Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Dry underfoot.


Up early to talk to men in dark suits. What surprises will October bring ? Will Iran do something wild ? Will Kim test a missile ? Will Putin agree to an unexpected arms control deal ? 

Sunshine and warmth on our morning walk.  It's dry underfoot so we head off through the village, down the hill and then along the old Roman Road.


The cows that have been happily doing nothing get on their feet as we approach. Sophie lowers her head and doubles her pace. We trot by at hyper speed. Sophie is a great believer in the view that if you don't look at cows they'll go away.


After that excitement a side trip to the stream. You'd have thought that after the torrential rain over the weekend it might be in full spate but it's flowing away quietly. I can only assume the ground has been so parched by the long summer drought that it's simply soaked up the water.

Loic the heavily bifocaled gardener shows up to blow leaves. He usually comes on a Wednesday and Friday but Monday works just fine for us. Sophie follows him round burrowing in the leaf piles.

The Volvo garage phones to say the metallic cold porridge coloured car has arrived. 'Can I transfer the balance owing ?' In the UK this would be easy. In France it requires a couple of phone calls ,a 'secure message' to the bank, a 'secure message' back and a scanned copy of the transaction receipt to the garage together with 3 utility bills as proof of identity. 




 

7 comments:

Lisa in France said...

Needless to say, we are all waiting with bated breath for a picture of the "metallic cold porridge" colored car.

Susan said...

We had to do an old school bank cheque for our new car. Fortunately a fairly painless process and we live a five minute walk from the bank.

Linda said...

I am totally with Sophie on her approach to cows.

Coppa's girl said...

I'm not sure if Inca has ever seen a cow. Should we come across one at some time, I wonder how I'll explain it to her!
My last car purchase was relatively painless, but I'd used the same garage for years, so perhaps that was why. After January 1st 2121, will things will be a little more involved? I've read that many UK banks are no longer willing to service accounts belonging to expats.

WFT Nobby said...

Like Lisa in Tokyo, I am all agog at the prospect of seeing the "metallic cold porridge" car. My limited visual imagination can't quite conceive of how something can be at once metallic and porridge-like! Cheers, Gail.

Teena and Lala said...

Hoping that October is less thrilling than the aforementioned possibilities.

As Lala resembles a highland calf, I'd be relieved if she regards her new neighbours as friendly relatives.

sillygirl said...

Ah, life in France - the leisurely life, the paperwork.