1. Brienne-le-Chateau It’s all happening this week and it is still so hot! I went to class on Monday and Monique (the volunteer) said she would like to meet up with me and take me to perhaps the Napoleon Museum at Brienne-le-Chateau. Now I find that very kind – she will pick me up, however, just one thing…...she doesn’t speak one word of English plus she speaks French very quickly. I am going to take her up on the offer though. It will be a way to improve my French. I contacted an English friend who lives in France, sent her a photo of the form which I had received from the sous-prefecture about applying for my carte de sejour. She checked the website for my prefecture and all I had to do was forward an email with my name and postal address and they would forward the necessary documentation with a list of evidence required. This has to be posted back to them and then I assume an interview will be required before the said carte can be issued. Got an email on Friday to say the form is on it’s way. I have still not heard anything about my replacement driving licence…...the forms were posted in April! However, from what I have read, it can take quite some time for that to be sorted out too. On the Carte Vitale front, I posted off the form with the photo attached so hopefully that should be winging it’s way to me very soon. Have not heard anything from the Tax Office either so it maybe that the form was completed correctly (or they haven’t got round to me yet). I met up with Jony for a coffee. He is of course very distracted at the moment, he has been refused his right to asylum and is having to find a solicitor to act for him. Fortunately the people at the Maison Pour Tous (where we go for French class) have put him in touch with someone who will help. A visit to the Podiatrist was definitely on the cards, so I went on Wednesday. The young man can speak some English and tries very hard, although I was a little concerned when I enquired about my toe nails and was told it could be MUSHROOMS!! I realised he meant fungus so I explained what I had been told by previous Podiatrists. Marie-Therese has been as elusive as the “Scarlet Pimpernel” but I managed to call her and she arranged to visit on Friday about 5pm. I was watching the France match and with only 5 minutes left of the game she duly arrived. She also wants to meet up and do something during the summer. We are going to visit some churches and find out the history to them. I also suggested a visit to the Musee Du Cristal at Bayel which will be very interesting I am sure. This weekend however, is all about the Tour de France. The Grand Depart was from Noirmoutier and down the coast passing through places where my family have enjoyed wonderful holidays. As the tour arrived in St Gilles Croix de Vie I shed a little tear, it was so lovely to see it all again. We have decided that it may be somewhere where we can all meet up for a holiday one year. A great idea methinks. Today I will be watching it again as it passes through more towns and villages that we visited. After the Tour de France I went to the bar to watch the England match, some of my friends were cheering England on too, I could have been there a whole lot longer but I needed to go home to eat. So another busy week has passed by, with friends wanting to go out and take me to visit pastures new. I have been looking again at houses for sale as my plan for having a house built has now been shattered, but like the Phoenix I will rise up. Unfortunately, there is nothing on the market that has taken my fancy, it is now the French summer holidays so it maybe a while longer before anything new comes on the market. Until the next time…….
