The English Armchair Abroad

The HAJ

Please don't think that I've been idle during the month of June.  Certainly my mind has been on tennis and with so many matches last week I decided to work mornings only - what a  luxury!  It was a good week to do this as the weather has been just gorgeous and a quick siesta in the haj is a wonderful way to pass 20 minutes!

The haj is a bonus for me.  I have a skin condition with a wonderful spelling test of a name (Porokeratosis) which basically means that I  should not expose my skin to the sun except under  a minimum of factor 50.  I don't know how many of you wear F50 but it leaves a horrible stickly feeling on your skin - oh and it's greasy so playing tennis with this stuff is a slippery affair!  Anyway, I'm used to the horrible blotches on my arms and legs - I'm frequently asked if I've been attacked by mosquitoes - but all the same F50 is applied even if I go out in the car,  If you want to read more about it, click the link above.  My advice to anyone with fair skin - wear the suncream to excess! 

This is not ours but is a good picture of a haj.  I don't sell them but if you are interested, contact me and I'll send you the supplier's information.  And for scrabble fans it's a REALLY useful word!

Top British Seed Out of Tennis Tournament!

Oh well!  That's life.  I had "my" week last week and this time I was forced to hand over to my team captain.  We had a good match and I wasn't ashamed of my 5-7, 3-6 defeat although I would have liked a third set.   I couldn't have lost to a nicer person and I hope she goes on to retain her title.  She certainly deserves to.

I make no excuses for being out played.  She's better than me.  We both suffered from the heat (28 degrees and NO shade) and it was a relief when the match was over from that point of view. 

It's interesting though.  When I play someone I usually find something to dislike about them and that gives me an additional reason to really need to beat them.  But when I play against Muriel it's very difficult - no, impossible - to find anything to dislike.  She's just too nice!  However, the gloves are off for our next match (we are both hoping to enter another locallish tournament) as she admitted afterwards that she was fighting for France and therefore up against, not me, but England!   So now I know.  Before we face each other again I will have to get her round for a "friendly" supper where she is quietly fed the history of Waterloo, Ypres, Agincourt and Trafalgar!  Beef Wellington will be on the menu!

Now, back to Wimbledon.

Forget Wimbledon: English Tennis is alive and well in Pays de la Loire!

On Sunday I won a tennis tournament!!!  Admittedly, this was the final of the 4eme serie which is about as low down the scale as you can get but - and this is the bit that I like! - I played against six people who all have a ranking MUCH higher than mine (although my ranking will go up as a result).  The tournament organisers have now decided that it is an international event as there were four English players (me, my husband, my son and a friend of ours so not that diverse really!).

The point of this isn't only that I want to blow my own trumpet but that tennis in France is so much more accessible than in England.  In 1980 Yannick Noah (remember him with the hair??) won the Roland Garros (French Open) and as a result tennis was democratised here.  It was no longer a sport reserved for the rich but open to everyone.  Tennis courts were built in villages all over the country, paid for by the commune.  My village has less than 2,000 inhabitants, but we have two good outdoor courts as well as access to the sports hall which we share with the basketball, the badminton and also the firemen who use it for fitness training on Friday nights.  Access to the courts is free if you are a member of the club or three euros if you are not.

Not all villages with a court have a tennis club but obviously those that do are more dynamic than those that don't.  Joining is not expensive (less than 100 euros for a couple) and your membership means that you have a tennis license from the FFT (Federation Francaise de Tennis) that allows you to enter competitions all over France and indeed Europe if you so wish.  Once you've played in a couple of tournaments you are given an official FFT ranking which starts at 30/5 and moves up in the 4eme serie to 30/1.  If you are good enough you move up into the 3eme serie where the rankings start at 15/5 and go up to 15/1.  After that I'm not sure but I don't think I'll ever need to know! 

Our village has a tournament (we are just entering the second week) and during the fortnight there are BBQ's on the two Sundays and the "club house" is allowed to sell wine and beer as well as soft drinks so people come along each evening to watch the matches and socialise.

Does all this have an effect on French tennis generally?  It must do.  Not everyone wants to play obviously and children (boys especially) still seem to prefer football but the point is tennis courts are available to all and children do start young.  The winner of the 3eme serie last week was only 13 years old!  She beat a (very cross) woman of 45ish as well as plenty of younger women on the way.  In the Roland Garros  this year there were about ten French players who were still playing in the second week - how many English players will be left at Wimbledon in the second week?  Do we have ten British players at Wimbledon?

In the meantime, please wish me luck.  My next match in the Morannes tournament is on Thursday evening when I will be playing my team captain for a place in the semi-finals.  I'll let you know  how I get on.

Petrol vapour explodes

About five years ago a friend of ours was nearly killed.  He had gone to the local supermarket to buy fuel for his garden tractor and put the jerry can of petrol in the passenger well of the car instead of the boot.  On the way home he lit a cigarette.  BOOM!  BIG time BOOM! 

He survived the initial boom but the fire was so severe that within seconds it had melted the seat belt and he was unable to undo this to escape the car.  He had to wait, with one side of his clothes on fire, until the belt had melted through and he was finally able to get out of the car.  He was found within minutes and an ambulance was called. 

In brief, he survived but with multiple appalling burns all down one side of his body, although mercifully the scars on his face are only visible if you know they are there.  However, his was badly affected psychologically, his business closed, he had to sell his home and it is only now that he is gradually getting his life back together, thanks in large part to the wonderful support of his wife and his children.  I should add that the accident took place two days after his daughter's wedding.

And the point of this?  I don't smoke and I'm not a chemistry expert but even I know that petrol vapour is one of the most dangerous things to have around a naked flame.  Most people have something that requires them to store petrol in a jerry can (lawn mower, tractor, strimmer, hedge cutter, tractor) and this means buying it at the pump and transporting it home. 

The other day I was waiting in line for fuel and the man in front of me was filling a jerry can with petrol.  He then very solemnly took it around to the front of the car and put it in the passenger well before driving off.  I couldn't believe it.

So please, whether you smoke or not, PLEASE put your jerry can in the boot of your car.  It won't necessarily stop it exploding but it will give you an extra second or two to escape the inferno.

Lecture over.  Have a great day!

Is this our OWL?

In a previous post back in May I showed you a photo of some owls that had been born in our attic.  Yesterday morning we went out of the kitchen and suddenly noticed this looking down at us from the Mirabelle tree:

The photo is not brilliant as I had to progress very slowly!  I really did not want to scare him/her off - although actually the owl stayed and seemed quite unbothered even when I was almost underneath it.  It flew off a bit later, happily leaving the mirabelles which are just turning ripe.  S/he would have been less of a friend if those had gone!

Ants - the world beneath our feet

My youngest son has been fascinated by insects of all sorts since a young age but in the past two years this has become more specific.  He is becoming a veritable ant specialist.  He can quote the latin names of ants in the same way as the rest of us do our multiplication tables.

Since I started blogging I've been teased ruthlessly about all things blog:  the blog itself (who's going to read it?);  my posts (boooring); attempts to make money blogging (pay YOU to blog?  Der).  I think that is about to change though as youngest son himself has just discovered the world of blogging!

You are invited - encouraged even - to take a look at A Small World
If you were to leave a comment he'd be delighted!

The annoying thing is he set this up all on his own (I, of course, needed endless help from oldest son!) and it looks a whole load better than mine!

Weighing in at an airport near you

Now, I know I am opening myself up for ridicule and all sorts of abuse here so just to let you know I'm ready to listen to people who don't agree with me. 

About a year ago, and therefore before the major rise in the cost of fuel, I became really annoyed when I was charged extra for my hand luggage which was approximately a kilo overweight.  Still, rules are rules and I didn't want to check it in.  However, standing behind me was a lady who probably weighed more than me and my bag put together.   Basically, she was overweight.  She was carrying hand baggage as well but this weighed in no problem. 

Now assuming that I was charged because the extra kilo would use extra fuel I fail to see why this lady was not also charged for extra kilos.  Except of course it would have been offensive and broken just about every rule in the discrimination book.

Please note, I am not blaming this lady for anything.  I know that there are a variety of reasons why people become overweight to the point of obesity and it is often (but not always) beyond their control.

The price of fuel now is becoming prohibitive for everyone.  Like everyone else we are combining our car trips and make a trip to England as infrequently as possible.  Yes, we want to save the planet but in this case I claim no credit;  we are simply trying to save the pennies.  And so are the airlines.  They are talking about fuel tax and what have you and inevitably the cost of flying has increased - indeed some airlines are going out of business.

So my point is this.  Why don't they start weighing passengers at the check-in, WITH their hand baggage (and checked baggage too if necessary).  They would have to give a reasonable starting allowance and their powers that be would decide what that is - and it should be reasonably generous.  Couples or families would be able to combine their allowance.

To my astonishment this is being considered - have a look at this link.  I am astonished because it is not PC and because it is not "done" to talk about such things publicly. I realise that there are people who will find this obectionable and, yes, offensive.  But frankly discrimination works both ways.

My Blog of the Week

I've just come across this so take a look.  There are some extraordinary historical stories there.  His own description of his blog is:

Pearls of wisdom about little known facts/events in history and day to day life. A little social commentary on current events is also possible to be found here as well.

Take a minute to have a look.  I don't think you will be disappointed (shocked maybe!).

The Garden

The garden always looks wonderful in late May and early June.  Then it takes a bit of a dive as the weather heats up during July and August.  This year I had a bit of a goal.  On 31 May we hosted a "musical evening".  Some friends of ours asked us if we would do this and we were delighted.

These friends in turn have friends who have formed a choir and after a week of hard work and rehearsal the concert was given to 26 very select friends.  It was very simple and absolutely lovely.  Drinks outside - oh so lucky with the weather! - and then the choir gave a short recital outside the house, in order to get us inside.

Once installed (and it really was a case of everyone sitting down in order as it was quite tight!) we were treated to an hour of the most lovely choral music.  Early madrigals right through to Gershwin.  Old favourites and new. 

After this musical feast we had a delicious dinner (not made by me, but very kindly by our co-hostess) and everyone finally left soon after 11.30pm.  As they say, a good time was had by one and all.

Anyway, the garden was looking lovely;  here's a taste:

Humphrey Lyttelton

I know, because us bloggers have these powers, that many of you have come to my blog after searching for Humphrey Lyttelton on Google.

He was always a great favourite in our house, presenting "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" on Radio 4 - there are not many people nowadays who are allowed to get away with such politically incorrect humour. 

So for those of you who were fans please make sure you have your radios with you this Sunday at 12 noon (or 1pm for those of you in France) when Stephen Fry will present:

Chairman Humph: A Tribute

Stephen Fry presents a special tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton, the sublime host of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, through the eyes of his close pals on the show and distinguished admirers from Dame Judi Dench to Radiohead.

The programme features many highlights taken from his thirty-six years at the helm of Radio 4's perennial antidote to panel games.

And don't forget if you can't listen to it at the time you can probably catch it using the Listen Again feature on Radio4's web page.