Well, it turned out to be a very good thing we had stocked up on some good wine from the local cave. 

Around 3pm yesterday there was a knock at our door. An English couple, about our age, were asking if they could collect the spare key to their townhouse. Apparently our hostess’ partner has been doing some building / repairs for them. They live in London and were only here for the evening and needed the extra key to give to a friend who is coming to stay next month. 

While chatting with them over a coffee, we discovered they knew the author (Sebastian Faulks or Faulksy) of the book Mick was reading. They spotted it on the table.  

They were authors too. 

As I had just finished preparing the vegetables for our dinner, and knowing I had heaps and that Mick would be very happy to have some others ensure there were no leftovers from my vegan curry, I asked them to dinner. They accepted very quickly. I suspect they had little for dinner in their partially renovated and partially warm townhouse. 

While Mick was adding a touch of grandeur to the meal by making some roti, there was a knock on the door. Early we thought at 5.30pm, but it wasn’t our new English friends Paul and Alice, it was Bob and Ulrika from across the road in the same block of townhouses. Mick had extended an invitation during the week to them to pop over any evening after 5pm for a beer. They were a bit embarrassed when they heard Paul and Alice were coming to dinner. We insisted they stayed and we had a wonderful hour listening to their stories. Ulrika, who is from Cologne, found it difficult to understand Mick’s broad accent, but I helped interpret for her. 😂😂

Bob and Ulrika left a few minutes before our dinner guests arrived. 

Paul and Alice arrived with a copy of one of their books each for us, plus a bottle of local Muscat. 

My vegan curry and Mick’s roti were roundly praised, but the winner was a bottle of red from Tautavel. 🍷 🍷 

After a very enjoyable and warm evening, farewell exchanges and book signings, we toddled off to bed to rest before our trip to Céret in the morning.