Cultural Differences

I've been in France for getting on for 20 years now, so I don't tend to notice the differences between French and English cultures.  In any case, my understanding of English culture is probably a bit out of date by now.   But I remain surprised by the French deference to professional qualifications.   They don't seem to believe that you can do anything practical unless the state has issued you with a certificate to say that you can.

A case in point came up recently in regard to my accordion.   You are not supposed to look at the buttons when you play.   It's actually fairly difficult to see them, and if you did it for any length of time you'd probably get a crick in the neck.   So, to aid players, certain specific buttons can have knurled tops so you can identify them by touch.   On the right-hand side, the C notes are identified in this way, on the first and fourth rows from the edge.   The F buttons on the third row are likewise identified.

My accordion did not come with these markers so I resolved to get some.   At the same time I decided to replace all the dull grey bottons (like those on the left side in the photo) with the shiny new goldy-coloured ones that you can see on the right hand side, because I thought they'd look pretty.   So I got them and fitted them.  You unscrew the old ones, screw in the new ones.   It's a good idea to stabilise the shaft into which they screw by gripping it with long-nosed pliers.

So I was at the music school explaining that I had fitted these buttons, and the response was "Where did you get it done?"   Er, "No I did it myself."    (Like I said, "I changed the buttons")    There followed expressions of surprise, of being impressed, and so on.  I mean, you unscrew the old ones, screw in the new ones, what's hard about that?    You have to make sure they all end up at about the same height but there nothing subtle.

People seem to believe that you can't do X or Y or Z unless you have a government-issued certificate that says you can.   I understand why the government keeps issuing new, legally binding norms for various kinds of work, that the professionals are obliged to abide by; it's to keep the people with practical skills in employment.   But it seems to have seeped into the general population.

Unusual

Now there's a product description you don't see every day.

The château at Carrouges

We took a short break to Bagnoles de l'orne, and while there we went to visit the chateau at Carrouges.   Well worth the trip if you have the slightest interest in things historical.

The route that we took meant that we approached the gatehouse via a road that leads down to it, giving a good view of it in the context of the chateau.   The gatehouse was almost completely destroyed during world war 2 when a german ammunition truck was blown up near it and set it on fire.   Not much survived beyond the ground floor walls, the rest was rebuilt in the original style after the war.

The castle iteslf is notable for the fact that is is made almost entirely out of brick.   It was acquired by the state in 1936 when the owner couldn't pay the taxes.   Is that theft?  You decide.   Perhaps the WEF "Own nothing and be happy" has deeper roots than I thought.   In any case, enormous sums of taxpayer money are being invested in its restauration, and at least you can visit it, for a small fee. 

The chateau interior is well-presented, with well-furnished rooms and clear explanitary notices.   You can visit the grounds for free, (a UNESCO heritage site) but being the end of November, the weather was not encouraging.

I especially liked this HarryPotter style lockable chest.   I think that it could be animated to good effect for a film.   I wonder what the key looks like.

A mast year

I am reliably informed by my neighbour Bethany, that the years when nut trees produce a much larger crop of nuts than usual is called a mast year.   This year is a mast year for walnuts.

Apparently it is part of a general reproduction strategy for trees.   The pigs, squirrels and other animals that feed on the nuts establish a size of population that reliably consumes all or nearly all of the nuts available in any year.   Then a mast year comes along and there are more nuts than can possibly be consumed, and those that remain therefore have a chance to germinate and make more trees;

Certainly, there are more nuts than I can sensibly gather, shell and eat.

Sweet potatoes

Gardening is a learning process, and this year I learned a bit more about sweet potatoes.   I bought 8 plants in two varieties from the garden centre, only one variety did well.    So I will use those tubers from this year for reproduction if I can.

They spread like crazy, and cover so much ground that I had difficulty finding the original planting sites to dig up the potatoes.    So next year, mark them with stakes.   They spread so much that I couldn't get to the weeds to pull them without treading on the plant and crushing it.   Next year, make paths to separate the plants and keep the growth off the paths.

I asked Chat GPT about keeping the tubers and apparently you have to cure them, ideally at 27 - 30 degrees and 80% - 90%  humidity for a week or so.   Here they are, curing above a tub with water in, kept at 28 degrees by my aquarium heater that I use for brewing.   (When not being photgraphed they are covered by a sheet of newspaper.)

Sweet potatoes have delicate skin.  The white spots on those in the picture are where the skin got rubbed off when I dug them up.   These are vulnerable places where moisture can escape and fungus set in.   Curing helps avoid this but is not 100% guaranteed.   The best thing is to free them from the earth by hand.   Something else to try next year.   I'll also make sure that the soil is crumbly and as free of stones as I can make it.

Seasons

Getting autumnal.   Mushrooms, mists, gardening moves from harvesting towards tidying.

Battleground - melons vs sweet potatoes

I have tried to grow melons before.  The plants grew to about a foot long and produced one melon each.   I have grown a sweet potato before.   It covered about a square foot and made a potato.   I didn't really look after either of them very well.

So this year I put 4 melon plants in a 2x2 metre square and 6 sweet potato plants in about the same area alongside them.   I looked after them properly this time; they all grew like crazy and are fighting each other for space at the boundary between them.   And weeds are everywhere.

Lessons learnt:   1) Don't plant melons and sweet potatoes next to each other as they fight.   2) Make sure that they each have plenty of space if you grow them properly.   3) Make sure that you can get to the weeds without treading on the plant (plant them in longer narrow beds so you can reach over the plant without crushing it)  4) The melon" Petit Gris de Rennes" is prolific and has exquisite flavour.

The African Marigold pictured is a freebie.   A random seed from last year sprouted so I let it grow.  The sweet potato is good mannered enough to be growing around it rather than over it.