Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Anyway - oh my god 1 was a mistake! What I wanted to say was this: Oh my God! looks like they've changed something in my absence - or is it because I've kicked off the old Windows 98 and booked in (finally) the possibly more modern Windows 98? In any case, I fooled you - I got my things re-set up quicker than I thought! I'm still the only one in the world who has a sort of mixture French/English, both on the keyboard, and now even in the PC! Sunday has become 'Dimanche' (when I set the scheduled tasks for example)and the key'@' has become the key -"- . It's all a game of chickens. Anyway, what do you think of the new Blogger Format? Let me know, personnally I think it's OK!! I've just used the spell-checker for the first time, but that's worth an article for itself.

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot.

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures: 0930hrs/-4C, 1330hrs/0C, last night -6C. Weather: Sunny cold - no wind! Alert state: ice on roads. Well, the cold spell continues, but the icy mistral has dropped, so there is a chance the temperatures will rise. Every year we have a period of 5/6 days of very cold, but this doesn't mean that you're used to it- far from that, after all each year is one more, and certain climatic circumstances make certain age-factor problems more apparant! I'M SURE YOU ARE ALL THE SAME! Pipi in the morning is a problem, just the thought of getting out of the warm bed is daunting, and once arrived in the holiest of holies, you can't find it! Women don't have the problem, of course, but they must have others. Other affairs of a similar nature also have their problems. Just the thought of posing one's tender regions on the cold plastic seat sends shudders up the spine. Who said wooden seats were hygienically unsou

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Well, as you can see, just to complicate life, Picasa, run by Google, and free of charge, needed to send photos for your eyes to this blogsite, have just decided to put a new system on the market. "On the market" is wrong, for it is free, is called Picasa2, and I will admit, is a lot better than the old one - once you understand it. I didn't, or rather, my firewall protection didn't, and since I don't understand my firewall system it all amounts to the same thing!! No way to get photos through to the blog - and then - I figured it out. Whoooopppeeee! Now Picasa works, but the firewall seems to have holes burnt in it. Picasa 2, incidentally allows you to arrange (brighten up etc) all those dark or old photos quite brilliantly, but don't expect me to go through all the 2,789 photos I have on the damned programme. I may change the new ones I put on, if I have the time, but don't bet on it. I still haven't completely

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot.

oldy perols snow! 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures: 0830hrs/minus(-)3C l330hrs/1C last night/-5C Weather: Sunny bloody cold! Alert State: Snow all over the place - but not here! This is new ( at least in this year) my fingers got stuck on the keyboard, and I can't type with gloves on. Minus 5 in the night is very cold for here, the sky is still very sunny and blue and clear, so no photo worth while. I've put all my heating possibilities on, and apart from the cat, I'm all freezing. I make it just about to 15C in the living room! Decidedly, this area is not made for the cold, and this appartement particularly so! When I think that in Immenstadt in Bavaria, all those years ago, we had an average of -17C every day for months! Up to even -26C on occasions, but indoors it was lovely! Different area, different building practices! Never mind, if any one drops bye for an aperatif, they can use me as an ice cube!! If any snow falls, I'll post you a photo, b

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. As an impoverished aristocrat, I can hear you saying, this guy should be happy to get any treatment at all in a NATIONAL health systems country. Well, in the old days, of course, we simply told the Quacks to get their little legs a-running, mr. le Marquis is not well, and your head is therefore at risk! It worked! Same as it now works for the private system patient!! However, what I wanted to round off the subject with was a little report read , by me, in a German publication, recently. As you will have figured out by now, the French system is the one I have to actually suffer under, but my payments for this rough and shoddy treatment, are made from the German side, on the German system, as a German pensioner!! Germany advances my monthly obligatory payments to the French NHS, and I am treated as a French NHS member. Europe obliges! Now, as you have heard me say elsewhere, the Germans are the source of all my current financial problems. They inc

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Now then, as you all know, I'm not the one to moan about anything (despite Tinkerbelles' claims) but this one has got me. A "new" system is being installed in the French National Health System, and I would like someone out there in the enormous blogland, to explain it to me. The National TV came up with the following "explanation". In the future everybody has to name a "generaliste" (a GP) as their "reference Doctor" (I suppose a little like the family doctor in UK). Nobody can tell me whether you need to ask this Doctor's permission before naming him. This "reference Doctor" will, from now on, be your "entry card" to the wide and wonderfully mad world of all doctors! Before you can go to see any other doctor at all (even in urgencies!) (specialists/hospital/psychiatrists/cardiologes etc) you MUST (if you are a patient hoping to be reimboursed by the National Health Service)

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. NO PHOTO TODAY: ( I'M FED UP PUTTING ALMOST THE SAME ONE OF BLUE SKIES EVERY DAY) NEXT PHOTOS WHEN THE WEATHER CHANGES!!! Temperature: 0830hrs-4C 1330hrs9C last night low:2C Weather:Sunny but cold. (coldest this year) Alert State: Normal. Things can be decidedly dangerous when one doesn't keep his little eyes and ears open. This morning I was busily (and happily) burning leaves and dead wood in the garden, when along came the "boss lady" and suggested that I put the plastic fence-cane into the fire as well, since she was going to buy some new to replace it, if I thought it wouldn't be too much work to install the new stuff(!!). I did explain that burning plastic is not a good idea, and in fact probably highly illegal. In a country where even the police (when they have a strike-which is often)burn enormous lorry tyres on the open road, with clouds of black,tox

22nd Jan 05 - beautiful day! Almost 20C!  

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. I just filled in a cheque (yes, they haven't taken them off me just yet) for one of my most detested and despised institutions, "France-Telecom". I keep searching for another company, but although I find hundreds with whom I can save "lots of money" they all still force me to pay the abonnement to France-Telecom, for the luxury of having a telephone line, for the right to call "special numbers" beginning with 08 etc. Most of these numbers are actually things belonging to F-Telecom, cost a fortune, and you never get an answer anyway to the questions you pose, just for the music and announcement that "someone will answer shortly", you pay a small fortune, at the end of which some woman replies and after half an hour of trying to get her to understand what you want, she finally says "it's not possible Monsieur, and anyway I've got to go and pick the kids up from school, au revoir, and have a nice d

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures: 0830hrs-12C 1330hrs-19C last night:10C Weather: Sunny/mild. Alert State: Normal Here is a question for you all who live in the UK - have you any plans for Thursday 5th May 2005? If so, cancel them, if not, don't make any. Mr Blair, I beleive, is going to invite you all to the local church hall/schoolhall/townhall or whatever else. You are not going to be offered a cup of tea and a biscuit, but you are going to polled - in the polling station, and I hope it hurts, particularly the politicians responsible for my current financial debacle- beleive me, I WILL BOUNCE BACK, and then watch-out for sparks! Anyway, I won't even bother going to my local polling station, they would only look blankly at me (if anyone was there) and ask, in French, who the hell was Mr. Blair, who the hell was I, what the hell is "a cup of tea and a biscuit", and why the hell should we give you anything for free? On the who

Just how I feel! 

Chippies revenge 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures: 0730/10C - 1330hrs/19C Last night: 7C Weather: Sunny,Mild. Well, today wasn't really going to be a visit to the blog day, but with all that's happened - well! first thing - a call from my private health insurance-they are agreed to stop my policy for an undetermined period, forthwith! This is good and bad news, 1. It gives me a little more room in the monthly finance, but 2. I ain't covered for various things in case of an event! What the hell, at least I can take it up again later when things are maybe settled, and in any case, another "event" would probably be the last. Anybody know anything about how to give your corpse as a gift to science or whatever? Got to think about costs of funerals and stuff! Found hundreds of things about it on the Web, but not an actual adress where one can fill out a form! second thing - (and all this before 9am!!) a call from the little old lady whose gardene

21st Jan 05 (0730hrs) 

my garden drains stink! 

this is not really a spot - no weather reports therefore - I just suddenly thought I ought to inform you that for items no longer shown on the main page (and that's a lot) you can go into "Archives" that'll sort you out for another few weeks!!! Good blogging!

Left to right:marq/WB/Chip 

I'm warm, pop! 

I'm warm! 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures: 0830hrs-5C, 1330hrs-12C, last night low: 2C. Weather: MISTRAL (sunny). Alert State: High winds on roads. Now then, all those of you who come on holiday, and either curse the winds or bless them (depending on how you support both the winds and the heat) should come and have a go at experiencing the same 2 winds (mistral and tramontane) in winter. Whilst in summer one can be happy with them, because they cool down a little, one can also find them unsupportable from the noise and damage points of view, like Van Ghogh, who cut his own ear off, just down the road from where I am writing these few words, to avoid hearing the noise. In fact summer or winter, they make very little damage, surprisingly enough, but probably because the people have got very used to them, and have built accordingly, with high walls towards the north and the west, for protection. The only things that suffer now, basically, are all those tourist thi

Nectar, nectar - for a good night's sleep 17/01. 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Midnight thoughts are roses in the morning. Don't know who (apart from me) said that, but he must have been a highly wise guy! Just to let you all know (in general) - I haven't forgotten all those famous quotes (in French and in English) from almost all of you. I have saved them up, and will publish them one day in the not too distant future. Other things to look forward to? reflections on named anonymous aliases - are they logical? words in French and German which would be easy for the English speaking public to understand - if they wished to. The normal English, German,French newsletters for February (around the 5th Feb if still alive!) A special blog about that ONE (always present, in every single group of Salvation Army street musicians) female, in uniform, but with the skirt just a little bit above the knee, covered - just - by her Sally Bash macintosh style overcoat! Something for everyone, even Tinkerbelle! more thoughts on my c

nor on this one-just wild grass! 

No snow on this mountain. 

Funny greens on this golf-course. 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures 0830:7C 1300hrs:16C Night:5C Weather: Cloudy but mild. Alert state: Normal. In all my days at a place called "Campagne" I always noticed one thing. No matter what one did for the people who live there, you would never get a thank you ("Merci"). This was a word, as the yanks say a "no-no", and I have personally witnessed the head of the house struggle with himself, his mind wanting to say "merci" but his lips simply not getting the word out! I swear to you all -it really was a battle which lasted for a couple of minutes, at first I thought he was having some sort of stroke or other! Anyway, the word did not come out. Now this, I thought, was because they came from a place called "Campagne" (meaning country) and were therefore "paysannes" (peasants), until I put all the years experience with them together, and recalled all the stories about "high-life&q

Mon Jan 17th (0830hrs) 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Just got a couple of nice photos, and I.m checking that nothing in them gives away the identity of WB! Of course those who know him will recognize him, but that's all. The photos will be coming up shortly, but first - "TINKERBELLES LAMENT"!!!!!

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. PART ONE: (original text) What is a senior citizen? A senior citizen is one who was here before: The pill, Television,Frozen foods,contact lenses,credit cards, and even before man walked on the moon. For us, time-sharing meant togetherness, and not holiday-homes. A "chip" meant a piece of wood ( Editor's note:here one can see her nearness to Chippie ) - Hardware meant nuts and bolts, and "software" wasn't even a word. We got married first, and then lived together, and we thought "cleavage" was something butchers did! A "stud" was something which fastened a collar to a shirt, and "going all the way" meant staying on the bus right to the depot. We thought "fast-food" was what you ate in the period of Lent. A "big-mac" was an over-sized raincoat and "crumpet" was something we had for tea. In our day, "grass" was mown and not smoked, "pot"

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Having recently received a virulant letter (by the old-fashioned way) from Tinkerbelle (who I thought was incapable of such things) I asked her if she would be happy for me to publish her most innermost thoughts to the world in general! To enable me to do this, I asked her to get her husband chippie to let me know, which he did, in emphatic form. You can read it in the comment made to the letter about Tinkerbelle!!!! He has also "outed" himself as ONE of the "anonymous" comment makers. Only my mate Chippie is so honest to actually SIGN an anonymous letter! No, he has not a drop of Irish blood in him, he's just a lovely chap, as Tinkerbelle keeps telling us. Innocent, not a iota of rancour in him etc., etc., Just loves roast poultry, can't get enough of chicken pies/curries/etc. He was even telling me the other day that he was working on a menu for a new arrival on the market, some bird or other called a "wirbling-

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Mr. le Marquis wishes you all a wonderful weekend of Bloggering! He himself is taking the weekend off - has to work on his finances, then find the pistol or rifle and pull the trigger - TWICE!!

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. When Tinkerbelle starts to get like me, then the world is decidedly not in order! What a bombshell of a letter I just received from good Fee! If she is in agreement, I would like to publish on this Blogsite, under her fairy name of course,the two attached declarations to her letter. Her letter itself is far too hot and personal to publish, isn't it Chippie! If she (or Chippie) would let me know if that's OK, then just publish a comment at the end of this posting to let me know. I've already got it as a draft copy, just waiting to go! I would hate for the infamous "anonymous" to pinch the copyright! You've got up to next week, Tuesday, to let me know - all right, mate?!! I'm sorry, so sorry, as well, that not even Tinkerbelles begging can get me to change back into "a pen rather than the PC" pen-pal (I suppose a "PCPAL"). Question of finance etc., but I do take the greatest care when I type her a li

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. So there we are. Evening has fallen, and to round off a Blogging day, here are a couple of things I spotted in e-mail sent to me (I do sometimes get the most amusing of e-mails). a).From a newsletter I am inscribed to called "The German Lawyers Society" : In court: "Your honour,I am sorry to have to say that most mothers are prouder of their children than their husbands are, simply because they KNOW it is theirs!" b).From the same source: Karlsruhe - A heterosexual pair of ladies have undertaken the "homo-marriage". They said "we are neither of us lesbien, but we are close friends, and unmarried. In this way we can profit from the tax laws, heritage laws, and eventually adoption laws." Mr. le Marquis says: In effect - nowhere in the world where "Same sex marriages" (so-called "homo-marriage")are recognised and legally accepted, is there any requirement for proof of hom

Friday 14 Jan 2005 (1330hrs) 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. As you have probably figured out by now, there are certain principal actors on this blogsite, and before going further, it might be a good idea to determine 1) who and why (without actually demasking completely) someone has an "alias". 2) What can they do if their "alias" doesn't please them (although I try to be as fair and polite as possible), and 3) what they can do if they do not wish allusions to be made to them in any form! To start with the latter: 3)"Allusions" are often another word for "illusions". In some peoples eyes, an allusion is clear, whilst for others the same thing is an illusion.It is therefore up to the concerned ( and presumably uptight and irate actor) to prove "without doubt" that the alias does not protect him/her from being recognized, and that such recognition is malevelant and damaging! Also up to the author of the blogspot, or comment-makers , to preserve the anonymi

Friday 14 Jan 2005 (1130hrs) 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures: 0830hrs: 4C 1300hrs: 15C Last night: 2C Weather: Wintry but nice. Alert: NORMAL NOTE: You will see the symbols (##) from time to time behind a word. This is a part of a system I am using for certain words for a later Blog. Ignore them for the moment. To start the day of Blogging rolling, I thought I would finish of the catty business, with certain little things I have noticed over the last years as a person owned by a cat. At the beginning, I had always heard how "cats were clean beasts" but couldn't for the life of me figure out how you could be clean if you used your own saliva to wash yourself (on at least a 100 occasions daily). My first lesson (##) came in the form of a booklet from "Whiskas" which informed me (amongst many other things) that all cats had a gland which (when put into use) produced a sort of detergent with which they could,and did, wash themselves. This gland produced

Friday Jan 14 2005 (0830hrs) 

And if he thinks he's getting in!!!!??!! 

This IS his! 

I DO have my own bed, but I prefer his! 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures: 9C @ 0900hrs 17C @ 1300hrs Last night: 7C. Weather: Bright,blue sky. Alert: NORMAL The title may be misleading, but it does have it's truth. You see, since Tinkerbelle hit my mate Chippie on the head with the rolling pin she normally uses for the washing, he is a lot better. He is finally anonymous TWICE (with success) and not even WB in the dyke country, or Britbull elsewhere have been able (or tried) to post their comments - No doubt they now will!! Mind you, if WB is upset about not being able to put his photos on and Britbull is still caressing his new Modem (and asking it politely to "please work") who knows. All I can do as a modest Marquis is to continue with my nonsense. Which brings me to the title of this one. Normally I don't go into the Blog in the evening, unless I had been in on the morning, but Chippies double-barrelled comment forced me to have a look in, so while I'm there, I

Wednesday 12 Jan @ 11.30hrs 

Wednesday 12th January 2005 ( 0930hrs) 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Temperatures:7C @ 0900hrs/ 12C @ 1300hrs/ last night: 5C Weather: Sunny- occas cloud. Alert: NORMAL (an argument has started about when to illuminate the new viaduct at Millau, and who pays for it!) 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 After the excitements of the last couple of day's, my mate Chippie and Tinkerbelle, and their problem of passing a comment (I can't do anymore for them), followed by my other friend "Britbull" (don't be offended, I had to think something up quick - if you don't like your alias, let me know what you would prefer) wife and daughters, or is it wives and daughter - who suddenly had the excitement of being back on-line, with an address at a sort of exclusive thing in the USA "42nd St". Shouldn't it be "42nd Avenue"? But then they would have to change the family name, and that would be silly - wouldn't it! Not even AOL - there's onl

Wednesday 12th Jan 05 (0901hrs) 

Chez mr.le Marquis du Galipot. Having just had a little conversation with my mate Chippie (he screamed at me, and I screamed at him, and Tinkerbelle had run out of "fairy powder/dust", and I suggested that Chippie had stolen all of it, to which Tinkerbelle shouted "are you calling my man a fairy-dust stealer, or just a fairy?" To which I replied "neither! Still love you though,Tinkerbelle,and my mate chippie too!" TO UNDERSTAND,MAYBE, HOW TO MAKE COMMENTS (even anonymously) GO TO THE ARTICLE CALLED "WHY CLOUDY WEATHER AND THIS BLOG etc" of today's date (10 Jan 05), and at the end of this posting tou will find (in blue)"1 comments" - Click on it and wait! Then read the comment and have a go!! The probable reason that you cannot arrive at the whole Blog (from the beginning) is because you must wait (after receiving the initial page) until your PC tells you that the jobs are done (bottom left of window). The blog is large, and w

Monday January 10th 2005 (o830hrs) 

marquisdugalipot Temperatures:0800hrs-8C 1300hrs-13C last night:6C Weather: Overcast/Grey. Alert: NORMAL. One of the problems of living in what is normally a warm/hot sunny region of the world is that when it is NOT warm/hot and sunny, like today, it is taken as a personal insult by the local inhabitants, and they have a tendency to accept bad weather well, for 2-3 hours, and then very badly afterwards. They get "grumpy" like my mate Chippie at bath-night, and, in the past, there have actually been murders committed after longer periods of bad weather. Luckily these longer periods are very rare, but even short periods can be murderous, in particular for regular readers of this Blogspot,since if Mr. le Marquis cannot take Bill and Ben into the garden, what is he going to do? Well, today I'm going to try and tell you all WHY this blogspot exists. You see, when mr. le Marquis du Galipot was approached with the idea of a PC and Internet (some time back-almost a year

marquisdugalipot I get the feeling that my first attempt has fallen flat on it's nose, so I'll try again. From today onwards,a new format will be evident!The first message/letter/posting of the day,(if I go into the Blog)will change slightly. There will be a photo (before or after the article)showing the weather, taken the same day, and generally from the same window. This should give you a little idea of what you're missing! After the subject box, in the main correspondence box, at the start of the text, will be a block giving you the temperatures at circa 0800hrs, 1300hrs, and the lowest temperature in the last night. Should the situation merit it, there will be a second block giving any "out of the ordinary" news, in summer possibly the state of the roads, or to let you know that the Millau Viaduct has fallen down, so don't try to take that route! (for example) After these short blocks, the normal(?)text of the letter will follow. A bit like this:

For a change, I've got a new layout!! At least for the lst entry on those days when I take the time to add to this luxurieuse, libidieuse (both French words 'cos I don't know how to spell 'em in English)Blogspot. On such days, you will find normally one picture of the day in question, always taken from the same windows, to give you an idea of the weather. This picture will be taken between 0800hrs and 1000hrs, and the time will be given. On the text that follows, you should(!) find (in the top line of the message, from left to right) the following:(this one is actually for today!) Weather:Low mist,clearing to sun. Temperatures:9am:6C, 1300hrs:16C, Low last night: 5C. Following this will be the letter mentioned in the subject matter box, except when circumstances require a further block with special details (in summer trafic reports maybe, or state of health announcements, like at the Vatican, except you won't see the white smoke, just a small puff of v

Sunday 9 Jan 05 (1030hrs)