mint

[quote user="Lori"]  France doesn't seem to have the vaccines to give, so I don't see how they can even deliver on their promise to have all adults who want the vaccine vaccinated by the end of Summer 2021.  That is a long way off, but with no vaccines coming in and none being manufactured by Sanofi (at least at this point), which was all promised, I don't see how this will happen. Still, I'd rather be in France than in the USA. [/quote] Lori, I have read that the Sanofi people have abandoned the unsuccessful development of their own vaccine and are now helping Pzifer Biontec produce theirs. Also the Johnson and Johnson one is expected to be approved by the EMA sometime around the middle of March.  So one can only hope. As I have written elsewhere, 3 more centres have been opened in the Dordogne.  They equally have no doses available or all their doses are already accounted for.  But it's one very slow step at a time.  I am now determined to be dogged and determined (see, I learnt sooo much about life from my late, beloved dog[:)]) and see things as going in the right direction even if it is only at a snail's pace. 

France plays Wales next weekend in Paris! It's going to be a dilemma for me as to who I support.....[:-))] Wales has won the Triple Crown so they will be super motivated.  France in Paris and a brilliant young team with flair and speed. Hmmm......glad I am not a betting person[:)]

Judith, what you have written could equally have come from me!  Our great minds thinking alike, then?[:P] Went on the sante.fr site yesterday, as is now my daily habit and note that the Dordogne has now 3 new sites in addition to the new one they added about a fortnight ago.  Still no slots of course, all the sites, new and old say the same thing:  because of strong demand, there is no more availability, try again another time or try another site.  NOT that I suddenly expected to find a créneau for my OH.  OTOH, I did speak to a real life person in Périgueux earlier in the week.  Hope springs eternal, etc..... Heard news of 2 people from a mutual friend.  One is 88 and the other 85 and both are from my neighbourhood.  The 85 year old has got nowhere with RVs and the 88 has now said he will no longer be bothering as it's all getting too much for him.  I am naturally very sad that someone of that age has now avowed that he will no longer seek vaccination. Meanwhile, keep feeling impotent, folk......best NOT to feel too hopeful.  It will happen when it happens just as the phone messages say, there will be disponibility ulterieurement[+o(]

Being eligible for a jab and actually getting it are two different things of course. Ah, indeed, never a truer word.  As for the over 75s being absolutely able to get a vaccination, it does say where you live.  So, no trying to get it in another département then even if there is a centre just over the border from yours. Still, I was actually quite dizzy with excitement when I actually got to speak to a PERSON in Périgueux.  Until yesterday, no can do on line and certainly no can do on the phone as there is never other than a recorded message telling you to ring "ultérieurement". Anyway this person was actually perfectly pleasant and said to ring in March.  When I ask, can I not make a RV (bearing in mind, I wasn't even asking for myself but for my OH), even if it is weeks away?  She said no but do ring back in March. With that I had to be content but, hey, speaking to someone is "progress", non?

[quote user="NormanH"]Strangely enough I thought that there  was the virus that was killing people.. [/quote] You mean that is the elephant virus in the room?[:D] There are risk factors of course and I happened to hear that man (professor?  doctor?) government advisor, Jonathan Van Tam this morning saying that there is one overriding risk factor and that is Age, Age and Age.  Then he went on to explain the stats about a man of over 80 and a man of 40 getting the same amount of virus, then ...... I can't give the numbers he did but certainly a massive difference in the chance of dying. Not helpful if you are old and he also said that men were more likely to die from it than women.   

Don't be daft ALBF, you've always said you don't like too much heat and that's why you wouldn't live anywhere in France south of the Loire. So do you really think that the Ivory Coast is going to be cooler than Tours?[:-))] I think you are suffering from confinement or couvre feu fever.  You need to be patient, like the rest of us...... 

First you watch 2 tv programmes:  Life Out of the Sun and Escape to the City. Next you contact the British Embassy in Paris.  Details here:  [url]https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-paris/office/british-embassy[/url] Finally, as you are ALBF, you might feel more comfortable in your own French enclave and here is a bit of information on that: Population and distribution Of the French-born people recorded by the 2011 census, 66,654 (48.4 per cent) lived in Greater London and 22,584 (16.4 per cent) in South East England. Within London, particular concentrations were recorded in the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham. And les petits ALBF will soon make friends and settle down in their schools. Et voilà.....bon démenagement[:D]

ALBF, you might as well ask why not hold Castex, Véran to account?  After all, one is charged with the operational side of parliamentary decisions, carrying them out in an efficient manner, etc.  And the other with all matters related to health. What do you ever hear from either of those two?  Same old, same old, our staff are doing a marvellous job, our elderly and most fragile are protected di da di da di da.  I now can't stand them and can't listen to either of them without wanting to throw something at the tv.  I see Véran himself has been vaccinated, and on tv, so he's all right, Jack[6] OH has even received a letter from CPAM, asking him to get himself vaccinated if he hasn't been done already.  So he took the letter to his MT?  Result?  Nothing, nil, zilch.....

Wooly, I know you were asking about being vaccinated though I can't remember on which thread! Anyway here is an extract from an article about us, you, me and anyone between ages 65 and 74.  We are truly the "forgotten ones"[:@] Trop âgés pour le vaccin d’AstraZeneca, pas assez pour ceux de Pfizer et Moderna, les Français de 65 à 74 ans ne savent pas quand ils pourront se faire vacciner. Une situation qui inquiète et agace Jack Martin, habitant de Saint-Pierre-d’Irube (Pays basque), fondait beaucoup d’espoir dans la campagne de vaccination contre le Covid-19, lancée en fin d’année dernière en France. Mais ce retraité de 66 ans a rapidement déchanté. “On a commencé par vacciner les plus anciens, ce qui est logique, admet-il. Mais maintenant, ma tranche d’âge n’est pas prise en compte alors que je vois des gens plus jeunes que moi se faire vacciner... PS apologies to those who post after this one.  I have had to go back and alter the age range; to correctly read 65 - 74.  So, if your post appears after mine, it is entirely my error...oops, blushing....

Wooly, some centres do not open all week.  Our nearest one is only open three and a half days a week and Monday is not one of those days. OH went to see his MT who wouldn't give him an ordonnance and not even some verbal encouragement.  A friend's son, who lives near boulogne sur mer has a compromised immunity and, despite a priority ordonnance from his doctor is still unable to get vaccinated. I do not want to discourage you, but thought you might wish to know how utterly impossible it is and, as I understand it, there is simply not enough doses in large areas of France.  Swathes of elderly people in the first group to be vaccinated (75+) have been on their phone daily for hours on end trying to get an answer without success.

ET, Alpes-Maritime going into partiel confinement and maybe it will be the same for other coastal places.[6] Here is a link:  [url]https://www.lefigaro.fr/confinement-partiel-commerces-ce-qu-il-faut-retenir-des-mesures-de-restriction-dans-les-alpes-maritimes-20210222[/url] There are other places in France where the infection rate is even higher, eg Dunkerque. I am hoping that when the French see how the vaccination programme is rolling out in the UK and the new data about efficacy, lowering of deaths, grave cases, hospital admissions and infection rates, they will finally roll up their sleeves and get people vaccinated quickly. Still no slots for RVs in the Dordogne that I could see this morning and I tried all of the Dordogne's vaccination sites, that is, all SIX of them!

[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]I garden...! Though, the last ten years have been spent digging up rubble. What is it with the French just burrying rubble. At out last house I dug up and old Lavoir. It took 2 months. And when I had finished I burried again. I had become officially French. Trouble with gardening in France is that you do all the hardwork and then come summer everything gets incinerated. I think a view is better than a garden.[/quote] ALBF, my view on gardening here is exactly like yours. Our house has an extension built by the previous owner and you are so right about builder's rubble.  In some places the soil, such as it is, is about an inch deep before you hit cement. The garden around the original bit of the house is dominated by a massive murrier and some old prune trees that we had to cut down as they were non-productive and their branches hit the cars as we drove past. Also, the ground, as in large areas of the Dordogne, is largely calcaire (this is vine country after all) and it is not particularly friendly to your average shrubs or flowers.  We can grow roses with some perseverance, some hollyhocks (but they don't flower every year) and lots of geraniums in pots. OTOH, we have a wonderful outlook and views across fields from the back of the house.  The house has a glassed- in veranda stretching the whole width of the house and the views change with the seasons.  The front of the house just faces a small road though a beautifully landscaped one.  So I do agree with you about views rather than gardens.  Every visitor to the house is surprised by the views because you can't see the back of the house from the road.  In fact, the house has very little kerb appeal and so, when they come round to the back, the view never fails to surprise them.

Id, we do exactly as you do.  If we like something, we just buy it, no need to wait for a special occasion.  Same with meals either out or at home.  If we feel like a special meal, we just have it.

There is a tv prog called le meilleur boulanger, all about people making bread.  I have only watched once for a few minutes but I think it is one of those reality programmes where people (don't know whether amateurs or professionals) make different types of bread to be tested by a panel of experts. Might be tips that are useful?  Me, I don't need tips, the bread machine does all the work and I eat it when it's fresh or at least fresh from the freezer[:)]

[quote user="anotherbanana"]France has been giving it to the 75s and over plus those in homes and certain high risk groups and medical workers.[/quote] Banana, I thought we were talking about the Astra Zenecca one causing people to be ill.  And that one certainly hasn't been given to older people. At the moment, in France, it's only given to health professionals 50 years to 64 years old with co-morbidities.  In fact, in Périgueux, in the Francheville, l'hôpital privé, a centre specially for health professionals will be open for 5 days, from 22 fev for them to receive the AZ vaccine. The open letter mentioned in Norman's link is from health professionals, asking to have the Pfizer or Moderna one instead of the AZ.

Norman, in case you think I have ignored your post, I want to tell you that I did read both your links. Like many, I am thinking about why there should be such a difference between continentals generally and British people, millions of whom have had the vaccine. However, I do bear in mind that the vaccine has been given to mostly "elderly" people in the UK (yes, I know that some elderly people on the forum have had it without any ill effects) and the younger age groups are only now getting it. The EU, OTOH, has started by giving it to younger people almost exclusively. My point is that we have been told that younger people tend to have stronger immune systems than older folk;  so maybe their younger bodies are reacting more vigorously and making more antibodies in a shorter space of time than older, frail and perhaps even failing bodies and immune systems. Any credence to my thoughts? 

Nomoss, has your weather been cold and damp for weeks on end?  Could the conditions have had an effect on your symptoms? For years and years, decades in fact, I'd be ill every winter from November onwards.  But that seems to have improved a bit.  Have you had anything like a chest xray, for example.  Is that, as a first investigation, worth asking for? It doesn't sound "normal" to me; look after yourself and maybe go see your MT. Judith, I did find it strange about so many having adverse effects and I posted about it on another thread. Speaking for myself, I'd happily have it but alas no one has given me that choice.

ALBF, are you not being a bit irrational?  The EMA will be looking at all these different vaccines with scientific criteria and epidemiological data at the forefront. Come, you can't be serious?  As a famous former tennis player might say...... What does it matter where the vaccine comes from, as long as it works and has relatively mild side effects? Of course, it's still up to the individual in the end to decide.  Even the best scientific advisor can be wrong after all.  And there have been many failures in the past about drugs being considered safe when they then produce devastating side effects at a later date.  Thalidomide, at the top of my head....

And more vaccine news......well, you don't have to read it if you are not interested! [url]https://www.sudouest.fr/sante/coronavirus/vaccin/vaccin-astrazeneca-vigilance-suite-a-des-syndromes-pseudo-grippaux-d-une-severite-non-anticipee-1377452.php[/url]

And here comes Spoutnik V.......or maybe NOT? [url]https://www.sudouest.fr/sante/coronavirus/spoutnik-v-pourquoi-l-ue-n-a-pas-encore-approuve-le-vaccin-russe-1377294.php[/url]

The 18.00 hrs is a real bugbear for me.  Makes the day very short as though we are still in the midst of winter.  I'm clock watching from about 16.00.  Have I time for a walk, have I time to pop to the shops and back before couvre feu, will there be a queue at the pharmacie if I left straightaway, etc etc? Still if it serves the purpose of slowing down the spread of the virus, I am not complaining. Other thing is, more than ever, I have to watch out for speeding cars if I AM out walking; everyone driving even more like demons than usual to beat the clock[:'(]

Well, id, I use an electric toothbrush normally and the brushes are medium, I suppose. I only used the very soft one for about 3 or 4 months.  I have looked and it says Inava so probably the make would be Pierre Farbre as that company seems to make special dental products, tooth gel, mouth washes, that kind of thing.  When I say soft, I mean really very, very soft, like a baby's first toothbrush. Personally, while I don't like hard brushes, I find the soft ones not much good at removing stains or even food particles between the teeth.

Well, I don't handwrite exactly but I put a double lined box around the receiving address and write Destinataire with an arrow pointing to the relevant part of the label.

Thanks for the further tips, Sue.  Knowing old scatterbrains (me I might well have forgotten to turn it off at the mains[:-))] BTW, I have just the right brush with the required softness!  After my dental implants I had to have a special soft brush to brush the the gums for 3 months until scarring and mending had finished[:D]

That's a bit of a mark-up, D&O.  Hope it was something you reely, reely want? PS, sorry, getting you mixed up with the Spice Girls[:-))]