Billy & MrsF

Read yesterdays post first.

Today is dank and misty after a week of warm glorious weather.   I have just a phone call from a woman who said “This weather is awful, we really need to see some sunshine I dont know what the sun lloks like”

I said unto her “Are you blind?”

“No”

“Have you been in prison or away?”

“No”

Then where the frup have you been for the last week and what was that king big yellow thing in the sky for the last week?”  Stupid bint.

Tetchy moi?

There is something about the weather that gives people amnesia. Contrary to popular belief it is not just limited to Britain, it is an international phenomenon.

It is quite common at this time of year to have clear blue skies, with sunny warm days with temperatures of 16c and 17c. The nights are cold and first thing the temperatures are below zero. And so it has been for the last few days, which is where the amnesia comes in. The Brits keep saying its lovely, and “I can’t remember the last time we had rain”. The frogs say “Pas normal”. Which is a laugh because I have been coming to this region for over 20 years and have had weather like this in January every year. How can they forget how Pas Normal is that? As for the Brits who cannot remember the last rain or when it was really cold, let me help you, it was only last week the 20th January. With such dodgy memories I am thinking of asking these people for the money back that I lent them.

Floras sleep over went as noiseley as could be expected. From the sanctuary of my sanatorium on the ground floor at the back of the house I could have been forgiven for thinking that we had a small herd of elephants staying rather than three ten year old girls. Mrs F braved the foggy night and took them to McDonald’s. One parent said something like “It will be her first time, because she has never been before” so how come she knew to order a maxi best of menu Le Big Mac avec Fries & Coca plus a McSundae? Hey ho.

Having eaten at Cafe Ronald the party goers crashed back to our place for some birthday cake. In keeping with the healthy eating MrsF made a suitable cake in the form a scrumptious looking hamburger. Now then, I have taken a photo with Suzies camera and I have been into her room to get the said camera so as to upload the photo of the cake. Uploading is not a problem but finding the damn camera is. I had more hope of finding Lord Lucan. In other words - I had to wait till Suze got home from Lycee.

One of Floras presents was a book the title of which roughly translated “A good time to be a girl” The mother who bought it said it looked really good because it had recipes and games and things to do. We know this mum really well, and she is always buys excellent presents and has got some great books in the past. This book was no exception and went down a storm with the four stooges. Not because of the recipes, but because the book was aimed at slightly older teenage girls. So raucous was the hilarity that MrsF went to investigate the source of the unbridled mirth.

We have all done it, scanned through a book and seen the good bits. The mother concerned had not seen the best bits and let me just say that the things to do did not include walking the neighbours dog. Anyway, as I said it caused much mirth and hilarity, although I suspect that will disappear when they actually get period pain. Ahh good to be a bloke.

Pete, MrsF’s dad was out of his physiotherapy home for the weekend. He is doing well on his one stick but generally uses two. They came over for lunch yesterday and it would have been eight of us. I had a nice, leg of lamb which I stuffed with garlic and rosemary.

However Dr Death stopped in with the two James’s and Pete the Pilot on their way back from their boys weekend skiing. They had had reasonable snow and lots of sunshine judging by the colour of their faces. However their flight did not go from Toulouse until 9.30pm and it was 1pm so eight became twelve and having peeled a few extra spuds and found an extra bag of frozen Yorkshire puds in the freezer we all had plenty. From our point of view it was very agreeable lunch. Death and the boys were all for eating outside, but us locals don’t venture out to eat unless its 20c+. It was nice to have a chance to sit and talk to the boys and Pete got some extra company other than just ours. A few beers and several glasses of wine and a good time was had by all.

What a good way to spend Sunday. Dr Death is back in a couple of weeks with MrsD and the kids for their skiing holiday. The Fish is awaiting Jamie’s arrival like a be leagued legionnaire awaiting male reinforcements. I am preparing DVD presentation of cool running on our new big flat screen tv we bought just before Christmas, which some of us have yet to watch it.

That’s enough sitting for one go.

After several days of wet dismal weather the sun came out today and very pleasant it is to.  I have shuffled from my room to sit out on the terrace and score some rays.  By heck, there is some work to be done in the garden, and I will have to round up the brutes to get them into action. Actually they have already volunteered to do stuff and work on the veggie patch.  This was without threats on my part.

I would also like to take a quick opportunity to congratulate JR on becoming a Granddad for the first time.  His daughter Anna-Marie gave birth to a hefty 8lb baby boy called Alex earlier in the week.  8lbs, good to be a bloke I tell you.

As reported before Christmas Kevin the foster kid has now gone to live with his family in the North of France.  There has been some glitch with his starting school, but I am plaeased to say that as far as we know everythiong else is OK.

Pierre, the other foster lad we have once a month had his 15th birthday just after Christmas.  It had been intended to do him a little part, but with me been in hospital it all got put on the back burner until yesterday.  MrsF has been in major cake production and did him a cake based on his guinea pig.  I am not sure where the hell she has got the time to do this because she has been looking after me, and sorting out Claudia’s birthday last week, Floras next week and visiting her dad in hospital as well as doing everything else that is require in running  a household.  Any way she was determined to do Pierre a cake.  To say he was pleased is an under statement.  It was the first birthday cake he had ever had and he was delighted.  I have said it before and I will say it again, sometime we just don’t know how lucky we are.  It is amazing what a difference to somebody a chocolate cake and some icing can make.

Actually, that is not entirely true. I ventured out as a passenger for the first time yesterday. Not a long trip just 11KM to Lannemezan to see Pete who is in my old room. He is doing well and has been out of bed and walking today apparently.

I expected the car to be hard on the actual spine, but in fact it was the wound which rubbed a bit ad we bobbled along in the Land Rover. I was glad I have broken the duc, but I was not sorry to get home and to lie down.

I can sit long enough for a meal now and am fairly agile on the old pins, its just every now and then that I get a sharp reminder of the seriousness of the injury. Its as if it the body is saying “Easy boy not too much” .

I don’t need telling twice.

Happy Birthday Claudia, thirteen, I know I keep saying this, but where the hell does the time go. Thirteen already, ahhh the teenage years are with us.

Claudia and Suzie headed off to Tarbes to do some retail therapy, just to reinforce the point that they are indeed teenage girls. To cap the experience they missed their train home so MrsF has ventured out into the tempestuous weather to fetch them.

Julias dad had his hip replacement done today and he is in my old room at Lannemezan Hospital. He is well and sort of with it. MrsF is going to stop off with the girls on the way back from Tarbes.

We would have gone out but due to some cripple the plans have been changed slightly we ate in. Flora cooked (with some assistance but not very much from me) Lardon and walnut salad follwoed by a walnut pasta dish. Claudia likes walnuts. It was very good and Ribs had every reason to be pleased with her efforts.

I had to wait for the big pary before getting a photo as the cake was in a cupboard and I could not get down to it plus it was too bloody heavy for me to lift.

I am getting about a bit more and am more and more mobile with each day. I am able to sit for a whole meal, although I need to lie down by the end of it. I would like to mark a difference between this type of lying down and type of lying down one does after a late night curry and a few Cobras. Actually for Cobra read any beer.

Tomorrow I am aiming to have a run out in the jam jar. Not driving of course, that is a couple of months away. I have a follow up appointment at the end of the month with the surgeon just to check the position of the plate in my spine and other bits.

I have been asked what it is like to be hospitalised in France. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my readers I am able to give quite a good comparison between France and blighty.

First things first. It is not possible to make a direct comparison between the two places. Now for all those people who slag off the NHS let me make two points very clear.

1. I have always had spot on treatment for the numerous injuries I have sustained over the years and I have no complaints on that score.

2. The NHS is very very cheap to the user and France is not. My 10 days in hospital, surgery, x-rays, CT scans and transport etc will have cost between 6,000 and 9,000 Euros (4000 to 6000 GBP) of which I would get 70% reimbursed. However we have an insurance which tops up the reimbursement. The insurance is not cheap at 230 Euro per month.

However the hospitals here are in the main brand new, well maintained and very very clean. The emphasis is on care. Blood pressure and temperature taken every waking moment. Clean friendly cleaners cleaning from dawn till dusk. I was in a single room in Lannemezan and a double room in Pau.

If I had to pin my colours to the mast though I think I would rather be injured here than in the UK. However there are talks of reforms to the health Service as per the doctrine of Herr Thatcher so watch this space. The Frogs complain about little hospitals and that you should go to big hospitals, but if I had not been stabalised and treated at Lannemezan I would have had more complications and there is a very good chance I would be in a wheel chair.

You dont know what you’ve got till its gone.

Taking advantage of sitting up for a few moments.

First off thank you to everyone who has emailed me with their messages of support. It really is very much appreciated.

I have now had my stitches out and the wound is very nicely mended - or at least so I am told because of course I cannot see it. We now have this odd situation where all and sundry are popping in to to see le spack and his back.

I have lost a fair bit of weight and due to having to hold my tummy muscles in to support my back I am now looking rather trim, if I may say so myself. I have made visual with the old lad in the shower yesterday. Enough details.

I had intended to change the site for this year and there will be a links back to previous posts but it hasn’t quite happened as I had planned. Feel free to leave a comment if you so wish, but it aint obligatory. The first time you comment it wont show immediately until it is moderated by moi. Its a sort of anti-spam thing.

Right gotta go bed calls.

Happy New year to one and all.

This post is going to be brief out of neccesity.

On 23rd December I had an accident and broke my back. I am pleased to say that I was in a position to get expert medical attention. I was taken to Lannemezan and transferred to a special spinal injuries/neurological unit in Pau on Christmas day. They operated on boxing day and inserted some kind of metal collar into my back.

I am pleased to say surgery has been a success, and apart from being a little numb in the left foot i have had no other neurological damage. I can walk and move about, all be it slowly. The best Christmas present I have ever had.

Sitting is painful and i am at the limit with this little post.