Oh dear, my TV is a very vulgar 43", and my sofa is a chavvy L-shape that sits six.    And while they are suitable for a B&B, we actually bought them both when there were just the two of us in a much smaller appartment. And Paul is dead right about how unsuitable they are: the screen is so large that you have to sit about three metres away - it hurts my eyes if I sit any closer - which rather defeats the object to my mind. But at least the TV doesn't dominate too much as the room is 4 x 8 metres, with a 3 metre high ceiling (it's a lovely old house, though a nightmare to heat in winter). The irony is that I hardly ever watch TV - indeed I don't even know if the satellite TV connection still works as the last time I put it on was for some guests back in the summer. I do watch DVDs though.

You are of course forgiven Temp, and I've deleted my waspish response too. I do hope it was good wine, not a rough rouquin.

I nearly bought the 43" TV, but my cottage is so small it would have looked ridiculous. No - it's the true monster TVs - 89" plus - I hate, but then I am still living in a previous world. Our first TV was a trendy 9"!

Snobbery and what is considered vulgar - or not - could make a good thread. I wonder what was considered to be the height of vulgarity in Tudor England? That's something for me to ponder today.

It was decent wine, MM, but I had too much and I can't handle it these days. But everyone is touchy here (UK, not Res His) at the moment - best to stay off booze and politics.

Happy days.

Never such innocence again.

Of course it's only recent technological advances in flat screen technology that permit the current vogue for massive screens. If we still only had cathode ray tube TVs, then a 89" screen would require a box about three metres/nine feet deep just to house the vacuum tube - that's bigger than some rooms in modern houses.

I had posted something about "faire un malheur" here but of course this is the wrong thread for that.  I've put out feelers or at least a feeler about a kitty someone was trying to rehome (younger age bracket of cat than I was thinking of but similar colouring to my last dear departed one) but of course I've not heard back yet.

I sometimes watch TV shows on iplayer at present.  I can watch them at a time that is convenient to me that way, though I haven't been watching that many TV programmes lately.

Well Conservative held the Parliamentary seat where I live - new member, Mr Rees-Mogg's niece.  I won't give people my political views but suffice to say I feel very depressed how things have turned out.

Just entered the board.
Back from a show about Edith Piaf presented by Anne Carrere in Ostend...present for the partner...
An example from a similar show...




And the real Piaf with one of my preferences



Kind regards, Paul.

I suppose an Edith Piaf tribute act makes a different from the tribute bands to pop groups like Abba and the Rolling Stones etc.  The chap never did ring me about the cat today - he had said he would ring in the morning to give me a time when he'd bring her over.  I tried phoning him but got no reply.  Oh well, if this one doesn't work out there'll be a cat needing a home somewhere.  I could have done other things in the time I spent waiting at home for a phone call though.  I managed to fix the cat flap this morning so I was at least spurred on to do that, though my handiwork is a tad ramshackle.

LiR, MM and Vizzer, I just entered the boards. My whole evening with
https://historum.com/threads/10th-july-1940-p%C3%A9tain-grabs-power.181832/page-3
on Historum.

And tomorrow early up for duty...

Kind regards from Paul.

Yesterday I went to the local public library.  At one time there used to be a section with novels in foreign languages (well the ones often taught in schools, French, Spanish, German, Italian etc and I think some Polish as there were some displaced Poles who lived near the town after the Second World War).  I couldn't find anything yesterday though there were some educational books on foreign languages.  I asked a lady at the library and she said they don't stock them anymore.  I was disappointed.  Maybe that is a result of living in the digital age.  I wanted to look for a "middling" difficulty Spanish book to practise my reading skills over the Xmas hiatus from U3A Spanish.  I didn't want something for absolute beginners but I heartily doubt I am up to tackling anything by say the playwright, Lope de Vega.  We studied Marinela by Benito Perez Galdos in class but that was a "dumbed down" version.  I was saddened the library no longer offered foreign language novels in their original tongue.  I guess there is always archive.org though that will contain older Spanish novels.

LiR, of course I am lucky that I live near Bruges.

Our local public library has some 5000 novels in English, some 3500 in French, some 1400 in Spanish, some 700 in German and some 500 in Italian and many other languages, even two in Japanese and 14 in Russian...

I read in the time Spanish books from that library with a dictionary and understanding a lot from the context and if not, reread the page again.
From Arturo Pérez Reverte his Captain Alatriste series and something from Carlos Fuentes I don't find back in the library anymore, I just checked.

Kind regards from Paul.

I went out last night and was back late so too late to type anything then.  You are certainly better off for foreign language novels in your part of the world than mine, Paul.  Still the modern way is to read stuff online.  Our teacher gave us a Christmas-themed crossword to do over the Xmas/New Year break.  I translated the word belén as 'crib' but our teacher said it was 'nativity scene' - perhaps it's a Catholic thing to say 'crib' or 'Christmas crib' or maybe it's just where I live.

LadyinRetirement wrote:

I went out last night and was back late so too late to type anything then.  You are certainly better off for foreign language novels in your part of the world than mine, Paul.  Still the modern way is to read stuff online.  Our teacher gave us a Christmas-themed crossword to do over the Xmas/New Year break.  I translated the word belén as 'crib' but our teacher said it was 'nativity scene' - perhaps it's a Catholic thing to say 'crib' or 'Christmas crib' or maybe it's just where I live.

Dear LiR, now I understand how Comic Monster feels, when translating a difficult English term. He would perhaps have as many difficulties with French and Dutch.

Take now for instance your "Belén" and "crib"...

First I associated "Belén" with "Bethlehem"
https://m.interglot.com/es/en/bel%C3%A9n

and "crib" with the Dutch "kribbe"
https://www.interglot.nl/woordenboek/en/nl/vertaal/crib

And I see now that "Belén" is litteraly "Bethlehem" but I think by association it became: nativity scene, crib. And I learn now today that our Dutch "kerststal" (Christmas shed) is: nativity scene, crib...
In fact it is all quite logic by association, as we learned 6 years old that Christ was born in a "koestal" (cowshed) and was  laid on straw in a "kribbe" (I see now for the first time that it is also "crib" in English)
Normally, we don't say "kribbe" for a "voe(de)rbak" (manger feeder?), but rather "trog". and now I see that it is also "trough" in English.
https://www.linguee.nl/nederlands-engels/search?source=auto&query=trog

LiR, sorry just entered. The whole evening research and posting for Historum still for the thread:
https://historum.com/threads/10th-july-1940-p%C3%A9tain-grabs-power.181832/page-8

I feel more at ease overhere , as many there are "looking at my fingers" to critique if I make any failure...

Kind regards from Paul.

I think the crib in the Nativity sense is a manger rather than a purpose-built baby bed.  A crib proper is similar to a cradle only a cradle has rockers to rock the baby.  Both have tended to be replaced by Moses baskets and cots over the passage of times.  Our teacher handed some print-outs of a Spanish carol "Rin rin" and played someone singing it and encouraged us to join in.  There was some mention of nappies (or diapers) in Spanish.  In English accounts of the birth of Christ the general term "swaddling clothes" is used.  I did a search on Google translate which gave 'cuna' as a translation for 'crib' and 'Belen' (which  should have an acute accent on the second e) as Bethlehem.  I think Belen can be a girls' name though I don't know if it is a common name.  I'm sure I have seen 'belen' translated as 'crib' somewhere though.  

I don't know whether Spanish online newspapers put up a pay wall the way British (and some French) ones have*.  There may be some online blogs in Spanish but would they be too taxing for me?

*I'm mentioning this in the context of looking for Spanish reading material.

Here, throughout Catalunya both North and South, no nativity scene, or whatever you call it - whether pessebre in Catalan, belen/belenismo in Spanish, crèche de noel in French - is complete without a resident caganer, quietly going about his business (its usually, though not always, male) while everyone else is distracted by the new-born Christ:



The traditional caganer is dressed as a Catalan peasant - with a phrygian cap, the barretina, on his head, and his trousers around his ankles, 



But his place is often taken by a politician or other personality ... and I see you can already get a Boris Johnson caganer:

I think we talked about the caganers in the Spanish group I attend recently, MM. My hometown is twinned with a town in Spanish Catalunya and some of the group partake in town twinning activities.  One lady said the caganer had something to do with fertilising the ground (so would be a case a pre-existing practice being grafted on to Christianity perhaps).  There weren't any visual aids at the Spanish group however - though I know at least one other lady from the group woke up as depressed as I did on Friday 13th (because of the result of the UK general election) so might have a chuckle at the Boris Johnson figure.

LadyinRetirement wrote:

I'm mentioning this in the context of looking for Spanish reading material.

LiR, as I mentioned the local library... While we will go to the Canary Islands next March, I was looking to read E-books with an I pad: free download and even in English, where there are perhaps more of. But I think I am a bit too selectif... and perhaps also difficulties with the connection overthere. At the end I decided, while we have paid for a 50kg of luggage, to take some English and French novels from the local library with me, as I did in former years. From the more of 5000 novels in English in our local library I have now after checking some 1000, selected some four to read.

Did some quick research on Google as I did for the English novels, but now for Spanish and found this.
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/free-spanish-ebooks/
https://espanol.free-ebooks.net/
https://espanol.free-ebooks.net/categoria/clasicos-novelas-y-cuentos
https://espanol.free-ebooks.net/ebook/Los-poliglotas

Kind regards from Paul.

When I switch on my Acer laptop (which isn't a very powerful one) if I access the internet via Microsoft Edge before I do any searches it defaults to a web page called Microsoft Lifestyle. While that page does flash up some of the current newspapers a couple of articles today were (paraphrasing) something life repairing is the key to austerity and then wearing warm clothing (and maybe not being overly fussy in style) is a good idea to stay warm in winter.  Well thanks, Microsoft, I'd NEVER have thought of either of those things (though it's possible to be warm in winter and still be stylish I feel).  I wonder if it is the sheer size of the internet that provokes writers for websites to come up with inane articles.

Paul, thanks for suggestions about Spanish reading matter online.

LiR, sorry I had prepared something for you about the "corset" (in our dialect we say "corsé") and wanted to reply to MM's, Vizzer's, Nielsen's interesting discussion about the Dollar sign, but got stuck this evening on a French forum of Geopolitics about honest history writing...

http://geopolitique.passion-histoire.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1364&sid=a02bb148c234074716d69baa78a986fe&start=20

Kind regards, Paul.

The history of the dollar sign is interesting but I feel unqualified to comment on that thread as I don't have much knowledge on the subject.

Temperance may get this - other folk I don't know - but well, I realise a lot of people didn't like the end of Game of Thrones but a caganer of the Mother of Dragons - well really!!! As Mr Grouser of the old "Toytown" series used to say "It ought not to be allowed" www.caganer.com/en/caganer-daenerys-targaryen-867

I was reading up on something on an Irish website The Village which alluded to "Guppygate".  It was some years ago but a friend of Bo-Jo's (who later went to prison for fraud - the friend not Bo-Jo) had rung B-J when B-J was a journalist and asked for the address of a tabloid journalist who had written something the friend didn't like and wanted to injure the journalist.  Somehow the call had been intercepted and recorded and it's out there on YouTube.  B-J said he never revealed the tabloid journalist's address and the tabloid journalist wasn't injured but the conversation disturbed me all the same.

I should add I'm not certain how reliable The Village is.

I've been trying to do my (U3A) Spanish homework which is a Christmas/New Year/Epiphany based crossword.  I've done most of it but 14 across is December 31st - 8 letters.  In Spanish New Year's Eve is nochevieja which has 10 letters and I can't find a synonym.  Then 11 down is "These nuts are traditionally eaten at Christmas time".  This has 7 letters - the second is I and the third is E.  From what Almonds (or sweets made of them) are popular at the festive season - in Spain anyway - but they are 'almandres' so I am completely flummoxed.  Does anyone visiting the board have better knowledge of Spanish than me?

Are you sure the 3rd letter of the nuts one is an "e"? Otherwise it might be piñones, ie pinenuts, although I'm not sure how Christmassy they are.

And for 31st December how about fin de año, although strictly I think it should be final de año, no?
In Catalan it's final d'any.

OOPS MM, crossed posts...

And "Lady in retirement"... two "pals" at the same moment for the lady, you can't say...

Kind regards to both from Paul.

MM and Paul, I think you have it.  I was wrong, e was the sixth letter.  The second letter of the nochevieja synonym does seem to be an 'o'.  The other words I have seem to fit but I think the ones I'm trying to get now are likely the ones the compiler of the crossword put in because he/she was running out of ideas.

In a hurry, LiR...you knew, as you known me now since years, that I wouldn't be able to resist...

Found this and the second letter is an O...but as you said "because he/she was running out of ideas.", I find it a bit far-fetched...
"cottilón" (fiesta cottilón)
https://madamelouloubilbao.com/agenda-eventos/cotillon-nochevieja/

 
But also:
https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/cotillon/19628

a dance, but also accessories for a dance



And even: 
courir le cottilon: rechercher les conquêtes féminines...

Kind regards from Paul.

That word does seem to fit, Paul. albeit the relativity to Xmas is somewhat tenuous.  Thanks.

MM and Paul, thanks for your assistance in solving the Spanish crossword.  I haven't been on the board so much the last few days because I haven't been looking at matters that were particularly historical if I've been on the internet (though I guess everything has a history).  I'm also trying to get on with real life.

Anyone else's part of the world getting battered by rain and wind?  The river valley (which is normally a small river) is in flood again and looking like a lake.

The lady came from Cats Protection and thinks I will be suitable for a moggy.  It's a question of waiting to hear if there is a suitable one for me.  I've said I don't mind having an older cat and am not particular about colour of cat.  I hope they don't send me to choose a cat because of course that would be very hard to decide.

Can anyone remember the title of the thread where the age of consent was discussed?  I wanted to reference it in a (not historical) discussion.

Google search throws up Res Historica - Elopements and marriage, in which Caro mentions age of consent in the opening post. Is that the one?

Not sure MM, I'll have a look.

I'm not sure whether I'll open a thread about it on Res Hist (or say something on one of the extant language threads) or just look into it for my own satisfaction and say nothing further on the matter on Res Hist, but I've been comparing a couple of the well-known songs from the musical version of Les Miserables in English with the original French words.  Naturally where rhymes and inflection are involved sometimes the translation is perhaps rather a translation of the general sense of the original than a verbatim translation.  Anyway, if I never write another word on the topic I'll be glad to have found out about the existence of this French Canadian singer Joanie Banville (they say it Jo-a-nee).  She seems to be quite a religious young woman but here she sings "Mon Histoire" (the English version is "On my Own").  She's in her 20s now but she was only 16 when she gave this performance.  

LiR, I found no subtitles, but here there are:



I did some further research about Joanie Banville and not yet a Wiki but found this:
https://emcitv.com/joaniebanville8/

I wouldn't depress you this evening, but it remembered me about "our" Soeur Sourire. (the singing nun)



And the lyrics, while there are no French or English subtitles:
And I learned for the first time in my life that in this song they mentioned a Jean Sansterre (Johny Lackland) 
https://genius.com/Soeur-sourire-the-singing-nun-dominique-lyrics
 
And as I read now about the Albigenses (the Cathars), it seems quite a "traditional" Catholic song. Now I understand, why the singing nun came in discussion with the Catholic "Church". And as I see now our archi traditonalist Archbishop, Cardinal Suenens.
I learned and studied in depth the "Albigenzen" on the ex-BBC board with "Almaric"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnaud_Amalric

I wanted first to give the French language wiki, while many times the English one is...
But the English one is as well stuffed as the French one.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C5%93ur_Sourire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Singing_Nun

From the wiki:

Deckers did not see much money from her international fame, and her second album, Her Joys, Her Songs, received little attention and disappeared almost as soon as it was released. Most of her earnings were taken by Philips and her producer, while the rest automatically went to her religious congregation,^[6] which earned at least $100,000 in royalties.^[5]
In 1966, a biographical film loosely based on Sister Luc Gabriel was released called The Singing Nun and starring Debbie Reynolds in the central role.^[6] Sister Luc Gabriel reportedly rejected the film as "fiction."^[5]
Pulled between two worlds and increasingly in disagreement with the Catholic Church, Deckers left her convent in 1966^[6] to pursue a life as a lay Dominican instead.^[11] She later reported that her departure resulted from a personality clash with her superiors, that she had been forced out of the convent and did not leave of her own free will. Convent superiors denied the other nuns contact with her as she was described as a "bad influence." After she left, however, she continued to adhere as closely as she could to the disciplines of the convent, still considering herself a nun, praying several times daily, and maintaining a simple and chaste lifestyle.^[10][12]


Upon leaving the convent, her record company required her to give up her initial professional names of "Sœur Sourire" and "The Singing Nun."^[10] She attempted to continue her musical career under the name "Luc Dominique."^[6] Increasingly frustrated at what she perceived to be the Catholic Church's failure to fully implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, she released a song in 1967 defending the use of contraception, called "Glory be to God for the Golden Pill."^[13] This led to an intervention by the Catholic hierarchy in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and one of her concerts was cancelled.^[14] Several major tour venues subsequently cancelled, and the tour was effectively derailed. In 1968 Deckers turned to publishing, writing a book of inspirational verse, but that too failed to gain an audience.^[15]
Deckers went on to release an album entitled I Am Not a Star in Heaven^[16][15] and developed a repertoire consisting of religious songs and songs for children.^{[citation needed]} Despite her renewed musical emphasis, Deckers' career failed to prosper. She blamed the failure of the album on not being able to use the names by which she had become known, saying that "nobody knew who it was." When a second single "Sister Smile Is Dead" also failed, Deckers embarked on teaching disabled youngsters in Wavre, eventually opening her own school for autistic children.^[12] She eventually suffered a nervous breakdown followed by two years of psychotherapy.^[10]


In 1973, Deckers became involved with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Cardinal Suenens requested that she write songs for the movement, and this led to a brief but successful return to the stage, including a visit to Pittsburgh, where she sang before several thousand people.^[6] Under the previous name "Sister Smile", she released another album in 1979, which she described as containing "honest, religious songs" and commented that the album would help listeners to "know who I really am."^[10][17]


In the late 1970s, the Federal Public Service Finance of Belgium said that she owed $63,000 in back taxes.^[5] Deckers countered that the royalties from her recording were given to her convent and therefore she was not liable for payment of any personal income tax.^[10] She then called on her former convent and her former record label, Philips. The sisters gave her what they considered to be her share (which enabled her to acquire an apartment in Wavre, Brabant) on condition that she stop denigrating the congregation and sign a document that all accounts were balanced, but Philips, which had received 95% of the revenue, did nothing.^{[clarification needed]} Deckers ran into heavy financial problems. In 1982, she tried, once again as Sœur Sourire, to score a hit with a disco synthesizer version of "Dominique",^[18] but this last attempt to resume her singing career failed.^[15] In addition to the other financial worries, the autism centre for children started by her and Annie Pécher had to close its doors for financial reasons in 1982.^[6] After this, Deckers tried to make a living by giving lessons in music and religion.^[19]


Citing their financial difficulties in a note, she and Annie Pécher died by suicide by taking overdoses of barbiturates and alcohol on 29 March 1985.^[8][20][21] In their suicide note, they wrote that they had not given up their faith and wished to be buried together with the funeral rite of the Catholic Church.^[19] They were buried together on 4 April 1985 in Cheremont Cemetery in Wavre, Brabant, the town where they died.^[22] The inscription on their tombstone reads, "J'ai vu voler son âme/ A travers les nuages" (English: "I saw her soul fly through the clouds"), a line taken from her 1966 song "Luc Dominique".^[23]




"Quelle triste histoire" I didn't know it was that sad...something in the light of the recent struggle in the Catholic "Church"...today I read in the paper, that Francis is perhaps preparing his retirement, but that he first has to place his "men" on the key posts to avoid the return of the "tradionalists" as...


Kind regards, Paul.

LadyinRetirement wrote:

Can anyone remember the title of the thread where the age of consent was discussed?  I wanted to reference it in a (not historical) discussion.

 
LiR, is the age of consent the age when people normally got married?

In that case there was a thread started by Hatshepsut about the marriageable age for girls.
https://reshistorica.forumotion.com/t1176-marriageable-age-for-girls

Kind regards, Paul.

I've always understood the age of consent to be the age where a person is deemed old enough to legally consent to have a sexual encounter with another person (even if it isn't within the bounds of marriage).  The age of consent 16 in the UK currently.  Where marriage is concerned someone in England and Wales can marry at 16 with parental consent but parental consent is not needed once someone has attained the age of 18. I'm not sure about Scotland - there may be mention in Hatshepsut's thread about young people running away to Gretna Green (in Scotland) from "south of the border" if their parents weren't willing to let them get married.  I'm not sure of the current law in Scotland on the matter.

It's going back a bit but some while ago (definitely more than a year) somebody made an offhand remark about folding clothes.  I replied with a link to a YouTube video about methods of folding clothes.  I came across my post a little while ago and now I can't remember whether I deleted it or not - in retrospect it could have come across as being belittling or dismissive though that wasn't the intention so apologies to the original poster if it did.  I MAY have deleted it - I can't find it now.  I did genuinely turn to YouTube for a "how to".  I was taught to fold T-shirts etc in half and then fold them again but there is a school of thought that they should be folded like a shirt - put on their back and then the sleeves folded over the front and then the garment folded thus.

LiR, I think to remember that MM replied about the  folding and I think! to remember that he made it obvious how competent he was in such matters...perhaps was ironing included too...

I still remember that I was on the point to reply about the different methods that two succesive domestic helps used to fold the shirts...one did it in shape that when folded was much larger than the shape of the following help, who did it in my eyes the normal way as in the shop etalage



OOPS LiR I first wrote men's "skirts" till I saw the images...

Kind regards, Paul.

Yes, towards the end Soeur Sourire did not have much to smile about, did she?

For some reason the upstairs fire alarm kicked off this late morning/early afternoon.  I checked and couldn't see anything amiss so I think it may have been some steam coming from the bathroom.  Then again the alarms were fixed in place not long after I came back to the midlands in the autumn of 2010 so they will have served for 10 years later this year so maybe they are just getting past their useful time of service.

I seem to remember dry-cleaning being mentioned on a thread here.  I can't find it at the moment.

I was out from about 4-7 pm tonight and came home to find one of the kitchen windows had been smashed (it was one of the windows I DIDN'T have replaced with the plastic rather than the glass).  As far as I can tell only my MacBook - the second hand one - has gone.  It's a nuisance because although I had deleted any confidential work files (thank goodness) it had some of the things I had written for the shorthand group (it's only a hobby) and there were some .pdf sewing pattern files also.  I'll have to start backing up any work I do.  I used to do that regularly when I worked full-time - well there was a central computer that used to save all the stuff from the individual computers though I remember in the long gone days before having networked computers saving stuff to floppy disks.  I was doing a temporary stint in a bank - must be coming up to 30 years ago now - and someone broke in but all they took was a coat one of the men kept there (the bank vaults used to be very cold) and some floppy discs (unused).  I'm not sure if they had been formatted - that was in the days when you had to format floppy discs.

That is terrible, LiR, regardless of what has, or has not, been taken. You have my greatest sympathy. I expect you probably feel 'violated' for want of a better word - in that your home, your privacy, your personal life, has been casually broken into by a complete stranger. Thankfully though nothing very important has been lost, nevertheless I understand your upset. I expect you have reported it to the police, although from a similar past experience I doubt much will come of it. It seems to have been just a casual opportunistic crime and so, thankfully, having tried their luck once without any great success, I doubt they'll be back. It wasn't against your house or you personally - it was just someone, probably indeed just kids, trying their luck - and from what you say largely failing. But it's still not nice and I feel for you.

Here's to add to Meles' offer of sympathy LiR and to agree that a 'professional' or 'career' burglar (for want of a better term) is highly unlikely to actually break glass. Too much risk regarding making noise, possible self-injury and probability of leaving behind dna evidence etc. That's only a small consolation I suppose. It's the sense of intrusion, of course, which is the worst aspect.

Sincere thanks to those who have expressed concern about my recent break-in.  A couple of youths (not the ones who did the break-in) from the neighbourhood knocked on my front door after I had made my post on the subject to ask if I was okay.  They had seen some "boys" though they weren't sure if it was a couple or three running about and shouting in my garden and the garden next door (which belongs to an unoccupied house) but the kids had run off.  The youths from down the road had thought that was the end of it but then they had seen the police car so came to check how I was.  I said well in a state of bewilderment but otherwise okay healthwise but I was down a laptop and had had a broken window.  A policeman from the forensic part of the police came round yesterday but he couldn't take any fingerprints because most of my cleansing fluid/washing up liquid bottles are made of plastic* which apparently isn't that suitable for taking fingerprints.

* Greta really needs to target the manufacturers rather than the average man or woman in the street.

LiR, I feel with you too. Some months ago they broke in in the house in front of us. All the cupboards and all  throwed to the floor. Sleeping room all in turmoil. Nearly nothing stolen, but a big cost to redress it all. And as MM? said: the worst:that they have broken your privacy...

Kind regards, Paul.

I had a visit from a couple of community liaison policewomen yesterday - they were in the garden when I got home from my French class.  One of them was a bit "If you were my granny" and says she is going to mention me to social services.  I'm not sure if she is the brightest.  She means well but she seems to be one of those who think if the heating isn't cranking out at 80 degrees the house is "cold".  I don't have functioning central heating, indeed my gas is capped off but I manage.  About the broken window I had said it had been good before it was broken which was why I hadn't had a plastic one put it.  "But it's not good is it, 'cause it's broken" or words to that effect. She said she felt cold - I wasn't but I tried to explain that the plug in radiator heater would take time to heat in.  Sorry I'm going on a bit.  The policewoman also said something about there not being much in my fridge - I said I'd only just got home with my shopping.  I tend to get my provisions in manageable amounts and fairly often as I don't have a car.  I didn't think at the time but in retrospect I thought it was something of a cheek to have looked in my fridge.

I don't know if I ever explained but during one cold winter when I was still working in London I had thought I had drained the water pipes in the house  in Stafford.  Obviously I didn't because some pipes cracked and then in the thaw the waters started to flow.  Someone turned the water supply off at the access point in the road outside.  I've never been able to get on top of the jobs that need doing.  Since my supply of typing has diminished I may look to see if I can find a "proper" job - not necessarily full-time and not necessarily in an office.  Well, we'll see.  Last time I posted I double posted somehow so fingers crossed (or is that being superstitious).

LiR, I feel again with you, not in the sense of that stupid police woman, but in esteem for being alone and not having that big amount of money, to still manage an honourable life. It is the same "spirit" as my mother's in the time.

The same for MM, also alone, who has, as a small self-employed one in a difficult business, manages, even in a set-back as he last mentioned (in a factory, bad luck is all for the boss, but as I remember from my parents they couldn't have bad luck for a long period, otherwise they were "failliet" (bankrupt))  to have a decent life.

With esteem for you and MM, kind regards from Paul.

Thinking of that lady copper who annoyed me the other day, leaving the EU will mean if push absolutely came to shove if people try to get me to move out of my house I can't appeal it under my human rights as a last resort. Still it hasn't got to that stage yet.  One of the ladies from the Spanish class (where I've been today) said don't pooh-pooh social workers if they get in touch because she knows someone who found the local council acted as a portal for other things.

I do have this less powerful laptop but the theft has meant I've spent less time on the internet (which can prove addictive - to me at least).  Perhaps that is one good thing that has come out of a very bad matter.

I'm still rather miffed about the condescending attitude of the police (the community ones, well the one who did all the talking, though she probably does mean well but some folk can overdo the "do-gooding") - the police woman said they could have a doctor assess my mental health.  I believe I am compos mentis.