It is well known now that men who are cruel to animals are most likely to abuse women and children. Education in school at an early age is the only real answer.
The good news is that despite it being slow, change is happening for the better.
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Quite!!! 
My glasses snapped in 2 bits, across the metal nose bit a few days ago, took them to a local opticians and they laughed, but said they would try to fix them. Had a call to say they had repaired them and I picked them up today. Total cost, including dismantling, fixing (tiny, very tidy weld or braze) cleaning and polishing the lenses and rebuilding was the grand sum of ā¬0 
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I have had a similar experience before when losing that microscopic screw in the hinges. No charge.
One of my current pairs, bought āoff the shelfā in the pharmacie for ā¬15, snapped its plastic lens frame recently and I repaired it myself with super glue. Needs doing again now sadly. 
At the dechetterie Wednesday and a council lorry came in, piled high with plants, which, on closer inspection proved to be plastic! I suspect people are clearing out their last yearās Toussaint offerings to their deceased relatives in preparation for buying more this year. Having cleared our dechets verts, I remembered Iād a couple of large cartons in the boot, which meant walking back to the entrance and the first skip, past the council lorry. When there it was! A lovely, large, living dipledenia among all the plastic! A brief discussion with the council lorry driver and the dipledenia was ārescuedā. It is now in a temporary pot on the terrace - full of bloom and new buds. 
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Iāve also got some āgood newsā dipledania styleā¦
We were given a large one, too big to bring indoors after its second year.
Anyway, it diedā¦ couldnāt take the last winter chills and I simply cut it way down low and pushed the pot to the back of the terrace.
Iāve been having a tidy round as itās so glorious todayā¦ and there, in the potā¦ is a dipledania pushing through various weedsā¦ as well as a self-sown bay treeā¦ yippee. All I have to do now is keep both going over the winterā¦ 
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I love saving last yearās pot plants. 
The plant industry encourages us to think of them as āannualsā but in so many cases itās just not true. Last winter round here was so mild I think virtually everything survived.
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my pot plants have 2 chancesā¦ either they will or they wonātā¦
I try to bring indoors as many as I can, but the house isnāt elastic sided and OH gets fed up with fighting his way through the winter-jungle on the staircaseā¦ 
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My 6th grand-baby is due in just under two weeksā¦home birth planned ā¦midwives are lovelyā¦.
Sheās had one hospital birthā¦second born at home unexpectedlyā¦.third was a meticulously planned homebirth but born on the bathroom floor before they could even fill the birthing pool despite baby being back to backā¦.
This little one is in a more comfortable position for her with his back to her frontā¦the birthing pool is up and readyā¦at her last check up the midwife said this little one may be born even quicker because heās not in the back to back positionā¦
As all of her little ones have been express delivery (mine too) she doesnāt think itās possible that he can be born quicker than her other babiesā¦.!
We are all in just relax and breathe mode 
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Only just had the time to watch this long video. Spain has a bad reputation for its treatment of animals in general and dogs in particular, but also has many wonderful people like these rescuing them, which is why I have driven so many kms there rescuing dogs and bringing them to good homes in France. One of them is called Noubia, and she is sleeping soundly just a few feet away from me at the moment, after being upset by the sounds of those 2 dogs, as was Jules (another Spanish rescue) who came rushing in to see what the fuss was about.
More power to their elbow. 
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More power to your elbow David. Well done!
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Bathtime happy face! Actually weāve got the groomer/shearer booked so after getting some knots out (teeth smile included) time for bath. Donāt worry we use animal shampoo and sheās really happy afterwards
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The idea of trying to get ours into a bath! When he was young and rolled in indescribable things I could manhandles him into the shower. But no longer! 27kg of extremely reluctant pooch wins every time.
When the lure of cow pats get too much he gets taken to the fountain and has a bucket of water sloshed over himā¦.
But he does gets lots of brushing which I reckon is better than baths for a dog anyway.
But the cheerful news is that we are off to La Rochelle airport to pick up family weāve not seen in two years.
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Todayās cheerful newsā¦ a large tray of Grantham Gingerbread biscuits is cooling in the kitchenā¦
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Er Stella you know you canāt just post that and not put the recipeā¦
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Page 424, Good Housekeeping Cookery Book (1976 edition) 
SR flour + ground ginger - sifted together
Sugar + butter, creamed together, then 1 egg beaten in ā¦ thenā¦
Add flour/ginger and work for hours to bring it all together into a dry dough
Use hand, feet and anything elseā¦ to roll portions into small balls about the size of a walnut.
Place onto non-stick or lined trays (allowing space for them to spread)
and bake for about 40 mins (depending)
allow to cool and devourā¦ but they will keep well in an airtight tin (if given the chance)
not my photo, but gives you the idea of how they turn outā¦
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Doorstop?
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ha haā¦ if youāre casting aspersions on my bakingā¦ youāve obviously never eaten the true Grantham Gingerbread biscuitsā¦
Exactly, they are known for being shall we say, crisp.
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