Anticipating nostalgia: back to school

James Hogg, Thomas Hood and Maurice Carême

Monday was la rentrée here in France, the moment when the entire country returns to school and to work pretty much simultaneously. At the end of last week, even on Saturday, most of our favourite shops and market stalls were still shut; first thing on Monday morning, everything was back to normal, the summer over. This is our fourth September in France,…