Day 2033 (Saturday) 24th October 2020

Yay – it’s the weekend and it’s warm and sunny once more! Huw went to Beaulieu to do some shopping and I read my book in the sunshine sunbathing – bliss! 

Our chilly plant looked lovely glistening in the sunshine.

We watched the new All Creatures Great and Small the other night so I decided to read it again. The TV show is well done but there are too many unnecessary changes to the original story, you can never beat a book!

Wales and France are playing a ‘friendly’ game of rugby tonight and the kick-off is at 9pm so we can’t watch it in Le Phare; day one of the curfew and we’ve already been affected. I had a text from Prissy this morning saying that for the last night of freedom then went to an Irish bar in Nice Old Port and drank beer and ate fish and chips! How un-French is that? I also got a text from Gilles saying that he has started watching ‘Allo, Allo’ and he’s really enjoying it but thinks he’s not getting it all. I was really happy that two French people texted me and there was nothing about work!

The clocks are going back tonight  and I hadn’t realised that this may be the last time this happens in France – read on

Is this the last time France will switch to winter time?

The clocks go back in France this weekend - possibly for the last time.

The traditional changing of the clocks for winter time will occur this weekend. At 3am on Sunday, October 25th, the clocks will go back one hour, giving most of us an extra hour in bed.

But this could be the last time that France undertakes the annual autumn ritual.

In March 2019, lawmakers in the European Parliament voted by a large majority -  410 MEPs against 192 - in favour of stopping the changing of the hour from 2021.

However, following the vote, the Parliament specified that each EU member state would decide whether they would keep summer time or winter time.

In France, public opinion is resoundingly in favour of scrapping the hour change, a public consultation made in early 2019 collected more than 2 million responses, with a majority of French voters wanting to stick with summer time.  

However the Covid-19 pandemic has put a spanner in the works by disrupting the normal parliamentary timetables of most countries.

The EU parliament laid out an initial timetable for all member states to have taken a decision by April 2020, so that those who opt to stay on summer time can do so, and those who opt to remain on winter time can too.

However as the pandemic raged in April, the hour change was not high on anyone's list of priorities and most countries have not passed the necessary legislation.

It's still possible that the timetable could be altered, but it seems more likely that this move will be postponed for at least another year. 

The hour change measure has been in place in the EU since 1976 but it has been controversial for years.

It was introduced to save energy, but some critics say that the change of the clocks has actually negative effects on sleep and health.

   

French word of the day: Ne pas mâcher ses mots

This is something of a trait among French people so it's as well to know the phrase for it.

Why do I need to know ne pas mâcher ses mots ?

Because applying this expression to your life can make things clearer.

What does it mean ?

Mâcher means to chew, and mots means words.

The idea behind the expression is letting the words come out of your mouth without thinking about what you want to say, which will probably result in a very frank speech.

The opposite of this expression, mâcher ses mots, is also very common. It means that you are taking the time to choose your words wisely.

For instance, adding et je mâche mes mots at the end of a sentence is a way of emphasising your attempt at being fair and objective in your judgement.

So saying that somebody ne mâche pas ses mots means that their way of speaking is very up-front and honest, perhaps too honest. This is something of a trait in France, which you need to be aware of before asking a French person whether your bum looks big in your new trousers.

Use it like this

Mon médecin ne mâche pas ses mots quand il parle de la situation sanitaire en France - My doctor does not mince his words talking about the French health situation.

Elle lui a enfin dit la vérité, sans mâcher ses mots  - She finally told him the truth, she did not pull any punches.

Synonyms

Parler franchement - to speak frankly

Etre cash - to be direct  

Appeler un chat un chat - to say it the way it is  

 

Joke of the day – alcohol free Guinness