The only minor difference is that I am using my trusty old iPhone to do this. God bless the old dear. I have missed it so…

I did recently have a minor dalliance with another young pretender, but they were found to be wanting in, oh so many, ways. I have learnt my lesson and have come back to the fold, fully chastened and humbled.

I promise not to act in such a churlish and base manner again. I am a craven buffoon but I am merely a man. I have my faults. My head was turned with something that was all “style over substance”, so to speak…

I am loving the whole ‘back to my apps’ vibe. Let joy be unconfined, sayeth I.

And to those who are still stuck with their godless Pre handsets? I feel for you. I really do…..

Courage, dear hearts…..

Still, it is a not wholly undeserved reputation that they have for being the masters (and mistresses, indeed) of that great universal pursuit: l’amour. With this in mind, surely it makes sense that their take on health education should be….umm….how you say?…..more robust, eh?

I am sure if we tried the same over here we would act in a different manner on exposure to such wit and wisdom. I would not necessarily reckon that we would be shocked by an offering. No, we would all become about 12 in our heads and snigger and point. We would smirk and and make fairly unoriginal licentious comments to our friends and move on to the next offering.

In short, we would miss the point, rather…..if you would excuse the pun (See? See what I mean?!).

I do have a question, mind. Having watched this a couple(!) of times, I noticed something rather telling. Have a look and see for yourself.

In the next toilet cubicle there are a lot of graphic representations of the doodler’s art-form of, shall we say, the female private ladies’ place. A lot. I made a careful note of this.

My question is this? Why is this the case if the person washing their hands after using the facilities is a young woman? What class of a female toilet is this, pray? Where might one find such a place? C’est bizarre, non?

Oh, those naughty, naughty French……!!

Filed under: France, Skin-jobs, Slip-sliding away Tagged: Bizarre, France, Other people's opinion, Saucy, Skin-jobs ]]> http://suchard19.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/on-naime-que-ce-quon-ne-possede-pas-tout-entier/feed/ 0 suchard19 http://suchard19.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/noodles-to-soothe-the-soul/ http://suchard19.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/noodles-to-soothe-the-soul/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:24:01 +0000 Richard http://suchard19.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/noodles-to-soothe-the-soul/ Continue reading →]]>

Grim day today. Cloudy and cold. I have a day off and I want to soothe the inner man. Perfect time for some Thai beef noodles. Never get tired of this dish.

Posted via email from A Refuge For The Shallow….

Well, it has been an age and I have been tardy in the extreme. I have been deeply busy with one thing and another. I promised to do this more often, but I am sad to say that I have been a very naughty lad indeed.

What news is there? Well, there are a few things. I have been promoted to the lofty heights of Charge Nurse. That, for the initiated, is the male equivalent of a nursing Sister. Was I surprised? Actually, I was. I was stunned in the extreme, to be honest.

I didn’t honestly expect to be made a head nurse within my unit. Not so much about the clinical skills as the political climate. All that notwithstanding, I am happy to take on the role. It is nice to be in a position to actually influence and affect change. As long as it is for the good of all, huh? As was quoted in Spiderman: With great power comes great responsibility.

It is early days yet but it will be an interesting and added element to my current activities whilst in the workplace.

More to follow in the coming weeks and months……

Posted via web from A Refuge For The Shallow….

It is not going to end world hunger. It is not going to find a solution to the War Against Terror (or any other armed conflict we are currently enjoying across the globe). It will not be of any benefit to correcting the economic crisis (in fact, it may add to it depending on how much it may cost us!).

All of this is not even in the least bit significant, as far as I am concerned. It is, put succinctly, lovely.

I want one. It is that simple.

Before long, I feel that we will all want one and we will wonder how we got along without it. Not a far-fetched concept, seeing as how the same has occurred with both the iPod and the iPhone.

Bring on March, say I….

I have just had some splendid news that has put a big, kick-ass smile all over my face. After my foolish prang in the early part of the year, I just got a call from a nice man who just told me that my beloved scooter, known affectionately as “The Beast”, has been fixed and will be back in my possession again next week.

Hoorah! Let joy be unconfined. Oh, to be back on the road again. I forgot quite how much I dislike the early morning commute on the Jubilee line. I will also be revelling in the fact that I don’t have to be jumping out of the pit quite so early of a morn. I know I don’t save that much in the way of time, but the psychological difference makes all the difference in the world. Believe me…

Posted via email from A Refuge For The Shallow….

For my money’s-worth, I am definitely in the “give-’em-a-break, for-God’s-sake” camp. I mean, really! In the great scheme of things, why is this even coming up on the radar? What is it that they did so wrong?

At the very least, one could argue that they were field testing important tactical equipment. Seriously. If a riot shield can’t hold up to an impromptu session of tobogganing then it follows that it would not be up to the task of taking a few slaps from the Great Unwashed.

Sounds like important research to me…

Within this small slice of time I have had time to reflect that it was almost a year ago to the month that I was privy to a week spent dwelling in the company of strangers. That the strangers were in France and, for the most part, French makes no never mind to me but it does play a small part in that which is to follow. I shall elucidate….

I had agreed a while before, after much badgering from my other half, to attend the wedding of a couple she had known for many a year but who were utter strangers to me. So far, so blah blah blah. Nothing unusual there, I know. It happens to the best of us all at some point to be counted in the numbers to attend such formal affairs. It is the way of things, I concede, but I am never greatly pleased by these calls on my time.

I am not by nature very keen on the attendance of these things when they are arranged by my own family. I am sure as hell not getting any more excited about being summoned to attend the various hatches, matches and dispatches of people that I hardly, if at all, know purely based on the fact that I am the ‘plus one’ in the deal.

A touch grumpy, I will admit. Not one of my more endearing qualities but there we are. As Popeye said, ‘I yam what I yam’.

Any how, the crux of the matter was that I had reluctantly agreed to this attendance. The larger issue was that it was to be held in the South of France. Amongst French people. French people whom I had never clapped eyes upon afore. French people who, as far as I was aware, spoke no English.

Oh joy be mine….

Before it be said to me, I personally have nothing against the French in the least. I am not afflicted by the tendency of others in the UK who have an ingrained distrust and general dislike of all things Gallic. I have actually always liked France and the French. Every time I have been there I have had un grand temps altogether.

No, the trouble I foresaw was that I had not been to France for many a long year and my command of the lingua franca as a working, living, spoken tongue was all but forgotten. I don’t like doing small talk in my own chosen tongue with strangers. How to get around this as the only paddy in the village, then?

The solution was as timeless as it was simple, really. Alcohol. Lots and lots of lovely alcohol! Well, it was a wedding after all. I won’t bore with the details but, suffice to say, that once this concept was grasped and embraced, the whole affaire was a grand success and everyone had a whale of a time all round.

Which leads me back to my reverie and thinking that I could do with a top-up on my on-going education in spoken French.

Well, it would be rude not to reinforce the entente, n’est-ce pas?

As they say in another French(ish) speaking part of the world; Laissez les bon temps rouler…..!!