Wednesday 12 December 2012

Better than Carol Singers...



Being a relative newcomer to twitter I am still fired with enthusiasm and tend to click on anything and everything that looks interesting, which is why I find myself today taking part in something called a Christmas Bloghop (see details at the end).  Despite having no idea what one is, here is a very short festive blogpost!

Last night was dark and cold so we were sitting quietly in front of the fire, trying to ‘Keep up with the Kardashians’, when the doorbell rang.  My husband immediately wondered ‘who the hell could that be at this time of night’ and was then totally bewildered when my face lit up and I replied ‘I hope it’s the Fire Brigade’.  Pausing only very briefly to redo my lipstick I nearly knocked the dog over in my unseemly rush to get to the front gate where stood a cheerful delegation of men in high-vis jackets.  Sadly not the ‘Pompiers’ but an equally nice-looking team from the ‘Service de Nettoiement’ – the dustbin-men (or whatever the PC term is these days).

These visits are very much part of the Festive Season here in France and the purpose of the visit is to present householders with a Calendar, in exchange for a ‘donation’.  I only had a 20 euro note so I asked for 10 euros back remembering the fact that they hurl the empty bins onto my wild flower bed after each visit!  This amount appeared to be quite acceptable and after much hand-shaking and valiant attempts by them to wish us Joyeuse Seasons in English, they departed in their van.

There are still 12 nights to go before Christmas – plenty of time for the Fire Brigade to call!