Deja vu

A cartoon that says it all.

Maybe not

I had to post a letter to France today and because we weren't sure of the charge we went to the nearby post office. I parked outside on the 'double yellows' (yes I know, I'd complain too) and waited while Jan popped in. After a couple of minutes she came outside laughing her head off. This was the explanation.
The cost of the stamp was £1 and the cheery postmistress said that she'd just received some new pretty stamps in. As she got them out Jan, who didn't have her readers on, said, 'that's a nice country scene, what's it about?
The postmistress had a close look and said, it's a Waterloo commemoration stamp.
Jan said, as the letter is going to a bank in France I don't really want anything to go wrong, at which point they both fell about laughing.
Touchy folks the French.

Entrecote

It's practically our last day gallivanting about and having ticked off the majority of things on our to-do list then we have to pop over to Montpellier for the best ever steak and chips at Entrecote. We were lead to believe that there is an Entrecote in Manchester but it developed a bad reputation when a vegetarian turned up and left feeling very hungry. That might be a joke, I'm  not  sure (OK I am) but it has ceased to exist. There maybe one in London so I'll check it out when we're next there.

Some things never change

If it's Saturday it must be Sommieres  and a little trip to the market. And boy was it busy. We got there at 11.30 and the car park was already full. Its crazy busy. Any way, chance to get oysters for mum and tellines for us. Personally I don't like oysters but tellines  (especially the way that Jan prepares them) are to die for. Oh, and to meet up with old friends. Did I mention that?

Common sense

So my mother came to me shamefaced this morning and admitted that she had come to France without sufficient Allopurinol. A medicine that she takes for gout which can be very painful if not treated.
If we were in England away from home it would be a big problem because you can't get anything out of a pharmacy without a script, believe me I've tried.
So muggings here set off for the local pharmacy armed with an empty medicine  box and an English script and in my best Franglais tried to explain the situation to the nice young man behind the counter.
I only need 8 pills I said. That won't be possible he said, my heart sank, you'll have to buy a full box. Result.

Entrepreneurs alive and well in France

When we moved back to England a few years back we noticed a big change in local talent offering its wares to the public. Well am pleased to report that we have noticed the same in France.
The first thing we noticed was an explosion of bread shops. One might argue that with the price of bread under state control it wouldn't be that attractive. What do I know?
The second explosion is the number of prostitutes plying their services by the roadside. We never saw any (except in northern Spain) in the nine years we lived in this area  but they now seem to be everywhere. If you see a chair with a suntanned lady sitting by the side of the road next to a pull in or an empty chair with a hi-vis jacket draped over the back (think safety first) then you could be in business, as it were.
You could call it an explosion of bread shops and bonking. Excellent.

No change there then

I have always had a dislike of InterMarche. I have always found their cashiers rude and unhelpful. Where do they find them? So I'm in one (it's the nearest supermarket) and I tried to make conversation with the cashier. I might as well have been talking to the wall. The UK beats France hands down when it comes to customer service.

A bit of fun.

RIP

Who's a naughty boy

Quirky and fun

Enjoyable, if for no other reason than to watch one of the judges' faces.

When will I ever learn?

I hate shopping with my mother. Hate it. It all stems back to a time when I was young, had just started to drive, and she kept me waiting for THREE hours as she 'popped' into the shops.
'Twenty minutes max', she said.
It's a wonder to behold. She goes into a daydream and loses all sense of time and sense. So, I surprised myself when she asked me to take her to Booths our local supermarket so that she could buy 'a couple of things', and I agreed.
I went to Harrogate to pick her up and drove back to Ripon. She doesn't get out much so as she was coming for lunch I thought that it shouldn't be too bad especially if I timed it so that we had to 'be quick' because Jan was cooking and expected us.
The knot tightened in my stomach as we approached the store and in order to try and get some kind of control of proceedings I asked her what she wanted.
'Three things', she said, 'no four'.
Could this be true?
'I want some nuts, streaky bacon, cheese and water,' she said.
My original plan to go and drink some coffee, whilst she shopped, went out of the window. This might not actually take much time I thought. So I stayed with her knowing how easily she gets distracted. Whilst she propped herself on the back of the trolley I gently (but forcibly) guided it round the store.
I estimate that the cost for the 'four things' that she wanted came to around £16.
In fact we were in there for about an hour and the final bill came to £154.
Will I ever learn?

Capitalism

It's an old one but still funny.

It could almost be France

I saw this sign on a door in Boroughbridge the other day. It made me laugh. The shop was shut.

Halloween

I don't mind Halloween in fact I quite like it. We always buy lots of small sweets to give to the children who invariably make a significant effort in dressing up, are always very polite and are always chaperoned by their parents.
I like small kids and it's the one time of the year when they do something silly and get to stuff their faces with loads of sugar.
I know, I know, it's an American import but it's much more wholesome than the sorts of tricks I got up to as a kid when being vicious was the name of the game particularly with some old curmudgeon who you didn't like.
The visits start around 5.30 pm and have generally finished by 7.00 pm and in that one and half hour period we got through a large tin and a half of sweets. That means some were left over for me. Yippee.

A very funny man

I couldn't resist this. He's a master storyteller.

Ida

In a fit of enthusiasm, having seen Gone Girl last week we booked to see the 'five star' rated Ida last night. We liked Gone Girl, both having enjoyed the book and now the film so it was with some anticipation that we looked forward to Ida.
Filmed in black and white, in Polish with English subtitles it was the story of a young nun who tried to find her roots. If you like films where not much happens and not much is said, with lots of staring into space but very nicely filmed then you might like Ida. It is definitely an 'art house' film but a film that you don't really get emotionally involved with. I'm not sure why.
We both left feeling a bit empty and at a bit of a loss of what to say, which is unusual for Jan.

Max

We have two dogs. One is very bright and the other isn't. Neither are allowed on the settee. The dim one never gets on the settee but the bright one waits until we have left the room and then climbs on, usually when we are both upstairs doing something.
But here's the funny bit. Because he knows that he shouldn't be on the settee, when he hears one of us coming down stairs he gets off and greets us at the bottom of the stairs wagging his tail as if nothing has happened. He hasn't yet figured out that I can tell where he's been by simply feeling if there is a warm spot on the cushion.
When he figures that one out then we have a major problem.

And another but a bit more cerebral

A bit late in the day for most of us but true nonetheless.

Very funny

Post by Hamza Bibi.