. The Céline in question turned out to be Céline Dion; Alice and Camille acted out a series of interviews and songs in increasingly skimpy costumes. It was a bit low-rent compared to the show at Ferrals, but it was amusing enough, and they were clearly having great fun. They are locals, and this must be the reason for the standing ovation at the end! I can't find any video, but there are a few photos here which show their rather Laurel and Hardy stage presence.

The bunfight had had to be moved hastily indoors as it was spitting with rain, so it was a bit of a shambles at first, but there was enough food and drink to go round. Not quite as good as the one in Ferrals, but hey, the whole evening was free. Alice and Camille came and mingled, and ended up leading a singsong with the pianist who was providing musical ambiance.

We met various of Laurence's friends, and discovered coincidences -- notably when Nicole came up to us and warmly greeted Laurence, because she had been Laurence's son's primary school teacher (he's 25 now). "But how do you know Nicole?" Laurence asked me, baffled. Also, it turned out that nearly all of us have been to the remote village of Tavascan in the Catalan Pyrenees due to Laurence's friend Luisa being from there. Quite funny to find so many crossed threads among a small group of people.