« the end | Main | coco's apartment »

buried treasure

July 24, 2007

Towards the end of last week I decided to catch up with the friends that I have been neglecting in the two months that I have been chained to my desk. First port of call was my French friend Isabelle. On Thursday I bought some cakes from the baker and cycled to her village. We sat under a cluster of shady trees in her garden chatting all afternoon. Just as I was about to leave, she handed me a straw basket and a sharp knife and told me to pick what I wanted from her 'naturally bio' [organic] vegetable garden, which boasts everything from lettuces, runner beans and courgettes to green peppers and celery.

I was thrilled – not least because it saved me a 25km drive to the nearest organic store. Then on Saturday afternoon, I called on Travis. We cycled through a vivid yellow and blue landscape - past fields of sunflowers and haystacks set against a vibrant turquoise sky. On the spur of the moment we cycled 10km, along dirt tracks and up and down hills, to visit Eric and Lola, arriving - with perfect timing - just as they were mixing cocktails. Later, just before I left Travis's house, he handed me a bag of potatoes. He had been surprised to find them growing in a pile of earth and hay that he had been clearing earlier in the day. At this time of year, everyone is very generous with the produce from their garden. A cheeky thought occurs to me: if I visit friends more often, I won't have to visit the organic shop at all.

comments (3)

1. Posted by Sylvie on July 25, 2007 1:50 PM

Except of course when you're in London -- and you can visit friends *and* the organic shop at the same time ;-)


2. Posted by froggywoogie on July 25, 2007 4:13 PM

... and you'll be gentle with the planet. Going to organic shops is fantastic and I'm 100% for it. The only problem is you have to drive long ways to get there and you pollute. How can we win that? Apart growing our own organic food of course.


3. Posted by mimi pompom on August 4, 2007 11:43 AM

Dear froggywoogie,

your are absolutely right. I have been feeling very guilty about the miles I clock up in pursuit of organic vegetables. If I could cycle there I would but unfortunately there is no safe cycle route. I am going to have to find a source closer to home...


post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)