7th May 2017

Let the French duel begin. Em, Em (Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Indecisive: only man to have the same initials for his party, En Marche, as his name!) v Mme Guillotine (if your face doesn't fit, off with your head)......
Meantime, back at the ranch.


Yes, finally we've moved out of our Gaillac house and into this cozy gite in the heart of the Albi countryside. A big relief. A constant nightmare trying to clean the ancient Gaillac house to an acceptable standard. All those exposed cables and pipes, stone floors with uncleanable, grungy tile grout, old light switches and tiled skirting boards with cut side upwards to collect all the dirt imaginable! We'll be staying en gite for up to 2m whilst awaiting the completion of our brand new UK house. Why here? So that Him indoors can be kept in the style and comfort to which he's been accustomed and also retain access to the excellent Albi medical treatment for as long as possible. He says he'll just have to put up with the sunshine, peace and swimming pool here...sigh....well away from Frankenstein neighbours. For me, always with a sharp eye on finances, it's very cheap.
.......Latest election polls predict a low turnout, certain to favour the NF candidate. The tumbrils are at the ready. The very existence of the EU is in the balance. In this duel, let's hope Le Pen is not mightier than the sword!

30th April 2017

What a week. First, personal  Last Saturday we held our Vide Maison. We'd decided that, because we had bought a very small, modern house in the UK, the large, classic French furniture here needed to be sold. I'd advertised it nationally, via the ubiquitous LebonCoin site, and locally via the familiar card on a board in our local Intermarche. First I had to deal with the downright rude responders on LebonCoin. For those who understand what this says, please don't repeat it to your mother-in-law: 'va te faire f......, sale cons.'  Clearly, she wasn't happy with my prices (3 - 100 euros for each piece). Oh well, can't win them all. The day dawned and TG loads of people arrived, carting away absolutely everything! Thursday the UK removals van arrived, taking with them the mainly bedroom furniture that we'd arranged. And, surprise, surprise, two of our previously-hostile neighbours turned up to give me a kiss on both cheeks. Pleased to see the back of us, you think??
Secondly, the French elections:

Just look at all those dark blue NF areas, including this Departement (81)! Yes, as expected, the dreaded Mme Le Pen is through to the second round on 7 May. To be clear, an outright fascist has just achieved an alarmingly large share of the votes in this modern democracy. Just goes to show what so many francaises really think.Am I gonna sit around as so many decent Berliners did back in the '30s? What d'you think - I'm outta here and fast.

6 December 2015

On this day 68 years ago I was born into a very different world. I was malnourished and had numerous physical ailments not recognised back then. There would be another seven months before the NHS would be born, so few people called the doctor. Too expensive. Many babies were weak due to food rationing during their mother's pregnancy, and in my case there would be another 65 years before a congenital beance cardiale would be diagnosed by a far superior French health system. But, is the world in a better state environmentally and politically than it was in post-war '47? I'm not sure. Yesterday saw N. England awash with terrible flooding. And politically, here in France everyone goes to the polls today in the first round of council elections for the new, fewer but bigger regions. Early surveys show a poll surge for the Front National, boosted by the recent Paris troubles. They're ahead in 7 out of 12 regions, with the Republican right ahead of the parti-socialiste left.Yes, there is global terror that must be confronted and eliminated by a consortium of agreed democracies, but not by individual nations voting in extremist, racial party leaders! So, 68 years since my birth, all I can say is: will the world never learn?

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...

23rd March 2014

Bonaparte once said 'History is a set of lies that people have agreed upon'.  French residents need to reflect on this as they go to the polls in today's local elections.  We're all swayed by the media. Lately the French press have been eager to bring down Sarkozy's ambitions whilst Hollande is still struggling to improve the flagging economy.  And, whilst we're all looking elsewhere, Marine Le Pen's FN party dangerously awaits its chance to steal a march on everyone. That's what it does - hiding behind a veneer of surface respectability. In the impoverished town of Henin-Beaumont in Normandy, Le Pen sees political gold in the abandoned coal mines that once pumped jobs into the area. Whilst disdaining the EU, paradoxically she's pinning all her hopes on using towns like Henin to build a grassroots base to draw ahead in the EU May elections ready for the ultimate prize of the presidency in 2017.  Let's hope the French aren't swayed by National Front hype. As Him indoors says, Hollande needs to buy some colle du bois to stick his cabinet together. But, above all, keep with conservative prices, liberal values and labour-saving devices - stick with what you know!