What do you all do in the evenings??

[zeb]

......Before you go to bed, I mean!!

We've been here nearly four years and generally love it, but had a bit of a panic last night thinking about the long winter evenings ahead.

Back in February I was really stir crazy after months of TV and internet watching. But, March came and I was working flat out again, days became longer and I forgot all about those tedious winter nights.

In the UK we went to evening classes/cinema/pub/gigs/friends as well as being fairly politically active. Didn't have time to knit, read, play board games etc - now I've got all the time in the world for that, but there is a limit!!

So what do you all do?

PS It's just a Monday to Friday thing really 'cos we are all socialized out at weekends!!

[Renaud]

Judging by some of the other thread titles: you can measure your firewood, worry about your toilet paper, check your till receipts and tyre pressures, order books on the internet or take French lessons.

If these fail to while away the long dark evenings there are always those easy French girls ...

 

[chrisb]

At the moment we're only over for holidays so most evenings are spent recovering from the joint strains of the large meal just consumed and the day's gardening.

Come retirement though, the plan is to spend the evenings reading all the books there's never been time for and the shelves are being filled in advance - so far the range includes P G Wodehouse and Proust.

Of course there'll still be the eating, drinking and gardening...

[Tourangelle]

I take evening classes, I go to the cinema (5 minutes away), I see friends, go to events, go out to cafés. Of course I suffer in summer, the heat of the city, everything shuts down and so on...difficult to have the best of both worlds!

[Alcazar]

Read, (I'm an avid reader anyway),

Play cards with my son, (mostly cribbage),

Listen to music or radio,

Play board games,

Go to bed early so as to be refreshed for the next day's gardening/DIY

Alcazar

[Alexis]

We go to bed early.  I usually read in bed or watch the telly for a while.

Evenings don't bother me, it is those hours before 9.00am when it is dark that make me depressed.

I like to get on in a morning.

[SaligoBay]

I too have cabin fever by February!    Winter is rubbish!

Son gets home from collège at 5.30.   I go out at 7.30 to pick Mr SB up from nearby town, because the last few kilometres are along a narrow, fast RN, and it's not nice to cycle that in the dark.  We eat about 8, and that's pretty much it, because they're both out of the house again about 7.30am.  Wed & Fri, drive Son to Vo Dao classes for 7, go back to get him at 9.

In the UK there just weren't enough evenings in the week!  We went out to.... row (with oars!), play violin, do A-level evening classes, have a drink, eat out, listen to live music.  No, must not think like that!  

This has been perhaps the first year of my entire life where I haven't met anyone new, what a truly shocking realisation!   So I'm off to see what Danse Orientale is like along the road on Monday night.   To tell the truth, my belly could go dancing all by itself, it often does.   

[Missy]

Well you see Zeb!

J'ai du poil aux pattes, en hiver, quand j'sais pas quoi faire, j'en fais des p'tites nattes!!

That is what I do in the evening, since the OH is fast asleep in his chair by 7.30pm! and the progeniture is about to disappear to University once more.... Haven't they left yet!!...Thought it was crowded around here!...

Actually I sit outside to read a book or the newspapers and savour my glass of Sancerre... listen to the radio depending on mood in english or in french... if said progeniture is home have a nice discussion on this, that or the other with both of them... Occasionally find some good films on the satellite channels, go out to see friends and neighbours only to come back home when HIM-who-must-be-obeyed still hasn't stopped snoring in his chair, the dowg at his feet not even bothered to stir itself to go out for its constitutional!... Also I browse the internet, frolic (sometime) get amused and am bemused (at other times) write my thoughts and point of views (a lot of the times) on these 'Living France' forums... Decide that tomorrow will be a brand new day to be irking some idiot or other at work as they will unguidedly be irking me... I also translate letters, pamphlets, books for people or other concerns... Have a good go round the house with a duster and hoover and attack that pile of ironing which is always of the same height no matter how many times I have attacked it!!

Now that the nights are drawing in...Oh dear... what shall I do?....

[Hegs]

Work!

[Val_2]

Well by the time everyone is home,bathed and fed and homework done and we have washed and cleared up its getting on for 8.30-9pm usually. If I've been out walking,then I'm usually ready for bed at 10.30 or else we watch a bit of TV(depending on whats on),play games,get work paperwork sorted,ring clients and just generally get on with our lives in preparation for the next day. Once the new year has gone,you will start to see the evenings begin to lengthen again and winter here in Brittany is always mild,very wet and extremely windy but not half as long as it used to seem in the UK. Ocassionally we may go late night shopping or have a cheap meal out or friends drop by for an appero.

[la bezarderie]

Cook and eat, sleep on sofa.  Wake up, go bed, sleep some more.  5 a.m. Ready to start the day again.

All this would change if we knew how to work the VCR. 

 

[RayB]

[quote]Judging by some of the other thread titles: you can measure your firewood, worry about your toilet paper, check your till receipts and tyre pressures, order books on the internet or take French lesson...[/quote]

**Judging by some of the other thread titles: you can measure your firewood, worry about your toilet paper, check your till receipts and tyre pressures, order books on the internet or take French lessons.

If these fail to while away the long dark evenings there are always those easy French girls ...**

LOL!! Very good!!

[Teamedup]

I am a member of a couple of assoc but frankly I AM BORED STUPID living in the country. Having to take the car if we want to do anything and have a long drive to do anything interesting at all. The bar in the village is not for us, restos are too darned expensive to go too often and then we have a drive to them too.

It was OK when the kids were young, I really didn't mind but now we can do what we want, well, I need far more than is on offer where I live. If we weren't leaving France we would be moving to a town or city, there is no doubt about that. And I am glad that we did city living when we first got here.

[bixy]

Start to read, start nodding off - only 8pm - oh dear [nothing to do with the wine of course]. Long for 9pm so I can get in bed to have a read. Start nodding again. Turn off light. Fall asleep. Awake by 5am, unfortunately. Think my body clock needs adjusting. So, you see evenings are not a problem as I don't see much of them.

Patrick

[SaligoBay]

Apart from Tourangelle (in Lyon?), it looks like France turns into Dullsville USA in the winter!

Sudokus have landed in France, if anyone needs some extra excitement in their lives. 

[Viv]

Saligo Bay

I have to down load a suduko religiously every day from a website! how sad is that?

[Deimos]

Summer is great and I often don’t get home until quite late (and thus, after eating something there is no evening left). Having more time than when employed in the UK gives one so many opportunities to do and learn new things and re-start activities previously stopped because of work commitments, etc.. I feel very lucky.

Winters are a bit harder and, based on past years, its around mid Jan when I start coming up with some really good ideas about emigrating to really daft countries (South America last winter). Fortunately (at least so far), these ideas start taking shape too late in the winter and thus summer comes before I’m too committed. However, a long winter might just see me writing similar posts to a “Living Bolivia” forum.

Ian

[Babnik]

I train and play with a local handball team...keeps me busy several nights a week and on weekends. Try a sport. Great way to meet people. "Troisieme mi temps" (third half) very popular! (a drink after training/game!)

[Deimos]

[quote]I train and play with a local handball team...keeps me busy several nights a week and on weekends. Try a sport. Great way to meet people. "Troisieme mi temps" (third half) very popular! (a drink after...[/quote]

I have been amazed how French clubs and organisations are not “cliquey” like many UK ones. Admittedly this is based on limited personal experience but for my two main activities (this year), both clubs have been really welcoming which has surprised me. I speak very little French and they speak no English (I’m convinced some can but nobody does) – yet I am dragged into everything. There just don’t seem to be the same “close knit” groups of people you get quite a lot in the UK.

One other thing I have noticed (re activities and thus not really relevant to this thread) but some people (French) seem very willing to “endure” my disastrous abuse of their language and try to understand/make themselves understood (henceforth known as "the majority") whilst others (minority) seem less prepared.

Ian

[letrangere]

I know a retired French couple who divide their time between their house in the Lot and their apartment in Bordeaux.  So it's the country from roughly Easter to Toussaints, and the winter months - apart from Christmas/New Year - in the city.  It's the perfect solution but something few of us can afford to do unfortunately. 

I agree when Alexis mentions the dark mornings in France, this gets me down no matter where I am.

M

[Mistral]

First I deal with homework, tea, judo, dance classes..... Once the offspring are in bed, I feed M. Mistral and myself. Then I do my correcting, lesson plans etc or collapse in front of the telly. I generally go to bed early anyway because I get up at 6 and I'm not good functioning on less than 8 hours a night.

 

 

[Jo53]

The thing we couldn't get over when we first started coming to France 3 years ago was how dead French towns (I don't mean big cities) are in the evenings. The first time we drove through Normandy from the ferry at about 8 or 9 pm in the winter we thought Invasion of the Bodysnatchers was being re-enacted! We were the only car on the road. The centres of reasonable-sized market towns were completely deserted. The sorts of places where in Britain there would be 7 pubs, 3 takeaways and a late-night convenience store all open until 11, and people generally walking around or driving their cars. And we couldn't work out why there was no light coming from any of the windows (shutters, I now suppose). It was spooky.

So what do French people do in the evenings? Around these parts it certainly doesn't appear to involve leaving the house much. Actually I've just realised I very rarely leave the house in the evening now either. Except to go to parents association meetings at the school, which are held on Friday nights and last from 8-11.30 pm

Jo

[SaligoBay]

So what do French people do in the evenings?

Crochet?

[Patf]

I wouldn't be surprised if the french folk around us go to bed when it gets dark and up again with the sun to save electricity. The lady opposite us - 1km - had her washing on the line at 7am today.  Most nights after dark you can't see any lights near us. On the other hand if there's a do on at the village hall it doesn't get going until about 11pm and the music and dancing lasts most of the night. We used to go out to the bridge club in the town 12 km away in the evening which was good fun(!) but eventually the drive back in the pitch black after a couple of whiskies got a bit risky. Pat.

[Christine Animal]

Pat, your neighbour - 1 km - maybe that's what she does in the evening, her washing, that's why it's already on the line at 7 am!