les Davey de France

Click on the link here to see the posters. This link here has something about it in English.

While we are in the UK we have UK friends staying in our home. In relays. This means that while we had to bring LOTS of baggage with us we can send some stuff back with the folks who are staying in our home. This means we can buy Gwilym a cheap suit from Asda for school at a third of the price of a similar shoddy suit in France. Almost everything is cheaper here. That's the delight. But the danger is that we overspend severely ! Be careful Daveys !

They say that it takes you a week to destress when you start your hols. It's true that for the moment Alan is not in work but work is still in Alan... Still. Here's the plan: This week hols. Next week UFM FamConf Week after hols.. Week after AberConf Week after hols. Then home again. Meanwhile preaching four times and speaking twice. Kids on SoulSurvivor and camps.

The Ciné-Théâtre Girondin. Read about it here .

Not sure about the video, but the brass is splendid !

It's our first break since just after Christmas and I am just a little bit over-ripe for it. Just in time ! Thanks Lord ! .

This evening we have lots of people coming for a meal. Firstly a chef who is on a gastronomic tour and contacted us about the English Service. I haven't heard from him since, but I assume he's coming. We'll wait a decent time before eating. Secondly a Dutch family on the way to the Pyrenees. They contacted us interested in their kids doing something with the English-speaking kids from church. Basically that means our kid, so we invited them too. Thirdly someone who we know who contacted me to say that they're leaving Bordeaux in mid-August so they'll be in church on Sunday. Since my phone went off for repair I have lost lots of numbers, so I am not sure who this is. We THINK we know, but we'll see. I hope we have enough salad.... Postscript : We had enough salad and loads and loads of pizza, the chef didn't come, the mystery guest was Héber and our new Dutch friends are considering long-term overseas mission.

Boy did I mess up. I only promised the house to two different people at once while we're away. The first a family with whom we're doing a house swap. The second a man who's coming to preach one weekend. "You can stay at our place" seems such an easy things to say... In retrospect, too easy. However all is OK. The family are arriving on Tuesday and the couple leaving the Monday before. Phew ! ..

See it  here .

Today we had our Church Council meeting - lots of folk away so we concentrated on the things important to those who were there - happily the preaching rota. A good discussion. We came away with our schedule sorted out for September and October. We do need an outside preacher once a month (and God to continue to bless us with unfailing good health every weekend!) but with those things we can continue to maintain morning services at Cenon and at Blaye. (Please pray for our car, too !) It's a great joy to work well together!

It's not about you - read it here.

I stopped Pat clearing away the chairs because I thought the garden looked interesting like that :

Phoned boogie woogie telecom today to ask if my mobile phone has been fixed yet. Quentin said "It's on its way. Ring again at 2 to make sure" So I rang, and he said, "Yes, I've got it" and I went to get it from the shop. I looked warily to see what version of Android it's on now, and it's on 4.0.3 ICS. It's good to be reunited with my Bible programme, daily readings (One Year Bible Plan), tuner, metronome, books on Kindle, etc.. Now to try and get all my phone numbers back.. .

Normally you get the fire going and the guys crowd round and pretty quickly one of the guys takes over and does all the cooking. But not today. One chap stayed as helper / gofer. Another got busy on the electric grill getting a quicker throughflow of bangers. But otherwise I remained top chef.

Samy Foucachon and his family are visiting this weekend. We planned to hold an after-church barbecue at Izon, chosen because it's a bit closer for the folks from Blaye - we're the other side of the city from Blaye. However yesterday we had an urgent call - a nest of hornets has established itself in Patrick's barbecue - the dreaded frelons asiatiques . So it'll be here instead. Less convenient for the folk from Blaye, but better for anyone without a car - we are accessible by public transport. The weather is looking good. We have lined up lots of tables in the garden. We have over 30 chairs that can be taken out there (See ! It IS sensible to have plastic dining chairs) Better shower and get ready ! .

There is a new series of apps for guided walks in Bordeaux here.

I still remember the shock of trying to buy apples in France. No cooking apples and no Cox's Orange Pippins. (Even now after all these years a tear comes to my eye). "So what do we use for tarts ?" "Whatever... Golden..?". ("Golden" is what you know as Golden Delicious ...shudder...) Well there's still no Cox's and apples are always an issue (gala or fuji this week ?) but there's a REALLY NICE PEAR here called Fleuralys. It's not one of the budget pears but this time at the supermarket there weren't any budget pears anyway. So I got four of what smelled nice. Fleuralys. Delicious !

Since Samsung's official Android Version 4.0 ICS automatic upgrade caused my phone to freeze and I had to take it back to the phone company to get it sorted out and they lent me Fred Flintstone's old Nokia to keep me going my daily readings have gone all to pot, and bus journeys have never seemed so L O N G ! But hey, don't judge me too harshly, or before you judge me just walk a mile in my shoes. Because I promise that if you're anywhere within a mile of me when you judge me, and if I have my shoes on I'll give you such a kick ! (just kidding... it's withdrawal symptoms...)

The quickest way for a France-dweller to get seriously fed-up is to go food shopping in a UK supermarket ! This guy talks about how some Brits living in France are fighting back. Read about it here. Please note that a supermarket aisle in French is a rayon .

When Gwilym first saw the French doctor here (aged 10) she offered to whip off a large wart at the base of his neck. We didn't take her up on it. So today we went to Haut Leveque hospital to see a surgical dermatologist. What a palaver ! I remembered to take the cheque-book (which we didn't need) but forgot the carte mutuelle (which we did need). It never occurred to me to take his passport (which we also needed). AND his carte vitale was out of date. AND the fact that he has two first names (Gwilym Thomas) confused the lady no end. All in all the form-filling and computer admin took longer than the doctor's examination. Oh well. At least his carte vitale is up to date now (and so is mine - I updated it in the machine by the entrance to the hospital !) He has an appointment for 21 November. We had to queue to tell the lady at the entrance and while we waited several people cheated the queue and pushed in front of us. We could have died there and people w...

I had three meetings in Bordeaux this afternoon and evening, the first at 15:30 and the last at 19:30. The middle one got cancelled. I wondered whether to come home and then go to the evening one by car (it was at the church), but in the end the first meeting continued longer than foreseen, so I just went for a little stroll in town.. And heard a violinist busking. We don't have enough buskers, so it was good to hear someone playing Bach Sonatas for Solo Violin. Then I heard a cellist busking. Yes, playing Bach Cello Suites. And I had time to stop and listen. The cellist was making some wonderful resonant low note, but I wanted more resonance on the high notes to mirror them.  The violinist was very good too. Here a flutist, but he is playing French Flute Music :

...the freezer is about 3' tall and the fridge about 4' tall. You could put the fridge on top of the freezer." Well, you could, but then you'd have to stand on a chair to reach the top shelf of the fridge... "Oh yes..." Later... 'but you could try the freezer on top of the fridge. It may not be so high...'

Thing is, I like it a bit hectic. So on Saturday morning I got myself sorted out for the wedding and the Chinese preach, then brother Héber came for lunch and to prepare the order of service and stuff. We had a good time together and I was very thankful to him for coming out to Pessac before chucking him out so I could change ready for the wedding. I have decided to adopt US academic dress - chinos, stripey blue shirt, red tie and navy blazer. My plan was foiled by clothes moths who have eaten a neat little hole in the sleeve of my best navy woollen blazer. Horrors ! I hope someone can fix it. I reckon I could conceal it by patching from the other side... Also I don't have a blue stripey shirt. Well I do, but we removed the collar some time ago and I wear it for slobbing around. Anyway, clad in my grey shirt, red tie, chinos and no blazer I scuttled off to Blaye. My super-duper Android phone is in for repair (we're going through a time like that just now. Everything w...

Well the poulie double got fixed and I talked through the car a bit with M. Plazy, our garage man. He reckons we'll get another three years out of it, no problem. Also now that Catrin is in her lycée in the middle of Bordeaux the car really will only be used for church purposes and for the weekly shop. No more daily school run. Meanwhile our new colleagues decided on a flat, then read the contract and hesitated because it seemed that their cat was prohibited. A night of deliberation and hesitation, then a text message to the landlord - no problem for the cat - and so all is on again. Meanwhile preparation is proceeding. I have fallen in love with my text for Sunday morning. Always a good sign. 2  S’ il y a donc de l’encouragement en Christ , s' il y a de la consolation dans l'amour , s' il y a une communion de l’Esprit , s' il y a de la tendresse et de la compassion , I've highlighted certain things in bold because I want to concentrate on those things ...

So I phoned our garage man and told him the car was making exotic noises. "You'd better bring it down so I can hear it", he said. So at 4 I drove our amazingly noisy car down to the garage, about 400 yards away. Everywhere I went people turned and looked. When I got there the garage owner wasn't there, but one of his lads got his torch out and had a good look. "C'est la poulie double" (the double pulley). The boss came back. He priced it up. €230. They'll do the job tomorrow.

So I scuttled out to the car to zoom off to the prayer meeting. The engine started beautifully but made a noise like someone shaking a tin of nuts and bolts. Lifting the bonnet didn't elucidate matters. I didn't think it would, but I lifted the bonnet anyway and stared perplexedly at the rattling engine. So we zoomed off in Tim's VW. This morning we zoomed happily into town to meet up with M Danton and see two bijou appartements in Bordeaux centre - an échoppe has been converted into four dwellings. The two we saw were at semi-basement level with windows giving on people's ankles in the street. Behind were two little courtyards that were so French it was almost as if they'd been done up for some outrageous film. However one was too small and the other was kind of OK (if you don't mind a bedroom with no windows) but not up to the standard of what we saw last Friday. So this afternoon we see the bank at 5. I will also phone my garage man to see if he can l...

After returning from the school my next mission is to plan out a church calendar for the next three to nine months, mainly to check that everything planned, hoped for and wished for during the council planning day is reasonably attainable. I knew that critical path analysis would come in handy again one day.

is to take Catrin's dossier to her new school. The dossier needs lots of information that we don't know like the codes for the courses she's doing. It also needs lots of information we don't have, like a photocopy of her livret de famille. It also needs lots of information we have to find, like a photocopy of her Attestation de Sécurité Routière. I am pretty sure I have filled it in wrong. Still.... I have to present it in person at the school either today or tomorrow.

Mrs Davey found a suspect beast up high in the bathroom on Sunday night. On reflection given the location, the time and the circumstances it may well just have been a little black beetle. However it spurred me into action. So I started by pretty thoroughly roach-proofing the bathroom with contact insecticide. Then I attacked the fridge. It had already been moved to the patio. Now it's back where it came from in the warehouse. Then I attacked the freezer, moving it from the wall. In all my (limited) experience with roaches, they do like the underside of the fridge. It's warm, it's dark, it's often kinda moist and there's often crusty crumbs of food that accumulate there. Under our freezer looked like just the kind of place where roaches would like to settle but there was nobody there at all. Good news. They have not settled in ! So I cleaned it clean than a clean new thing newly cleaned and then applied the trusty contact insecticide.

So my wonderful mobile phone tried to update its software on Friday to the long-awaited Android 4.0 ICS. It downloaded, installed, then froze. Permanently. So this morning I took it to the Bouygues Telecom shop in Mérignac. Which is boarded up. "We'll be back in August !" says the cheerful notice. So I nipped into the Carphone Warehouse (in France just Phonehouse) to ask where the nearest open one was. "Why ?" they asked. I explained the problem. "Oh yes, that latest update is freezing everyone's phones. They have to send them back to Samsung. It's Bordeaux centre, Bègles or Bordeaux Lac." The nearest was the Lac, so I went, parked, found the shop and queued. For a long time. Eventually it was my turn. I explained the problem. "Do you have insurance ?" No, the phone is 6 months old. "If you had insurance we'd just swap it now, but as you don't we'll have to send it off to Samsung." Ok, and h...

Saturday found me wending my way early to Tivoli school for the Church Council Day. This was an excellent time, using the church's foundation documents to discuss pretty well all aspects of church life. We broke for lunch and ate our watermelon, chicken salad, cheese and eclairs. Then home to get all set for Sunday. On Saturday I had little voice. By Sunday I had a fully fledged cold. Today I feel a little better. Anyway microphones are wonderful things sometimes, and in the evening holiday season was ushered in in the form of two Dutch visitors who were on the route to Santiago de Compostela. I was happy to hit the sack.