4th May 2014

You remember when Him indoors went for an eye test recently - and he said he couldn't read the words on the card (because he can't read French!)?  Well, then he had the problem of where to obtain actual glasses. (Should have gone to Mr. Bannister, to help cope with the stares!)  In France you're supposed to only buy directly through an optician, but at last the EU has come up trumps. It's ordered the French government to open up the market, but the law is still awaited. British expats here have long bypassed the system by sending their French prescription to a British company on-line. However, French ophthalmologists fought back by withholding vital info from the prescription like the distance between your pupils - a bit difficult to do yourself in front of the mirror! Well now there's a breakthrough. The new Loi Hamon (named after the old Consumer Minister) has decreed that all French ophthalmologists must provide this pupil info on all prescriptions.  Success. No good for Him indoors though as his doctor hadn't read the new rules.  So, he ordered his new varifocals from British Spex4Less but needed me to take a photo of just his pupils and send it electronically. I know, don't make a spectacle of yourself!

30th March 2014

Someone once said to me 'you can't see the wood for the trees'.  It's always good to get opinions from others, so I looked inwards. Well today even the clock is pointing ahead. And, a few days ago we decided to get an eye test. The opthalmologist showed Him indoors a card and said Can you read this?, to which the answer was No. What, not at all? said the doctor. No, I can't read French!  But, for me the diagnosis was Glaucoma - yet more pressure building, and not just physically.
The results in Gaillac from the municipal elections went as feared.  The National Front gained considerably, getting 20% of the votes in the first round. And, as predicted, they won outright in Henin and in the large town of Avignon - clearly the famous bridge is well and truly broken. Whilst the French think they're voting for local issues, they're letting the devil in.  Exactly what happened in 1930s Germany.  So, in today's second round of voting, I'm getting increasingly worried. As I look blurrily to the future, can I at last see the wood for the trees? The clock's ticking...