Buenas tardes, Lots of changes here, sold my house, moved city too, quit my job, now all is in the air. Going back to England with my Mrs for a few months first before setting up life again in her original city. Excited about going fishing on the Fens for a bit, going to the Shannon in Ireland too to fish. Eating at a Curry house and seeing family. It's been 11 years since I've been to England. A long time. Change is good.
Shannon on Carrick perchance? Just about our second favourite place in Ireland... beyond beautiful! Our favourite place is in the NW near Westport!
Hope you have a good trip Mex. I think you might notice a few changes in 11 years. You better behave yourself, or you will be deported.
We are off to Manchester tomorrow to apply for for a 6 month French stay visa.... sadly a result of brexit... we have to take so much evidence each...and people have had it turned down if their papers are not 100%.... We have booked a 9.00 appointment as it can take hours......they are so particular..... . so we leave home soon after 0600 to brave the M62 and Manchester rush hours......
Good luck! When we applied for our residents cards, we had a very amusing time at the prefecture when they were taking our fingerprints. The electronic pad used to transfer them onto the computer would not recognize Mme's. We had two 15 minute appointments, but while mine lasted about 5, she needed 25 before they finally registered. It appeared she was not pressing down hard enough on the pad. To have the card is of huge benefit as it is treated everywhere as the ID cards that all French citizens are issued with. Much easier to carry than a passport, and hopefully when the new regulations come in later this year, we will not have to have photos and fingerprints provided again.
I am not sure if we have turned the corner, but little rain is forecast over the next 7 days, along with a rise in the temperature. The 8 ducks, only one female, have returned to the village pond, and will build a nest out of public gaze. The first cowslips are now appearing on the verges alongside the roads, certainly a bit earlier than normal, and spring bulbs in the garden are flowering well. It just needs a certain football team to start performing, and life will seem so much better. Have a good day everyone.
We were in and out in an hour.....now we wait..... two couples either side of us did not have their photos accepted....seems odd that we had to provide photos when they took them anyway for thier biometrics....... and some of our papers werent A4 so they had to be redone.. fingers crossed time
That's why we left the EU to avoid all this petty beauracracy and rules. Not on A4 paper, really! Unfortunately there has been an increase in pettyness elsewhere to compensate being relieved of much elsewhere. I have never understood why we can't have sensible reciprocal agreements with the EU countries on such matters without having to put up with the garbage that came with it.
This is not really the place to discuss the subject, but we did have sensible arrangements on freedom to live, work or study in the EU. It was promised that this would not change, implying that we would remain in the single market. When Johnson botched the deal, all of that was lost. We can now see from the economic data just how much the country has lost financially, as well as our citizens having rights that they took for granted stripped away from them.
Morning all. It seems that the forecasters got it wrong when they said that this week would be drier. It does seem that since our forecasts now come from Bordeaux, rather than Poitiers, they have been less accurate. The national Météo service will say one thing, while commercial companies, who are doing their own thing, will come up with something quite different. Which of the two is most likely to be right? My feeling is that the publicly funded one is the better, but it would take some time to produce records that would prove it. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. Yesterday was dry, the sun was out, and the temperature was up to a very comfortable level. Back today to the cloud, rain and drop to feels chilly temperature. I was looking forward to my Friday night French football, only to find that for some unknown reason the FFF tv that I watch wasn't showing it. A shame, as I wanted to see how the new attacking style of play would hold up against the leaders of the division. I hope to be enthused by the Hornets today, but will not be expecting a hat trick from any of our forwards. Have a good day all.
Morning all. Lovely blue sky, and feeling warmer again. I have been waiting for a phone call, but must assume that Gino has lost my number yet again. Oh well, I had better get on and sort my electrics out. Some of this French wire is very hard to bend and go where you want it. Have a good day everyone.
Just returned for a few days in London.....i actually had a meeting at the Old Bailey which was 'interesting'.... the security I mean...... the most i have ever been through...... met with Terry Waite and John McCarthy....who were very inspirational reliving their years in captivity in the Lebanon...... Then Mme and I had a tour of St Pauls and discovered a tower that had been in a Harry Potter movie.... Good to be back and out of London tho........ too many people in too small a space in London for me.....
Our postal service is beginning to creak. Mme needed a new charger for her tablet, so I ordered one from Amazon Prime fr. This is normally first class, but for some reason what I assume to be a small package didn't appear on the due date, despite being despatched. The tracking said it would arrive for certain yesterday, so I kept a watch for the yellow van. It didn't arrive in the village until 2.00pm, a couple of hours later than normal. As I headed towards the door to collect it, the van sailed straight past, and before I could go and ask where my package was, it disappeared into the distance. Checking out the Amazon site, it told me that it had been delivered. The tracking now tells me it was delivered at 1.40pm. This means it was delivered to an unknown address in the larger village immediately before she would drive up the hill to ours. I have been told that La Poste has been trying to save money by employing agency staff, something that seems likely as these people do not know the round, or the inhabitants, and don't have the uniform. It might be saving money, but it is not improving the service.
That sounds ridiculous - do you have any comeback against them? I really would have expected them to operate in the same manner as they do in small rural areas here. Posties and parcel delivery drivers simply open the front door and put everything inside, then leave. If no-one is home, they deliver to a nominated safe place or to a neighbour - and if a parcel requires a signature, the driver takes a photograph of it being delivered, either to the recipient, the safe place, or to the neighbour. I can't remember the last time a parcel went missing...
