les Davey de France

This morning Bouygues Telecom and Orange (formerly France Telecom) combine their forces to restore internet to the house,  along with telephone and television. We have quite enjoyed our period of purdah, though buying and printing Gwilym's tickets to return from the UK was stressful and it would have been good to be able to phone him. We need to be online again, though. For one thing we want to sell the car. For another we need the telephone. The Bouygues engineer who came on Tuesday confirmed my thesis that there was no signal arriving at the house. The exchange is just 250 metres away. At the exchange the dsl card is a Bouygues card. Bouygues say the problem is in Orange's network. (i.e. In the 250 metres of wire...?) So from 8am to 11 we have to be here to give access to the house if they need it. Rendezvous online at 11 hours at the latest!

Still waiting for the Bouygues-man to get our internet working. Meanwhile here is some music. We have just started rehearsing this with the Pessac Jazz Band.

It broke down on Monday. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. Meanwhile here's a picture of Bordeaux.

I enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed this book ! In some ways it must have been a publisher's dream - about half of the book is made up of reprints of introductions that Jim Packer wrote for reprints of Puritan classics. At the same time it must be a publisher's nightmare. After all it's a(nother) book about the Puritans. OK, the die-hards will buy it because of the word 'Puritan' in the title, but who else will ? Well I hope you will ! No, really ! Here's why : 1) Jim Packer's enthusiasm for these guys is wonderfully enjoyable and infectious. His delight in these men really comes across the page. 2) You'll learn stuff. I first heard about the Puritans shortly after my conversion cough-cough-cough years ago when somebody showed me Perkins' chart of salvation. That's a long time ago and I have kept being reminded of them ever since, but I still learned things from the book. 3) Jim Packer's introductions are pretty famous in themse...

Today my brain is running slow and everything else is even slower after a good weekend. It started, I suppose, on Friday evening. Friday saw me take a funeral in Blaye, then scuttle back to return the car and get home to see Flavien, who had meanwhile flown from Marseille to Mérignac and been collected from the airport by Myriam. (Thanks Myriam !) The funeral went OK, though it was glacial in the cemetery and it's very hard to pray when you're shivering, your teeth are chattering and the wind is whipping the pages of your notes back and fore. Anyway, mission accomplished. Back home we got set for the Home Group. We were few, perhaps due to the several evening activities happening at the same time - FAC Games evening took at least two or three people away and another group was meeting, too. Still, the study was good. Saturday Morning was Flavien's conference - an overview of Biblical Theology, basically - so we hopped on the bus and tram to Cenon. We were a decent nu...

A complimentary review copy was provided to me by Cross Focused Reviews (A Service of Cross Focused Media, LLC). I was not required to write a positive review. It makes you think doesn't it. Facebook has become a massive phenomenon in such a short time. Families use it to keep in touch. Friends use it to catch up on each other's news. Adolescents use it to invite thousands to parties at their parents' house. Churches use it spread the news of Jesus Christ. And all that in just a few short years. Although he sees some useful aspects to the Facebook revolution, Tim Chester thinks it's a problem. His first chapter is entitled "What's the problem?" He then goes on to identify several of the problems linked with Facebook in chapters entitled "Recreating my world", "Escaping my limitations", "The Facebook of God" and "Twelve guidelines for social networking" His thoughts are very helpful. His guidelines are good, wise and ...

or Ice Morning anyway. Last night I woke up in the aptly-named wee hours and used, as is my habit, my mobile phone to light to way to the toilet. I noticed that I had had a text message at 11:30pm. I read it. It said that the Prefect of the Gironde had prohibited buses from running before 10am. 'No school for Catrin', I thought, as I wended my weary way back to my downy couch. Thus it was no surprise this morning when I heard her coming back from the bus stop where a kindly gentleman had told her that her 7am wait was futile, there were no buses. It's drizzling out there, and I don't think it is all that cold. I'll be able to get to Blaye, I'm sure.