We've had a day off!!

Posted by Rosie

Yesterday was the last day of term for the boys before the EIGHT week summer vacances. Yup - EIGHT weeks so Simon and I decided we needed to have a day off to recharge our batteries before the boys were home for so long. We chose to take a leisurely walk around the Lac de la Dathée , a reservoir just the other side of Vire. It was a really pleasant walk; 6.6kms on well maintained paths with a mixture of sunshine and shade. There was plenty of wildlife to see and the dogs had a great time swimming in the water. We plan to go back sometime soon with the boys and their bikes and may even take a boat out onto the water.

Back to normality today and the joys of trying to sort out why our Internet phone isn't working. Since a storm a couple of weeks ago we've had Internet connection but no Internet phone (this being the phone-line that gives us "free" calls). Simon tried to find the fault without success so today I took it into the Orange shop in Vire where a very nice lady said she couldn't do anything and I needed to phone Orange. Oh dear - a phone call to a french call centre about a subject I don't understand in English, let alone French. Help! Anyway I phoned and waited, listening to an extremely annoying message that some-one would answer soon. 6 minutes later a man did answer but said I needed to dial a different number. Grrrrrr. 10 minutes later (still with the annoying message) I got through. 30 minutes after that, a combination of me on the phone and Simon doing what I though the man asked me to do (he kept speaking very fast) he announced we needed a new modem.

"I'll just see where your nearest tabac is" he said.

Did he say Tabac? Surely that's a newsagents/bar. It must mean something else in French as well. No - he did mean tabac and apparently the new modem will be at the Tabac de St Martin in Condé-sur Noireau on July 9th after 5pm for me to collect. The man from Orange will ring me that evening to see if the Internet phone is the working or not. I put the phone down, exhausted after the marathon call and completely bemused at the french logic of arranging for your new modem to be collected from the Pub!!