A world without pain

What a wonderful place that would be. Well no, because the pain of which I write is the stuff made with flour and water and that comes in baguettes and croissants etc. Think of France and one of the very first thoughts that come to mind is usually French bread freshly baked and still warm, and the idyllic stroll to the boulangerie several times a day, stopping to chat with local characters along the way, checking out the chap in the stripey top wearing a beret and carrying a string of onions over his shoulder. Of course the reality can be a little different and these days not only is the price not fixed by the state, a fact I only became aware of today, but many buy theirs at the local Carrefour, Auchan or Hyper-U. Zut alors! we even freeze the stuff here then give it a quick blast in the microwave to defrost it. As much as this may appall the puritans out there it does at least mean that the staple of all French diets is always available. Till this morning that is.

Today is another national holiday. The phone rang early, before nine o'clock, with an urgent appeal from the family shop, le Panier de la Ménagère, to say that not only had the bakery not delivered the bread order but a customer had seen a notice in their window saying that they would not be open today. Rumours have it that Monsieur le Boulanger took off yesterday with his children to a theme park. He opened last Monday - which was also a holiday - so, perhaps reasonably, decided that he would have today off. Nothing wrong with that of course except he forgot to tell his clients!

Imagine the consternation. J-M shouting the odds at no-one in particular, just to voice his frustration, R trying to explain that there is no bread to regular customers and that the basket is vide, vide, vide! Me on the computer trying to find the phone number of the nearest supermarket - Hyper-U - and the other bakery, both of which are either closed or not answering. Max to the rescue when we remember that, exceptionellement, the Auchan just outside Douai is open today.

He rang a little later to say that there is plenty of bread to be had - and we are talking upwards of 30 baguettes alone - but the world and his wife is there and there are no trollies available.

It will at least be sorted out shortly. The folks of Oisy-le-Verger will get their bread. The shop will make no money at all out of the bread as we will have had to pay the retail price. The baker will get a number of ears full when he returns from his day out. It is raining, but that serves him right, according to more than one.

A world without pain? Maybe not.