This weekend I’m going to a celebration for a parrot.
Sure, you probably did learn that proper. Gaston the parrot is celebrating his thirty fifth birthday and Gaspard, his human dad, an eccentric French man who lives a lot of the 12 months in a fortress within the Ardennes area and in addition has a house in a village close to to mine, is throwing a celebration for the beady-eyed chook.
Gaspard is in his late seventies, at present single, although has a string of failed marriages to his title and says that his comradeship along with his parrot is probably the most enduring relationship he has ever had. Gaston was a present from Océane, spouse no. three (of 5). Gaspard says that theirs (his and the spouse) was a fiery union, and the parrot will get his love of swearing like a trooper from her, he additionally likes to joke that they get on a lot better now that Océane is oceans away from him, dwelling in Quebec.
Gaston the parrot could be very spoiled and flies freely round Gaspard’s home, flapping his emerald inexperienced wings, knocking pots over and screeching “oh la la… merde… putain” and varied saucy and impolite phrases and insults. When calm, he sits on Gaspard’s shoulder and pulls on the coal-coloured curly hair of his dad’s wig and chews the tip of his bushy moustache, steadily shouting issues like “je t’adore mon amour” and cackling. He perches on the handles of saucepans when Gaspard is cooking, sits on the desk when dinner is served and watches as you carry a spoon from a bowl to your mouth typically yelling “miam” (French for yum). He imitates a cell phone with uncanny accuracy, and pulls the wallpaper off the partitions for enjoyable.
Gaspard the human adores his feathered buddy and takes him in all places with him, I’ve even seen them within the outlets, the chook yelling “ferme ta gueule” (shut your mouth) at one and all, although fortunately he has a small lead connected to his foot to cease him flying round and leaving little items.
We acquired the celebration invitation a number of weeks in the past, superbly handwritten requesting us to have fun 35 years of camaraderie between the 2 unlikely greatest associates. I assumed lengthy and onerous about what to purchase the parrot as a gift and determined to wing it with a packet of blueberries – that ought to match the invoice (sorry, not sorry, I couldn’t resist it!).
Wishing you a really bon weekend from a celebration in a relatively quaint and quirky village in France,
Bisous,
Janine
Editor
ps prime picture is beautiful La Rochelle on a cold winter morning…
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Janine Marsh is Writer of My Good Life in France: In Pursuit of the Rural Dream, My 4 Seasons in France: A Yr of the Good Life and Toujours la France: Residing the Dream in Rural France all accessible as e-book, print & audio, on Amazon in all places & all good bookshops on-line. Her newest e-book Methods to be French – is a celebration of the French way of life and artwork de vivre.
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