When we go cycling in the Loire Valley, it’s often hard to find a village café open but you can always count on this one (with the exception of Christmas Day). The friendly enterprising owner is obviously a good business woman because she always does a brisk trade including cigarettes and newspapers and it’s a …
Category Archives: covid
Happy Christmas – Joyeux Noël
With so many restrictions on Christmas this year, especially the absence of my children, I have been feeling a little down but after seeing a Danish friend’s many meaningful decorations on FaceBook, I decided to go into the forest and collect what I needed for my Christmas door wreath which I usually make with my …
The Sad Santa Story – L’histoire triste du père Noël
You may remember my post last week showing a sad-looking Santa at Blois market. This week there was a new very jovial Santa but there is a sad story behind the change. Since the first Santa started the job early December for the third year running he has been the victim of so many insults …
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Covid Deconfinement 2 Stage 1 Day 1
Today was the first day of lockdown easing for Christmas. All shops are open but the number of people allowed inside is one per 8 square metres. Culturel venues such as theatres, cinemas and museums are closed until 6th January. People can go anywhere in France they wish but there is a curfew between 8 …
Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 16 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 16
One of the things we enjoy about the Saturday market is our coffee and cake stop. Jean-François still has his coffee stall but no tables of course. Fortunately we have found this little corner away from the madding crowd. L’une des choses que nous aimons bien au marché de samedi est notre pause-café et viennoiserie. …
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Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 12 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 12
It’s getting really cold. Not at all conducive to going out. Today Jean Michel went to get a haircut in the next village. He thought there were a lot of people in a small space. I’m glad I don’t have to go ?. I can’t even remember the last time I went to the hairdressers. …
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Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 11 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 11
That flag you can see in the distance is a Breton separatist flag. Not many people fly flags in France unlike Germany and the United States where it’s a popular practice. According to news reports today, lockdown may be eased on 15th December after all because families are going to get together for Christmas regardless. …
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Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 10 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 10
After the constant rain yesterday we were pleased when the sun came out briefly this afternoon and we could go for a walk. I thought this wreath and pansies were very welcoming. There were another 11 500 new Covid cases today, a far cry from the figure of 5 000 which is needed to end …
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Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 8 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 8
We celebrate four evenly-spaced events each year in a gourmet restaurant – my birthday in April, our wedding anniversary in June, Jean Michel’s birthday in October and the anniversary of our first meeting in December. This year, because of the coronavirus, we have celebrated in a restaurant only once, in June, and I managed to …
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Lockdown #2 Phase 2 – Day 1 – Reconfinement Phase 2 – Jour 1
So we made the most of our new freedom – 3 hours and a radius of 20 k for physical activity – to go mushroom foraging in the forest. During the first half hour we only saw a few inedible russulae then suddenly we came across the most enormous hedgehog mushrooms in an area where …
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