mint

There is now growing dissent within France, not least among medical personnel, about the slowness of the rollout. It's a poor excuse to say the scepticism of the French people is slowing down the process.  Just get started with vaccinating people and when the sceptics see that people are not dropping down dead after the jab and they themselves start getting ill or their family and friends start dying, they MIGHT get convinced?  Ggggrrrr........I am getting really irritated by so-called explanations that make no sense and doctors and nurses are becoming exhausted and the population getting fed up and some are beginning to flout all the rules[:'(] 

Thanks for those links.  I actually like some of the reforms; no more plastic straws and no more flyers stuck on your windscreen appear to me to be no bad way to go[:)]

Well, Norman, I have come across all the points that you raised and I have listened to the first part of C dans L'air.  There was nothing new said, that the vaccine was here, that they had started in les EHPAD, that there were problems with storage and transport.  Surely, all of that could have been and, I thought, HAD been anticipated and that we were tout prêt to go ahead with the campagne de vaccination? I also heard Véran's interview tonight.  No re-confinement at the moment but an extension of the couvre-feu in targeted areas, such as Paris, Grand-Est, Franche Comté, PACA. Couvre feu could start at 18.00 hrs from 2 January!!!  Great, just when the days are getting longer! But, for us living in the West of France, we are, for the moment moins touché.  No great comfort really.  Véran said he wanted to convince the refusers of the efficacy and advantages of being vaccinated.  Fine, but if we already have all these millions of doses sitting around in freezers, why not start vaccinating the people who do want the vaccine?  Still nothing makes sense to me.  I only want a credible EXPLANATION after all.

Or duck fat?  Here in our little south west corner of France, we are duck and geese county and even chips are often fried in duck fat.  You can buy duck fat in tubs everywhere.

Kong, you got there before me[:D]

Hm......well, yes, I have actually come across all the excuses.  Everyone is seen beforehand, has to give written consent and is kept for 15 minutes after the jab, in case of adverse effects.  But, only FIFTY-FIVE persons injected on the one hand and, on the other, they talk about all the figures en hausse and that a third confinement cannot be ruled out?  So where is the the logic? I have also heard here and there that some of the doses are 2.5 times more than the correct dose and that some carers in the US have had very bad responses to the vaccine.  How do you know who to believe? I only know that Macron talks about transparency every 5 minutes and, yes, I do know he's been isolating with Brigitte in his fortress in the south but no apparent public address by Castex?  I am not of a suspicious nature but now I find myself growing more sceptical by the day. Talked to my neighbour briefly (haven't seen her since well before Christmas) and she asked me if I would accept the vaccine.  For herself, she said "j'hesite" and now I think I may be hesitating too.

Try as I might I could not find any information on why the French are proceeding with SO much caution with the vaccine. Yes, we see pictures, endless ones, of people being vaccinated throughout Europe but France is curiously muted in its programme of vaccination that was hailed with such enthusiasm by Macron, Castex and Véran.  There is no public announcement by Santé Publique France on this subject. Why have only FIFTY FIVE people been vaccinated?  Why the deafening silence on what is really happening behind the scenes?  Has anyone on here seen, read, heard anything about this? Could you please tell us if you have knowledge or even an opinion?  I had to add "your opinion" because otherwise there will be NO replies!

Oh, Wools, that was EXACTLY what I felt.  I thought if only I had my little dog by my side; could SEE her patiently standing still whilst I took off her lead and I pictured her bounding across the fields on the side of the lane.  She'd come back panting, tongue hanging out, puzzled she hadn't caught up with whatever it was she was chasing....I could just weep, what a loss.....

And here is a bit more of the story of the "absconding Brits" referred to by a couple of people on earlier posts: [url]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9092737/Brexiteer-Andy-Wigmore-British-tourists-fled-Switzerland-avoid-10-day-quarantine.html[/url]

So far today, we have had rain mixed with snow, howling winds, torrential rain, rumbles of thunder, flashes of lightning......  I wasn't sure I'd HEARD thunder.  OH went out on the balcony and confirmed that there was lightning as well. I don't like autumn or winter, I hate the short days and it is wretched for me to be unable to go for a walk.  As soon as the storm abated a little, I decided I'd HAVE to go out, the alternative of slumping in front of the TV being utterly depressing. I went into the sous-sol in search of my ski jacket.  There it was, a bit dusty and distinctly musty with a large handkerchief still in the pocket.  Then I found my ski gauntlets, bliss to slip them on and feel their smooth insides. The wind was whipping around, the heavy mist made everything blurry and all the usual sounds were muffled.  It was like walking in a Monet painting.  But I was nice and warm in my gear and soon I stopped feeling morose and grumpy. On the way back, the moon rose, pale and pink and large and round. Well, THAT was the highlight of my day.......[:-))] Who gives storms pretty names like "Bella"?  Did Bella pass where you live and what was the weather like?

ALBF, you are sounding more and more incoherent and making less and less sense.  How can you compare Macron with the queen?  One is the elected president of a large republic, the other has no political role, only a ceremonial one. BTW, are you quite well?  Have you taken your own temperature?

Thanks again, pomme, for your further explanations.  However, I don't think for one minute that the widowed lady I wrote about would for one minute thank me for telling her all this. After all, it took me several minutes to explain what a bon de transport was for and how to obtain one and indeed to explain the procedure for changing the recently departed's consultant mostly all of which advice she didn't follow, she would certainly refuse to take all this on board.  Some things are best left to the individual to find out for themselves.

Thank you for the links, pomme.  They were very interesting to me as I was almost totally ignorant of the matters discussed.

AZ, I like, and agree with your post.  I thought the exact same things as you did. I was immensely saddened during the municipal and Euro elections that, for the first time since our arrival, we were unable to have any say and it just wasn't the same discussing politics after that. 

Well, Judith, your OH has a point.  The man from Tours (and I don't know if it's ALBF) is said to live in London and is asymptomatic.  Therefore, I am not sure why he is in the hospital.

+2

Lehaut, thank you for that good advice and you have given me impetus.  So, today we are going to visit our "target" small town, taking our Christmas sandwiches[:)]

Thank you, ET, for your prompt reply.  Bonne fêtes, Nadolig Llawen!

But the children?  Do you not have to apportion to them their share and they can inherit x amount before taxes kick in? She said she did not have to have her children's agreement before selling the house? I understood that this used to delay the sale of property if one or all of the other beneficiaries do not agree?

which allows you to pass your chattels and what-have-you to whomever you wish if you are British but has property in France? This was told me by a recently widowed woman who assured me that her husband had left a will leaving her their jointly owned home and that she had consulted a notaire about it. I doubt this greatly but only on the basis that my long-term understanding is that an "English" will does indeed allow you to leave what you own in the UK to a person or persons of your choice but that a French "bien" has to be willed according to French inheritance law. So is there indeed a new form of will of which I know nothing?  Please, if you have info on this, would you please share?  Thanks.

Laurier, what do you mean by a "little town"?  Plus what sort of facilities besides say a resto, épicerie, boulangerie, the usual?  Do you need to have a train station?  To be a reasonable distance from an air port? If you gave us some idea of what you have in mind, say, number of inhabitants, population density and the like, I may well have a few ideas. For me a small town is one with around 2000 inhabitants, has a nice central place for meeting friends.  You know, tree-lined, with a café or two, a pretty church to admire, some nice buildings to provide ambiance, yes, French postcard if you like, but NOT so lovely as to attract hordes of tourists[:D]

At the beginning, we were still young, physically strong. Now not so much[:(] I have a town in mind, where during normal pre-covid times, I used to go every week to meet up with Nordic walking friends.  My hairdresser is there, my kiné is there as is my favourite épicerie. I do think we should make the move while we are still of sound mind and body!  Who knows what else la vieillesse might do to us?  Don't forget, de Gaule said it is un naufrage[:-))]

BACK into the garden?  Have never been able to leave it as we have a mature murrier whose shed leaves at this time of year is worth dozens of barrows. Fortunately, we don't have to bag up the leaves and take them to the décheterie.  There is a large, steep bank at the bottom of the garden where we have the owner's permission to dump our garden waste.  Still need to be careful as OH is afraid that in a really hot summer the dumped stuff and undergrowth could burst into flames.  So we try to spread the stuff all along the considerable length of bank. The gardening, although we have help, is getting to be very time-consuming and we are thinking of a move into a small town near us where we have a bit of outdoor space but no gardens with grass and trees[:)]

I am posting article especially for BinB and Sid but of course everyone else is welcome to read it[:)] [url]https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/20/sudden-u-turn-over-christmas-boris-johnson-caps-year-of-debacles[/url]

REQUIRED watching or INCONTOURNABLE  as the French announcer said........here is your pre-Christmas treat... [url]https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/101103-000-A/soiree-exceptionnelle-a-la-scala-de-milan/[/url]