Friendship gardens

"Baguettes and beverages" the invitation read. What an understatement--and not just in the many good things to eat and drink. The hosting couple had created a magic garden that brought home how wonderful the warmth of friendship flows through the village.

There are the all year-rounders, the summer people, the people who use every excuse to come to Argelès from all over the world.

Some friends are retired while some are still working. The list of professions includes anything on a career counselor's list: anthropologist, film maker, midwife, secretary, artist, writer, journalist, book seller, engineer, teacher... There are no class barriers, no my house is better than your house, no my car is newer than you car.

Pretensions don't exist. Kindness does.

Some were friends from other places and from other periods of life. Some are new and welcomed into the circle which is not marked by a solid but a dotted line to let people slip in and out.

We don't always meet in a large gatherings in a lovingly-cultivated garden. In Argelès it is hard not to bump into people as you walk through the village shopping for the days' supply of bread, meat, veggies.

Passing La Noisette, it is a rare day that there isn't someone there to share a cup of tea with. There are smaller dinner parties or street dances where a table is shared as people listen to the music and test our their sense of rhythm. Sometimes tables are placed on the street itself in front of the house. People may play tennis, go the beach, take a sail or visit a historic site in various combinations. Those that speak French will help those that don't.

And sometimes it is a lift to and from the airport or a printer that is called for. A sick friend may need help. That is there too. As one woman who was doing the long drive from the UK said, she had four dinner invitations to eat on the night she arrived with her husband and two dogs (one of which she was bringing to someone else) arrived.

Friendships like gardens are cultivated. They bring with them their own beauty, a beauty to be treasured.