Stuck in France
Sometimes when growing Chillies, the strangest things happen. And that is exactly what happened to me this season. My Chilli growing season was following a normal pattern, and then disaster struck. Half my Chillies died. This wasn’t due to any mistakes I made, but rather due to what life throws at you. Let me explain.
When my wife and I went to Bordeaux in France for her birthday, we had no idea what was waiting for us. We had gone to the region to visit wine estates when a we were hit by the unexpected. What was supposed to be a relaxing one-week holiday, eating fine French cuisine and drinking good wine in sunny France, turned into a nightmare. We caught COVID-19.
In France, the regulations dictate that when you get Corona virus disease, you must mandatorily self-isolate for seven days. In our case, it struck down my wife first. Three days later, I too became infected. That was it. It meant we were stuck in the country. We had no choice but to follow the rules. A holiday that was only supposed to have taken a week landed up with us being holed up in a hotel room for ten days, with reception and room service being our only connection to the outside world.
Before leaving for France, had I known that we were going to be away for so long, I would have been more careful to ensure my plants had more than enough water to survive longer. Particularly because I knew that the United Kingdom was in the throes of a heat wave. Temperatures were predicted to be well over 30 degrees Celsius for the period. Unfortunately, I didn’t. There was no way to predict what would happen.
Armed with just a rifle, salt, and a flint, he and his assistant traversed the African bushveld on horseback, relying on their hunting skills to procure sustenance from the wild. Survival also meant depending on the numerous streams and rivers for water.