Today has been good – I found myself talking this morning almost without taking breath and suddenly noticed myself!
Where does it come from? I can only imagine that almost two years of listening is paying off. If I trust what my mouth wants to say then it is almost always, not correct but understandable.

Then I cycled in the sunshine into the town to have coffee and a chocolate croissant with my language helper – a really nice man who volunteers with the Catalan language programme. We meet once a week for coffee and talk for an hour.  I still find it harder to understand all that is said than to say what I want. The temptation is to nod and smile and wait for inspiration. Sometimes this plan goes awry and we look at each other in silence – he is waiting for a response and I have no idea what he was saying!  But I think this is normal and you can’t ask for help with every word. No more than you can look up everything in the dictionary. That way lies madness.

Later Pep and I went to buy paint and sandpaper. We mused about why it is SAND paper in English and GLASS paper in Catalan. I think most words conjure up images as we learn them so I had an idea of a sprinkling of sand in varying grades on the paper while he had always pictured crushed glass.
I also drove to the paint shop, feeling as usual that I am a weirdo for keeping to the speed limit instead of treating the open road as a motorway.
Then a trip to look at houses in the surrounding countryside. We climbed up to an empty house that overlooks the Pla de Llerona.

It had a beautiful peaceful atmosphere but on one side is the railway, the other is the road and above a huge electricity pylon. And the threat of a new carretera which might be constructed underground……and maybe not!
We visited the sanctuary of Fatima – not sure why it is in this place near La Garriga but it is well loved

and then discovered some cornish style roads with no traffic, birds singing and flowers by the wayside

 I want to live here!
On the trip home I had some practice in the art of swearing in Catalan. I am getting better – now I make things up like Cap de Polla! It isn’t authentic but it feels satisfying.
All about driving styles as usual!
Thanks to Oreneta I was inspired to find out how to use the accents on my keyboard so now I have no excuse for not writing Català….like that!  Except that when I write in English I think it is better to use the English spelling. What do you think is the correct form?