Everything stops for tea

A friend has an exhibition of photos at Le Clos de Ninon, a combined salon de thé and bookshop in Leucate. We missed the vernissage but decided we'd catch the exhibition before it closes next weekend. What a very un-French place! A large room with mismatched chairs and tables dotted around, a wall lined with bookshelves, and a collection of old bric a brac, artfully arranged. I could spend happy hours in there reading and drinking tea. Unfortunately the tea itself was very French: a teapot of hot water and a tea bag on a saucer. Sigh. But it tasted better than you would expect in the circumstances.

Afterwards we walked through Leucate village in the sunshine, and then drove down the coast to watch kitesurfers. You can't see any in my spare blip, but the dimly seen gantries have ziplines attached to them, so you can kitesurf without a kite and indeed without any wind.

In the evening, we went to see Pride, which seems to be doing really well in France, even though people here are generally unaware of the background. Despite being about a defeat, it's definitely a feelgood film, and we came out with smiles on our faces. A good story and great acting; it really brought back the spirit of the 1980s, and incidentally is a good reminder of how much attitudes to gays have change since then. Not only that, but it's a much-needed reminder that once upon a time two groups of people with apparently nothing in common could reach out and support each other. I later found a link to a documentary made at the time -- really interesting to watch, especially if you've seen the film as it features a number of the real-life characters.