Friday, February 28, 2014

A ship in port is safe but that's not what ships are built for.



 '
'The font' is at the passport office by Victoria Station at 6.30 in the morning. The new passport is ready three hours later. Cost €150. Anglo-Saxon efficiency. By contrast there is still no sign of the French driving license.

Angus gets a recorded delivery letter. '' That doesn't look good " says the Post Lady. He's been clocked by a police camera doing 55 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. Who knew there was a speed limit on the slip road between the motorway and the toll booth ? €90 fine and 4 points off the license for being 10% over the official limit. The first time he's been docked in thirty years. Archly irritating. How the loss of points will work with the non-existent French license remains to be seen.

It's windy. Bob and Sophie clamber up onto the old table in the garden and sing.  They throw their heads back and treat us all to the full PON chorus. A day for howling wind and howling PON's. They also sing in delight when they collect 'the font' at the airport.

14 comments:

CheerfulMonk said...

That was an expensive fine! Good luck getting the license.

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

LOVE the singing PONs...great picture.

Should be interesting seeing how they sort out a fine on a non-existent license.

XXXOOO Bella & Roxy

Jo's World said...

The Pons get cuter every single day.

Jo

WFT Nobby said...

For once, the inefficiency of the French driving licence system might just work to your advantage. One can only hope!
Love the windswept PONs photos.

Fat Dormouse said...

When I got "done" (it was a fair cop) I still had (have!) an English license. I paid my fine promptly and completed the form with my details of the English license - so the details didn't fit the boxes, bien sur. The money was banked and no more was said...HOWEVER I don't know whether when (if?!) I get a French license my points will miraculously appear on it!

Love the pictures of the PONs

Julie said...

I did that same day passport collection as well - was amazed that it worked so easily. It was also a good excuse to do a bit of shopping in the three hour wait.
The singing PONs look great

fleurlilian said...

Future opera stars? Should I introduce them to my friends???? Lol. They have a great life!!!! Enjoy a wonderful day in Southern Italy! Greetings from Susanne, Daisy, Kiri and Dandylion

houndstooth said...

Is there a way to contest the ticket? I'd think about it, but then again, in France, who knows if it's even worth it.

Angus said...

Thought about it but sometimes it's best to go with the flow.

Anonymous said...

Probably best not to rock the boat by contesting the ticket. Any chance you could please film (with audio) the Pons' chorus?

Emm said...

A new passport -- did someone with four feet eat the old one?

VirginiaC said...

Oh what laughter fills my home after viewing the PON's in a howling chorus atop the table/stage with the howling wind as their backup singers.
Which one is alto and which one is soprano?
Maybe they're practicing to accompany your visiting diva friend in an operatic overture during her summer visit.
Please Angus the next time, I and I'm sure a few others would love to have a recording of this event.....I can only imagine the PON melody and I'm filled with laughter.
Sorry to hear about your fine....sometimes it doesn't make sense to sweat the small stuff.

Terra said...

Cute dogs, and that was a fast but rather expensive passport. Well, the car was fast, too bad about the ticket.

Kari said...

It seems that the process of obtaining a driving license in France has been designed to be hell. Hope the new development isn't going to
make hell even hotter.
Sheer joy in that last photo. Bob
looks like he's singing and laughing
too.