Tag Archives: parisian

Friday 22nd November 2013 – WELL, WE HAD THE SNOW…

… and more than enough of it too. In fact, I don’t think that it stopped all day.

First job was of course to clear off the solar panels just in case the sun decided to show itself (which it didn’t, of course) and then after breakfast I had a play with the printer that I inherited from Marianne. I finally managed to get it to work but of course it ran out of ink almost immediately – par for the course I reckon.

I went round early to Liz’s seeing as the weather was bad, and I was helped on my way by the Parisian who brushed the snow off a few branches to let me pass. He was smiling and we had a little chat too – dunno what’s come over him, being sociable. I hope that he keeps it up – it’s so much nicer around here when everyone gets on with everyone else.

We had a quick lunch at Liz’s and then it was off to Gerzat to record the December Radio Anglais programmes, as the snow was falling quicker and quicker and the roads were becoming worse and worse.

On the way back, we made an executive decision and went to the Carrefour at Riom to do our shopping. We drive right past it and it would save both of us an unnecessary trip out on Saturday – not advisable if the weather gets any worse.

On the way back, the roads were more and more difficult and so I forewent my usual evening coffee. I dropped off Liz and her shopping, and made my way home – via the Intermarché at Pionsat because I remembered a couple more things that I had forgotten.

I made it home safely, which is more than two other vehicles did – slid sideways into ditches. And one of them was a 4×4 and that doesn’t surprise me because people who own them think that they can do anything and drive just as fast as they did before. That’s nonsense because these modern 4x4s are not built like an old “Series” leaf-sprung Land-Rover and when people hear stories of 4x4s being friven flat-out in all kinds of adverse weather conditions, they don’t realise that “flat-out” in an old “Series” leaf-sprung Land-Rover was 40mph.

So now I’m back here, battened into the attic with the fire going full-blast. I have everything that I need so i’m not moving until Monday afternoon.

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Wednesday 30th June 2010 – We talked the other day …

foot pump shower fitting les guis virlet puy de dome france… about a malfunctioning shower (and we aren’t talking about people from the Open University Students Association either) so I thought that you might like to see a pic of the current shower installation.

It’s an intake pipe wedged into a hollow brick (which acts as a weight when I throw it into the solar tank) and which is connected to the intake of an old caravan footpump that is fastened onto an old pallet.

The outlet is connected to a garden hose and that was what I used to shower myself with tonight. The water was a lovely 37°C too and it didn’t half feel good.

But as to why there’s a garden hose attachment on the outlet pipe is because a couple of weeks ago LIDL was having one of its usual sales and on offer was a garden shower that you connect to a hosepipe. Bill picked up one of those for me and I’m going to hunt it down tomorrow so I shall be all set up.

It really is nice having a decent shower, and I needed it too. Terry and I finished the roofing on the one side in record time. It’s amazing how quickly you can do things like that when you find a rhythm. It looks really good on the barn too, this metal sheeting. And now we have started to dismantle the scaffolding ready to put it up on the other side. That’s always a dirty job dismantling the scaffolding – there’s always tons of accumulated muck and dust that falls off it

And Grandma Parisian came for a nosey this evening – she couldn’t stop herself. “Blimey – you aren’t half courageux” she said. That’s the first time she’s spoken to me for years.

In other news, the US Government has banned interaction with its enemies – such as the Taliban etc. And you might be wondering why this is significant.

Astute readers with long memories will recall the Casablanca Conference of 1943, in which Roosevelt (an American again – isn’t this a surprise?) suddenly sprang on the world (and on his own allies with whom he had never discussed it) that the United Nations would not negotiate with the Axis powers and would only accept “Unconditional Surrender”.

What happened then of course was that a whole host of German resistants (or insurgents as we call them these days) who had been working hard from within to bring down the Nazis decided that seeing as the United Nations wouldn’t talk to them either if they took power, they gave up their struggle. This prolonged World War II by a couple of years – just because the Septics wouldn’t negotiate.

And here they are, doing the same thing in Afghanistan. If the Taliban (called the Mujahadeen when they were our friends fighting the Soviets) now decide that they want to talk peace terms they can’t because the Septics have outlawed any negotiations.

So they will still keep on fighting and prolong the war and the casualties.

You really can’t believe the Yanks. It was said of the Bourbon Kings of France that “they learnt nothing but forgot nothing” and you can say the same about the Americans. And we are only talking from 1943.

How can a nation be so totally stupid?

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