Ahoyhoy, ol’ chum!
I know, it’s very much famine or feast with this newsletter, isn’t it?!
I want to say thank you to everyone who contacted me after the last newsletter and said such nice things. Also, a huge thank you to … well, you’ll find out further down in the newsletter!
There’s a bit of a theme in this newsletter because, as you will know, France is in a period of déconfinement - and that feels like something worth marking. I thought it might also be interesting for you to see what we are doing here and also that life is getting back to normal. Whatever normal is these days!
By the way, there is likely to be another newsletter very soon after this one - I’ll explain why later! But there is a good reason!
In this special episode:
I show you how France deconfined
I explain some of the rules we still have to live with
I make a small confession
I tell you about the future
and more
That’s what’s on the menu - let’s get down to business!
EEK! WARNING!
Before you go any further, I’ve just seen a thing on the newsletter composer thing that says that Gmail users will not see the whole email and it’ll say ‘message clipped’ or something at the end. Sorry about that - it’s just that I’ve put loads of stuff for this newsletter! You can still see it all by clicking and looking at it online. Hopefully it’s worth it! :)
How did we reopen?
When it came, the map looked like this…
The minister of health, Olivier Véran, presented the final version of the deconfinement map of France on 7 May in preparation for the 11 May. The map used three metrics to place each department into either a green or red category - effectively the part that is allowed to reopen and the part that is not. More accurately, the red area had more restrictions than green but it was very much being seen as the ‘open and closed’ zones.
Since then, the country red zones have also become green zones and there has been a move to very targeted confinements where they are needed. That said, from here in Finistere, it still feels that there are more restrictions in Paris than there are here.
What does post-confinement France look like?
Well, it sort of looks like pre-confinement France but with a lot more masks, gel and signs! And, seeing as a lot of you won’t get to see it, here’s what you are missing…
Trams in Brest have been fitted out with gel and also have had signs put on half of their seats to help enforce social distancing. You have to wear a face covering while on public transport and I have only seen one person not respect that. It was a cool looking dude in his late teens. An elderly looking woman went up to him and gave him what for - I’ve never seen anyone look so sheepish and apologise so much in my entire life! He won’t forget again!
Anyway, here are some pics from inside the trams…
Each shop has its own advice and rules clearly displayed on signs as you enter…
…or, alternatively, placed on a wall outside…
This was an interesting one. Many shops have limits on the number of people that are allowed in and one local Lidl has put in place a technological solution to counting people in and out and signaling whether there is space available for another shopper…
Another clever idea from a different Lidl was to put up a sign showing when the shop was usually busiest - so you could avoid it…
They may be really bad at accurately blasting people but even Stormtroopers in France know how to stay safe…
A Very Brave Supermarket
Shortly after I got over the coronavirus and was cleared to leave the house, I went to the supermarket. We had no food in for obvious reasons!
While there, I noticed a new thing among the fruit and veg…
It’s that bit below the price of the items that caught my eye. It is specific to the products that are local to the shop.
To give you a bit of background, when I say ‘local to the shop’, here in Finistere, I mean anywhere from the field opposite the shop to the field that is outside my window! Local food here is very local. We live in the area that, basically, feeds the rest of France.
Above is the view from my kitchen window - it’s potatoes but they’ve only just gone in!
Anyway, I digress! These signs are fantastic - but every brave.
This one is particularly fun because these cauliflowers are very likely to have come from the fields around our home! Back to that ticket. The blue bit is the price the shop paid for the cauliflower, the white bit is the shop’s margin and the red bit is the VAT.
Now, I am amazed that they have done this. On one level, it helps answer people who question how much farmers get paid for their produce but, on another, it is an absolute hostage to fortune. However, from a consumer point of view, it’s good to know… but now I want to see it on everything else in the shop!
What do you think? Brave or stupid?
Cooking too much
One of our lovely French friends dropped in recently because she’d cooked one too many of something and wondered if we’d like it…
We were very, very grateful because it was very, very tasty and very, very kind.
But, seriously, who has ever cooked one too many lobsters?! How does that even work?
Not that I’m complaining…
What’s that about?
‘What’s that blue sign in the road?’, I hear you cry in unison!
Well, funny you should ask! I went to St Pol de Leon - a town near to my home - a few days after deconfinement and saw these on the floor. So I got out of the car and took a closer look. They look like this close up…
…and I’ll be honest, I really struggled to work out what they were.
I followed them around a bit to try to work it out and then it dawned on me…
…they are markers to ensure that people who are going to the local market (which is held in those streets) are all walking in the same direction, so they can observe social distancing and avoid bumping in to each other!
Confession Time!
It might seem quite a small thing but I’ve mentioned this to two people and they had very different reactions - so I am interested in yours. Here’s the confession… I don’t re-read these newsletters before sending them!
Weirdly, I do read them after I’ve clicked send! However, the reason that I don’t read them before sending is because I do not want them to be ‘over worked’ or ‘over thought’. Everything I write on here is how I thought it. I’ve not tried to be clever with the words. I’ve not worked it so that it’s funny or intellectual. It’s just my unvarnished stream of consciousness (it turns out the spelling and punctuation of my thoughts is not always perfect!).
It’s not that I cannot re-read and edit my own stuff - after all, I once edited newspapers - it’s just that I don’t want to. I think it’s more honest.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let me know!
What did you do during lockdown?
I learned a bit of German thanks to Duolingo! This gives me a good excuse to post this…
What did you do? / What are you doing?
Saying goodbye to the past…
In a few days, I will say goodbye to my first car. I didn’t learn to drive until I was… about 90 or something. And I didn’t buy a car until we emigrated to France.
That car was a Dacia Sandero and, until someone smacked into the back of it, it was a lovely car. It is GPL (gas) car - which is better environmentally and economically than a petrol car. It will be sad to say goodbye.
If you’re looking for a cheap, reliable and fun car, head towards a Dacia.
Saying hello to the future…
Under a week to go until…
In a few days’ time, I will be taking delivery of a new car - an all-electric Renault Zoe ZE50. And, when I say, ‘taking delivery of’, I mean ‘going to Paris to pick up’ because the delivery charge was so high that I said I’d rather pick it up! (Not the fault of the dealer - just the reality of the system)
Now, the upshot of this is that my son and I are going on a road trip - because… why not?! We’ll be crossing at least one border (maybe more) and learning a bit more about the car - by doing the sort of things that you aren’t meant to be able to do with an electric car (like go on long road trips when you haven’t bought the fast charging upgrade!).
I’ll be trying to upload some video online during the trip and will send you a secret link to the rough cuts so you can see it before anyone else!
Talking about cars…
I noticed this one parked overnight in a nearby field recently:
It took me about three days to realise that it had been left there as a scarecrow! It was very effective too - no birds - which is presumably because they thought there was a human nearby!
Sally update!
Lots of walks…
…ends up with…
Tired.
She’s still stressed about everything but I think she might be realising that we are not going anywhere and she is not going to end up in another refuge. I hope she is, anyway!
More news as it happens!
Thank you!
Sometimes when people use sites like BuyMeACoffee or other things that I post from time to time, they say publicly who they are and I thank them on here. If you don’t post who you are publicly, I don’t mention you by name (because that’d be wrong) but it doesn’t mean that I’m not hugely grateful! THANK YOU!
Also, thank you because it really does mean a lot when anyone either gets in touch or buys me a coffee! It probably matters more than it should because I enjoy writing this newsletter anyone - but it is lovely and I do appreciate it!
Oh and if you enjoy this email newsletter, forward it to a friend and encourage people to sign up at https://jamesmb.substack.com/ - the more the merrier! :)
…and why was I sitting in a field?
If you saw my tweet, you might have been wondering why I was sitting in a field. Well, now, finally, you can find out…
So now you know!
That’s it for now!
I hope you’ve enjoyed that! I did! I’m enjoying take pictures and the occasional video and putting it all together - it’s fun to look back on what we’ve been up to and share the best bits.
For those of you who may be thinking of Buying Me A Coffee, firstly thank you! Secondly, this time, if you’re in time, you’ll be buying me a coffee on the electric car road trip - so do remember to say who you are and I’ll thank you during the trip! I’ll be sharing a secret link for the road trip content probably on Friday.
Oh, and one last thing! Did you know that ciabatta was invented in Italy as a response to French baguettes… in 1982!
I know, right?!
Anyway, see you all very soon… in an electric car!
James
Thank you, James! As interesting and informative as always! And what a beautiful and intelligent-looking chien!