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A Tale of Two Seas (and One Very Smug Tax Form)
In which the month begins in salt water, ends in salt water, and temporarily drowns in bureaucracy.
⚓ Bookended by the briny deep
April had the good taste to open and close with the sea — clearly a month of discernment. It kicked things off with the now-beloved Escale à Sète, that annual pilgrimage where weathered old ships bob magnificently in the harbour while their admirers try to look equally distinguished on the quayside. And yes, there may have been friends involved. And yes, the ships may have been a glorified excuse to get them together. Nobody is complaining.
Then, as if one sea wasn’t enough, April tucked a second one into its closing act: the Golfe du Morbihan. Modern sailing boats, many islands, and four hours aboard a vessel navigating waters with the kind of strong currents that make you feel adventurous while also quietly reconsidering your life choices. Spectacular.
“Started with ships. Ended with boats. The man contains multitudes.”
🆇 Easter and the art of the family lunch
Nestled amid all this maritime activity was Easter Sunday — and with it, the sacred ritual of the family lunch. A small reunion, as they go, but all the better for it. One imagines the table was good, the company better, and the post-lunch sofa nap absolutely non-negotiable.
📄 The taxman cometh — and was met with punctuality
A full third of the way into the month, France’s online income tax declaration portal swung open its digital gates. Most people treat this event the way one treats a dentist appointment: acknowledged, postponed, eventually survived. Not our correspondent. The declaration was filed on the very day it opened. This is either commendable civic virtue or a sign of too much free time. Let history decide.
A subsequent call to the Finance Publique resulted in some requested changes that landed with the enthusiasm of unsolicited advice. Disagreement was noted. A face-to-face appointment was arranged. The office explained its reasoning. The reasoning made sense. Lessons were absorbed, stored, and will be deployed with precision in the 2027 declaration.
“The taxman always wins — but at least this time, one went in armed.”
🏈 Pool season: officially open
But what truly defined April — more than the seas, more than the ships, more even than the bureaucratic sparring — was the arrival of summer itself. The pool has been cleaned. The pool has been set up. And, in the month’s finest moment, the better half took the inaugural dip of the season.
This is not a small thing. The pool awakening is a seasonal rite of passage, a declaration that warmth has won and grey skies can go hang. That the first swim happened before April’s end says something optimistic about either the weather, the water heating, or the swimmer’s constitution.
🌁 Written under clouds, in not-so-warm temperatures. Summer, apparently, has already departed on a short break. It’ll be back. Probably.
Return to Mission Control (J2S Blog)
I do it my way 