Le Mistral Really Blows

 

“It’s a little bit windy today isn’t it?” Hadn’t noticed to be honest, I think to myself as I remove some leaves, a crisp wrapper and a small, stunned child from my knotted hair. 

The violent northwest wind that viciously appears unannounced, or ‘Le Mistral’ as it’s known here, really is unpredictable to say the least. It can be perfectly calm one day, then the next there’s people taking off like Mary Poppins left, right and centre and dog walkers, looking as though they’ve been at a children’s party and pinched one of the animal balloons. 

I actually don’t think I’d mind if it was a nice warm breeze but it’s sharp, bitter and icy; the kind that cuts you in two. I leave the house to get my daily baguette and woooosh, I watch as my legs trot off into the distance, “No worries! You go on ahead, I’ll just get you there!” 

Don’t get me wrong it has it’s funny side too. I like chuckling at people getting struck by signs and grannies getting dragged off into the distance by their shopping trolleys as much as the next person but seen as I have no car here and shamefully also own one of these shopping trolleys, I can’t really laugh. In fact, more often than not, it’s me battling furiously through the gusts with my two wheeled friend. 

And as suddenly as the wind appears, it leaves again as if it were never here. But I know it was here because once again, I have to call on my landlord to fetch the ladders so we can get the 80 year old from number 10 down off my roof. “Don’t worry Gloria, help is on the way.”