18th June 2017

Him indoors is upset. His prized Land Rover has been sold to a dealership in Toulouse. Well, I say sold, but where's the money?  Their ads say 'Guaranteed - your money within 24 hours'. So Wednesday, in 40 degree heat, we first tootled to Albi to pick up a hire car, followed by a hazardous two vehicle drive down the motorway, me driving the LR, Him following in the unrecognisable hire car - both with GPS voices telling us to go in different directions! At last we found the dealership, signed the paperwork and waited for the transfer of a large amount of money into our French bank account....and waited....and waited.  Now Sunday. No car. Still no money, and our bank is shut Mondays. It'd better be there Tuesday or else.  Meantime, the saga of our English bank continues. Thursday, they agreed by email a small amount of compensation for all the stress over their threat to freeze our account. All sorted then?  No. Friday we received by standard post yet another letter, returning our previous id documents, saying they are unacceptable. Right hand:left hand syndrome? Words fail me. So tired. This leaving is so so difficult. Like the GPS all I can hear in my head: Take the exit, take the exit.

4th June 2017

My patience is wearing very thin. Transport and bank problems. First: whether to sell the car Him indoors prizes. Decision: yes, as future problems of driving, insuring, registering and selling a left-hand drive vehicle in the UK are numerous. So, how to get there with a mutinous Him indoors and 2 old dogs? No, you can't hire a car in France and drop off in the UK. Eurostar doesn't take dogs. By air then? No. Cargo costs £1500 + expensive new lockable dog crates + harnesses + even more regs. Step in Folkestone Taxis. The only service offering one-way pet transport through the tunnel from the Calais end. Just need to hire a car from Albi to Calais then. Just catching a breath when in comes our English bank. They're going to freeze all our accounts from 16 June, held with them for 50 years(!), unless we walk in to a branch with our passports. Can you extend the deadline to 3 July? I asked. No, because of new money-laundering rules. Can I send a copy? No, must be the original. How to pay final balance for new house from a frozen account? Help. Must be thousands of weary British expats in this position, confronted by inflexible banks. And, this whole sorry saga was forced on us by Brexit - for which many expats weren't even allowed to vote, and if they had, there wouldn't be a Brexit! Very tired....