Wick (Thos McKay): Weeks 6-7 – 29 July

To continue with the trip to France, one of the days we took a field trip to Albi, about an hours’ drive from our little village.  There’s a massive cathedral there which dominates the centre of the town.  Started in 1282 and competed 200 years later, it is constructed almost entirely of brick. Inside, the walls are covered in paintings.  Many of these are geometric, quilt-like patterns; some, like the Last Judgment at the eastern end of the nave, are more realistic.  

Also in Albi is the cloister of St Salvi, a hidden gem tucked in between the town’s buildings and reached by a staircase.  The church is well worth a visit too, but it’s the small cloister that you’d return to.  It’s very small, and the centre has beds of medicinal plants and a few small trees – it’s a haven of quiet in the centre of the town. 

The Toulouse-Lautrec Museum is also in Albi, housed in the former Bishop’s Palace.  Having visited it previously, this time I only browsed the shop and then went in search of a view of the parterre garden behind the palace.  It has ornate plantings of carefully trimmed box hedges.  It’s not possible to stroll through, but there is an elevated walkway to view it. The river Tarn flows below the Palace and is spanned by the Pont Vieux.  Even covered in scaffolding, it dominates the river.  I strolled down to the riverside and had my lunch in the shade of the trees, the river lapping at my feet. 

Speaking of strolling, I also enjoyed my regular walks while there, wandering up the road above the valley of the Sor.  I’ve always liked this walk, past the ancient village houses to the forested area beyond.  There are some beautiful houses along the road; many of them were water-powered copper beating mills. 

I’m still on my travels, having driven down to Northamptonshire for my brother-in-law’s funeral.  I broke the drive in Edinburgh, staying with my very accommodating friends overnight, and completed the journey the next day, driving through the hot, sticky Midlands.  I’ll return in the coming week, but this time stopping twice. 

The funeral last Monday afternoon went well; many people commented it was a good service.  The classic car club arrived in their classic cars, the morris men danced “Bonny Green Garters” at the end of the service.  This dance, also known as “the morris men’s traditional farewell”, is usually performed at the end of a set of dances.  They danced at the reception too.  Former regulars of the side had come from near and far to pay their respects.   

Not much progress has been made on the gansey these past two weeks.  I’ve been rather occupied with funeral arrangements, travel, and getting to grips with paperwork, which will be a long term project.  But there is some progress on the gansey, and that’s the important thing.  The alternating pattern of waves and ‘fishbones’ should block quite well, to give an overall texture.