Project 366 : Photo diary week 44

 When president Macron announced that he would be making a speech on Wednesday, we all knew what he was going to say - we're back in lockdown until the start of December. That's the date that was given but I'm pretty sure it'll go on well beyond that, at least into January, possibly with a day's reprieve for Christmas. But this time, schools are staying open so it won't really make the slightest difference to us. Christmas shopping will have to be done online and our regular Saturday trips to McDonald's will have to stop, but that's the only real difference for us. The most annoying thing is having to print out and fill in all the different forms we need to be out legally (and avoid the €125 fines if you don't have it) - there's one for going to work (a one-off form, thank goodness) then an hour's authorisation, for taking the kids to school/going shopping/going to the doctor's/dog walking, etc (I haven't looked at the complete list of reasons this time) which has to be filled in each time you go out. A total pain in the bum !

Sunday 25th October - We had a nice lazy day, doing all the usual jobs like laundry and emptying the dishwasher, but with none of the usual stress as anything that didn't get done would just be put off until tomorrow. At tea time, I asked the kids what they fancied and gave them a few choices based on what was in the fridge, but Pierre asked if we could try out some pizzas from the new shop that had just opened on the corner of our street. Well, why not ?! We opted for a Four Cheese pizza and a Pepperoni pizza and they were OK but nothing special. The pepperoni one only had four slices of pepperoni on it, which we thought was a bit stingy as they're big family pizzas, not individual ones.

Monday - This was the day put aside for sorting out the car. My neighbour came round and gave it a good going over, changing the oil, the water, the brake fluid and whatever else needed doing. He tried jumpstarting it from his car but that didn't work so he'll come back with a battery charger tomorrow. He said to look up the value of the car online and he'll try to sell it (as he is always buying old cars, doing them up then selling them on). That suits me fine as it'll be one less thing to worry about !

Tuesday - The postie called and dropped off a parcel from my mum and dad for my birthday tomorrow - a watch from them and a dragonfly necklace from my sister. Very nice ! £7.50 postage charge though so we'll be buying from Amazon to get the free delivery for Christmas ! The neighbour came back but still couldn't get the car to start.

Wednesday - It's my birthday ! 48 years old. Pierre and Juliette gave me a present that they had gone to get in town yesterday - a cute Mickey Mouse sweatshirt that I had spotted in the shops on a recent shopping expedition with Juliette, and a couple of face masks. The in-laws had driven up to visit the cemetery and invited us to our local Chinese restaurant for a buffet lunch. I was quite surprised that it was still operating as a buffet but everyone wore masks when going to fill their plate so I suppose it's not too bad. In the evening, Macron made his speech in which he declared a new lockdown, while keeping schools open. This all kicks off on Friday, so I think we'll head into town one last time tomorrow.

Thursday - Another parcel delivered by the postie - a lovely box of goodies from Sophie, including these pyjamas for my birthday. She enclosed some Minecraft figures for Pierre, a Harry Styles water bottle for Juliette and lots of loose sweets that had us discussing whether they were all mine for my birthday or to be shared out ! I'm kidding, I always share everything out between us ! As this was our last day of freedom, we headed to the DIY store and got some paint for Pierre's room (he chose grey), as well as a new tap for the kitchen and a flush for the toilet, as ours needs changing. We then headed into town to go to Les Trois Brasseurs, a restaurant/micro-brewery who had sent a €15 voucher for my birthday. This would be our last chance to use it before it shut down for confinement. We got there just after midday and were seated straight away, but when we left, there were about fifty people queueing up outside - crazy ! Juliette headed off to the skating rink with her friends (it's currently only open to children, to cut down numbers) and I dashed to a shop to grab some Christmas gifts that I'd spotted. That's it now - no more shopping in town until December, at the earliest.

Friday - Another car day. The neighbour came back with his battery charger but, while it did give it a tiny charge (the inside lights are working again and the dashboard lights up), the car still wouldn't start. It comes up with a signal for no battery and also another problem, but doesn't say what the problem is. He will borrow a car code reader from a friend to try and work out the problem, as it may just be because the car hasn't been used for a long time. While we were in the garage, I heard a noise and realised there was water running down the wall next to a pipe. He went and had a look and, as it's hot water (and our hot water still isn't working), it has to be the water going from the boiler to the radiators. We phoned around for a plumber (he had several numbers in his phone) and one came out but refused the job. He did give us the idea to phone my insurance though. I phoned them and I'm covered for a callout and one hour's work. They set up an appointment for Monday.

Saturday - I spent most of the day marking and getting ready for going back to school. I had eight messages from my headmaster, giving me the rundown for going back on Monday, with everything from the different pieces of paper we need to be allowed to travel to what we are expected to do. The government had announced that the kids would go back at 10am, the form teacher would take their class and do an hour's discussion on terrorism and freedom of speech (following on from the beheading of a history/geography teacher, whose lesson on freedom of speech, including Charlie Hebdo cartoons of Islam's prophet Muhammad, had angered some Muslims) followed by one minute's silence. Once all this had been put in place (informing the pupils and parents), the government came back and said, oh, actually, the kids can start at 8am and we'll do a minute's silence in the playground. Our headmaster said too bad, we've informed the parents now so we'll stick with the original plan. The teachers will go in for a meeting to discuss the new sanitary measures put in place for Covid. After finally finishing off my marking, I settled in for an evening in front of Ghost Adventure, with my new candle and a box of chocolates (from Sophie's parcel).

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