That other tradition

Tradition is important. It binds a family, a village, a people by reinforcing its links to a common past. The village news years drinks, carnival, the upcoming easter egg hunt at the Marqueyssac gardens, these are all traditions here that we've come to look forward to year after year.

This week we're celebrating another tradition. Every year, we reinforce our link to a common past by putting off repairs in the cottages until some point just after it becomes impossible to get them all done before our first guests of the new season arrive. It's a beautiful custom, a celebration of spring's renewal and an anticipation of the warm joy of summer, when the cottages will be filled with people who will expect such niceties as clean kitchens, functioning bathrooms and woodwork that does not flake large quantities of dried paint into their tea. 

All this is to say, this week's post is going to be a little late...