A long, hot summer

Whatever we imagined about this strange health crisis, it is not getting clearer as time goes on. Not only do more and more extra manifestations of the virus bob up, but people have had time to write veritable essays on their view of the hazards, the future, the world.

Since this is a personal blog I guess I’m allowed a bit of selfish reflection. Well, really more of an honest admission of hypochondria. You may share my frequent fear that the latest symptom in the news is one you have had all along, that the slight ache or pain is a symptom of something dire. My own body is, has long been home to a staggering array of itches. They can drive me to distraction. On top of that, for well over a year (thankfully well before Covid reared its spiky head) I have lost a lot of my sense of smell and taste. Not really great for someone who enjoys wine... One would hesitate now to mention such a thing in the wrong official circles for fear of being whisked into restraint with probes deep up every orifice. On the other hand, who (the heck) knows? Paranoia can easily rule.

To escape introspection it’s good to have something to do, so I am really glad this weekend to return to my occasional voluntary job as duty person in the Anglophone Library in Montpellier. It is a small, pleasant airy ground floor space in a bac’ street near the Corum and Beaux Arts. A thousand or so books, space to browse, a children’s section, and a small membership so it is not busy or onerous.

It takes me right back to my early library days, pre-qualification, when I was often sole staff-member in one or other of the branch libraries attached to Chelsea College in London. My luck held with small, interesting workplaces, first at Wye College in Kent then at Friends House (Quaker) Library, before work and life moved in other directions. I am still a librarian at heart I think, and am pleased to have (ex-) librarian cousins (the last of them, Mary Cassidy, has just retired). Shelves full of books are just part of it - to me, it was and is the helping people to find information of all sorts that is so satisfying.

Back in the real world of hot dry weather, dogs and nice meals, we are getting to know the similarities and contrasting in personalities of our two dogs.  Elvire barks a lot but Edmond pulls ahead more on the lead, and he likes to settle proprietorially on my pillow if I forget to shut the bedroom door.  But they have proved excellent companions and perfect for our semi-sedentary lives.  Both full of energy so they can probably do with longer walks when it is cool enough to go further than the minimum!