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Great morning here, Elle!
Never mind the rain, head out with the boys!
Do they know "dreich"?
I know Snap, but not Strip Jack Naked.

This is a link to Vindolanda.
http://www.roman-britain.org/places/vindolanda.htm
Fascinating stuff about the Cohorts who served there.
I think you should visit it. And volunteers are needed to help with the excavations. Be great fun!

Now, I have heard of McDonalds!
They are a restaurant chain! Not been in one though.
Have you heard of "Five Guys"? The young ones tell me a branch is opening in town and it is "wowsers"!
I can't see how or why Pontius Pilate was born in Fortingall. Maybe his mother was a McGregor?
A German town has a claim on him too. And so does Italy.
My plans? Yes, I am going to ASDA to see how the sale of snow shovels is going. Not a cloud in the sky and they are selling snow shovels! Something's up!

Hello everyone!

Great day here too - nice and warm/hot.

Rusty, are the shops not going to be selling Christmas cards soon ? Certainly not in France, but I know in England Christmas gear is sold so early!

Re snow shovels, perhaps ASDA were short of stock last year and could not meet the demand, and have decided to make up for it this year?

When we had the Canicule in 2003, all the shops ran out of ventilators, hence the following year, they all had them on show from end February - just after the sales for electric rads, stoves etc...

Everyone that did not have a fan bought one (at least), and of course the Summer was not that hot ! Typical !

Hello, Pigale!
Christmas cards? Not sure. Maybe October?
When are they on sale in France?
Goodness knows what ASDA are thinking!
But somewhere in the Walmart world it could be snowing!
All my family have snow shovels in their cars.
"Just in case!"
Today is "letterbox" day for me.
Off to Screwfix to see will they sell me a new one!

Hi Rusty,

Buying a letter box can be costly - at least it is in France; they are all standard size, not legal to have something else, and the price may vary from one shop to the other but they all are a little expensive for what they are.

Christmas cards should appear in our shops around November time (or perhaps sooner, I don't really know)
I usually buy mine from WWF. In France, Christmas cards are a fairly recent tradition, I mean no more than 20 years or so, and New Years best wishes have always been the custom. We can send them until the 15th January, but passed that date is not considered 'proper'. New Years wishes used to be written on one's personnal official card and the 'pretty cards' are very much something imported from the US and UK.

Hello, Pigale!
I think I have solved the letter box situation.
My son frequently employs a joiner in his business, and he has asked him to pop up to see me and he will sort me out. A good reliable lad! No rush though.
Sounds as if France is a bit like Scotland.
Christmas was not celebrated here until recently.
Not at all when I was a boy.
I think the advent of television had much to do with it. It was not a holiday in Scotland. New Year was our holiday. I prefer Christmas now, though.
I think Mother's Day and the Tooth Fairy came from the States? Valentine's Day? Not sure where or when Santa turned up.
Greetings cards are expensive here! I try and get charity Christmas cards. I have forgotten the name of it, but there is one for badly treated donkeys, and I may get those. I like donkeys.

It would appear that as soon as August is here Debenhams gave Christmas fever,which spoils it.Today I went in to town and there were two donkeys giving rides to children,they were in excellent condition and very friendly but they always look so sad Just started to rain but still quite warm

Hi again,

Have just returned from Vet and shopping at Super U.
This time, it's Mummy cat's turn and she is going to be spayed tomorrow morning, so took her in and they make sure she does not eat anything. I'll pick her up tomorrow around 5pm. Better have it done before she comes in with another litter !

Christmas has always been celebrated in France (well for a long time anyway - late 19th Century early 20th, an orange was considered quite a treat to many kids, (perhaps with a new pair of clogs in the country) - Only rich people could afford to give all their kids some toys - But Christmas was celebrated and Midnight Mass was an important event in the Christian calendar, followed by Easter of course.

Now New Year was also celebrated and though Christmas is very much a family and kids affair, New Year's Eve is much more with friends (and family if they wish, but kids go to bed early) and there is always a lot of dancing until early hours of the morning -

A lot of people in Paris go to shows that night, like the Lido or the Moulin Rouge for example - dinner dance before the show, Midnight champaign, and then the show starts.

I always thought Santa Claus started in Germany no?
Pretty sure Valentine's day started in US.

Our xmas cards are extremely expensive - you can buy 10 British ones for the price of 1 French one. I prefer to give the money to WWF (World Wildlife Fund)

Pigale, Holland is a strong contender for starting Santa Claus.
They took him to America and he evolved into the Santa that we know, now.
Do you have Mother's Day in France?
We have it in Scotland, and that came from the US.
Same with Fathers Day, Valentines Day, Tooth Fairy, and Remembrance poppies.
Been a lovely day here, but a shade cooler than it has been!

I do buy animal charity cards and a friend of mine who also has Airedales has a huge range of cards which she paints herself she also makes models but she says she is having to start earlier every year as she has such a following abroad mine arrived this morning,hope I remember where I put them come December

OK Rusty, Holland it is, I did not think it had originated in the States.

Yes, we do have Mother's day, Father's day, Grand-Mother's day, Women's day and Valentines Day etc...!
Whatever day it is, we have it ! together with Lilly of the Valley day (1st May - also Labour day), 1st November when everyone goes to cemetaries to flower (Chrysanthems) the grave of their loved ones (even though they might not have thought of them for the rest of the year ! It's all good business !

Tooth fairy here is not a fairy but a friendly little mouse. leave your tooth under the pillow and you will find something nice the next morning; trouble is it does not seem to work when, at an older age, you lose a tooth !

Rather hot still here and hotter tomorrow.