One day, M le Maire stopped by…
“Ahh neeed yorr elp” he said as he bundled me into his car… and off we went…
A part-time resident (Dutchman) was constructing a high, stone wall on his boundary…
Fine… he had asked permission and got it…
But…
now, digging the necessary foundations, the work was encroaching onto the “public domain” ie right to the middle of the roadside verge… and this certainly was NOT agreed.
“Nothing must encroach… he must move the entire foundations back onto his land… and the resulting wall will end up wherever it ends up… but NOT a bit of it on public land…”
and my Maire asked me to explain all this … blah blah … as the Dutchman spoke better English than French…
Unknown unknowns! Our first winter we didn’t go to the mayor’s do - we didn’t know about it. Shame because I think there was a hamper there for us if subsequent years are anything to go by. We do go now - it’s the one commune thing we attend.
In recent years, a personal invitation is hand-delivered… each Councillor has a list of names and addresses in his/her section of the commune…
Way back when… our nextdoor neighbour knocked on the door, looked a little startled to see me covered in dust and debris… and informed me that I must go NOW to meet the Sheriff (!!!)
Good grief, there’s barely time to clean my glasses… and I’m trundled down the road and into the SdF… where I was walked around and introduced to what seemed like a thousand people but couldn’t have been more than a couple of hundred…
Fat chance of me remembering all those names… but my appearance obviously made a more lasting impression on them as from then on… I was often greeted by my name as someone walked by…
So boring. Why do people come if they just want to “re-live” where they come from. Love it or feck off. The amazing patience and good manners of the French dealing with this must be commented on. Vive le France!
It doesn’t look a bit like it Shiba, though I’m sure that claim might help marketing their rentals
I was being tongue in cheek about the little island near us, the real bases for the Black Island and the ruined castle, according to Tintin experts, are the Isle of Arran and Lochranza Castle.
I loved Tintin as a kid and still have an interest. I read Hergé’s later work first because his earlier, less meticulous, work wasn’t available, and my preference remains his later work, including the rework of the Black Island. The settings for which were based on extensive research in the UK.
I don’t know how familiar you are with his work. I remember friends calling them comics when I was reading them. They are far from comics
Possibly but the local press always call it TinTin island and its advertised as such. Personally speaking and not really a fan of the character it does not look like the illustration to me but heyho, we all need a bit of fame now and again where we live I think. The Chateau de Taureau built near to the island is a miniature version of the one used in Fort Boyard, built to house the english prisoners of the french during the Napoleanic wars that used to ransack the town from the channel. It was restored a few years back and very popular with visitors going over by boat.
A friend of ours is a voluntary police officer in Jersey. He has been known to contact me to check current rules in France, after identifying FR-registered cars belonging to FR citizens who have been living and working in Jersey for years. He now pinches them and insists they re-register the car with Jersey plates. Having imported no less than 5 cars since moving to France in 2007, I have no sympathy with those who don’t bother to do the same, less still with those who don’t bother to find out that they need to do so. One can only hope their vehicles get damaged in an accident and they find that, having failed to disclose details to their insurer, they are not legally insured. If FR and UK were to appoint voluntary officers to report illegal cars, considerable fines would result, after minimal training. DVLA records are more accessible than ANTS ones, but that could change.
We have reached the stage at which we can no longer join our friends for a hike, and some cultural visits are to challenging for us, but we still meet them at their destination for the group meal, and take with us a neighbour who is even more handicapped than we are. We are the only Brits in the village and have belonged to a village club since 2001, and in those days we participated fully. Now, every visit to the village Vival is extended by chats with villagers of all ages.
All these suggestions of compulsory socialising make me cringe I am afraid. Surely an invitation to an event is just an invitation, not a summons? We have no problem with the language but we are not partygoers and our neighbours know that. I am sure they are not surprised or sad not to see us at social events.
I think for both me and my wife it is because we had more tthan enough “people contact” when we were working (here in France). Now we are retired we have kept up with the select few work colleagues who became friends, and that is plenty. The idea of being in a perpetual social whirl in the commune, feeling obliged to accept every invitation to every event and being at the mayor’s beck and call, appalls me. Solidarity is important but it is not the same as presenteeism, and I have no wish to become a community resource.
my word… this thread is really going back and forth… and (in my opinion) there are some replies (possibly being taken out of context) which are being misunderstood… …
those who like a perpetual social whirl… will continue to do so…
those who like to keep themselves to themselves… will continue to do so…
those who like to be a gentle part of local life… supporting those in need as and when … will continue to do so…
Not “terrible” but also not fully appreciating how they want (need?) to live their lives. I was MD of a small company and really liked the people who worked with me. The absolutely best part of the day for me was when they all went home and left me in peace to get on with my work. And they knew that.
They used to go to the pub and for a while would invite me - when I refused for the umpteenth time they realised it wasn’t my “thing” . I used to occasionally bring in chocolate cake for afternoon tea.
Mutual respect for the way we live our lives is vital.
Heaven forfend we should be like the Pharisee: God, thank you that I am not as others are.
not strictly true…
