Common Treasury

99. Mid April. Gerrard Winstanley as a TRUE DIGGER declared that the earth was a 'common treasury for all.' This was in 1649 in England.  In Languedoc, on a curved wall, edging a mountain road, is presciently written large  ' Le monde n'est pas un marche'...the earth is not a market place.

Bertrand has cut his ancient white Renault van in 2. The back part has become a covered trailer and he tows it with a 'new' old blue Renault, rattling through the square and trundling up the hill to deposit garbage beside his fields. This pile grows rapidly and is a cause for local concern and a few shaken heads. The centre of this heap is  the  engine & bonnet end of the original van.

Yesterday he and Sylvie passed me in the van, as I toiled up the lane towards the village. They passed and then slowed. Their heads turned to each other as they must have spoken.  I approached and saw the back seat piled high with groceries and rubbish, but the  derriere van  trailer was empty. Ah ha,I said, No thank you, I like walking; not far now, thank you again. They drove away grinning, trailer bumping and grinding!

Snow has come and gone. Up high there are still  snow pearl necklaces, shimmering in the cold sunlight but they too melt and the line rises hourly through the blue ranks of firs. Swallows come in low, scooping up the growing numbers of insects but the chill in the air surprises.