20th September 2008

Just ten days ago I wrote about how physicists were 'pushing back the frontiers of science' with its newly-named 'Halo' atom-cruncher. You remember: it started on 10-9-8.......and counting. Well, although we're all still here (surprisingly), there are apparently still more experiments to come. That is, after the physicists have solved the problem of electricity failures! Maybe Him Upstairs is trying to tell them something: stop all this meddling with things you don't understand.
Well, on a more mundane level, I also have problems with electricity failures. It happens all the time around here. Although France's electricity is among the cheapest in Europe, some 75% generated from nuclear power, problems start when you live in rural areas like ours. The lights are always flickering and sometimes go off and come back on almost immediately (just long enough to crash the computer!). So, I went to buy a para foudre to put into the wall socket. This helps to stabilise the power. Him indoors also (wisely) keeps old-fashioned things at the ready: torches and candles, for the frequent 'outages' caused by thunderstorms. Also, it is wise not to try to use a number of high-powered appliances at the same time! It's good round here, innit? And don't even mention those fiddly two-pin plugs and wobbly wall sockets. So, if we find ourselves literally in the dark, we have to fumble for a torch and find the phone, only to be met by those infernal phone jingles at the other end. Still, we know c'est la France and nothing moves quickly. It's as him indoors points out: electricity is part of the 'inertia selling' in France (invented by a Scotsman - 'in Ayrshire')......Grrr.
P.S. Don't miss tomorrow's second episode of How to buy that dream home in France. Not to be missed.