Just coming up to this age and not wearing it terribly well, you get to reflecting about the past events. The future doesn't really have any place, except for certain things. I thought that I would republish my article as follows with some additions and regarding my current  Currently my main preoccupation is the future of my current companion, Tina. To finally get her 'Carte Vitale' (an insurance card for the French National Health System) - this is taking a long time! To get a better and working 'top up' insurance for her and to try to get her walking more often, look after her health better and learn the French language well enough to communicate urgent matters or even just have fun speaking the language of Molière.......... For myself, whilst not clinging desperately to life, I would like a few years together with her, normal years with visits, friends, restaurants and all the rest..... who knows......maybe? My article, already published some years ago...

Let me tell you a story from the health front. Some time back it was decided in France that everybody had to have a 'top-up' health insurance, to cover what the National system doesn't pay. Workers would have it payed for by the employer, pensioners would pay themselves, or ask the Caisse Maladie (health authorities) for assistance to pay it depending on the level of their pension. Good idea one would think, but there are so many black sheep that the idea has become a nightmare. Everybody is allowed one only so as not to make being ill a Profession, but the companies (all private) don't care about the law! You can sign up by phone, e-mail, in writing - whatever. There are also what one calls 'Courtiers' (salespersons basically) who get a percentage each month from the incomings. They will promise anything, charge the maximum and generally do little. I signed up with a thing called Henner Mutuelle, and suddenly found myself with 5 other ones, all demanding m...

Well - we're almost at the end of the 7th month of 2016, not a happy year to date health wise for me. Between Hospital (Cardiac ongoing and new stomach ulcer problems) have kept me to my bed - in hospital or at home. Just the little matter of a stubborn influenza/cold, probably picked up in the hospital (as Tina did too) complicated things.       I can tell you that 7 months lying on the sofa with occasional outings to the hospital are not the ideal way to pass the time. It's slow, very slow, but I think I'm slowly getting better. Day daily there are periods where I'm not too good but they are getting fewer. I must mention the function of Tina Concetta Marzocca, my companion. She has been fantastic, even through the period she was ill herself. Even during the period I had no appetite at all (stomach ulcers mainly) she shopped and cooked daily. I tried to eat what I could but digestion was, still is, rather difficult. The things I like or love like meat, chees...

Due to ongoing poor health I am obliged to suspend my Blogging activities. A bientôt! All my other blogs are suspended too.

 Just 4 years ago, I had the misfortune to be diagnosed as 'ripe for a byepass ' then for the 'installation of a defibulater' and had to pass time (a lot of time) on the operating room theatre table! On each occasion, after the surgical intervention , I suffered what I'm not sure to call......nightmares, hallucinations , delusions or whatever. I have decided to try and get down onto paper some of these experiences whilst I can recall them. This link goes to an excellent article which talks about it......... http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Drug_abuse_side_effects__Hallucinations_a62.html The episodes are divided as followed, roughly: In hospital ......Outside hospital.....' PC bugs '....'war of the ants' .... and others...... In Hospital: As I recall, after my surgical bypass, I recall hearing a voice - completely normal - saying 'ok mr Mitchell, time to wake up now - it's all over.....' and at that time, I did wake up, bu...

http://www.www-weihnachten.de/weihnachtslieder/index.htm und.....zum mitsingen........ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywx4zYn_Pqw&list=PLoxgYfr5QxoiElsjYS0q4XdtkNDUE-SJJ (Und für Ellen und ihre Eltern).............

http://www.frenchmoments.eu/advent-in-france-lavent-en-france/ (with music) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CXpoehZ9b4 Joyeux noël.....

 When the Central Committee member had one vodka too many, nobody imagined what far reaching consequences this would have - for the world! http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall Of course, today, as we celebrate the opening of the Berlin wall , we have a tendency to forget there are still quite a few still 'UNOPENED' -  http://socks-studio.com/2013/04/14/peace-lines-a-selection-of-walls-dividing-regions/ Mainly religious or political in reason, they are, nonetheless, dividers between peoples. I spent 2 periods of duty in the West City , one of my jobs being to drive around this wall for 'security' reasons, and this, I assure you, did NOT exist.....  There was an enormormous amount of ' grafitti ', but outside the central area, mainly wooded, which we had to patrol, there was nothing but trees - overgrown areas and posters warning people they were 'leaving West Berlin Territory'- uninteresting for the Tourists and in fact uninteresting fo...

.....Seriously - DON'T ASK......! This is a 'rogue' thing which either installs itself, or (if you don't watch out) gets installed with other programmes you download, many of them via the Yahoo links. If you don't UNCLICK the option to include it, you're lost! It CAN be uninstalled , but it is long and tiresome to do.....I've just spent all morning trying, and I'm still not sure if it's completely gone! It changes your search engine, installs itself and otherwise bores you! The instructions are complicated and difficult to uninstall it, and never garanteed to work. You can try this, or one of the other ones on Google (videos).... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wehJK8Ntd5k Good luck!

 If only you could do this, instead of this.....  life would be easier....you'd know where everything is, and wouldn't spend the next 2 years looking for things which are of no use anyway! Yes, the joys of moving house.....we are in the middle of it, and so half of our possessions are in the new place, the other half in the old place.....and that in the month of August and at the start of the 2 week long village fête! It's hot, it's long, it's difficult....! Furniture has to be bought and delivered and installed.....one long story of looking, measuring,  then you need a plumber, because the existing water points are no good for fridges that make ice cubes, or machines that wash dishes.....  ok - if they only came as quickly as this guy, but it's August - the main holiday month - and he's probably sitting in his car, with his family, wishing he was under OUR sink   or is thinking out NEW transport methods.......  in any case, he isn't where he should...