The Tyre Saga - Oh la la

Well we waited and waited for the new tyres to turn up - Monday came and went although the tracker for TNT said they were out for delivery they did not turn up, then Tuesday morning I checked it and it said " NOT DELIVERED Address INCORRECT - shock horror.
I quickly double checked the address and it was correct so I contacted the company in England who then got onto the company in the Netherlands who then started to track it themselves ( I really don't think they had a clue where they were but were keeping us happy by pretending) .
I then heard a van pull up and he rang the door bell, yes it was our tyres, I asked what happened yesterday? the driver said he had come but there was not a house number and it being Monday (everything closes on a Monday) he couldn't ask at the local bar or the Mairee so went back to the depot, he apologised and went on his merry way, I guess we can't complain we did get 4 tyres that were worth twice as much due to a fau pas on their part...

So we called the Mechanic who was also waiting for a part to put the car completely right for the Controle Technique (MOT) who said he had waited like us only to find the company he had ordered from had refunded him, he called them and they said well we didn't have it in stock, logical I guess, so now we are still waiting for the part from another source, the good thing is we have 2 months to put everything right, the bad news is France closes for August so in reality we only have 2 weeks....So still we wait

The long wait.! oh to be patient ....

Well it is Monday 18th July and having ordered 4 tyres from Ebay (new ones) last Monday I quite thought they would be here by now but I didn't reckon on the Bank Holiday last Thursday and of course because it was a Thursday the French will have taken Friday also to give them a nice long weekend. ... the tracker says they are out for delivery so I guess they will arrive today or tomorrow. . . . I love France, actually it is these funny and extremely useful ways they have that we love, we very often say why do we love France so much, what is so different here than in England, well for us it is approximately 50 years behind England at least where we are so it is like the life we had when we were young, we live in the very heart of our village but we have no need to lock the doors or the car in fact when we visit friends and we lock and alarm the car (through habit) they say you are in France now no need to do that, don't misunderstand us we are well aware that there is crime in and around the cities . . . . it is nice to have Sunday as a rest day as very few shops open on a Sunday, we have the Vide Grenier (car boot sales) some of them are small affairs with a few stalls to grand affairs with 500 stalls the latter usually too big to walk around completely so we do a bit and then head for the stall selling a drink or food and just take in the atmosphere.
We have a healthier diet here as we grow a lot of our own veg and you can't get fresher than a few yards from the garden to kitchen but even the produce in the shops is locally grown, and there is very little in the way of fast food or takeaways so each meal is cooked from scratch.
The weather is much better here and we live outdoors a lot more eating barbie cooked food whenever possible, our social life is very busy as we visit and get visits from friends more than we ever did in England, then there are the visits by friends from England we always look forward to them.
There is always a fete happening somewhere as the French seem to have a fete for everything and sometimes I am sure they make it up if they haven't, there is the local loto (bingo) which in a small village you would have a card with numbers on and small stones to cover them up when shouted out, you have to see it to believe it. there are country fairs etc, for instance this last weekend there was a medieval re-enactment at a local castle costing just 2 euros to get in so it's not even expensive to have a day out.
Is our life better here than it was in the UK – you bet it is!

Try again

John has just been to the local Tabac/Sports bar to get yet another Euro millions ticket, we didn't win the 166 million on Tuesday so we will have to be content with 15 million tonight, now if any of our friends did win it can you let us have the correct address for sending the begging letter please

Day 1 - 15th July 2011

Well we have actually lived in France for 2 & 1/2 years now so I thought it was about time I decided to write a blog of our life here as it is pretty spectacular as far as we are concerned, I will try and do it daily and whenever possible I will include photo's...
Today we are waiting for 4 tyres to arrive from England from Ebay new ones that is, but first I should tell you the saga of the car, it failed the MOT (controlle technique) something had gone wrong with the steering thingy which in turn had caused the tyres to wear only on the inside, the mechanic didn't agree that maybe we should turn them around so that we could use the unworn side. so that's 4 new tyres, a steering thingy and a bit of welding on the exhaust. luckily we have found an English mechanic who doesn't charge the earth. I am guessing the tyres won't now arrive as yesterday was a bank holiday and Friday is usually taken also to give them a long weekend called a pont jour. never mind we have 2 months to get the work done, tres agreable.
It's time to open the du vin rouge to let it breath, don't worry it wont be breathing for long.