Police blotter

Earlier this year, Cahors was abuzz with its first ever bank robbery.   Two men, or maybe three, held up a small bank in the market square.   They made off with very little money, but in a relatively crime-free department, this was a big deal.   They weren't locals   -   the getaway car had Toulouse plates, my ex-police-chief friend said comfortingly that evening.

Yesterday, two of the presumed perpetrators were committed for trial at the Assizes.   The third man is believed to be a Cahors man who knew the bank well.   Maybe we can't sleep so easily after all.

Hole in the ground

According to the local paper La Dépêche, the hole in the ground in the middle of Cahors is not likely to become parking again for a while. La Mairie says that work will resume at the beginning of October, but the group leading the rearguard action against the subterranean parking garage reckons that no progress will be made before the middle of 2007. Clearly, the presence of uninteresting Roman relics has nothing to do with the delay: this is local politics. What a pity that these shenanigans are taking place as Cahors tries to sell the 700th Anniversary of the mediaeval fortified bridge le Pont Valentré.

Not so hot

It rained last night and today is cool and fresh. It's often said that Brits like to talk about the weather, but in la France profonde, the dependence of agriculture and fruit-growing on sun and water makes weather a prime source of conversation here too.

Construction work stops both for cold and heat. Perhaps some of the city fathers' projects will inch towards completion now that the heatwave is taking a break. Four of the mini-roundabouts that punctuate Cahors are being remodelled, yet again, and so traffic slows to a crawl. Today, the remaining free car park was cordoned off for a week-long pétanque competition. As the main car park has been out of action for most of the past year (supposedly to let archaeologists look at some roman remains, but that's questionable), Cahors is not worth driving into. If you have to come here by car, leave it in one of the car parks ouside the boucle and take the free shuttle bus in.

Rain dance

That was quick. Five hours after I posted the last paragraph, it rained and hailed in a half-hearted fashion. Enough to dampen the washing on the line, but not enough to make any significant dent in the dry spell. More tonight, perhaps.

This year's drought

We have had no rain for a month, although there's hope of a thunderstorm tomorrow (no hail please). What was green in May is brown or at least yellowing in June. The use of water in the garden or to wash the car is now forbidden in the Lot. Presumably bonfires are also outlawed. I'm not sure how one finds out about these restrictions except by word of mouth. There are no notices posted in town; I just happened to buy a newspaper. Maybe one has to watch the telly.