Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
since Ellie was at home. Now that she was at school I would be officially working for the
business part-time. He explained that if I worked for our agricultural enterprise - the vine-
yard and wine business - even for as little as one day a month I would have to pay the so-
cial charges of a full-time worker as I would be a working shareholder. It didn't make sense
to me and Ellie, who was sitting on my lap, clearly found it hard to stomach. She held her
little hand up and said 'Stop!' Monsieur Bellio ignored her. Ellie held her hand up again and
said more forcefully 'Stop!' Perhaps she realised that her future
bonbon
budget was at risk.
Taking advantage of his silence I thanked him for his time and wished him farewell. I was
sure I had misunderstood or he had misunderstood what I wanted. There was no way that
a shareholder who participated in the company, working a day a week for no pay, should
have to pay the social charges of a full-time employee earning a salary. I would have to do
some research.
Chandra meanwhile took a strict line with Ellie and it was naked combat. She tried some
of the tactics she had used with her half-wolf dog, giving strict instructions and expecting
them to be followed instantly. She found that didn't work so well.
'Give the bag of seeds back to me' meant to Ellie 'Take your time, check out the bag, have
a little think and then give it back.' Chandra took a hard line and was treated with extreme
suspicion and given the evil eye. Ellie was a kid who needed to be given time to respond;
time to show that she was the one who had decided to do what was asked. At one point
Ellie would not be left in the same room as her. Then slowly the wind changed.
Each afternoon when Sophia returned from school the girls would join Chandra in the
garden. They spent hours helping her arrange the potager, pottering about with their trow-
els, digging weeds and planting bulbs. She caught a tiny bright green tree frog and put it on
their hands so they could feel the suction pads on its feet, showed them a bird's nest tucked
into the crook of a vine trunk and found a bat hanging behind a shutter on the wall of the
house. They were fascinated.
Chandra'sloreofnaturedidn'tpassmeby.UntilherarrivalIhadbeenreligiously weeding
some of the tastiest morsels out of the beds. After a few educational tours I was able to
identify four wild salads that would become a staple for us in the summer and autumn
months.
This was particularly good since I found that conventional cultivated salads like lettuce
were too delicate for me. I forgot to water them or they were carried away by snails. Rock-
et, a hardy salad with attitude, was the only leaf that I could cultivate. Now nature provided
a range of flavours and colours to paint our salads with. My favourite was purslane, which
in its native form was crunchy with red stems and succulent green leaves creating a superb
colour contrast on a plate.
Ad invited Chandra on a cycle ride and she agreed with alacrity. I watched with interest
as they sped out of the yard. About five hours later they cycled back looking like they had
been for a stroll. Ad had finally met his match. Chandra was young and fit enough to keep
