Mad Darby Diaries

I finally went to retrieve my car, an 11 hour round trip.  The length of time it took was partly due to the fact that Hertz car hire in Le Havre and the garage were closed between 12 and 2pm.  If the British think that tailgating is a problem in the UK they should come to France to experience a masterclass.  The taxi ride from my home to Saumur was one of those times when your foot is constantly hitting the imaginary brake as the taxi driver drove at high speed to within a foot of the car in front.  As it was the hour when everyone was going to work what did she expect to gain apart from annoying the driver in front?  On the way to Le Havre I stopped in a supermarket, a very large, very busy supermarket.  When I came out I looked around for the car I had hired.  I was convinced it was black but where did I leave it exactly?  I checked the card key to find the number plate details but there were none.  Now in the UK you would probably find ...

After 5 weeks my car is finally fixed so tomorrow I make the trek back to Le Havre to pick it up.  I could have taken a mechanic's course and fixed it myself in the time it has taken the garage to do it.  Yesterday I played a 40 year vet in a tennis tournament and won.  I felt slightly guilty as she had come all the way to my house to pick me up and then having lost had to bring me all the way back. I have learned a few things during my forced imprisonment.  You don't do more housework, you don't spend hours doing anything intelligent, you don't clear out messy drawers and cupboards and in fact the less you do, the less you want to do.   I prefer going out in the sunshine or riding my bike to being indoors and as much as I like living in the country, next time I move I am going where there is a bus, and shops, a library, a cinema, the odd museum - oh bliss.  Of course I would hate the noise. Even Trump has had to admit that the Saudis killed Kas...

Yesterday was a long day.  I was picked up by Marie-Helene at 8am to take me to our walking group.  As French drivers go Marie-Helene is a careful driver, not tail-gating and not overtaking recklessly.  She doesn't keep to the speed limits but then I have yet to find one who does.  She is a dithering driver, however, someone who can get lost on a straight road.  So when I said take the first exit off  the roundabout  Marie-Helene drove straight past it and said 'shall we take this exit?' heading for the second one.  Well no actually go all the way round the roundabout and take the first exit..  This continued all the way until we reached La Fleche.  Our instructions said to head for the town centre.  Take the first exit, I said.  'Shall we take this one?' she asked indicating the sign that said Angers.  I remained calm and suggested that she take the exit that says town centre.  'Oh alright' sounding disappointing th...

Trump lies every day and his supporters shrug their shoulders and dismiss it as not being important.  No-one challenges him, least of all the Republicans, who are pushed to exasperation, but they don't push back.  Americans live in a bubble and most of them have no idea how he is viewed on the world stage and they don't care. Having said that even Trump has not killed someone in the White House and dismembered him.  How stupid and naive do the Saudis think we are? There are no rogue people in a Consulate.  They are security cleared, including the locally employed staff. Everyone of the security cameras was out of order.  Oh really? 15 men who must have had previous security clearance, flew directly from Saudi to Istanbul and  arrived at the consulate in a black van, leaving several hours later flying straight back to Saudi. The Consul General and everyone else in the Consulate had knowledge and were witnesses of what happened to Jamal Koshoggi. ...

I despair of the American political system.  President Trump has had proven financial dealings with the mafia both Italian and Russian, he lies many times every single day.  He is unfaithful and has no respect for women.  He is surrounded by sycophants and he is being played by the leaders of the Republican party, the Saudis, the Russians and the gun lobby but he gets to choose whether he is interviewed by Mueller and even gets to choose the written questions he is asked.  It is obvious to an idiot that his lawyers will just make up answers on his behalf.  So now do the parents tell their children that if you get to be President you can lie about anything you like, hide your tax returns, alienate your allies etc etc and nobody will do anything about it?  That is my rant for the day. Talking about Americans, I met one in the market on Friday.  I haven't seen him for about 8 years but he remembered me, my name (first and second), where I lived, how ma...

I have never seen the point of doing your supermarket shopping online, especially in the UK where they are open all hours.  Also thWere are corner shops everywhere that seem to stock the essentials.  Now having been without my car for 2 weeks I was beginning to see the attraction, although we don't have online shopping and no corner stores either.  Several people know that I am without a car but no-one seemed to connect that fact with my need to eat and therefore to shop.  Then last night I had 3 offers.  Well what can a girl say? With time on my hands my son suggested I try to do something about the triffids in the garden.  As my garden is not near the house, and I detest gardening, it is easy to forget it exists.  However this morning I went up there and managed to pull enough triffids out to see that there is a path.  I dug and weeded, working like a trojan but really the only result was that I had removed weeks from area only to make a big ...

I live in a flat part of the country.  In August I borrowed a potty from someone who lives 2 villages away for my grandson so I thought I had better return it.  On my bicycle of course.  Why is it that when driving a car all the roads seem to be flat and level but as soon as you get on a bike they take on similarities to climbing Everest?  It took an hour to get there and they weren't even in but at least the ride back was mainly downhill. I used to live in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight where all the roads are steep and there are hundreds of steps to climb.  One day when I was walking the dog I came across a couple of young people, probably about 18 or 19 years old.  The girl was wearing high heel shoes and was standing at the bottom of very steep steps.  'Oh no,' she said, 'not another bleeding 'ill.'

Yesterday was not a great day.  I telephoned the garage where my car is supposedly being repaired and was informed that they hadn't even ordered the new clutch.  The reason I was given is that I haven't signed the devis (estimate) agreeing to the work.  As I haven't received one this was hard to understand.  They couldn't send it, apparently, because they didn't have my email address.  1.  I left it with their manager, who apparently has gone on holiday 2.  Why didn't they phone and ask for it? 3.  Even snail mail would have reached me way before now. 4.  When I spoke to the manager a week ago we agreed the price (not that I have much choice) and the time scale of 2 weeks, no longer he promised. I have now gone 10 days without a car and they are telling me that they can't finish the work until the end of October, another three and a half weeks away. I phoned the garage this morning to ask if they had ordered the new clutch yesterday....

I can't believe my son is 48 today, although I should as my eldest son will be 50 in January.  Now in my book the older you get the later middle age becomes.  I still think of my children as being in their twenties, even though I have grandchildren of that age.  So with everyone looking younger these days, well maybe not all of us, I think middle age now begins when you are 60.  After all what is the point of retiring in your sixties if you are already old and incapable?  So you retire and become middle aged.  There, that makes me feel better because in my head I am in my thirties, it is only the mirror that tells me otherwise, so don't look. My father spent the first 30 odd years on horseback in India and he used to talk about being saddle sore.  I didn't really experience this until I came to France and started riding my bike more often and further.  This week, with no car, I am riding it quite a bit and the phrase saddle sore keeps reverbera...

After more than 2 years  of being told 'non' I have my Carte de Sejour (resident's permit).  In typical French style it says it is permanent but also says it runs out in 2028, which presumably means it can be renewed.  I don't care, I have it in my sticky fingers.  Whether it will make any difference come 29 March when the UK leaves the EU remains to be seen. My neighbour is retiring in January at the age of 62, Macron's new retirement age for normal occupations.  Her husband, who is younger but looks 20 years older, has another 6 years to go.  She wants to move now the children are grown up and settled.  He wants to stay because he has spent years renovating the place and doesn't want to start again.  She has a nice car, he drives an old wreck that keeps breaking down.  She wants to travel, he wants to drink beer and do nothing.  Do you think the cracks of incompatibility appear when people retire? I know I am getting old because y...