Orange France
provide an English speaking help line which is fantastic because even with good
French, it would be hard to deal with the technological language needed to
resolve problems. BUT….the helpline only
operates between 8am and 5pm on Monday to Friday. Although Danny managed to contact them on
Friday afternoon it was just before 5pm so nothing could be done before
Monday.
Anyway, we’re
back! Goodness only knows what the fault
was but now we’re back in full contact with the world, who cares?!
And funnily
enough, a lot has been happening since I last wrote…..
Charity
Fashion Show
Last Thursday
evening, we went to a fashion show held to raise money for charity. It was held in a restaurant called Lion d’Or (Golden Lion!) and the price
of the ticket (12 Euros) included a dessert and a glass of wine (you can see
why I wanted to go!!). I’m sure you’re
wondering why Danny went because apart from the glass of wine, there would be
little to interest him! Well, the reason
is simply that I don’t like driving at night over here. The whole journey is on unlit country roads
(part of which is through a forest) and I just hate it! There were several other husbands and
partners, abandoned to the restaurant bar so Danny didn’t mind too much!
As well as the
show itself, there were about six “stalls” selling make up, jewellery and
Christmas items. The models were all
“ordinary” girls and ladies and it was a really good fun evening out. (Oh and the dessert was yummy!)
Our first hospital experience!
(and some information about French healthcare for those who are interested!)
I doubt many of
you know that I had been diagnosed with having frozen shoulders about 18 months
ago. Yes I did say ‘shoulders’ – both of
them! Despite seeing an orthopaedic
surgeon before leaving the UK, nothing could be done and I was assured that
they would just get better one day.
Anyway, a couple
of weeks ago I slipped in my kitchen and in trying to stop myself from falling,
managed to do further damage to my right shoulder. I was in so much pain that I gave in and went
to the doctor. Our doctor is a Romanian
lady, with fluent French and some English, so it is, shall we say,
challenging, to explain how you feel.
Anyway, she sent me off to the hospital for X-rays and an ultrasound,
the upshot of which is that I have a ruptured tendon and need an
operation. Today, I made an appointment
to see the orthopaedic surgeon and that will be in January. Watch this space….. and in the meantime I am
managing with strong painkillers.
But my reason for
telling you all this was to give you a bit of insight into the health system
here. Danny and I have French healthcare
cover by virtue of our UK National Insurance contributions and the state here
pays up to 70% of the costs. For the
remainder we have taken out what they call “top-up insurance”. It’s not particularly cheap but it means we
don’t have to pay anything else other than our monthly premiums (and a small
admin charge of 1 Euro each time we claim).
To give you an example, whenever we visit the GP we pay 23 Euros but we get
back 22 Euros. The trip to the
Radiography department at the hospital was different in that we didn’t
physically pay out anything as the receptionist took all my details, including my
insurance details. I would have been
interested to know how much the X-rays and ultrasound cost but unless it
appears on an insurance statement, I may never know.
We were most
impressed with the hospital, which was very clean and showed none of the chaos
of hospitals we’ve experienced in the UK.
I was seen promptly and taken to a room where I could undress discreetly
– quite different from the times I sat with my mum in a crowded waiting room in
Southend Hospital, while she sat in an ill-fitting gown, on display to all and
sundry! To be fair, I imagine the
population in this area (the hospital is in a town called Bressuire, about 15 kilometres
north of our village) falls far short of Southend so the demand must be a lot
less but even so, it was very pleasant to get what felt like private treatment
in a state system.
As an aside, I am left wondering whether the tendon was recently ruptured or if that has been the problem with my right shoulder all along. Interestingly, I had no X-rays or ultrasound in England so with hindsight, I think the orthopaedic consultant there based his diagnosis on the balance of probabilities!
I shall let you
know how I get on with the orthopaedic surgeon in January…..
Another
Marché de Noël
(and
the turkey is ordered!)
Last Saturday we
went to the most amazing town of St Loup sur Thouet to the Christmas market
there. It runs from 3pm to midnight on
the Saturday and is open again from 10am to about 4pm on Sunday. Unfortunately we went a bit too early to
really get the benefit of the lights but it was spectacular nonetheless. There were dozens
of artisans selling the most beautiful stuff and at mostly reasonable prices.
The buildings are all ancient and many had their tiny rooms open to display
craft work. All the buildings and the streets themselves were decorated with
Christmas trees and other foliage and lighting. We stopped to buy a glass of "vin
chaud" or mulled wine for just one Euro a glass! I have to be honest
and say I could have spent a lot more time and money there (and Anne G - you would love
it - you and I could have easily spent the entire evening there browsing the
shops and stalls!)
This was our first visit to this particular town and we have made a
mental note to return in the summer to see what it's like in the sunshine! I'm
afraid I am not eloquent enough to describe just how beautiful it is but
hopefully we'll get some pictures in the summer and, God willing, at next
year's Marché de Noël!
And finally, as they say, I was really proud of myself in that I managed
to order our Christmas turkey from my local boucher. As to its quality,
we shall have to see but if the meat from this boucherie is anything to
go by we should be ok! Some of our summer guests were treated to the most
delicious fillet steaks while they were here!
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