Diary of Covid-19 confinement, day twenty-five

View from today's dog walk

Confinement cooking

It is day twenty-five and I have alternated my time between the kitchen and the kindle (sun lounger) as yet again we have been blessed with glorious weather. Since the beginning of lockdown, I have now baked six Victoria Sandwich cakes and one chocolate and Cognac tarte, but I have also made more than ten batches of wholesome bone stock soup, which I am hoping will balance things out. We also got some fresh air and exercise when we took the dog out for a lovely lunchtime walk. The village was quiet, the sun was shining, and the new spring growth is visible everywhere.

Most accidents occur in the home 

We had a bit of unexpected excitement to deal with in the village last night, which involved leaving home (wearing our masks) and entering someone else’s home. How has it only taken twenty-five days for this once normal activity to become something so alien? A friend had fallen in the shower and broken her wrist (big ouch) and I needed to call for an ambulance.

It was reassuring to know that even in these difficult times, when medical facilities are overwhelmed, an ambulance arrived within half an hour and they were kind, careful and respectful. They did have to phone into control to get permission to head to hospital, and told which one to go to, but otherwise it was service as normal. I have been in contact with the hospital today and was pretty impressed with their efficiency as despite the severity of the break, it was all repaired with pins and plates this morning and carried out with something that numbed her arm, rather than the need for a general anesthetic. Hopefully this will mean a much better recovery time for her, although with healing, physio etc, it will still be a long road. I was just pleased I was able to do something to be of assistance in the village once more. For those who don’t know, I am a bit of a hospital nerd, and would normally have had no qualms about heading to A&E or Urgences (in French) to help out with translation, but at the moment hospitals are not hanging out places. Once the ambulance had left, I had to make do with going home to watch an episode of Casualty 24/7.

Emergency numbers in France

In the confusion of running out of a virtual pub quiz, donning my mask and going around to see what I could do to help, I forgot exactly which number to call, even though I am usually the one who keeps her head at times like this. I thought now was as good a time as any to add this handy guide to the blog.

112 European Emergency number. Can be called from any country in the EU.

15 SAMU French Medical Emergency number.

17 Police Emergency number.

18 Pompiers for Fire or Accidents involving people or buildings.

114 Emergency number for deaf and hard of hearing people.

10th April 2010 Gizmo in Cahors

April holiday memory

For my France holiday memory today, I am taking you back to 10^th April 2010, and the first night of our Mini Cooper (Gizmo) Road Trip to celebrate Adrian’s 40^th birthday. We had left Ed, Mini the dog and Adrian’s parents at home and arrived in Cahors, in time for a sunny evening walk to the famous bridge over the River Lot. I learned a couple of valuable lessons that day. One, stilettos and cobbled climbs don’t match and two, even if it is a road trip, sensible shoes are a must when on holiday with Adrian. The following day I bought a pair of walking shoes in a supermarket and I don’t think I’ve worn heals since. I can still have fond memories of the delicious meal we ate that night, in a beautifully decorated Italian restaurant, that started with a local Walnut liqueur for an aperitif.

Stay indoors, stay safe.

Lockdown library

My reading suggestions for today are the novels by Jennifer Bohnet. Most of her books are set in the South of France, and all of them have a great cast of characters, a superb setting and story lines that will leave you feeling warm and happy inside.