The young lady at Electricite de France says that the power has to be off for safety reasons while the new cables are laid. '' Safety for whom ? " asks this disgruntled customer. There is silence on the other end of the line. You can almost hear her thinking ' I've got a right one here '.
Five thirty am. The power is restored. An early and badly dubbed episode of ' How I met your mother ' is playing on the television. A truly horrible sight so early in the morning.
Down to the supermarket. At the McDonalds opposite they've installed new electronic ordering machines. While ' the font ' gets coffee Angus wanders off to play with one of them. He presses a button and the system crashes. We leave.
All Saints Day approaching. The supermarket full of row upon row of plastic crysanthemums. On a neighbouring aisle Angus is overjoyed to find lights that we can strap around our heads - modern day versions of a miners lamp. The answer to our prayers. No more stubbing of toes in the dark. They're also selling off the last of the seasons rose wine cheaply. Winter must be here.
Full marks for crashing the system!
ReplyDeleteXXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
Full marks for crashing the system!
ReplyDeleteXXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
And long may it stay crashed..
ReplyDeleteOh those cakes.
I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the 'easy order' machines show up here--Which will slow service even more!
ReplyDeleteDo the cakes taste as amazing as they look?
Those miners lights are pretty nifty - just don't use it in the summertime when there are a lot of gnats flying around!!
ReplyDeleteFor safety reasons...a bit like the temperature in the cabin of airplanes these days always set to freezing so the flight staff are comfortable while they work and damn the passengers!
ReplyDeleteOMG - at first I died laughing picturing you two wandering around the house with those miner's lights on; then I thought, dang, that's a great idea! Let me tell you, my house loses power every time a breeze blows, and I'm definitely getting one!
ReplyDeleteGlad your electricity service is back up and running...but I'm sure those miner's lights will come in very handy during the coming winter.
ReplyDeleteMcDonald's order kiosks...what next...this fast food phenomenon is getting out of hand.
You can watch tv online and save yourself those badly-dubbed versions of "How I met your mother".
The Font is a smart lady...very optimistic in ANY situation....cheers to her.
Just pass me over one of each of those cakes in picture 2 and I'll put the kettle on. Merlin will sit at my feet with 'I am the best boy' angel face with a paw on my knee, salivating.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day.
Teena & Merlin
xx
With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on our eastern seaboard and expected within a few days, I'm off to purchase that headlight. What a great idea. Oh those cakes Angus...and the rose wine looks darn good too.
ReplyDeleteAngus, your photos of the cakes are always a welcome sight! As for plastic mums, not so much!
ReplyDeleteThe miner's lights are great, we use them in our house, and for camping! You have to be careful not to look directly at someone though, as the light can be blinding!
Good for you for crashing that McDonald's monstrosity.
Those headlamps are actually pretty bright! My husband has one for nighttime work with Kuster. I hope your dark evenings don't last much longer. Maybe another trip is in order...
ReplyDeletePlastic?
ReplyDeleteYes - the graveyards are covered with them come All Souls.
DeleteThe automated order machines at McDonald's reminded me of those similarly awful wine bar machines over at our Hotel Captain Cook in the Whale's Tail bar where Mr. O so generously lost $30 about a year ago. Never did go back.
ReplyDeleteCan one's stone be discreetly marked "No plastic please"?
ReplyDeleteHeadlights are wonderful. My partner sometimes uses his for taking our dogs outside for thier garden visits on very dark nights. My mother wears a headlight in her vegetable patch,during her nightime snail hunts, and a friend uses one for cleaning her oven to see into the darkest corners - perhaps something Madame Bay might consider although, I imagine, she would be quite a sight if the red warning light was also flashing!
ReplyDeleteThe flashing light, sold with your headlight, reminded me that Riley used to do agility in a sports field approx 300m x 300m. After class (when it was dark and the flood lights had timed out) the dogs would run around and play for 20 or so minutes - up to thirty dogs, of assorted breeds, off leash running as fast as they could having doggie fun (without the owners being able to see where their dog was) so the solution that was most of the dogs, including Riley, wore flashing collars. It looked very festive and you could tell where your dog was.
I'm sure your flashing light will find a good use too.
Oh no what are the teens going to do for work if they are replaced with easy order machines in fast food restaurants!
ReplyDeleteThat is the strangest food "thing" I have seen, it looks like it has raspberries, a pasta fan, some green pickles and some mellon seeds all on top of layers of ham and cream cheese of somekind!
It would be worth the order kiosks if McDonald's is the source of those yummy looking pastries in the next photo. But we suspect not. We are unclear just what is happening with the electricity. It sounds like they're depriving the whole village, or at least your part of it, just to rewire one building. Surely that can't be true. We sometimes moan & groan about our utility companies, but compared with the French they sound like models of efficiency. Of course, our patience is likely to be sorely tried once again as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the mid-Atlantic states and some of inevitably lose power, hopefully not for days and days.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between a McDonalds in France and a McDonalds in the US is the quality of the pastries they serve !
DeleteI'd rather like 'at home in the 18thC' I think.....the sight of all those plastic flowers makes my florists heart sink.....have a lovely weekend..xx
ReplyDeleteWait till I show my family the McDonald's ordering machine! They are going to want to book a trip to France! Anthing electronic and they just about melt. Lovely cakes! Sorry to hear of electric woes, that makes for an interesting day/night.
ReplyDelete