3rd January 2010

So here we are in a new decade: 'Twenty-ten' - much quicker than the old 'Two thousand and nine'. In any case, there was always confusion with the Americans, who called it 'Two thousand nine'. So now we can all say the same. I asked a local villager whether he would be calling it 'Vingt-dix', but he just shook his head at this crazy Englishwoman and said 'Non. C'est Deux milles dix'. So now we know. You can't argue with the French.
Let's hope this new year is better than the old one anyway. The pound isn't too bad at 1.12 euros, so could be worse. And, to ease headaches when selling property to English buyers, a new ruse is for the buyer to arrange a bank transfer of the purchase price in sterling into the UK account of the seller. Although advertised in euros, and the French notaire/agent are paid in euros, the rest avoids excessive currency transfer charges. Voila!
Naturally Him indoors has his own way of beating the new year doldrums. He'll pay our tax once a year (Taxe fonciere!), and says he must start the year like he used to leave his old jobs 'Fired with enthusiasm!'
Happy New Year to you all.