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Bureaucracy

 People complain about bureaucracy in France and it is true that it can be a bit convoluted, but it does function and work if you produce the correct paperwork.  I am in the UK at the moment and nothing seems to function.  After 8 months, HMRC finally  answered the phone but they couldn't explain why there was a problem, although they did acknowledge that a problem clearly exists.  No, they couldn't do anything to rectify their obvious errors because they were dealing with queries from 2020.

My son had a scan five months ago and has yet to receive the results.  My sister has been told that she could expect to have her cataract operation, which she badly needs, in about five years time.  As she put it bluntly, 'I probably won't care whether I can see or not by then.'

We went for a walk yesterday along the canal and had lunch in a pub.  What a joy it was to see a whole table of adults with learning disabilities enjoying their Sunday roast.  Why can't France treat people with learning disabilities as though they are people who like to be part of the community, enjoying the same things as we do, instead of hiding them away in institutions.  This group didn't arrive in special transport, they arrived independently on a regular bus, or by walking along the canal.  Two of them were accompanied by carers.  How refreshing it was and how happy they were.

So here we are again Macron against Le Pen.  Melenchon has urged left voters not to vote for Le Pen but has not gone so far as to suggest they vote for Macron so it is still pretty close.  Meanwhile in the UK Johnson is walking on water again, just like Trump.

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