Evening All, been recalled from furlough and working from home. A surprisingly exhausting three days. A couple more weeks working from home then the office will reopen once all the protocols are in place. Have a good weekend folks.
Morning all from a bright, sunny and warm rural France. Big change yesterday on my shopping trip to town with all of the shops open. Lots more traffic about and the car parks busy. Just about everyone was being very good and wearing their masks. 15 minutes with one on and you really want to get out into the fresh air and remove it. I feel sorry for those working in the shops who have to keep them on for long periods. There was some TV footage taken at the entrances to the Paris Metro where masks were being handed out to everyone who was entering the system, so no excuses. There have been a couple of reports of people being hauled out of the stations and issued with on the spot fines for not wearing them. Still today I will go without mine as I intended to self isolate down the fields with just the birds and butterflies for company. Came back from the garden centre with far more than intended. It is a local company that grows some of the best plants for miles around, and I was told how happy they were to see people out and about and some of their stock moving at a decent pace now. So whatever you are doing, enjoy your day.
It's exactly the same here with masks and public transport Frenchie, the only difference being that they normally expect you to make your own - the longest I have managed to wear one for is 90 minutes ! We are all struggling learning things like Skype and Zoom in order to give tutorials online, with varying degrees of success ! Most of the shops are reopening, and, theoretically, cafes and pubs can do as well, but few are. Went to a cafe the other day and they had to hand round a form to fill in with name address and ID number, for all guests. The lockdown has been a bit one sided here in terms of the powers that be deciding which services were essential - so, for example, car sales rooms remained open the whole time - so you could buy a new car but not visit your elderly grandparents or a loved one in hospital
Buenas tardes a todos. Went shopping in the mercado de abastos (bulk market) near to our house this morning and after a few dry weeks we found some BEERS - double the price but happily paid. They might be the last ones we have for a couple of weeks as things have run dry here. So, given that, we also got things to have big Mexian BBQ later. Flank steak (arrachera here) choriso, wings, nopales, spring onions and chile güeros. Got to wait for the sun to move on my front patio so i can BBQ in the shade, it's 30 + degrees here ATM. Enjoy your fin de semana.
Good to hear that you are still surviving Mex. I have never quite understood the idea of a BBQ in the heat. I do one from time to time, usually when on holiday. I did do one on a holiday village when staying in a chalet in the south of France. There was an area that had about 10 BBQ's that you could use, so I joined with a group of friendly Germans to cook a couple of nice steaks. As normal they brought their own supply of beer, and were kind enough to keep me supplied. They noticed that I had a French car, so made the assumption. None of them had any French so asked if I could speak any English. I tried hard to say that yes, I spoke a little, but quickly realised that their English was just about as good as my German. Great time with them as their beer was very good.
Morning all.... We saw a family of swans with 9 cygnets yesterday.... very touching have a good day ....
Morning all. A lovely sunny warm morning, and it should be that Sunday when we go off for a super Sunday dinner with friends. It can wait a bit longer. The restaurant owners are staying cheerful, and have worked out how we can meet up again on the terrace when allowed. Taking a few minutes out yesterday afternoon I watched an animal that I hadn't seen down the fields before. Was it a Pine Marten or a Polecat? It didn't stay still long enough to be certain, but I think it was likely to be the former. I have seen them before about a km away, but never quite this close. It is amazing what you can see and hear if you just sit still for five minutes. Enjoy your day whatever you can do.
Signing off for the day now... You may wonder why Yorkie has been posting all over here today.... well he was 'writing' a book chapter... you will, thankfully i am sure, see less of me tomorrow! Sleep well my friends...
