Skip to main content

Escape? There is no escape

So last week I escaped the protests in France to go to the UK to babysit only to immersed in the Brexit fiasco going on there.  I took Ryanair.  In the pouring rain, coming horizontally because of the wind all the passengers were hustled out of the terminal so that we could stand getting soaking wet for 15 minutes.  Why?  What reasonable company would behave like that?  We didn't get onto the plane any quicker, we just got wetter and then had to sit for an hour and a hour in wet clothes.  For those at the front of the line who had paid for priority boarding, it must have been more annoying and I would add there was a woman in a wheelchair and parents holding babies and toddlers.  So come on Ryanair where is our dignity?

As the protests continue I notice that they have erected wooden sheds at the roundabouts, supposedly to keep warm and dry when there is no vehicle in sight.  Today the students in the school have walked out.  Are they really fired up about the cost of living or just taking the opportunity to get a day off school?  Friday the unions have called a general strike, although that is what I thought they were doing today and the protesters have vowed to continue until Macron resigns.  Good luck with that then.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

D day lasts 3 days

 This morning, with my head full of things I still have to do, I got on the tram and forgot to scan my ticket.  The inspector got on 2 stops later and said I had to pay 45€ for this lapse.  Why can't I scan it now?  a reasonable question in my opinion, was met with scorn, so I  paid up.  On the tram back from the hospital there she was again and checked my ticket with glee.  While she was doing that a young man got on, sat down  and did not show any sign of even having a ticket, let alone scanning one.   The inspector passed him by without a second glance.   Today is the last day for packing and organising.  Tomorrow the removal company will arrive at 6am to take it all away and put it in storage.  Tomorrow night I will sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor and Thursday I go to the hospital to be nuked for the last time.  The sleeping bag is the one that saved me from hypothermia when a friend and I were lost for ...

I'm Free

 After being incarcerated in my son's house waiting for the results of the day 2 test I was finally allowed out today.  I went to Chichester and was saddened by the number of familiar shops that have disappeared from the town centre.  Bognor is the same.  You wouldn't die of thirst in either town though as the number of cafes has increased.  Both town centres were busy making it difficult to keep a safe distance from others but many people were wearing masks in the street. I was pulled over by Customs in Caen.  As I opened the trunk of the car one of the officers asked me if I was carrying goods.  'Yes,' I replied, ' French Champagne and French wine'  They nodded approvingly and waved me away. During my 3 days in the house, I have cleaned, filed all their paperwork, mended the shower, cooked dinner and tried watching television, the latter being totally uninspiring.  The news consists of covid, travel restrictions, forbidden Christmas parties...

How Apt

 As the sewage piles up around the apartment I think it is appropriate that we highlight World Toilet Day, which took place yesterday.  I have lived in countries where sewage systems were non-existent and where toilets were a luxury, even outside but I didn't really expect to endure the same in the middle of Saumur.  However, after 4 weeks, tomorrow will see workmen arrive to deal with the problem.  Please don't let there be a strike.  When they have fixed the broken  pipe we have to work out what we do with all that sewage just laying around.  I don't normally wish for torrential rain, or any rain at all, but please can it pour down on Friday?   The mairie phoned yesterday to say that they had spoken to the Prefecture who had given them a telephone number that I can ring to get an appointment to change the address on my identity card.  It is the same number I have been dialling for weeks and which is always busy. I read that Boris Johns...