Electric storms built up during the night to a crescendo this morning... then sun and bird song...discovered a proper Indian restaurant in Limoges today run by a Sri Lankan couple... the French generally not being keen on Indian foods... preceded by a visit to a big DIY place to buy cork bathroom floor tiles that mme had seen.... After discussions with two staff she decided that the cork wall tiles she had decided on might not manage on a bathroom floor and she deftly shifted to buying vinyl...... after lunch a trip to Emmaus a homeless community which runs big second hand furniture depots...we came away with some things mme likes and i really dont....so all hot and bothered....... a trip to the local lake for a swim... then off to the farm to buy freshly baked sourdough bread..... and now.... the wine
Evening All... stumbled into a 70's Festival on the second leg of the "not Marrakech, alas" holiday. If they play Motörhead and The Stranglers then that will be all the bases more or less covered. They won't. Not tonight anyway. Oh, and back to disco... Young heart...
Morning all. None of the forecast rain or storms arrived yesterday, so I am beginning to wonder if the météo experienced staff are on holiday, leaving the office in the hands of some school leavers looking at job opportunities. Visitors arrive today, so life will be a little more noisy than usual especially with a very lively young spaniel. Our commune has a camping car site with the usual hook ups for electricity and water down by the river, and when we asked what the charges would be for our daughter, were told that it was free. All part of a scheme to encourage people to discover the lovely countryside. Have a good day everyone.
Another night of storms.... danced all around our village till 4.00.... All electrics tripped etc etc... and forecast again later today......Maybe they will go visit Frenchie..... Meanwhile the upstairs shutters have to be moved and prepared for painting before it rains again...
Afternoon all. Archery this morning... Mrs Fez won all four of the competitions (bugger!) which irked the other two gentlemen, their wives found it amusing. Swim this afternoon (the one thing that I am absolutely better than she at) and a Rod Stewart tribute act just now. I have Guinness to numb the pain. Others are easily pleased. Oh, 10th wedding anniversary today. I bought she a beautiful tin rose... I got a replacement wedding band (lost mine at a Temperance Movement gig having shed about 3.1/2 stone) so she beat me at that too. Have a grand day all.
Morning all. I'm not sleeping for a about a week. I have severe restless leg syndrome and my sleep specialist says that I need to change my drug regime. This means a few days of getting the old drugs out of my system. Kava, a Pacific Island drink, may help a bit. My specialist, who is a very proper, suit wearing, gentleman in his 70s, told me to try marijuana, but that is illegal and I don't think that I should ask my students where to get it from. On a brighter note I am bringing the family to the UK in January. This will probably mean a gap in the stats whilst I am away. The children need to see their British heritage. Mrs NZ agrees but as she is an environmental warrior she is having ethical problems about flying. She is currently in a bit of trouble for sitting on a coal train. Hopefully I will manage to get a game in whilst we are in London but we will be spending a fair bit of time in the Highlands and the West Country so it may not be possible. We will probably go to Harry Potter World in Leavesdon, partly because my dad used to work there when it was Leavesdon aerodrome. I flew there often before Harry Potter and his broomsticks. Sorry about the length of this. I tend to go on a bit when I am very tired.
Morning all. Sorry to read about your woes NZ. If I have one bad night I tend to get grumpy, so what it is like to go a week I can't imagine. It is grey and breezy, after the storm of yesterday evening. It was of tropical proportions, with rain flowing down the lane like a fast flowing river. My daughter and son in law stood at the window watching in amazement having never seen anything similar in England. It was not confined to this part of the country as news reports show it was spread across large parts of France. It is forecast to be dry today and the bad weather warnings have been taken down, so hoping that the ground dries up a bit. Have a good day everyone.
Oh sorry.... have you tried THC? Incidentally my day worked for a while at Rolls Royce at Leavesden Another major storm here last night.... unplugged all the electrics ...and this morning no phone or internet..could not understand it..went to neighbors and their land lines etc were all working...neighbor came round and we tested it again...and she helpfully phoned Orange for me...they tested the line and said our modem had been corrupted during the storm... EVEN THO UNPLUGGED..... so they will reissue a new one for us to pick up next week......neighbour went home and we had breakfast... ten minutes later modem is working again...so now we have to go all the way through the automated system and cancel the new modem ..... Have a good day
Thanks Yorkie. No I haven't tried THC. There is some evidence that it works but it is so restricted in NZ that I need a letter of permission from the Minister of Health and I wouldn't get it for a temporary lack of sleep. I nearly got it by accident when I tried CBD oil (which didn't work). The pharmacist nearly had kittens when he realised that THC had been sent to him instead of CDB oil by mistake. He would have been liable if he had passed it on. Sorry about your modem problems. I hate those automated systems. I got a new modem a while ago, which didn't work. First I got no help from the automated system. The I got no help from a real person on a help desk. Finally I somehow got put through to a technician. As I have past experience in computer communications I was able to explain what I had done and what appeared not to be working in a way that he understood we got the problem solved very quickly. It took over a day to get to him, though. We had a chuckle about the number of times customers get irate when their modems don't work because they haven't plugged them in. I have experienced that professionally. There was a story doing the rounds when I did this job 30 years ago. A client phoned the help desk to say their computer wasn't working. The screen was totally blank. After some initial checks that didn't work the engineer said that they would have to check the plug. The client got under the desk but complained that it was very dark. The technician suggested that the light should be turned on. The client said that that was not possible as they had a power cut. The technician then said, or so the story goes, "This could be serious. Can you box up the computer and send it back to us. Oh! and put a note in it saying that it is an ID 10T operating problem." I think your ID 10T problem is with the help desk.
Wonderful! Took me a few seconds to register! In the early 90s when we all went computerized at my University.... the first thing the guys at the help desk would recommend when you rang up...was to "turn your computer off and back on" ....surprisingly successful too!
Morning all. Broken cloud, so sunshine one moment and none the next. My son in law brought a new electric shower for me from England as they are not really sold here. Yesterday rather than sit around he insisted on installing it. It is a higher wattage than the previous one, so he said the cable would have to change. Yes I do have some, so back and forth to my workshop down the lane, getting tools and acting as the assistant. Of course the plumbing connections are different, so a trip to town and the frightening display of pipe fittings. As it is a public holiday I thought the DIY store would be closed, but no, an exceptional opening, so I will go and hopefully get the right bits, then he can complete the changeover this afternoon. Have a good day everyone.
Missed your anniversary... hope it was a good one... Mme has never quite forgiven me for losing my wedding ring..... we looked high and lo......
Bereft doesn't even begin to explain how I felt at the time. Mrs Fez has just tested positive... Post my result later.
Morning all. Overcast currently, but the sun is expected before too long. Visitors start their journey back to England today with a visit to the vet. While the pet passport scheme operated it was all very simple, but now as a third country the importation of live animals is anything but. An eleven page document in both English and French is needed, every section has to be stamped and signed, and this has cost £110.50 in England, and will be another €70 at the vet today. One mistake by a vet could see your pet held in detention for three months at a cost of more than €1,000. Those who have motor homes often did a trip through France to Spain and Portugal. This means that now you have to have three documents in different languages. One vet that they asked for a quote from in England wanted £300 to do the paperwork. I guess he doesn't want to bother with it all. All of this is for a single trip. Come back again later in the year and they have to get new documents. Have a good day everyone.
Negative again this morning. Mrs Fez beginning to suffer a bit: set off her other chronic ailments alas.
Morning all. Sunshine and showers is the forecast for today, so although the visitors have left, gardening will be on a small scale around the house. At the filling station yesterday €120 of diesel went into the motor home, and it will be topped up before they leave France to save money. Additional people at the house means additional packaging to be recycled, and my bin is close on full already with another week before it is collected. I think I might have to squash it down and see how much more will go in it. Have a good day everyone.
