Progress

 A observation: I walked every day in France and, every day, people would say bonjour or bonsoir to me, depending on the time of day (I never did establish when the change takes place).  I often dictate when I walk and, in France, the transcripts were peppered with bonjour, bonsoir, comment ça va?

The same used to happen in England when I walked the dog. But now, when I go for my walks alone, without a dog, very few people even smile never mind say hello. Most look away. Perhaps it’s the city that I live in, but I don’t think so. Perhaps it’s me, but in that case, why was it different in France?  More and more, people seem to be looking inwards instead of out.

A recollection, that for some reason came to mind this week: Someone once said to me, when I presented them with salad leaves to go with a meal, ‘…there is nothing worse than an undressed salad.’  When I think of all the evil in the world, there are quite a lot of things worse than an undressed salad!

The move to France is getting closer. Visa application forms have been completed and an appointment made to present ourselves, with our documents, at the centre in Wandsworth. It’s all becoming real.

We have been getting quotes from removal companies for the move. The quotes are frighteningly high, so it may be that we will hire a van and do it ourselves. It can’t be that difficult. Can it?

In preparation, I have downloaded and printed off the customs form to be completed (at some point). It appears that we have to make a detailed inventory of what is being exported to France. That certainly has made me reassess our needs but I suspect that there are still going to be a very large number of boxes listed as ‘miscellany and nonsense.'

Sorting continues. We have ended up with three dinner services. One had been given to my grandparents as a wedding present in the 1920’s. It survived the blitz in Birmingham and, apart two sauce ladles that fell off the dresser during an air raid, is complete. Used only at Christmas when we were children, I’m looking forward to just using it every day. 

A Villeroy-Boch cordoba red service that I collected piece by piece as a student and beyond (it made Christmas and birthday presents easy for a while), will be coming too. 

The Denby crockery— used daily for the last thirty years—is destined to be sold or given to charity. 

Meanwhile, the publication of Journey’s End is happening in the background. The cover design, layout, blurb, acknowledgements etc etc are being prepared. Journey’s End concludes the trilogy about Hilary and her friends and, if all goes to plan, will be available in early September. Plenty of time to read Rude Awakening and Let's Escape—if you haven't already.

On the subject of my books, someone took the trouble to come over to me in the pub, to tell me how much they had enjoyed Rude Awakening.  Wonderful in itself but even more touching because being severely dyslexic, at 54 it was the first novel that she had ever read.