Day 31 Le Buis and Le Clinique Chenieux.                                

Date:  Thursday 29 June 2017       Weather:  Rain / Overcast   Mile:  000 /

Angie, Jackie and Mike took themselves off to Stephan's Epecerie before breakfast. We needed fresh veg and fruit and Angie is keen to support local traders as opposed to the local Super U supermarket where possible. His shop is quite large, well lit and surprisingly well stocked.

On returning home the rain had turned to drizzle and the sun was making a half hearted attempt at peeking out from behind the clouds. Tom was busy in his workshop grinding some cast iron wheels for his steam engine trailer. Breakfast was soon finished. We had nothing planned till 1400hrs when we were due to revisit the scrap yard for some more steel rod to make a few more axles for the trailer.

Arriving at Clinic Chenieux, I booked in with Dr Sodji's receptionist, paid over E60, for the consultation fee and was directed to the waiting room. When in France it is customary to say "Bonjour, Messieur et Madame when entering a shop or room etc. It is expected and only manners, regardless of whether one knows the occupants or not.

The waiting room, not small, was narrow and long. We had entered on one of the short walls, at the far end was a window. Along the other two walls were arranged two rows of chairs. I walked in followed by Jackie and Angie, said "Bonjour, mesdames" was greeted in return and with Jackie, sat beneath the picture window looking back up into the room.

The place was pretty full, well, compared with my last visit a fortnight ago. No one spoke. It was like being in church. An eerie silence fell over the room. The strangest thing was that of the nine women present eight were gazing intently into their phones and clicking away. I immediately thought of 'The Stepford Wives'. An involuntary shudder ran through me. Now I'm not the skinniest guy on the planet, although I've lost a fair amount of weight these last few weeks. (Please do not concern yourself with that. Once back in Devon I can get back on my 'pasty' diet. The French might consider themselves masters of the culinary arts but they can't knock up a 'pasty' to save their heads.)

 Anyway back to slim Jim Mike. I must have been the slimmest guy in the room. In fact I was the only guy in the room! All of the other women looked like, well here I must be careful in my choice of words but the smallest must have been a size 22. They were big. Think of Dawn French, from the Vicar of Dibley and your approaching the correct mental image. Now is it wrong of me to assume they were all Dr Sodji's patients. He specializes in Gastric Bands, oh and Hernias, I hasten to add. If they were I was not going to be on time for my 1610hrs appointment.

Italian women.

Why is it that some women make little or no effort to smarten themselves up?  For that matter, some men as well? Why would you wear a blue denim jacket, jeans and a dirty looking T shirt? The woman sat in the far corner, had all this plus a crew cut and Dr Martin boots. What could possibly 'explain' her dress code!

Black seemed to be the colour of choice, we know why but come on! Most of these ladies had lost their self esteem I mused and did not seem to bother how they dressed. 'Don't judge a book by it's cover'. True but when your sat for forty-five minutes in a waiting room your mind starts to wander. I swear one of the ladies, the most elegantly dressed was a TV. Her hands looked out of proportion. She was not as large as the others and after a few pints of 'Stella' might well have passed for a Nancy Dell'Olio. (Born in New York actually!)

Not long after she was summoned to Dr Sodji's office and had departed, your man appears in the doorway, looks straight at me and says " My English friend Mr Stopporton and family next please".

Maxime Sodji

Well the looks the other ladies shot me was withering. Not only that but he then stood in the doorway and jabbered on in English enquiring after our health, Angie's health, was our camper parked on the carpark and well it seemed to go on forever. By now everyone had their eyes upon us. They must have been thinking why is he going in before me, I've been here waiting longer. That was true but I wasn't about to argue. We eventually found sanctuary from the glares in his office amongst his art collection.

Meds up the YinYang!

My answer to his enquiry about my health and the operation necessitated a further examination, quite thorough and he confirmed the recent 'discomfort' I had been experiencing on the other side was a small hernia as well but nothing for me to worry about just yet. Without going into too much detail, he wrote out another prescription for meds to take me through the next three weeks to enable me to travel but warned against strenuous exercise.

What a great person Maxime is. Impossible not to warm to on your first meeting. He felt like an old friend. Indeed, Mike's enquiry about the play he has written and was to be performed in November in Bordeaux, called Dame at Bordeaux. elicited a copy of his book which he presented to me. Mike asked him to autograph it which he said he was pleased to do. Inside he wrote ' A Mike, bons souvenirs de Limoges' We all laughed heartily at that and it was with genuine regret we took our leave. Thanking him profusely for his skill and help, once again expressing our total admiration for all staff and the facilities at Clinic Chenieux.

Back home at Le Buis we sat and enjoyed a welcoming cuppa.