Mad Darby Diaries

 Despite France having  one of the best health services in the world, their distribution of the vaccine has been pathetic.  On Tuesday my doctor said that he would be receiving supplies in the next few days and that I would get one.  Yippee I thought, but today, Thursday, the French government made the decision not to send supplies to GPs, just pharmacies, so there I go back to the bottom of the list again. In the meantime, when I made an appointment for a mammogram, which will be in April, the clinic asked if I could please try and get vaccinated before the appointment.  I  am trying, really I am but the odds are against me. I want to know why we are playing tennis outside in 0 degree temperatures when there is a building right next door with three indoor courts?  Surely they could open them up without much risk.  It is very frustrating.  Today it is raining so tennis is cancelled.  They,  being the government, keep saying stay fit...

I sent an email to my bank last October asking 4 specific questions.  No-one replied.  Last week I completed a survey  about whether it is important that the bank addresses green issues.  It also included questions about my relationship with the bank so I told them.  The survey was anonymous so I was only really getting frustration off my chest.  Yesterday I received a telephone message from the manager of my branch, then an e mail apologising for not getting back to me sooner and answering all my questions.  Coincidence?  I think not. I played tennis this morning, and won.  There is life in the old girl yet. I have been sorting out boxes of articles of mine that have been published in newspapers and magazines.  I had forgotten how much there was.  It was all pretty serious stuff, dealing with issues ranging from organic farming, cancer, job sharing and even netball.  Mixed in with it were poems that I had forgotten I had writt...

 I put my house on the market last June but houses don't sell quickly in France and we are in the middle of a pandemic so I didn't take much notice of it.  However, in the last two weeks I have had a rush of interest and it occurred to me that maybe I should start thinking about what I do next or probably more important, where do I go next?  I have no idea.  Most people plan their lives ahead of time but I just don't get around to it until needs must and actions must be taken.  I am always accusing one of my sons of being a procrastinator but when it comes to moving I am the worst.  I don't even know which country to live in or whether I want to keep my furniture and if I don't how do I sell it?  Well we will see. I tried to watch Macron's speech last night but it was so rambling and incoherent I gave up.  He was going on about testing and contact tracing without addressing the real problem of people getting vaccinated.  He has the nerve to b...

To say that France's rollout of the vaccine is pathetic is an understatement.   Over 75s are eligible to get the vaccine but there are no appointments available.  50 to 65s can get the Astra Zenica one, again if there are slots available.  Next in line will be 66  to 74 year old  but only if you have a serious health condition and after that will be that age who are comparatively healthy.  By the time that happens I imagine the world will have herd immunity and we needn't bother.  Macron has been lecturing other countries about sending 5% of vaccines to Africa.  5% of what?  As the French can't get their hands on it the Africans don't stand a chance. I paid the plumber by cheque in October but it appears to be lost in the post as it has never been cashed and the plumber quite rightly wants his money.  I asked the bank to cancel the cheque 2 weeks ago, and what a palaver that has turned out to be.  I have received a formal threa...

 The good news is that the tennis club is opening the outside courts from this weekend and I have booked to play singles on Saturday.  The downside of that is the courts are clay, which are not my favourite, I have only played 3 times since February last year and I am a year older, which still makes me the oldest woman in the club still playing. The bad news is that France is still battling to give vaccinations out for the over 75s, no appointments anywhere, and they have opened up vaccinations for the 50 to 65 group, who can receive the Astra Zeneca vaccine.  So what about my group 66 to 74?  Well there is no news for us at all.  Originally we were told that we could get vaccinated in February but now they say there is no date on the horizon.   And then there is the added problem in that talks are afoot on the subject of vaccination passports for those travelling and even those who want to play sport or exercise.  This could cause huge discrimina...

 What with the freezing temperatures and coronavirus I decided to tackle a long overdue job - sorting out photos.  Nowadays in our digital world photos are hardly ever looked at, hidden away on computers, left to rot in old cameras or never to be used hard drives, stored somewhere in the stratosphere, but there is nothing quite like handling actual photos.   The downside, of course, is photograph albums are cumbersome, heavy and take up an inordinate amount of space.  I keep mine in a wooden chest.  Some photos are in albums, labelled by country, although I have failed to date them or put names to babies and children so, although I know which is which, those who come after me won't have a clue.  I was horrified to find that I had about fifty packets of photos so I decided to tackle them first.  I threw out pictures of mountains and lakes simply because they all look the same and I have no idea which country we were living in or visiting at the tim...

 I invited a few friends over for  lunch, strictly within the rules.  The day before, I decided to make the dessert, a Mary Berry recipe, which she declared is easy to  make and can be made a few days before it is eaten. Making desserts is my bête noir as I don't eat them and never have eaten them.  Unless the recipe has a picture attached I have no idea what they are supposed to look like, smell like, what their consistency should be and of course I don't know whether they taste right.  However, when I invite people to lunch I feel obliged to make the effort.  So I followed the recipe to the letter, popped it into the oven and removed it when it was 'well risen and firm to the touch' as instructed.  Within 1 minute the middle had caved in, followed by the sides and I was left with a gooey mess resembling a pancake.  Disgusted at my pathetic effort I picked it up and tossed it in the bin.  What a waste of three good eggs. Not to be disco...