Mad Darby Diaries

Having spent a very enjoyable 5 days in the rain in Symonds Yat, we faced what ended up as being a very long drive home.  Driving, or crawling, through torrential rain, the journey seemed to be interminable.  After 3 hours at the wheel I declared my need to stop for a cuppa so we pulled in at a service station.   There was a Starbucks in one building so we pulled up our hoods and hurried in.  I wanted Green tea or any herbal tea, even an Earl Grey would be good but I couldn't see tea on the board.  A young lad was stacking the shelf full of biscuits so I asked him if they had tea.  'Oh yes,' he said, so I queued patiently.  After 10 minutes I reached the front of the queue.  'We only sell coffee, not tea, or we have coca cola.'  I left my family drinking their coffee and wandered out in the rain to see what other delights I could find.  Spotting another building I ventured in.   Two more Starbucks and no tea.  You hav...

 Here I am in Symonds Yat celebrating Christmas with my family, where the roads are the same width of the car and where it seems to either rain or one thinks it is raining because it is permanently damp.  Apart from the weather it is a perfect setting with a river running gently by and views across rolling countryside.  Everyone seems to know each other and the local pubs are full of locals mingling with visitors.  Except one which has a sign outside which states in large letters, LOCALS ONLY.  Well who would want to go there anyway? After Johnson's ridiculous lies and party antics no-one seems to be taking him seriously.  He can spout his recommendations and rules to the public and they will ignore him or make up their own rules.  If you didn't spot the occasional mask you would not know that the pandemic still rages in the UK.   Macron will be pleased at the latest research that shows that 79% of the British people are genetically French. O...

 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...

I hate double negatives but you hear them a lot in the UK.  My favourite is 'don't know nuffing about it', often used in police interview rooms.  This week, though, the double negative triumphed when Trump said, 'anybody that doesn't think there wasn't massive election fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election is either very stupid or very corrupt.'  A  perfect description of yourself Mr Trump. On Sunday I played a match in the inter club tournament.  As my opponent was only 32 I didn't have high hopes but much to my amazement, and hers I imagine, I won the first set 6 1.  By the second set she had caught on that I can run most balls down and she upped her game, winning 4 6.  At 4 5 in the third set I looked doomed but after 3 hours of play I managed to eke out the last 2 games, winning 7 5.  She was not happy.  I was happy, and somewhat surprised, although I didn't show it, or couldn't, as after 3 hours I was lucky to be standing.  Monday...

Sometimes I feel as though we are going backwards. We are back to wearing masks outdoors in Saumur, day 2 test has to be a PCR one and now France wants people coming into the country to have a test 48 hours before.   The latter is fairly impossible to find if you are entering France from the UK during the Christmas/New Year period, which seems to go on until about the 8th of January.  All this and there is still no evidence that the new variant is anymore lethal than the previous variants.   Even with 3 vaccinations one is subjected to all these tests.   At some point countries will make vaccinations mandatory and then what? I noticed in Angers that  about 50% of the people on the tram and in  shops wear their masks below their noses, or round their chins.  Do they think it looks more attractive that way? I had lunch with friends in a Thai restaurant this week.  My share of the bill came to 25€ so I put down 3 tens and took a 5€ not...

 Just as you think it is safe to travel, a new covid scare is inflicted on us.  Nations rush to  close borders and tighten mask wearing rules before the scientists have had a chance to look at the data and follow the facts.  It apparently spreads easier and quicker than its predecessors but we don't know if it is anymore lethal or if it is resistant to the vaccine.  I just want to go to the UK to spend Christmas with my family, without having to spend time in quarantine. I played tennis this morning, doubles.  The first set I played with Therese and we lost, the second with Danielle and we lost, the third set with Yvette and we lost.  That tells me something. The sewage problem is fixed so it is safe to exit my apartment again.  It only took 4 weeks and when it was repaired we, the apartment owners, found the company and agreed a price.  Why are we paying a management company?  I agree with Franck, one of the owners, when he raised his f...

 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...