Dear fellow members of the animal kingdom,
How’s it going? How’s your week been?
This week has flown by for me and I’ve felt really tired - no idea why. I’ve also try to cheer myself up by doing something that I love - learning. More about that later. Also, done some admin, avoided some farmers, looked at some batteries… it’s been packed!
In this edition:
I fill in a thing
I find a hideous thing
I consider a thing
…and much, much more.
So, before I get engrossed in another edition of The Traitors, LET’S DO THIS THING!
Census 2024
This is our tenth year in France - we arrived mid year - but it is our second census (un recensement in French) and that, to me, is odd because that means it’s less than 10 years between the two… although, I’m not going to let it keep me up at night!
Anyway, this census had another major difference to the previous one - it was ‘online first’, meaning that no forms were sent out but, instead, you were given login codes. If you wanted to fill it out on paper, you would have needed to go to your local Mairie and ask for a paper form.
In theory, this should make it much quicker for the French national statistics agency, INSEE, to deal with the data. We will find out soon (or not so soon, if it is not quicker!!)
To me, it also had a major flaw and that flaw was this question…
Now, the last time that I filled out a French census, I said British. This time, I said Croatian. However, I am also British. In 2024, it is not particularly unusual for a person to have multiple nationalities but, unfortunately, this interesting piece of information will not be counted.
Seems odd.
Just Hideous
Last week, I was in a shop called Normal.
I like Normal. It’s kind of a like Poundland but not as rubbish (and not a pound). It’s rare to be able to go in there without coming out with something you did not know you could not live without.
However…
I mean, this is almost a Public Service Announcement, to be honest. These three products are hideous. The one on the right, particularly, stank. It is, to its credit, exactly the same smell as Frosties - cornflakes overpowered with sugar - but who would want to smell like that?!
And is it really a good idea to make your kids have the smell of sugar around them literally all the time?
Another Public Service Announcement
JIMMY!!!
How did we not all end up in therapy*?
*earlier
Podcast Corner
Getting your news from another country (especially if you live in the UK or US), is eye-opening and, to be honest, it’s a good idea to do it whichever country you are in. It gives you a very different viewpoint.
Always on my podcast listening list is Deutsche Welle’s Inside Europe - a weekly round-up of the news across the EU (and beyond) from Germany’s best broadcaster.
A recent, excellent, and fascinating episode is their look at the scandal at the heart of the far-right AfD and their plan to deport millions of foreigners (and some German citizens), should they win power.
You can find more English language content from Deutsche Welle on their website.
Plans…
As you might have twigged, if all goes according to plan, there may be a podcast this year - but I’m still working on some details.
But there’s something else afoot too and I’d like your opinion!
I’ve heard on the grapevine that there’s going to be a General Election in the UK this year. It’s possible that you know that I used to work in politics and it is something that I am obsessively interested in. So, what I am considering is doing a live-event, with some friends, on election night. It’d be interactive, so you can join it too!
But, the big question is, would you be interested in tuning in?
Personally, I’ve found the coverage of the past couple of elections to be quite dull compared to the halcyon days of… all the previous elections! I think it’d be fun to do something more interactive using a platform like Twitch or Discord.
Vote in the poll above for some voting practice before the main event!
Just to be clear, this is a purely advisory referendum…
Learning
One of my favourite ways of relaxing is learning something new. This week, I found a course called Elements of AI from the University of Helsinki.
The first course is a great introduction to some key concepts in Artificial Intelligence. The content is excellent and the course comes in at the very interesting price-point of ‘free’.
It’s all in English and you can take the course at your own pace.
Well worth a look.
Powered by Coffee and Generosity
As always, these emails are powered by coffee but I haven’t been able to get out for a coffee this week - something I will remedy this weekend! They really are massively appreciated! My buymeacoffee link is at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jamesmb and I will post a photo of your coffee in a future edition!
Don’t forget, if you would prefer to support this newsletter by supporting my son, the Co-Pilot, in his upcoming Erasmus+ project in Norway, just use my link above and mention ‘Co-Pilot’ in the comment and I will pass him your coffee money to use for hot chocolate in Norway!
Thank you!
BREAKING
As I am typing this, I just got a notification that the French Constitutional Council has censured a lot of the awful Immigration Law that was recently voted in.
Frankly, thank god that the Conseil Constitutionnel exists.
As I got towards the end of this email, I thought that a better title would have been ‘tired’! But I would have had to call the last few the same! So, apologies for the short edition!
Early start tomorrow then an early start and long drive on Saturday… more tired!
Oh and my wife’s UK driving licence is about to expire and that equals paperwork! (Hello Kim! See you on the forum!)
Have a great week, everyone! See you in February!
James x