An hour by the road-side

I am sitting on a wooden bench thoughtfully placed under the foliage of a giant pine tree. Its a pleasant Saturday morning - almost noon now actually. I have just finished reading "Jeeves and the Song of Songs". In it Jeeves, Bertie Wooster's butler, once again displays his sagacity in hatching an ingenious plan to prevent Tuppy Glossop from drifting away from Bertie's cousin Angela. As with any of the readers of Wodehouse's tales, Jeeves is one of my favorite fictional characters.

Oh! I forgot to mention how I landed up on this bench. I am on my way to Todtnauberg in the Blackforest mountains - the birthplace of the "Schwarzwalder Kirschtonte" or the Blackforest cake. I had contemplated a shout at hitch-hiking initially but then resigned to an hour long wait for the next bus. So here I am with time to kill in this idyllic hamlet of Notscheri.

Having only had a glass of hot chocolate for breakfast (I avoid saying Bournvita for the fear of sounding juvenile), I am quite hungry by now and cant wait to devour on a medley of chocolate, cream, cherries and cake.

Meanwhile, a middle-aged couple, who seem to have returned from an errand into the woods, have joined me on the bench. After exchanging the usual pleasantaries (read gutentag meaning good day), they have expectedly gone quite silent. They have been exchanging words sporadically but hardly any sound has reached my ears although I am only a couple of feet away.

A dozen super-bikes have whizzed by just moments ago, disturbing the tranquility and quietude of the scene. I have encountered these gangs on each of my three weekend jaunts in the blackforest.

As I write, the couple has just walked away to the bus stop. Maybe it is time for the bus to arrive. Fortunately, I have yet to venture into "The Episode of Dog Mcintosh". The last few minutes have provided the most charming setting to submerge oneself into the delightful world of Mr.Wodehouse.