First snow at Greoliere

November 17, 2010

tags: Cote D Azur, Currencies Direct, fr2day, French hunters, Les Ambassadeurs, Living In France, Moving To France, Valbonne

I have to report a rather depressing response to my suggestion recently that the malevolent idiot black and white mutant cocker spaniel, Banjo, should not have a bell attached to his collar when I walk each morning dodging the French hunters in the forests, so I have come up with a plan. If I get him some woollen mittens to go on his paws then he wont be heard at all by the hunters and may survive the ~~cull~~ walk. Although with the weather today, Walking is off the agenda, and the first snows of winter are at nearby Greoliere, as you may be able to see from this fairly indistinct picture taken from the edge of Valbonne yesterday afternoon.

First snows of winter at Greoliere

I made the suggestion about the mittens whilst on the phone to that nice lady decorator, but it seemed to enrage her and at that very moment she or I must have entered an area of poor reception because I could not hear what she was saying. These land lines can be so unreliable.

Dame Helen Mirren has said that France is a much better place to live than England where standards of decency and respect are eroding, and blaming in part, well, people like me. She says that vicious English humour of the Monty Python and Little Britain variety and its spread via the internet and social networking is to blame for the breakdown in social values in society.

Now I hate to disagree with our venerable our National Treasure of an actress, but she makes her comments from Los Angeles where she lives with her American husband! Jesus! I would rather live in Yorkshire with its tundra, tripe and whippets (and Yorkshireman) than anywhere in America! As if to underline my point, the spellchecker does not recognise the word “Yorkshire” and when you ask it for suggested spellings it came back with “empty” which just about sums it up for me.

She seems to have no understanding of underlying English humour which to me was reshaped by the Monty Python team began their subversive work in the 1960’s over 40 years ago, when I certainly did not have the internet! It is almost certain that social networking sites,(even I have a Facebook account) are at the route of changing social values and skills, but to blame in part English style humour is absurd, unless she was being ironic? Facebook is only just over 5 years old!

Being the guest of a banker for dinner is on one level worrying and on another level thrilling. I remember once being invited by Barclay’s to Lords to their executive box, and I think I managed to drink and eat my way through a good portion of the bank charges they had previously assaulted me with. On the other side of the question is why? Anyone who has dealt with banks over the years knows they do nothing for nothing, but this evening must be different, at last I have something that they want, not something I am trying to get then to lend me money for! so this evening I will have the chauffeur, Mr Humphries, deliver me to Les Ambassadeurs in Juan Les Pins so that I can eat and drink as much as I can before they realise I am a fraud. It surely cannot be because they understand the benefits of Currencies Direct?

Chris France

Buying a house in France, moving money? www.currenciesdirect.net/chrisfrance

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