The view from my window

The view from my window
The view from my window

Sunday 22 August 2021

Just needed a break!

I decided to take a break from the news and social media for a few days this week because it was starting to get me down. "Starting to get me down"? Maybe not, I'm sure it's been affecting all of us in some way or other for the past goodness knows how long, right? I guess sometimes you have to say to yourself "well there's nothing I can do about it is there" - by which I mean for me at the moment the appalling situation in Afghanistan. My heart breaks for those people - more especially the women and girls who are stuck there with a bunch of swaggering neanderthals and who will shortly be laying down their own version of the law and how these women will be "allowed" to live their lives! So I had to turn it off for a while!

That's not to say that we don't have our own problems closer to home, of course. I'm sure many of you see what's going on here in France and the passe sanitaire which will supposedly only be required until 15 November. Well if you believe that I've got a bridge in Paris I can sell you. The only way I can deal with that is basically keep myself to myself for the most part, which was when I realized the other day that other than going grocery shopping I haven't been out for weeks - well not counting seeing my kids. I haven't seen my friend in about six weeks, though I spoke to him today and thankfully he is starting to feel better. So we haven't been out walking and I think that might be part of the problem. I haven't been out walking and I realize how much I need some form of exercise for my sanity. Mind you, I reckon I always get a bit like this in summer in any case because I just can't function in the heat. Still, from what I've seen we had about 10 days of "summer" and our temperatures are already going back down to "autumn" levels, so maybe I'll take myself out walking this week and become all Pollyanna-ish again! I guess also having André move out might have had an impact because at least I had someone to talk to occasionally, even if he did spend a lot of the time in front of his computer. Jen asked me if I would watch the babe on Wednesday while they get the rest of André's stuff out of their garage, so that'll be something to look forward to. He's just started taking more and bigger bottles per day so as she reckons he's getting hungrier and needs more than just milk, she puréed courgettes yesterday and has started trying him with a couple of spoons of that. Judging by the turned up nose the jury's still out on that one (I told him to push for chocolate ice cream tomorrow), but he's eating it slowly anyway so it's a start!

Since I've been at home so much lately I'm also getting the full force of the bloody telemarketers. The other day I got seven calls on my home phone and I reckon they are all from two different companies because the only things that change each time are the last two digits on the number calling. I mostly just black list them on my phone but they obviously have more numbers available to them than I have fingers to hit the "black list" button. Still, I never answer them, just let them go to the answering machine and of course the big give away is that they never leave a message. I reckon at least one of them is from my mobile phone carrier because my contract with them expired in May and they are obviously desperate to get me to sign up again. I still haven't decided whether I will take up another two-year contract and maybe update my phone through them, or just go ahead and update my phone without signing back up. The jury's still out on that one too!

I did finally get my backside into gear though and sorted out a whole ton of bed linen to put in the charity bin - some of it still in the original packaging! It was all in good condition (I cut the "iffy" stuff up for rags) and I matched sheets with duvet covers and pillow cases but in all honesty, how many sets of linen do I need? Jen took one set that she liked and André took two others but all in all I threw out seven 30 litre trash bags of linen, one bag of clothes and I have two more bags of stuff that actually needs to be taken to the charity shop. I also picked out a few Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs books to put in the book exchange at the local supermarket, where I'm glad to say they've already been taken! I initially liked Patricia Cornwell very much but eventually decided there were only so many books I could read about "exhausted forensic pathologists" so put them in the "donate" bag without taking the time to check if I'd already read them. Next job has to be sorting all the pretty plant pots, vases and trinkets I've collected over the years. Sure they're pretty, but as Anne was saying (at New Happenings) if you haven't used an item in years, why hang on to it when someone else might get some pleasure out of it!

In other news, I follow a couple of vloggers on Youtube, one of whom I really like for his down-to-earth no-nonsense approach, mainly to the ever-more-evident benefits of Brexit (I'm being sarcastic) and while I don't agree with him on everything, I have to admit I enjoy listening to him slam Boris Johnson and this Conservative government for their complete lack of ability (or desire?) to govern. On that I agree with him completely. I heard someone (I think it was Michael Heseltine) once describe Johnson as "someone who looks to see which way the crowd is running, dashes to the front and shouts 'follow me lads'" and I think he's spot on! (The vlogger in question is Phil Moorhouse at A Different Bias, if you're interested)!

Another vlogger who is quite interesting (but I really don't like his delivery style) made a vlog this week about "a kipper" as he calls them - someone who voted for Brexit but who has been living in France on the quiet for years! While the guy had every right to live in France, after a period of 183 days of living in the country you are considered fiscally resident and yet so many of these Brits (mainly in Spain and France) never registered their cars in their E.U. countries and you can be pretty damn certain they claimed to be still living in the U.K. and never regularized their status here. Well he just found out that this one guy stated that he was "going back home" and when asked why it was because "he didn't want to lose his Britishness?????" (what, buck teeth and a face like a horse)? No the real reason would be because now that deadlines have passed for applying for residence permits (we three have ours thankfully), the local authorities will start chasing up these "temporary residents" in the British registered cars and coming after them for unpaid taxes. What's more, the vlogger also found out that the "kipper" had a council house in the U.K. (subsidized housing) which was paid for by the local council and he had a mate living in it and paying him £1,000/month in rent on the quiet, so he was getting the best of both worlds! That kind of thing makes me so mad so I guess you can see why I had to get off social media for a while!

Then we had the rather satisfying case of that other prat, Nigel Farage, finally getting somewhat of a comeuppance the other week. He's another politician who plays the "hail fellow, well met, friend of the people" but who, in my opinion, is just in it to line his pockets like so many of the others. Well he made a comment the other day that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) were basically now just a taxi service helping refugees to cross the channel in rubber dinghies into Britain and they should be prosecuted! I can't quite remember but I think he actually mentioned introducing a draft law into Parliament to propose just that - prosecuting the RNLI and others in the same situation. On a side note, if the powers that be can't solve the refugee crisis then I'm sure I wouldn't know how to, but to expect the RNLI not to provide assistance to anyone in distress in the middle of the Channel is downright evil. The RNLI are my favourite charity, well respected and staffed totally by volunteers, but they are not a charity in the sense that they receive no funding from the British government because they want to have complete control over the way they operate. Well the uproar caused by Farage's comment was so great he ended up back-tracking as fast as his little legs could peddle, but someone set up a Go Fund Me in favour of the RNLI and it raised over £200,000 in one day! Way to go that person!

So thankfully I seem to be coming out of my funk for now and have yet again realized that the best way to keep a positive attitude in these rotten times is to keep plodding on with the exercise. And apparently Facebook seems to agree with me because I'm still getting the "sites that may interest you" which all seem to be about competitive cycling! I have no idea what kind of algorithm they use to suggest these sites - or maybe I'm getting a bit masculine looking in my old age, but I've just received one suggestion for a bodybuilding site called "Men's Physique - Posing and Flexing"!! Ha, maybe I'd better make an appointment to get my whiskers taken care of sooner rather than later!


22 comments:

  1. Glad your break has done you good. That’s the best medicine at times. Your positivity to keep plodding on with your exercise is great. You made me smile with your competitive cycling suggestion from Facebook. How we all need a smile at times with what’s going on around us just now. Stay positive.

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    1. Thanks Jo. I think my "algorithm" on FB must have changed since I turned off their settings on my phone the other week, and now they're convinced I'm a male body-builder! A quick look at me in my undies would soon sort that out though!

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  2. the world is going through SO much, i understand completely. i cannot believe it all sometimes. I am no expert but I too thought Brexit was not a great idea, yet here we are! As for that "kipper" UGH!!! Those folks upset me, just voting for themselves and not thinking of anyone else.

    I have exercised a couple times recently and feel much better as well, so amen to that too!!

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    1. Obviously, living in France, I NEVER thought Brexit was a good idea (however much I agree the E.U. needs shaking up), but there is now a severe shortage of truck drivers (in particular) in the U.K. and many farmers are struggling to get their crops picked and delivered to the supermarkets. But then so many were sold a pipedream by the likes of Boris the Showman and Farage!

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  3. This was a very interesting post since I have no idea about any of these British or French subjects. That was a lot of linens you got out of the house. I don't think I have had that much altogether in 50 years. What little exercise I was doing, I have not done in three weeks, so I had better get at it, too.

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    1. Oh the linen wasn't all mine. Much of it came from my ex's house when he abandoned it unemptied and skidaddled back to the States. But still, who on earth needs all that linen right? And yep, time for us all to get back to the exercise methinks!

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  4. Think I must have been doing even better than you in ignoring the news (assisted by our TV and radio reception still awol) and social media this past week as I missed those snippets about Farage and the kipper - so grateful for the update. I hate reading about situations like Afghanistan when you are a world removed, overcome by the situation but hopelessly inadequate in doing anything about it.

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    1. I have always liked "characters" and was probably taken in a bit by Boris at the beginning, but I genuinely thought there was more to Farage than that (I can be pretty guillible). Seems like the world over there isn't a decent (honest?) politician between us! And you're bang on about my life being a world removed from those of the Afghani women - and I think that is what upsets me so much about their situation!

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  5. What's happening in Afghanistan is a shame, however it does illustrated the herd mentality of so many people. As for Patricia Cornwell? I'm with you there. Her first couple books were great, but then... for a while her public life overshadowed her writing and I just didn't care anymore.

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    1. I loved the first Patricia Cornwell books I read but then I think she just got silly - you know, the boyfriend coming back from the dead and being chased all through the Paris sewers by a werewolf (sorry if I ruined anything for anyone), so I just gave up. She is a very talented writer, though to be honest I don't know anything about her public life!

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  6. Every now and then we all need a break from the news and social media I guess. There is so much thrown at us and so much ffolishness and cruelty going on in the world. I am sure when you get back to walking, you will feel better. I know, I do. We still get hot days but, generally we can sense the weather has turned.

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    1. Our summer (short as it was) is definitely on the way out so I will hopefully get outside more now and start wearing my Smileyface badge again! I'll get over myself soon enough!

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  7. I think that exercise would probably help all of us. I know it surely would help me. The heat and humidity here though...well.
    The world's a mess. People are suffering. It is hard to grasp, it is hard to deal with in our heads as there is so little we can do about it.

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    1. There's no way I could do the walking you do in your weather so I admire you for it. But then again, you are spoilt for places to swim aren't you!

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  8. "he didn't want to lose his Britishness?????" (what, buck teeth and a face like a horse)? OK, no fair, I was taking a sip of my coffee when I read this and it almost all came out my nose! The stuff with the Afghanistan is infuriating.

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    1. Well we don't all look like horses but I guess a stereotype exists for a reason doesn't it. Sorry about the coffee though!

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  9. We all need those breaks. I'm glad to read Charlie is well. Here, we are in the throws of cramming as much summer as possible before the day after labor day in the US, unofficial end of summer. I agree, exercise and walks are needed and losing your roomie I bet is tough. I miss my daughter already and it hasn't been 24 hours. Afghanistan feels so hopeless now

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    1. Oh Charlie is a doll and lifts my spirits every time I see him 'cos, illness aside, he's such a happy little soul. But you might be right about losing André too though - we did have some pretty intense chats and it was nice getting reacquainted with my son, although I really am fine living on my own. I was just having a whinge!

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  10. I was sure I had commented but I see I've not! I know what you mean about the news. I try not to watch too much and only catch the main stuff on the home page on my laptop most days. It's as you say, there's not much I can do about any of it so there's no point in worrying about it, although thats easier to say than do!
    I'm glad to hear your friend is beginning to feel better. Did they ever get to the bottom of what was wrong with him? It's been a long haul for him.
    I hope your Wednesday with the baby was fun. It's fun when they start on 'solid' food - waterproofs all round lol. I think a lot of people laughed at the RNLI fiasco. NF is such a d++k.
    I hope you're feeling more yourself again by now. x

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    1. My friend is (I guess) almost back to normal now but it's been two months, and no they can't find an explanation for it! As for the babe and eating - he's doing great, but I always shudder when I remember having to clean up my kids, the high chair, the floor and whatever else came flying my way when they were learning to eat. It was one mucky time wasn't it!

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  11. My facebook suggestions are for all kinds of male sports (I'm female and never played/watched a sport in my life), cars (never drove in my life).

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    1. Ha ha, I'm glad it's not just me then! My FB is still insisting I'm a competitive cyclist (last time I got on a bike was probably 25 years ago) and that I'm into (male) body building!

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