Warming up.

Love Mondays, thinking of all those poor workers scurrying along to work, and leaving all the toys to us that we have to share with them over the week-end alone.

Spent all day thinking about it, so achieving nothing. Doesn’t matter - do it to-morrow, or next week, or next month.

Lunch on bench in the sun.

Much warmer again, after night frost.

Many good works on boat carried out.

Visited biggest bricolage ever - would get 2 or more B. & Q.s into it, leaving space for 3 Great Mills, and a couple of Home Bases in the loo.

Got lost, but picked up lots of good ideas, such as if you want to buy go to a brico you can manage.

Did just that on way home and spent 27 franc pocket money on sliding shelf supports for a computer shelf.

Car needs diesel - first time since leaving le Havre.

Put it off!

March 22

Still in Roanne.

Weather still a bit ordinary - grey & cool.

Discipline needed to get going and get "jobs done"!

Discipline lacking - and if I have anything to say about it - it will remain lacking.

Started on retracting shelf for lap top computer.

Job went quite extraordinarily well - something wrong somewhere.

Took whole working part of day - we don’t start till about 11.00, and like French we reckon that 1200 to 1500 is knocking off time.

Very technical job.

Still in Roanne - cool and grey.

Fiddled about with front end and computer shelf.

                                                                                                                                                                BACK TO CALENDAR  2000

Still in Roanne.

A dull fact, but the wind has gone round into the west, and the butter is not so hard we can’t spread it.

Is spring on it’s way?

"Completed" computer shelf by installing everything. What a hen’s breakfast it was. We have something like 8 little transformers for powering various bits of the computer and peripherals. I have allowed 1 x 4 gang socket, which must power the CD player (previously dependant on batteries) as well as computer, printer, Omega disc drive, mobile tel re-charger, Uncle Tom Cobleigh’s electronic loo, and whatever else.

Got drawer side runners from local brico, and though say it as shouldn’t the end result is quite satisfactory, except for mobile phone having to go into bowels of the system to send e-mail. Normally, whole fandangle is retracted out of sight (nearly) into existing shelf unit some 2 feet wide X 18" deep.

New toothpaste to-day. What’s so remarkable about that I hear the questions behind the stifled yawns, and remarks about "old fool’s going off his head".

I resent the current practice of supplying T.P. in plastic tubes that uncurl, so one can never tell how much remains, and cannot successfully evacuate the tube fully. What was wrong with the old "metal" ones. Probably lead or asbestos or something.

We used to reckon - and this still applies to the modern plastic jobs - that whatever other claim to fame the Howards had - they could keep getting toothpaste out of a "finished" tube for at least a week after everyone else had given up. In the case of the old style tubes, extend that to a fortnight.

Big adventure on bikes this p.m.

Up to Station, on to Info Centre for local maps.

Good trip - it seems that if one assumes that motorists don’t actually want to run us over, and we just persevere - with a really wild wobble every now and again to emphasize extreme age and incompetence - there may be a fair chance of surviving.

However - as in UK - never take on "white-van-man", he is non caring lethality on 4 wheels.

After wandering around Roanne, buying up 2nd hand baby kit, and yet one more visit to bricolage, came home for tea, coupled up trailer, and went drink shopping - only 2 beers outside the fridge left, and S’s brandy half way down bottle. We always buy 3 or 4 bottles of 25 to 35 franc reds to try and find a really nice one - no joy so far, all a bit sharp. We or on a mellow hunting mission. Anyone got any ideas.

Left it a bit late, and started getting dark so whisked down convenient one way street in wrong direction on the pavement and got home in about 90 seconds flat.

Started exploration of surrounding area by car.

Very beautiful.

Just like Zululand - rolling green steep-sided close to-gether hills, closely settled. Only difference - grass mud huts replaced by typical French houses with orange tiled roofs, and square corners.

Pleasant picnic lunch overlooking deep narrow gorge with Loire in bottom.

Woken at 0930 to be told it was actually 10.30 - clocks had done something clever.

                                                                                                                                                                     BACK TO CALENDAR  2000