21st September

Cloud base is low, and worst, light is hazy.

Circus is moving to another location and more shows. A Scania tractor is pulling a set of two trailers. The longest is loaded with the structure of the big-top, the shortest accomodates the cash-teller stand The driver gives us a texbook lesson of driving in fitting the towing-attachment within the surrounding traffic.

My monday's laundry had barely started that a typical French lady in her 50s entered the shop and then came to me .... She soon asked wether I was a staff member, to which I voiced a negative answer.She then said her daughter-in-law had troubles in making her washing machine work and wanted to know how is the going at the shop's fleet members. Not willing to act as an instructor onbehalf of this Frenchwoman who is supposed to have attended school until at least the mendatory age of 16 after-all, I just answered she can just read as everything is clearly printed. At the same time, I was buying my powder and bleacher. She looked at me pressing the keys on the figures'pad and then attempted "When you press on the key, do you press the number of the machine you want, uh. She then went on "I am sorry, I don't know"

Then I answered a little bit dryly :"So did I the first time I came in". She dared retorting half ironically/half bad humored "How lovely you can be, we need people like you !". I snapped back she should go back to elementary school.

I then went to the post office about a hundred yards away and when I was over with depositing some money.

I noticed a low flying Boeing 777-200,

That was on short finals to Le Bourget and barely visible owing to the persitent haze. Given the position and altitude of the girl, this was frustrating as the buildings across the street were clearly visible. By sunny weather, I would have attempted to do a picture. Sporting Qatar Airways' livery and operated on behalf of the country's VIP Royal Flight,

Qatar Amiri Flight's Airbus A340-500 emerged from the viel of haze on her turn and in same conditions as the Boeing mighty twinjet. Soon trailed by a

Cessna C-560XL and a Cessna C-550.

Light got worse afterwards.Having to put the clean laundry back in armoiry was coming as handy.

Visibility improves again, enough to oberve a MEA/Middle East Airlines Airbus A330-200 banking on her starboard wing while on descent to CDG, while introducing herself as CEDAR-Jet plus the flight number to the ATC/Air Traffic Controllers in charge of handling her..

By the circus' side, a final towing attachment was being set. This time, the first trailer hosted the Camel and the Dromaderies, while the other accomodated another Dromadery and a party of Llamas. The latters seized the opportunity to sound some kind of protests over their conditions of travel, even though they travelled on board "Convoi Exceptionnel", the french translator for outsize towing, as specified by the yellow marquee on the back !

But the trailer driver settled the matter soon by artfully mingling his 24 wheels amid the surrounding street traffic

.Next to a countless ride courtesy of Bus 304, I was back at the station and observed a team of maintenance workers on location at SNCF's side, before heading to La Défense