Mad Darby Diaries

The protests go on and on.  Whilst I am sympathetic to them on the subject of fuel taxes, the violence is inexcusable and the protest seems to have spread to a general anti-Macron feeling.  In this region the protests have been peaceful but you never know which road, roundabout or garage they are going to be blocking on any one day.  Hence yesterday I left half an hour early for an appointment and the roads were clear but when I returned I was held up by burning tyres, a lecture and yet another petition to sign.  My name must be appearing on so many pieces of paper that I will probably be thrown out of the country for being a political agitator. Brexit, too, goes on ad infinitum with seemingly no end in sight.  Whilst I keep hearing that the EU want and need Britain more than Britain needs them, the reality is that France at least couldn't care a less about Britain and I suspect that the rest of the EU feel the same. Meanwhile on the other side of the pond ...

While waiting for our tennis match one of the men challenged us all to a skipping competition.  I haven't skipped since I was at school but I found that it was easy and really enjoyable.  A few days later I went to Decathlon and asked a young man if he had any skipping ropes.  'How old is she?' he asked.  'HE is 85' I replied, and left him with his mouth open.

The day of protest was Saturday, then Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  Yesterday I joined the 5 kilometre queue of traffic trying to either get into the town or round it.  Every vehicle was stopped and asked to sign a petition.  I didn't dare ask what would happen if I didn't sign and clearly all the other drivers willingly took the pen and scribbled their name.  I was very late for my tennis game.  As I left I gaily said to my tennis partner, 'At least they don't stop people leaving the town.'  I spoke too soon.  Every driver was again being asked to sign the petition.  Although I had already signed it there was nothing I could do but patiently wait in the traffic jam. Despite everything that is said in the UK on the subject of Brexit and all the false reassurances, the French do what they want.  The latest official French government announcement is that if there is a no deal Brexit then none of the British living in France will have any stat...

Saturday was the day of protest against rising fuel prices, caused not by global oil but by Macron's implementing taxes on it.  This meant that virtually everyone supported the protests. I had a team tennis match to play on Sunday and as it was taking place at our club we had to provide lunch for the visiting team.  The only thing they entrusted me to bring was the drinks.  I left it until Saturday to go and buy it.  Big mistake.  The protesters stopped my car at the entrance to the town and told me that all the garages and supermarkets were closed.  I smiled, agreed with everything they said and asked if I could just be let through as I needed to find food somewhere or I would starve.  It was freezing out so I felt really sorry for them, up to a point.  They let me through, even thanking me for my support and gaily stuck protest stickers all over my car.  The town was a ghost town.  The protesters had blocked all the entrances to all...

Last evening I played a tennis match against an 18 year old.  I suppose it was a miracle that I won the first set as I am three times her age. When I was little my father used to wake me up about 4am to make tea for all my siblings and to clear out the fire.  Yes a true Cinderella.  Other tasks fell my way too so when I was an adult I asked my father why it was always me.  I was after all the fifth child of six, lost in the shuffle of a large family.  His reply was simple, ' You were the most willing.' I have been selected to play in the  tennis club team,  which plays against the other clubs in the department.  Why would they choose me when there are plenty of young fit women in the club and the matches take place on Sundays so they don't interfere with work, college etc.?  I was given the answer, 'You are the most willing.' Can world politics get any worse?  Or can Trump get any worse?  Can Brexit ever be worked out?  ...

Yesterday I went to the Marie, the insurance office, Lidl and it was only when I went to the ladies in Le Clerc supermarket that I noticed my jacket was inside out. At the Mairie I needed the Maire to sign a paper proving that I was still alive.  This is for the pension service in the UK. I wanted to change my car and house insurance from the useless company I had been using.  I answered thousands of questions, was in the insurance office for 4 hours and had to sign or initial 80 pieces of paper.  It was dark when I left and I had lost the will to live. At Le Clerc I wanted to buy a sim card for my mobile phone.  I had to produce my passport, prove my date of birth, my address  and that I have the right to live in the country.  What?  No blood? Happy days ahead in the States with a split government.  Either Trump will become even more deranged or gridlock will happen. What is this new habit in the UK for people to start every sentence w...

While the world has its eyes on Iran, the American Midterm elections and Saudi Arabia, the French people are concentrating on the rising cost of petrol and diesel.  The 17 November will see the population mobilised in protests.  It started with the farmers but has now spread to the general public and plans are afoot to block highways, close down public services (not unusual here) and call a general strike.  Of course being a Saturday, most things are closed anyway so the disruption may be mooted but on the other hand more people will be available to protest. I have learned that when one comes across an angry crowd burning tyres, you roll down your window, accept their leaflets, agree with whatever they are protesting about and tell them you are on your way to join a protest down the road.  They let you through. This time, however, I am tempted to join them because the cost of petrol is rising fast.  Otherwise the only other march I joined was in Saumur when...

Can Trump become even more unhinged than he has been?  If he got his way over changing Article 14 of the Constitution my son will lose his American citizenship.  He is now sending 15000 soldiers to the southern border and if the immigrants throw a stone at them Trump expects the army to shoot them. Meanwhile the Crown Prince, who Trump believes is telling the truth when he says he knew nothing about the death of Kashoggi,  has told him that Kashoggi was a dangerous Islamist terrorist.  No doubt Trump will believe that too. I decided to go to a ladies lunch that was advertised in English.  It was in a village south of where I live, an area I know nothing about.  There were 30 British women, not one of them spoke any French and they all live either in the same village or in villages close by.  In this environment they have a great social life, mostly to do with alcohol as far as I could gather and are totally ignorant about French life, mixing only ...