As you know, I have been doing all I can to find out what happened to Napoleon and the other cats in our hamlet. And I now have three large tubs of stuff to get rid of rodents, that won't kill cats. So I wrote a general letter to all the neighbours in my best French, updating them and offering to give them some of this so they can try it. I also took a copy of the letter to the local farmers and to the Mayor's office. Basically it asked everyone to search their property and to let me know if there was anything bad, whether they intended to continue using it or not, and offering an alternative. I was very polite and neutral and totally non-accusing.
Now I am getting replies, and even some visitors. All of them are lovely to me, but boy, are they accusing each other! All the ancient hatreds are coming out. I have even been warned that one woman in my hamlet, whom I like very much and who has a dog and feeds the squirrels, is crazy and that I should be careful in case she tries to put poison in the ponies' drinking water! This is on the basis that she runs every morning with her dog in all weathers, something no 'normal' person would do. One farmer's wife said that her daughter had three sheep who died, maybe from colic, but that it could have been poison. It is like the old witchcraft trials -anything that can be dug up is being attributed to someone. I don't think anyone escaped untouched, including my English neighbours who moved out three months ago. But apart from ensuring that everyone for miles around now knows the whole situation and having given away a lot of samples of the new organic pesticide, I am not much further on.
Now I am getting replies, and even some visitors. All of them are lovely to me, but boy, are they accusing each other! All the ancient hatreds are coming out. I have even been warned that one woman in my hamlet, whom I like very much and who has a dog and feeds the squirrels, is crazy and that I should be careful in case she tries to put poison in the ponies' drinking water! This is on the basis that she runs every morning with her dog in all weathers, something no 'normal' person would do. One farmer's wife said that her daughter had three sheep who died, maybe from colic, but that it could have been poison. It is like the old witchcraft trials -anything that can be dug up is being attributed to someone. I don't think anyone escaped untouched, including my English neighbours who moved out three months ago. But apart from ensuring that everyone for miles around now knows the whole situation and having given away a lot of samples of the new organic pesticide, I am not much further on.
