Lockdown Eases

Well, here we are, three days into the first phase of deconfinement. We've definitely seen quick, and obvious changes. There are far more people out and about, and far more traffic on the roads, and things appear to be getting back to normal but the biggest difference is the number of people now walking around wearing face masks. Of course, they're compulsory if you're going into shops or travelling on public transport, but, in general, there are just swathes of people out and about with their masks on. It's funny how things quickly become the new normal. 

You'd have thought that Monday, our first après-confinement day, would involve some sort of momentous activity to mark new beginnings but I'm somewhat ashamed to say we actually pretty much followed the routine we'd built up during lockdown! In our defence, it absolutely hosed down all day so there wasn't mach desire to get out in the rain, and in addition the playgrounds and parks are still closed so there wasn't much to entice William over the door. We did, however, get out for a run and I'm very proud to announce that I ran 7k! My distances are getting longer, and my times are getting quicker. It's just frustrating that my jacksie doesn't seem to be getting any smaller! Fish came round for his dinner around 5.30pm and it was great having a mate round and just hanging out. We finally cracked open a bottle of champagne that I'd bought weeks and weeks ago. A celebration of freedom! 

Yesterday we tried to go for a walk at the Forêt de Bastard but there's still big signs up to say that entry is prohibited. Very frustrating. The government are saying you can go out, but you're very limited in where you can actually go. We ended up driving down to the kayak centre and had a wander around and some snacks to make William feel like he was having a picnic. It was still raining though so we didn't hang about for long. Iain and William watched a movie yesterday afternoon while I just pottered about with Health Insurance and Carte Vitale paperwork (boring, but necessary jobs). We then went for another wander in town - just because we can. 

Today has been the busiest day we've had in two months. Finally, the washing machine repair guy came to look at our noisy machine. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but as soon as he came in the house I thought to myself, I'm not sure about you. He seemed like a nice enough bloke but I reckon he's much more of a small appliance fixer than large white goods. There was a lot of mumbling and groaning and Iain caught him stabbing himself with a screwdriver. Pointless. He was stumped. The best he could come up with was that the axle was broken and a replacement would be €300. But he suggested that we take it back to where we'd bought it to see what they could do. It was already my plan to go back to Envie before he'd even given us his diagnosis as he seemed that inept. We paid him €35 and thanked him for coming. Then William and I shot over to Envie. They took it straight through the back and had solved the mystery within 15mins. Well, four of them solved it. And it was, as I had suspected, the carabiner key ring that William had been playing with that had been left in his pocket, and had ended up trapped between the drum and the casing. SAKE. I mentioned that the door had been a bit problematic and they said I could go back and collect it later in the afternoon. It turns out that it's actually Stefan, the guy who parks his motorbike or Mercedes in our courtyard who is one of the guys who runs the place. When I went back to get it this afternoon, they didn't even charge me for the work. All in all, a great outcome. 

William and I spent a bit of time today trying to get him new trainers, and I was on the hunt for a running phone pouch, new socks, and trainers. It's great being able to get back out to shops again but we didn't manage to get trainers for either of us. The hunt continues. Got home and fitted in a 5k run before dinner with my new pouch which was great. The run itself wasn't altogether horrible either. How times have changed! 

Lorna :-)