Getting My Goat - Tuesday 19th August

The potager taking shape with four rows ready for planting

This has not been a day for the record books but finally things are looking up. Having started the day feeling worse than I did yesterday, I really began to wonder if I had picked up some strange bug but without the assistance of “Uncle Google” to check out my various ailments, I could do little more than rely on a liver cleansing remedy, headache pills for the detox symptoms and drink litres of water.

I hung around all morning like a limp rag and Jean waited patiently for signs of improvement and also for the promised phone call from the technician. Neither appeared to be in the offing, so he took matters into his own hands - quite literally. Among his many talents, Jean has the power of Reiki and in the past, he has worked wonders on battered and bruised bits of my body. I always reckon that internally I am as strong as an ox, but the bodywork is a bit the worse for wear having hurled myself from my horse many years ago in Africa. Laying his hands on my horrible distended stomach, he sat patiently and I felt the intense heat building up. It makes him terribly thirsty and he is cautious about washing his hands afterwards, but there is no doubt that it works. I was still feeling wobbly and weak, but the cramping pain just below my ribcage had eased off and I even felt strong enough to face a trip to the supermarket.

There was one more thing that he had to do before we left. Getting on the phone to Customer Services, he gave them a right royal ticking off and the result is that they have promised to send a technician to the house tomorrow afternoon. The electrician is also coming to sort out the night meter and steady down the boiling water that comes from the tank, and if all goes well, I can see us breaking out the pastis and doing a victory dance in the courtyard. Clearly France is back to work and thanks to Jean never loosening his grip on the telephone people, we have stayed near the top of the priority list and they know that he won’t give up.

In view of the damage done with regards to our diet over the past five weeks, we have turned over a new leaf and have reverted to our eating habits from our time in America. The fridge is now bare of cheese, butter, bread, ham, saucisson and paté. The wine bottles remain unopened and the olives stay in their pot. Until we get our waistlines back under control and our livers back into shape, it is green beans, brown rice, fresh vegetables, lean chicken and fish and lots of fresh fruit.

We went to see Norma this afternoon. Norma isn’t so much a friend as an establishment where it is possible to purchase large packs of assorted goods from a warehouse setting rather than have the wide selection from the local supermarket. I was only after the chicken breasts and the fish and the washing powder and softener so it didn’t take us long to nip round and stock up, before heading off to the local supermarket for the fresh vegetables and freezer bags.

Even now as I write, the large pot of homemade vegetable soup is simmering on the stove and the chicken breasts are in a marinade waiting to go onto the barbeque. The goat nearly got me, but we are turning the tables and looking to a healthier future. Of course I am quite sure that these delicious delicacies will sneak back into the diet eventually, but in a far more controlled manner.