Preparations

The grape harvest, such as it is, is just starting. Of course some vignerons won't have any harvest at all, the grapes burnt or smoke damaged to the point of being unusable. I don't know if this has been reported in media elsewhere, but on Friday, 24 hours after the fire had been officially declared extinguished, 2000 ravers in 500 vehicles turned up in Fontjoncouse, one of the worst affected villages where everyone has lost something, access to the garrigue is forbidden, and clearing efforts are ongoing. They squatted a hitherto undamaged field of luzerne intended to feed animals over the winter. A few of them airily told the local paper while trampling the field and towing one-tonne generators and soundwalls across it, "Oh well, it's all burnt anyway and there's nothing here, so we're not damaging anything." This did not go down well. The last of them were finally ejected by gendarmes and CRS yesterday, not before a few angry locals had smashed car windows and overturned a few vehicles with tractors. I've got nothing against young people wanting to enjoy themselves, but this was neither the time nor the place, and if they had any inkling of empathy they would have left earlier of their own accord.

Anyway, job one this morning was to take Matisse to the vet for her final booster jab. She's still limping, but since yesterday has actually started putting her paw down occasionally. The vet agreed that lasting this long, it couldn't be an insect bite and it was more likely that she sprained or bruised something during her acrobatic antics. She was very laid back at the vet, sprawling casually on the table, trotting round the room to demonstrate her limp, and accepting treats from the vet. A far cry from Mystère, who used to huddle against me, rigid with fright.

This evening was the first community gym session after the summer. There were only five of us and we took it easy. I snapped this blip on the way there to avoid blipping Matisse again!