les Davey de France

We upturned the table on the balcony and piled the chairs on top. Still we had to bring two chairs in when they started to take off. Meanwhile 200 000 homes in Nouvelle Aquitaine have no electricity this morning.

Over the weekend we had some strong winds. When this happens we overturn our table on the balcony and pile the chairs on it, then lay everything flat on the small balcony and shut the shutters on that side. This time the wind came from the north, so it blew directly across the small balcony but didn't seem to move anything on the large balcony. Meanwhile we saw some large sheets of metal blown from the top of the tower. They landed with a very loud bang within the fenced-off construction site. They're topping off the tower at the moment so soon all the construction work will be for glazing, cladding and partitioning etc. On the street side of the building they've started dismantling one crane. They've also planted trees in the courtyard and one side of the new road is all set to receive trees, too, probably today. It's all very exciting! The photo of two ladies on the balcony is of Patricia and our friend Nancy Painter, up from near Marseille to visit so...

but I did find this :

I met a chap for coffee this morning up near the town hall, and had not noticed that the trams were stopping not at 12:30 as usual but an hour earlier at 11:30. So I had to walk back to the station before getting a tram for the last two stops. Here's a little of what I saw at about mid-day:  The police gathering in front of the town hall. Later on water cannons would be deployed in this square. Walking further on along Cours Pasteur towards Place de la Victoire, many shops were boarded up, including almost all the estate agents, all the banks and various other stores. The photo shows the town bike centre where you can borrow bikes free of charge. It's a target, perhaps because it is run by the town hall. Some of the shops had signs on saying "Business in danger, lease available, phone this number and ask for the job centre". The shop keepers are struggling. Meanwhile the Maison de la Bible is on a street where trouble breaks out and is staffed almost ...

The Evangelical Alliance nominates a universal week of prayer around this time in January and in France the Conseil National des Evangéliques de France has inherited the organisation of this week. Themes are provided in a booklet for three evenings of prayer, but here in the Gironde we met each weeknight. I made two meetings, on Wednesday when there were perhaps about 50 people present and on Friday at a church in Eysines when we were about 30. We split into groups for prayer after a message of encouragement. On Wednesday the third evening theme was used, so when I spoke for the Friday evening I did what I wanted, which was linking Psalm 2, 1 Timothy 2 and the current period of unrest that is overhadowing our political life in so many countries. People prayed very well.

In France it's very important to wish everyone Happy New Year when you see them for the first time in January, and all people in positions of authority present their greetings to various assemblies of eager listeners. The President has presented his greetings to the press and to the army, as well as to other groups, and at the Town Hall M. Juppe was scheduled to present his greetings to the associations of Bordeaux on Thursday evening. I am secretary of one lot, president of two others, so I decided I should go along. The town hall was stuffed with eager people, most of them considerably older than me, and the evening began in a festive way with some songs from a Basque male-voice choir. After their presentation M. Juppé took the stage and made his speech, thanking the associations for their contribution to the life of the city. He also took the opportunity to express his frustration and annoyance with the violence each Saturday afternoon and its cost to the life of the city....