Crikey, one minute I'm bragging about the unseasonally glorious weather and next you know it hasn't stopped raining for two weeks!!! Well that's not strictly true because it did stop last Wednesday, but that was the only time! I know it was Wednesday because I'd dropped the car off to get my winter tyres put on and since the weather was nice I decided to walk back into town to pick it up. It took me an hour (which is pretty slow going), but in my defence I stopped next to the gendarmerie to read the plaques on the wall commemorating members of the French resistance who had either been shot by the Nazis or shipped off to concentration camps and died there. The oldest I saw was 41, but most were young men in their mid-twenties!!! RIP those brave young men!
On the way there I bumped into Stephan, who I used to see occasionally up at Stan's now defunct little bar. My heart sunk when I saw him because the last two times I'd seen him he asked me for money. Oh he has plenty of money and lives with his wealthy parents but suffers from mental illness and while very intelligent (I believe) he obviously blows through money at a rate of knots. Anyway I was relieved when he didn't ask (I was going to say no this time) as I really want to have as little to do with him as possible as he gives me bad vibes. He was also one of two men who asked if they could move in with me (as in rent a room) when they found out I was getting divorced, but seriously even if I ever wanted to live with someone ever again (I don't) those two would be the last people I would ever let move in - one an alcoholic and the other schizophrenic!!! I had mentioned to Thiery at Ford that I wanted to get rid of the nasty-looking wheel rims my winter tyres were mounted on as it was getting hard for me to keep loading wheels and rims into my car and then down to my basement, so when I got down to Ford I was pleased to find out that they had taken them to the tip for me! So that's one less thing to deal with!
Jen finally got me an original birth certificate for Charlie - which was the last paper I was waiting for in order to apply for French citizenship by ascendency (i.e. as the grandmother of a French child). So I thought I'd be really efficient and drop off a crate of stuff I had for the food bank, make a trip to the tip to get rid of some more stuff and then pop into the post office to mail off my citizenship application. Except on the way there I realized I'd forgotten to put in a copy of Charlie's French passport (that'll teach me to be smug), so I dashed back home to print off a copy and race back to get it mailed off before the post office closed. Except that was when my bloody printer decided to chew up a few pieces of paper, then my stapler ran out of staples (first world problems, I know), and then I nearly broke my neck dashing down the stairs to answer the doorbell - only to find a couple of rictus grinning Jehovah's Witnesses who told me they had "good news for me"! My first thought was that I'd like to give them a karate kick to the throat, but being short and stubby I knew I'd have to make do with a drop kick to the ankle if I decided to go that route! Luckily for them I'm British (and very polite!!!) so I simply told them I really wasn't interested thank you very much and that I was in a hurry! I made it just in time to get my paperwork sent off, so we'll see how long it takes to get a reaction from the French authorities - it's been about five years so far (and counting)!
The wind and rain have been appalling these past few days and two days ago the Préfêt de la Haute Savoie (kinda like the State Governor) sent out a message (I saw it on FB) asking people to stay off the roads unless it was absolutely necessary to go out. I recognized the spot he was standing on as being alongside the River Giffre, which is the road I usually take to get to Jordan and Jen's, and while the Giffre always runs high in winter, the combination of high rainfall and snow melting off the mountains was giving rise to severe flooding and very dangerous road conditions. Then tonight I saw that the road from Bonneville up the Côte d'Hyot (where André lives) has been closed in both directions due to landslides. Not that André cares though 'cos he's in Thailand and having a whale of a time!
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| At the elephant sanctuary! |
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I just did my winter tires this week! Now, to wait for the snow. I am so glad André is living it up, he really deserves it. Hoping your paperwork comes through soon!!
ReplyDeleteI'm usually on the ball about getting my winter tyres put on but the weather had been so mild I'd genuinely forgotten about it - well that is until it wasn't! Still at least it's done now. And I'm so glad André is having a great time with his mates. While he never wanted his divorce he is really enjoying his life right now and is happy - and therefore so am I, of course. As for French citizenship, it will happen when it happens. At least now I've sent the paperwork off and if it's accepted it's just a question of time I suppose!
DeleteIt is still mild over here too but like you said - it is til it isn't! I am also glad André is happy too - like you said, it makes you happy as well - much deserve joy after weathering the storm!
DeleteYes, hundreds of miles away but we seem to be permanently squelching underfoot too. One day there was the promise of autumnal colour in the trees, the next day the trees were bare when the leaves were blown off in the wind and rain. The sky seems permanently dull, the rain rarely stops and temperatures have plummeted really quickly. You have to give it to the weather, it’s so fickle that, if nothing else, it’s keeping us on our toes.
ReplyDeleteIt'll soon be keeping us on our webbed feet won't it!
Deleteloved this: rictus grinning Jehovah's Witnesses! Honestly, I didn't know they had them in France, too.
ReplyDeleteIn Geneva I used to get JWs and Mormons but here it's only JWs. I have no problem with their religion - it's doorstepping I don't agree with!
DeleteWe don't get JW's or Mormons here but a few years back I had some Baptists come to sell me on their church and I said, "Thank you, no, I'm not interested."
ReplyDeleteThey asked if they could leave some readings.
"I'm not interested, thanks."
They began to say something else.
"As I said, I am completely uninterested in your church."
And closed the door.
It must have been a year later and another knock at the door. I opened it, they saw me.
"Sorry to bother you>"
And they walked off.
I smiled.
Ha ha, good for you. Years ago, when I lived in Geneva, I had a couple of doorsteppers ring my doorbell (not sure if they were JW or Mormons). It beat me how they got in because people had to be buzzed into the building but I suppose they followed someone else in. Anyway, I kept what I thought was very quiet and waited for them to go away - but they didn't and waited almost 20 minutes. When I finally opened the door they STILL wouldn't go away. Today I would tell them to f.... off but back then I was very young. I guess there are a few good things about ageing then!
DeleteFunny thing--today JW came to door as I was napping and Tommy snoozing in his recliner. He said he was not interested and closed the door.
ReplyDeleteWhen husband and I were young, he still in Bible College and me at university, we had JW come and we let them in. We used out knowledge to confound them. They only knew their scripture to prove their point and had no idea the other scriptures we could cite with source. Finally, they quit coming.
Another time, ten years later and another city, some sort of doorstepper said as I opened the door that she wanted me to buy a pamphlet. I said, just a minute, closed and locked the door, came back, opened the door and told her, "you can have this for free." I gave her a pamphlet from our church. She still had her hand out with our pamphlet when I just shut the door.
We never require snow tires, thankfully.
My ex-MIL once allowed Mormons into her home and began debating them on the Bible (which she knew very well). Not sure they ever went back after that - I'm sure wore them out!! I don't know my Bible as I'm not religious and would NEVER allow them to come into my home anyway, but thankfully it doesn't happen very often now. That was one of the few good things about the covid lockowns actually!
DeleteYes, RIP to those young soldiers.
ReplyDeleteWe have only had one time that JW stopped by our house. We didn't open the door and they never came back. Surely they understand that most people now do not open the door if they don't know who you are.
Thailand is one place I've wanted to visit and haven't. I'm sure he's enjoying their delicious food. Good for him.
Wishing you a wonderful week.
I resent having to "sneak around" my own home in order to get rid of hawkers and door-steppers because some can be quite persistent. I once had a lady who led me to believe she was from the local Mairie asking about children's education. She went into a 30 minute spiel until I found out that she was selling school textbooks, so I explained to her that while my kids spoke French, pretty much all of their books were in English so she was wasting her time! I kinda feel sorry for people that have to try to make a living this way but in the end that's not my problem! And this is André's third time in Thailand (once with his ex-wife, once for work and then now) and he LOVES it. I'm so looking forward to going in February too as it has long been on my bucket list. Trouble is, that bucket list is getting longer and longer!
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