4th December 2016

Monday marked 50 years since Him Indoors and I got engaged!  Yes, 28th November 1966.

Such a lot has changed in everyday attitudes: back then children were to be 'seen and not heard'; we played outside all day during the holidays, only coming home at tea time, and people in authority were to be obeyed without question. Computers were unheard of, social media was talking to others in the local pub, and growing up in the '50s we had no car nor telephone nor TV. Today is like living on another planet. Unbelievably we're living in another country, France, so everything should be rosy shouldn't it? Then why are we going back 'home'?  Ah, that is the question. Could it be that when push comes to shove we all need, as we get older, that comfort blanket of being near family and old friends in person - rather than this strange virtual reality we call the internet.  But, the world looks increasingly dangerous today. I can't get away from it. It's rammed down our throats on all social media. There's that loose-cannon, unsuitably-prepared leader across the pond - please, American readers, don't make him angry - and a new Conservative to be elected here in France: either the centrist Fillon or, heaven-forbid, the far-right Le Pen.  Please can I go back to the '60s?

21 December 2014

An absolute must-have for expats is a laptop. Writing books, blogs, Skype, buying airtickets, books, news, Facebook, researching....you name it, it's invaluable. So, being a worrier, I decided to get a new one with qwerty keyboard in the UK recently. In readiness I took an extra case in the hold so I could keep the new laptop in its protective packing and not have to charge it up to please officious customs officials. Of course nothing comes easy. I'd forgotten that, whilst there were no size restrictions on hold luggage, Flybe does charge for weight. And guess what? The new machine pushed up the weight to 1kg over the free weight!  So, I had to pay an extra 45 euros. But I now have this brand-new, super-dooper machine with its posh red cover. And, I've even learned how to use the 'cloud' system via drive.google.com for transferring all my old files. I've certainly come a long way from my first fixed PC with box on the floor and mouse, or even my first Imperial 70 typewriter. Just think how much I've saved on Typex and carbon paper!

28th February 2010

Strange noises in the house. Ghosts? Don't panic.
A neat hole on the bag of dog-meal under the sink gave the game away. The farmer's Spring-time cultivation must have disturbed some field mice, who've moved into our house. (Brings to mind the time when I sent Him indoors to the computer shop in Caussade. Did you buy a new Mouse? No, the assistant just grinned at me. What? Oh, you must have asked for a 'sourire' (smile) instead of a 'souris'!!)
I remember trying everything last year to get rid of the real mice humanely but to no avail. These French are very clever. They work out how to extract the cheese then run away! But then, in desperation, I did something extremely foolish. I threw a mouse-poison sachet behind the office cabinet, thinking Bruno couldn't possibly reach it. But, yes he did and nearly died.
So, this time I've come up with a foolproof plan. Get a very large glass jar, grease it liberally on all inner surfaces, sprinkle some seeds or cheese inside, then - la piece de resistance - put a ruler or polystyrene ramp up to it. The mouse is certain to run up the ramp, fall inside and then, in the morning, I can deliver him to safety far away.
If not, Him indoors says that if we've run out of cheese, we could put a picture of some cheese in the mousetrap, but then in the morning, we'd find a picture of a mouse!

28th November 2008

As part of the global economic crisis, which just seems to go on and on, it is revealed that France's unemployment level has just risen to over 2 million. The unemployment rate in France is calculated on a quarterly basis and came to 7.2 percent of the workforce in the second quarter, according to the national statistics institute INSEE. But the government and analysts warned a recession in Europe's biggest economy would soon be putting even more people out of work.
But the internet is a marvellous tool. It allows someone like me, living in the isolated countryside of S.W. France, to supplement my meagre(!) pension by registering for a site called PeopleperHour.com. When I retired here, I thought I was finished with work for ever and ever. Yet, this site provides quite a stimulus for a writer like me. It requires me to bid for any project that appeals to me and to quote either a fixed-fee or a per hour rate. So far, I have bid for 7 projects, including a book reviewer, blog-writer (!), greetings-card verse compiler and many more....... As this is all very new for me, I'll report soon on how successful or not I've been.
A couple of decades ago, when I was working as an administrator at a major redbrick university in the UK, I hated having to learn how to use, first, a BBC wordprocessor, then an AppleMac, swiftly followed by the advent of the PC. (Back then I wanted to stay in the comfort zone of my beloved IBM golfball typewriter. How times change!) But now I'm really grateful that I was forced to learn, because I now can't do without it. It really provides that essential link with our current lives and the world outside.
C'est merveilleuse!