Les encombrants

Tomorrow is the annual encombrants here in Rumaucourt. A week on from the brocante when the residents sell their bric-a-brac on the pavement outside their home, the council takes away all of the clutter that you have not been able to get rid of in other (legal) ways. There are a few exceptions eg used engine oil and old tyres etc but otherwise the pavements are full of old sofas, some in still usable state, some with foam spilling out, rejected bathroom suites and elements thereof (colours various but never really white), broken objects that someone was supposed to mend but never got round to doing, technology-overtaken things such as Minitel screens, the French precursor to the internet or maybe just yellow pages. The mounds of unwanted and broken possessions tend not to grow too high as in the wake of one's decluttering come the curious and the organised (sinister white vans cruising the streets) truffling through the unused and unusable to find a small pulse that could indicate life and continuing value, however feeble.

We all love the idea of finding a bargain, what better than to fall upon something for absolutely nothing? Something about it makes the heart beat a tad faster and we could find ourselves being seduced by the idea that someone else's complete rubbish might actually be worth acquiring. Of course these days it is an excellent way of recycling. I couldn't help but remark to Jean-Michel that I fully expected much of the "useful" but now rejected stuff that had languished for extended periods in a loft or a garage somewhere would only be seen as having potential for long enough to find a place in someone else's loft or garage! Oh, but these things cost a fortune! - is the reason for acquiring (or keeping hold of) some ancient gadget. Whether it will even be used does not seem to be a criterion.

There go the indicator lights from the old van Jean-Michel used to have. It was a Mercedes though...

As I listen to the sound of vans making their slow progress up and down rue Clémenceau and of cars filled with families making an outing of the afternoon I cannot help but wonder how it would be if we could get rid of our emotional baggage and our learned negative behaviours just by setting them down on the pavement outside our homes where some kind person unwittingly would take them away! In some ways that is indeed what we do ie deal withour superficial life clutter and expect someone else to tolerate us when we react badly or behave in a certain way.

In Lille the encombrants is a monthly event but not one which will offer much in the way of pickings, I suspect. We would do better to find a well-off area and hire our own white van!

The magnolia in the photo is in full bloom in our garden at the house in Hellemmes-Lille.

P.S. Massive congratulations to Stuart and Tiff who completed the London Marathon today!