This and that (again)!

Things are pretty busy here again at the moment, but then I guess most people are busy in the run up to Christmas (except possibly Anne in Alabam, who's been preparing for Christmas since January)!!!! Along with all the usual commitments and get togethers we've got our old fogies Christmas lunch next week and so far I've got over 100 participants on my list. We struggled to get the invites out and even though I dropped them off at the Post Office eight days ago I still haven't received mine - and I only live about five km away! Now I expect you're wondering why we just don't hand them out at card club (that was one of my first questions too) but I was told that many people get all huffy because "not everyone attends card club so some people get theirs before others"! Yikes! So then I asked why we didn't just email them out to those that used email - and got the same response because "not everyone uses email either"! Oh dear, I bet you can see where this is going, can't you. Then when we finally got all our envelopes printed and stamped (about 150 of them) Roger came over and handed us two envelopes saying "there was nothing in them". Apparently he'd taken them last week when we were getting everything ready but before the invites had been printed so of course there was nothing in the envelopes! I have no idea why I didn't just pull my own out of the pile anyway, all the more so since I haven't actually received it yet (as I mentioned above) but I'm thinking we seriously have to review the way we handle this and those that complain, well they'll just have to complain won't they! The joys of dealing with older people (although I'm sure some younger people can be a pain in the @rse too)!

Then there was a bit of a "to do" between Marie-Rose (the new secretary) and Roger who got into an argument about the whole thing and who then snapped at Monique (the new president) for interrupting them!!! Now the French are, generally speaking, highly strung (not all of them of course but the stereotype exists for a reason), but to be honest it just makes me laugh because it's like watching a Laurel and Hardy film sometimes. I then found out that many years ago the previous president (Viviane) had been talking behind the new president's back insinuating that she'd had her hand in the till and that that was why Monique quit 15 years ago - all because Viviane wanted her job as president apparently! When Monique told me this I told her I wouldn't have let that go unchallenged because I hate being accused of something I haven't done and I definitely wouldn't stand for being accused of having sticky fingers! She didn't take it any further at the time - she just quit - but I suppose her best revenge is now taking back the presidency and Viviane not having access to the "inner circle" or the accounts anymore. In fact I've been printing off bank statements and giving them to the committee members as I go along because while I'm sure there is nothing amiss, there is quite a lot of money in the accounts and I want to be totally transparent, as much for my sake as for theirs!

Then the new secretary was telling everyone that she really regretted having volunteered for the position and to be quite honest I'm not sure she's up to it anyway so two of the non-highly strung French ladies from the previous committee invited me and the new president to have coffee together tomorrow in order to try to save this committee. Oh the joys! There's an awful lot of work involved just for my part but I'm beginning to get a feel for it and setting it up in a way that is more logical (to me) and hopefully more transparent. Oh I'm sure we'll get over it because no-one wants the club to fail at this point but to say we're off to a rocky start would be an understatement!

After the Post Office I was dropping some cheques off to the club's account at the bank when I felt a presence behind me. I'm very aware of people around me when I'm at the bank and always take cash out inside the bank, never from an external cash point. Anyway there was a young black man standing behind me who asked if I would mind helping him. He told me that he had terrible eyesight and would I mind helping him to print a recent statement from his account. So I had him punch in his pin code and then tapped the key to get him a statement. He asked if I could look at it for him as he was waiting for a deposit and when I realized he really was very, very short-sighted (he had the print-out upside down and had glasses like Coke bottles) I told him that he'd received a deposit of €750 earlier that day. So next he asks if I can help him withdraw €200 and he wanted to know how much he had left, so at this point I took out a pen and paper and wrote in very large numbers the amount he had prior to the withdrawal and how much he had left! He was very grateful and was telling me how difficult life was when you're almost, but not quite, blind! I can believe it and while I admit I was initially nervous having him stand so close behind me, I'm glad I took the time to help him out!

In more drama, Jordan and Jen's immediate neighbours sold their apartment a couple of months ago and bought a run down house down the road which they'd been doing up in order to move into when it's ready. They have a son who is six months older than Charlie and a new baby girl of seven months. Sounds lovely doesn't it, well that was until Jen told me the other week that the husband (although they're not actually married) left her about two months ago (with a toddler, a newborn and a wreck of a house) and is now living with a 20-something year old girl (they're both in their 30s)! What a shit! Anyway, when the twins had their birthday party the other week "the wife" (M) showed up with Jordan and Jen so I just figured they were getting her out the house while the husband had the kids for the weekend. Turns out she really took a shine to my oldest (André) who I have to admit was on fine form that night. He's funny anyway but get a few beers in him and he really is a hoot. So then it turns out that they were going to the cinema together last Friday!!! What the heck!!!! I don't know if that actually happened but he is very clear about not wanting to be tied down so I guess I'll have to wait and find out what, if anything, transpired (I might offer to become his social secretary for a small fee)! She also came to our last board game evening at Jordan and Jen's on Saturday night but André wasn't there as he had a friend coming into town from overseas. Hell, while I'm glad he eventually got over his ex-wife, I'm wondering how he keeps up with his new social calendar right now!

Then the other Sunday the two grandmas were invited along with Charlie and Elynn to visit Papa Noel's hamlet and to meet Papa Noel! It was really well done and since it had snowed the day before it was very pretty even if bitterly cold. Charlie posted his letter and was absolutely in awe so I think we hit the sweet spot with him. Elynn was good but obviously became a bit tired and cranky after a while, but hung on long enough for us to go out to lunch at a very good Chinese restaurant afterwards and have hot chocolate in a local park (I'd made mulled wine for the adults), so all in all it was a great hit!

The elves' workshop!

The elves' kitchen!

I kept Elynn and Charlie the following Wednesday because Elynn came down with the lurgy and while she was very snotty she wasn't too bad (apart from having a face like Rudolph). Then Charlie came down with a temperature and while it was pretty dramatic, after about 48 hours rest he was fit as a fiddle. He made us laugh though because he told his mom that he had seen "the policeman" and he hadn't put him in prison, so Jen explained to him that the policeman doesn't put you in prison unless you had stolen something or killed someone. So he asked her to clarify the bit about killing someone and when she asked why he asked if it counted "if you killed nits" (they'd had an outbreak of headlice at school and he'd just had treatment, just in case)! So no Charlie, while the policeman won't put you in prison for killing nits, everything else is definitely off the table!