My French Fancy

                          Who puts a middle-aged woman in acrylic when it’s 36 degrees!   I spent 7 days working as a volunteer in Paris for the Olympics. I was a driver for the fleet of cars that were taking officials and guests around Paris. I visited Versailles, The Olympic Village, Roland Garros, the Aquatic Centre, plus lots of hotels and train stations but I didn’t get to see inside of any of them as I was just dropping and picking people up. We were based at one of the Hippodromes to the West of Paris and in the middle was a rugby pitch and a football pitch which were full of cars.  Paris had a target to cut emission by 50% on the London 2012 Olympics, so all the cars were either electric hybrids or hydrogen. I was reluctant to use the aircon in case I had to recharge the car (should have payed more attention in the training). My only gripe was the complete lack of toilets for the volunteer...

D Day-Jour J  We could not get near the British cemetery at Ver-Sur Mer for the D Day celebrations, it was under tight security as the King and President Macron were going to be visiting on the 6th. We visited St Mere Eglise on June 5 and saw the American Veterans parade. It was a humbling experience to be able to shake their hands and say thank you to them, even lovelier was all the reaction from the French, especially the children. We visited the British cemetery a few days later to see the sculptures which are there until August. Let's hope that after showing the service on the TV, more people will visit, as it is an amazing place. Sleep is like the unicorn - it is rumored to exist, but I doubt I will see any - Dr. Seuss After 20 years of marriage, I have finally come to the conclusion that my husband is rubbish in the bed department- I think I should clarify that by saying that I mean the making of the bed.  His idea of making a bed is to just move the duvet around a b...

  No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. – Lin Yutang   Where have we been: Just back from a trip to the far East where we took in Dubai, Singapore and Bali- loved all of it. Few things that struck me whilst we were away: Didn't feel that far away from home, probably as I was with Tim so I was constantly reminding him to wear a hat, just as I have to here. The intensity of the sun was so much stronger than anything I have ever experienced, I managed to burn whilst in the shade, I have never done that before. Dubai is insane, we haven't been there for a few years but we were blown away by how much it has changed. The Palm is built out into the sea and the last time we were there it was just a few buildings, it's now a whole town- jaw dropping! Singapore- so many people said that you only need a few days in Singapore but there's so much to see (sorry, starting to sound like a tour...

20 years of this- I mean bliss.  I said to Tim the other day: 'You know I’m not good in the mornings, so just hand me a cup of tea, back away slowly and don’t make eye contact' To which he replied:' You’re not that good in the afternoons either really. In fact, there’s about a one hour slot in the evenings if you had a glass of wine that you are reasonable'- funny !!  Anyway, we have made it to 20 years of marriage. 20 years of me being crabby in the mornings and him having a weird obsession with oil paintings (we currently have a whole wall covered in them that would put the Louvre to shame). So we are heading off soon for warmer climates and going back to where we went for our honeymoon (or la Lune de Miel as it's called here). Can't wait to feel a bit of warmth. Major train delays  Interesting event recently when I took the last train from Paris to Argentan.  The train broke down just outside of Dreux and after a 3hour wait they transferred us to a coach. Aft...

It's been over two months since my last post, where did December go? and we are halfway through January already. Top Tip for Paris visitors Don’t miss the last train home as you either have to get a train back to somewhere that’s miles away or (as we did) spend the night in a cheap hotel with the sound of the metro rumbling below your bed. Christmas was lovely with huge amounts of yummy food (the table looked like the Christmas scene at Hogwarts!) and New Year’s Eve was fab with a houseful of family and friends, lots of black and gold decorations and some very large speakers playing great tunes ('including oops upside your head’).   I looked back on last year's post about New Year resolutions and they were: 1.Work more in the garden 2. Stop procrastinating  3. Get a job  Well, I did 2 out of the 3. Trouble was that getting a job limited how much time I could work in the garden but we still managed to get a lot done last Summer. For 2024 they are: ...

  "Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath but the view is much better!”  ~Ingrid Bergman Someone recently suggested to my Mother that she has a hearing aid, to which she replied "I don't want to look like an old granny" she's 86!  The problem is that we don't accept that we are getting old and one of the reasons is that although we look older we still feel young. How many people have you heard say "I don't feel any older in my head than I did 30/40 years ago" apparently, it’s called our subjective age or SA. Good grief! what chance have we got! My kids are constantly telling me that I have told them something already and I am sure that my hearing is deteriorating. Here is an example of a recent conversation that we had in the car: Me to Ellie (who was in the back of the car with me) "there's a really nice cafe down there that we must try." Tim (who was driving) " no my love, this is the right w...

    I wish that every day was Saturday and every month was October.” ―  Charmaine J. Ford. I agree as it's my birthday then!   What happened last Saturday   Saturday mornings here in Normandy are a bit different to how they were in South London. Last Saturday morning a snake dropped down next to me on the patio. Sid (that’s his name) used to have a piece of trellis to slide down but we have removed it so now he has to do a Mission Impossible fall. Tim got shouted at (by me) as he went to pick it up. I know they are not dangerous (apparently anything under a metre is a Vipère and is dangerous, the rest are grass snakes). Sid is over 4 feet long and is a light green colour so he’s a grass snake. I did not fancy starting the day at Urgence with a snake bite (not the drink!!) anyway, Sid slinked off in a huff and hide under the yucca plant and Tim did the same (but not under the yucca). How different were my mornings in South London, where the o...