Bonjour
I truly hope you and yours are well.
What a difference a week makes. Since I last wrote to you, France has gone on full lockdown in a bid to halt the progress of the virus which is now impacting all of our lives on a global basis. The hope in France is that self-isolating as we all are, the virus will have a lack of hosts and we can at least help to control its spread, and hopefully, ultimately help to eliminate it.
Of course spring, which officially arrived here on Thursday, is unaware of the turmoil. The birds were singing in the trees which are blossoming beautifully and the bees were out collecting pollen. This week, for what felt like the first time in months, the sun came out and stayed, the sky turned blue and despite the situation we find ourselves in, our spirts were lifted.
It’s really surprised me how the French have accepted the government’s forceful measures. We may only go out for essential supplies for ourselves and our animals, or to take physical exercise alone, and if we do, we must fill in a form as there are numerous police checks in place. Knowing how rebellious my French neighbours can be, I’ve been overwhelmed by the feeling of acceptance in the name of national solidarity, the “we’re all in this together” attitude. Despite my worries, when I went to the supermarket, the shelves were filled, no one took more than they needed. I spoke to the man serving on the till and expressed my surprise that people were just shopping as normal, “we all must play our part” he said gravely “this will pass.” I suspect also, that living in a rural area as I do, we all know that the staff will remember how we behaved in a crisis.
Meanwhile people are trying to work from home as much as they can, home school kids who might be off for many weeks, help elderly neighbours, and not go mad being shut in and watching too much crap tv. We are all dreaming of the day when we can get back to normal, plan holidays and travel and visit loved ones, get our hair done and sit at a café enjoying a glass of wine with our friends. So to that end, I shall continue to stay positive, share posts and photos, and “bring France to you” so that even if you can’t travel to France right now, you can escape via photos, and we can keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and articles on the website…
Wishing you and yours well,
Bisous from France,
Janine
Editor
Author of My Good Life in France: In Pursuit of the Rural Dream – ebook, print and audio, free on Kindle Unlimited (UK) and on Kindle Unlimited Australia
Don’t miss the weekly newsletter from the best website about France
Read the whole newsletter here
It’s easy to subscribe if you don’t want to miss my weekly newsletters of musings from France and a roundup of fab features, plus exclusive random newsletter giveaways. Just scroll to the bottom of this post if you’re on a mobile device, or look on the right on a laptop, type in your email address and click subscribe…
