My French

I was sitting outside the bar the other morning when a lady came over and started talking, in French. She asked about the bar and I tried to explain that we had been here for a year and that previously the bar had been closed for three years. She seemed to understand and then asked about "Anne". Anne was the previous occupant of the bar who left in unfortunate circumstances after her husband died.
I told the lady that "Desole Anne et mort" . The lady seemed very shocked by the news and went off to find her sister in law and tell her, I thought it a bit of an over reaction considering the lady had left Champniers 3 years ago but who am I to say.
About a quarter of an hour later a local gent, Daniel, arrived to join the ladies for lunch. They sat down and whispered for a couple of minutes. I went over to the table with the menu ( Jeanne was away at the airport dropping the kids off) and Daniel looked at me in a very strange way and said " jeanne - mort? "
Non Non I said, Anne et mort, the vieux commercant, Jeanne est a la areoport

The look of relief was instant. Jeanne was ok. I am glad we got it sorted so quickly. We had seen Daniel on Sunday evening and he must have been shocked that not only had Jeanne died so quickly but that the bar was still open and I was outside reading a book as if nothing had happened.

I am sure that the lady said "Anne" and not "Jeanne" but who knows. I think in future I will stick to desole je ne parle pas francais