Right · 7 August 2002
5:59
Roosters crow in gentle Occitan.
6:00–6:30
When the waters are just so, scrub clean with brushes and soap made by regional craftsmen, perfumed by the sighs of nature.
6:30–7:00
Strong coffee, raw milk, fresh bread, local preserves.
7:00–8:00
In gleaming cotton and relaxed linen, negotiate riverbank with purposeful stride; drenched in birdsong, evaluate the morning’s new blooms amidst wildflowers and hedgerows.
8:00–11:45
Write, write, write!
12:00–14:00
Luncheon with the village mayor. Discuss civic policy, sport and the news of the day over three courses of dapper little things and the sort of wine that other wines dream of when they dream of what really good wine would be.
14:15–15:00
Gentle nap nestled in down and crisp linens. Awake to the dreamlike vision of Best Beloved offering a glass of cool spring water garnished with fresh mint and lemon. Drink, rejuvenate.
15:00–18:00
Hegel, Akhmatova, ΚαβαΦη, Shakespeare, Montaigne.
18:00–20:00
Lawn games.
20:00–21:00
Visit the garden & consult the pantry in advance of the evening meal: braise, pluck, truss, baste, sauté, whip, prod, rinse, stuff, raise, pare, caramelise, reduce, finish, plate.
21:00–23:00
Just one thing after another.
23:00–
A little of that 1970 Grahams before Best Beloved lights the candles trailing up the stairs, where hours of acrobatic sex await, to be followed by deeply significant cinematic narratives along the dreamscapes of the night.
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