Yes, I know you have all been missing me, so thought I would let you know that I’m still around, and I’ll just write the odd word or two, although I’m still feeling guilty that this is on the Sailblogs site as we have been moored in Beaucaire for almost 2 months now and not done any sailing.

I just thought I would share with you some of my thoughts about France and the French. Mainly – Le Shopping. Le mobile phones and Le Internet, and Le motorway toll booths.

Beaucaire is a very old and beautiful historic town, but lacks the facilities to entertain a shopaholic such as myself. The first day we arrived we had a quick walk round the town to get our bearings, but only saw one narrow road where there was any sort of commercial activity, which is mostly Algerian in origin, such as a fruit shop, a Halal butchers, a small shop selling a diverse range of goods such as tagines, mobile phone chargers, oil lamps and tin openers. We also saw a jewellers, and a bakers, plus at least 3 hairdressers, a Chinese restaurant and 2 laundrettes. I decided that the majority of the shops and the indoor luxury shopping centre with a Costa Coffee, John Lewis and Habitat must be in another part of town which we hadn’t discovered yet. But we’ve been here almost 2 months now and I still haven’t come across it! There is however a smallish supermarket called Super-U on another street, which has bizarre opening hours – it closes for lunch between – wait for it – 1230 and 3 pm! Yes, 3pm! I always forget and find myself waiting outside for ages, thinking it must be open by 2, but of course it never is! Once it didn’t open til 3.15pm, it seems to be entirely at the whim of the girl on the checkout as to when she will raise the shutters for the afternoon’s trading.

Out of town is where the action happens, there is quite a large industrial estate a bus ride away with a huge Carrefour hypermarket, an Aldi, a Lidl, a MacDonalds, various shoe shops, a tyre depot, a sports shop, and an emporium which appears to be a cross between The Range, a party shop and Poundland. All except Carrefour and Lidl of course shut for lunch! There is also a large Mr Bricolage store, equivalent to B & Q. I think the politically correct police would not allow a store of such a name to open in the UK, or at least there would have to be a Mrs Bricolage too, selling designer cushions, pink handled tools and rubber gloves with feather trim. Anyway, when would you think a shop like Mr Bricolage would do the bulk of their trade? At the weekend? Saturday lunchtime always seems to be when B & Q was busiest, at least I could never find a parking space when I had the misfortune to visit one in the UK on a Saturday lunchtime. But no, in France, they decide that it is more important for their staff to have an extended lunch break on a Saturday, so they close between 12 and 2.30, depriving you of the pleasure of purchasing that important pot of paint or vital tool to finish a job. And they don’t open on Sundays at all!