Back in confinement, but schools are still open, so it makes basically no difference to us, as we're all heading off to school each day. As a teacher, I was expecting even more measures to be brought in (or brought back in, compared to how things were before the summer, with half classes and kids working to a week on-week off rule) but things are just carrying on the same as usual. That said, we were pretty hot on COVID measures before the new lockdown anyway and were doing a lot of things that Pierre and Juliette's schools haven't been doing. What annoys me is getting on the bus each day - they are always packed, with all the pupils on their way to lessons (which is fair enough) but also old people heading off to town to do their shopping, parents out with their baby in a pram, ... We're supposed to be in a lockdown so why are they still out and about ?
Sunday 1st November - It's a bank holiday (but totally pointless as it falls on a Sunday - boo !) for Toussaint (All Saints' Day), the day where most French people go to the cemeteries to honour their dead loved ones. Now call me miserable, but I always avoid going. I have nothing against going to the cemetery with flowers but why do it just once a year ? The price of flowers goes up for this weekend, as everyone is buying them, which annoys me too. We go to the cemetery for Madhouse Daddy on a regular basis and I don't need a special day to tell me to go, thank you very much ! I had a little giggle looking out of the window and seeing this car. It's a "voiture sans permis", a "car without a licence", which has only two seats and a maximum speed of something below the limit. I don't know how true it is but Madhouse Daddy always used to say that they cost a fortune so the only people that drive them are either people who drive really badly and can't pass the driving test or people who have had their driving licence taken away.
Monday - Back to school. We started off with a meeting then each form teacher paired up with another teacher and decided what they'd do with their pupils for an hour and a half. We had to do a lesson on Samuel Paty, the teacher murdered by terrorists just before the holidays, and freedom of speech, the values of France and the rules/freedoms of French schools. Nobody really knew what to say but we managed to fill the 90 minutes allotted to us ! Our "Vigipirate" measures (anti-terrorism security plan) have been put back up to the top level, so, on top of worrying about COVID, we also have the armed military jeeps circling and sitting outside of our schools. Scary times ! I had to shoot back to school for a meeting in the afternoon, then dashed back home and let the plumber in. He started at 5.15pm and didn't leave until about 8.30pm. Our insurance covered the transport fee and one hour's work, but I still had to pay €150. Oh well, it had to be done and I didn't even mind because ... da da dum ... he managed to get our hot water working again ! Yeeesssss ! Even he struggled to manage it, which made me feel better, so fingers crossed it stays on now.
Tuesday - A full day at school. Shocked at how many people, besides school kids, are waiting at the bus stops and filling up the buses - they're absolutely packed. Absolutely great for COVID - not ! I finished reasonably early (3.30pm) so it wasn't dark by the time I got home. It won't be long though. I decided the gap between the clouds looked like a little heart. Absolutely enjoying the hot water - had a luscious shower tonight !
Wednesday - A half day at school. Popped to the shops and was reassured to see that they still have plenty of everything, including toilet roll ... but no tinned tomatoes ! I'm assuming it was a problem with a stock delivery rather than anything to do with COVID. They had loads of Christmas sweets in so I decided to give the kids a treat ! Got home and I'd missed a call from the insurance, checking that the problem had been dealt with. I decided to stick my head in the garage before calling them back and ... there was water running down the wall again, in exactly the same place. No !!! Phoned the plumber who sounded surprised and agreed to come back but warned me that if it's not the same problem, he'd have to charge again. He advised me to call back the insurance and see what they suggested. Phoned the insurance - they said that I'm entitled to two call outs per year so to call him back. If it IS related to the first call, he'll do it for free. If it ISN'T related to that, call them back and put in a new claim. Called him back and set up a new call-out on Monday.
Thursday - Full day at work. Had one class where everything was kicking off, so spent ten minutes dealing with each problem (basically three "naughty" kids all playing up for different reasons). It was wasted time from my lesson but the next class was with a replacement teacher, who had just arrived to replace a pregnant colleague in maths, so I needed to calm things down before he tried to start with them. The CPE (it's a job that doesn't exist in UK schools - she deals with all the detentions, punishments, phoning parents, absences, etc) - arrived at the end of my lesson to have a go at them too, as they'd been playing up beforehand. Good to know it's not just with me then ! Back home, looking out of the window, I realised that all the leaves have disappeared from the trees. They were there the last time I looked - maybe a week ago ?! Things change fast around here !
Friday - Normal day at school. Had the nightmare class from the day before and they were as good as gold. I think we're getting there with them - phew ! Juliette was feeling sick so took the day off school. Hopefully nothing to do with COVID. (A boy in one of my classes was off at the start of the week with tummy aches and his doctor sent him to do a COVID test, so who knows ?!) She found out at lunchtime that she has no school next week, as they've started a week on-week off system with half classes. The neighbour called round and changed my leaky toilet flush and leaky kitchen tap. They've been bugging me for soooo long ! Better news for the planet and my pocket (in no particular order !) Why is it that whatever DIY job you're doing, there's always one screw left over at the end ?!
Saturday - Spent the day at home and actually felt like we were in confinement for the first time. The kids discovered that our new tap has a normal water function and a spray function, which they love ! I have to find something to get all the limescale off the back of the sink from behind the old tap now though. Grrr !
