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My wife had a visit to a specialist on 04 April 2023. Normally the electronic paperwork transmissions work fine, and the repayment is made in days. However, this one failed to appear. After contacting the specialist's office, the secretary informed us it was "lost" in the system, so we needed to collect a paper duplicate. This done, we walked across the Loire (via a bridge) and physically put it the CPAM documents box. Two months later, no money. The CPAM seem to make finding the message section on their internet site difficult to find, but after emailing them, they confirmed that they had the paperwork and were processing it. Contacted them again this week, still no payment 6 months later! They replied saying that the CPAM would have to contact the "competent" section responsible. Still waiting.

Had our 5/5 covid yesterday, sore arm this morning. The advice was to wait till later in the month for the flu as it prolongs its efficacity into next year. Lots of people having it done.

Same with the turmeric for colour and part of a chicken or veg stock cube for flavour if using the rice in a salad. MSG if frying it for an extra "kick".

Much as I love technology, a medieval approach works well too. St Ives, Cambridgeshire has one of these "traps" at the end of a bus lane. Wide enough for a bus to pass, but not for a car - as the second picture shows. Look forward to seeing one in the bus lanes here in Nantes.

We do debate on buying a second hut to do up somewhere from time to time. Last week we spent 5 days in one of (imo) the most beautiful part of Brittany, a camp site on the shores of the Golfe de Morbihan, specifically Presqu'ile de Conleau. The picture below shows us waiting for the little ferry that runs from the other side of the main land, at then end of 30 kms bike ride, back to the camp site. Whilst waiting for the ferry we got talking to a local French couple who had brought down their sea kayaks to launch. Their tales of the area in the summer, infested by both holidaymakers and second home owners was quite dreadful to listen to. They too were of the option that those who found it too hot down south were moving up/buying up houses. Our dreams of buying something with a the view in the photo are long dashed ( a similar flat to ours in Vannes is heading towards a million). However, holidays in areas where we could never afford to live, taken at (relatively) low cost with non of the other financial burdens seems to best option for us.

I was voted onto our village council a few years ago. These were open to the public. In six years I only remember one person attend. La séance est ouverte au public sauf si l'assemblée décide le huis clos, ou si le maire exerce son pouvoir de "police des séances", notamment en cas d'agitation, et restreint l'accès du public aux débats. https://www.vie-publique.fr/fiches/19615-quel-est-le-role-du-conseil-municipal#:~:text=La séance est ouverte au,accès du public aux débats. It was our tradition that whosoever had a birthday in the month the meeting was held had to bring champers and eats. Don't think as a a member of the public you get to share that though 🙂

Indeed menthe, mad hatters and all that. Roman ladies used lead mixture to whiten their faces (knowing it was poison), lead was used to sweeten wine. Mercury was used to tread syphilis and many other ailments for over 3000 years. Most heavy metal poisoning with mercury is by inhaling the vapour. Inhalation of lead tetraethyl in leaded petrol has killed tens of millions of people, far more then mercury. Dental amalgam is a mixture of metals, consisting of liquid (elemental) mercury and a powdered alloy composed of silver, tin, and copper. Approximately half (50%) of dental amalgam is elemental mercury by weight. The chemical properties of elemental mercury allow it to react with and bind together the silver/copper/tin alloy particles to form an amalgam, which the dentist pushed into the clean cavities - you might remember hearing the slight squeaking noise as he worked it in (I do). it then sets hard. No lead is used. In teeth it is quite stable, though some people are convinced it is not so. Some are also concerned when bodies are burned in crematoriums as it turns the mercury back to vapour, 1.2 grams per body on average. Mercury is more poisonous then lead, you are correct.

Mercury amalgam I hope!

If that is a measure of crazy, then I am too! We rarely eat our and are both revolted by the sight of kitchen staff hanging around restaurants of all levels smoking at the entrances. Even saw it at a Graham Ramsay place when we were in London last week. Yuk.

I aften read these articles for the UK figures. They include such things as a new car every 10 years, one or two foreign holidays a year etc. From a 2020 article Research suggests that a couple in the UK need an annual combined income of £47,500 to have a retirement with few or no money worries, while a single person would need £33,000. This estimate assumes a lifestyle that includes: three weeks’ holiday in Europe (per year) food shops costing £56 per person per week £1,500 worth of clothes per person annually These assumptions aren’t extravagant, but they aren’t penny-pinching either. If the French article is for working people, then there is quite a difference in expectations! A third of income in France is usually attributed to rent/mortgage. Our income in France is well below that suggested by the UK article, but we have a very comfortable life style - probably as we own our own home, have no debt and reasonable expectations!

They shut ours down quite some time ago, no choice nor explanation. The RBS has allowed us to keep our UK account and, for the moment, show no inclination to shut it down.

I have nothing but contempt for SFR for several reasons, (including debiting eldest sons account without him signing a contract!). It would appear that they are in a bit of financial difficultly with a rather large debt, according to some sources. Free pourrait sauver (Altice) SFR de la faillite, des millions d’abonnés concernés Avec une dette abyssale atteignant les 60 milliards d'euros, la santé du groupe Altice de Patrik Drahi a pris un sérieux coup dans l'aile. Pour faire rentrer de l'argent dans les caisses, l'hommes d'affaires envisage de vendre certains actifs, notamment Meo, l'opérateur numéro 1 au Portugal. Et visiblement, Free pourrait être intéressé par cette acquisition. elle a perdu pas moins de 100 000 abonnés au cours du premier trimestre 2023. https://www.phonandroid.com/free-pourrait-sauver-sfr-de-la-faillite-des-millions-dabonnes-concernes.html

In the local papers they are marking the 80th anniversary of the bombing attacks on Nantes, appealing for "eye witnesses'" before they disappear. Our neighbours father was killed during one of the attacks. It is understood that Clark Gable took part in the attack. Having tea the other week with another neighbour who is 83 (but does not look it). She suddenly launched into her memories of seeing the invaders in her Breton village and how her parents kept her in the house when they were on patrol. A whole flood of very exact stories then followed. Something she had never mentions in the several years we have known her.

Did you wash out well before you used it for the first time? The stuff they spray on new things may not be conducive to yeast growth.

Same here. Most of the special offers don't affect us as we buy so little processed food. The margins are pretty slim already on "raw" products, be they meat or veg.

As insidious, but difficult to prove for the consumer is underfilling. TF1 had a section where they weighed containers with, allegedly,500gm, 1kilo etc of flour, sugar etc. Several were a few grams under. Not much for the individual, but over several thousand for the manufacturer, a good saving. Proving it as a consumer is another thing.

Menthe sorry to disappoint, but I have no interest in sports what so ever! The stade is to the North of Nantes as shown on this map - will be cycling past it today on our "Tour de Nantes". We cycle east alongside the Loire, then north west along the N644 cycle track past the Stade de la Beaujoire (as near to it as I have ever been) the back south along the Erdre river. That is enough sport for me 🙂

My wife refused to use this shower in an accommodation we stayed in in Croatia. I used it but turned the power off first!

From the window of the flat we hired in Gran Canaria in 2021. Wondered why the water from the tap tasted funny till I realised it came from these containers stored on the roofs of the buildings - ours building was the same. Bottled water after that. .

Just come back from few days in Tours. Wanted to try out our new bike rack and do some cycling alongside another part of the Loire and the Cher. Hired an apartment in the old part of town. Dickensian would be a good description of the view from the bedroom window! Was a little surprised by the number of SDFs in the streets. And at night, sleeping with the windows open as it was warm, the noise in the streets went on until the early hours of the morning - well after the cafes etc had shut. The streets were water cleaned during the early morning. On one afternoon a screaming match of epic proportions started in the building below. A young woman and man were going at it hammer and tongs. Went on for about 20 mins, ending in hysterical sobbing. Not something we are used to and caused us to debate when one should call the police! Oh and it rained on the cycle rides 🙂

We had a couple in our village in Normandy. She was French and he was British. The came across from the UK to live in France. The neighbours lined the road in the old place in the UK waving when they moved as they were so glad to see them go. The were almost as popular in Normandy! They made the same mistakes in our village and got the same reaction.

Sarko perhaps?

We are getting it warm here in LA, not as much as those who live down south. The heat has a bad effect on the roads, as it tends to melt the tarmac. (I assume you can add something to raise the temperature when laying roads in "tropical" regions?) It also makes pedestrian crossings near invisible. Anyway, here they are painting some roads white here (lait de chaux) in an attempt to reduce the effect, a bit like painting the inside of railway lines to stop them expanding too much. Have not driven on one yet.

According to the Washington Post: Donald Trump promised to give away his $400,000 presidential salary. And he kept that promise, publicly announcing each gift — at least, for his first 3½ years in office. Then, in the middle of the last year, the announcements stopped. Trump’s White House never said where — or even if — he donated the last $220,000 of his salary, covering the final six months of 2020 and the first 20 days of 2021. Now, six months after he left office, it’s not clear where Trump donated that remaining salary — or if he donated it at all. He also claimed he was the first US president to give away the salary, another lie alongside the other 30, 273 know false or misleading claims he made in the 4 years he occupied the presidency.

Tim Miller, a Republican operative turned “Never Trumper”, said: “So the guy who was supposedly gonna blow the whistle on Biden taking payments from foreigners was actually paying off Trump admin officials himself on behalf of China!! Could this be more on the nose?” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/11/gal-luft-biden-china-agent-charged