... is not made by people."
A quote by author Barbara Kingsolver in this morning's Guardian resonates.
Friday I suggest we head for the Chinese buffet rather than cook supper. It seemed like a good idea - the buffet is generous, varied and you can go back as often as you want. It's too easy to overeat!
The restaurant is large, low ceilinged and crowded with families celebrating the start of the weekend. I'd forgotten it was Friday evening when I suggested we went. On the table next to us a girl is coughing - badly. Covid is still with us and I try to face the other way, avoiding her late teenage germs.
The background noise of French people enjoying a meal is thunderous. We are no longer used to urban living.
We eat too much, regret it and escape, heading back to our world where "so much is not made by people". Our woods, valleys and fields may be shaped by man, but the green that soothes the soul is not of man.
For much of the time the loudest sound we hear is birdsong.
