Pai.

 

Pai and sky.

 

Got to Pai yesterday: a small town of 2,800 inhabitants, which, like Anduze, near Sauve, swells massively during the tourist season. I was expecting a quiet, picturesque place, but even in what is now off season, it's too touristy for my taste.

Rented a ridiculously cheap cabin just out of town, with views of the surrounding hills. At night the cicadas make a racket which put their cousins back in the Languedoc to shame. They are accompanied by bullfrogs, or more accurately cow-frogs which make a loud mooing noise. Tried to record them, but they were drowned out by the cigales.

Went into town this afternoon and had a look around which didn't take long. After a meal, and a couple of beers, was wondering what to do with myself. Found a bar that had a quiz night, something which I've only ever done once before, many years ago with my brother in law in Cardiff. Sat at the front of the bar so that I could photograph the World passing and got talking to a young German lady called Francesca. She was there for much the same reasons as me and wanted to have a go at the quiz, which was played in teams.

An admirable response to that fat, pig ignorant UKIP woman, who is now siding in the European Parliament with Marine Le Pen.

Each team needed a name, so we decided on the Anglo-German Alliance. The prize was a bottle of Scotch, with the worst team being awarded a bottle of the undrinkable local hooch; undrinkable that is, if you're not a twenty something tourist out for a party.

Did we win? Of course, slaughtered the opposition with a score of 36 out of 40. Francesca didn't fancy the whisky, so I came back with it. Only trouble was that it rained this afternoon and I had to get back up the hill. It was OK to this side of the bamboo bridge, but after that got pretty dark. I'd left my flashlight in my cabin, so moved very slowly, to avoid the muddy puddles. I nearly went over once on a stretch which was nearly pitch black and next to a rice paddy. At one point, was up to my ankles in mud, but I made it and celebrated with a wee dram. I think I'll donate the rest to some young party enthusiasts.

We are the champions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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