Despite an extremely strong wind, “un vent à décorner les boeufs” as we say in French “which literally translated means “a wind to knock off the horns of oxes” or simply a wind that will blow you away, we went for a hike this afternoon. I have to admit that once or twice it felt like I was actually being blown away. One positive side of it is that on an incline just before reaching the “Col de la Croix”, the wind was pushing us forward making the uphill climb unoticeable.
The Sculpture Trail is a hiking trail located in the commune of Mayronnes in Aude (11). This route of approximately 5.2 kilometres represents an average of 1h30 of walking.
Several small streams in a majestic setting in the heart of the Corbières and the Val de Dagne, admire the many sculptures that guide your way. Surprising and magical, in the heart of the Corbières, Art and Nature meet here in a route full of surprises and discoveries.
I do not think I have missed many of the sometimes weird sculptures
Not the longest hike but a lot of up and down in sometimes very rocky paths.
As planned, the Prime Minister and the Health minister have announced, yesterday afternoon, a tougher response to the virus in the most affected areas, notably Île-de-France, Hauts-de-France and part of Normandy.
We are quite lucky, in a certain, way in our Occitanie Region because none of the announced tightened rules apply to us. We benefit however from the National Curfew’s new timing at 7pm (instead of 6pm) starting this Saturday (tomorrow).
So what was said? The “third wave” is here. Characterised by the appearance of variants, the epidemic resurgence of the last few weeks has forced the executive to tighten up even further its measures to combat Covid-19, while maintaining a “territorial approach”.
► New confinement for some regions
While a reconfinement limited to the weekend was long favoured, the executive has finally decided to put the Île-de-France, Hauts-de-France, Alpes-Maritimes, Eure and Seine-Maritime under a bell for the whole week.
Only “essential” shops and schools will remain open, but high schools will be switched to “half capacity”.
This measure comes into force from midnight on Friday and will be applied for at least a month. In total, some 21 million French people are affected, i.e. almost a third of the population.
► Schools stay open, high schools half full, universities status quo
“Preserving our children’s education as much as possible. France is the only country in Europe that is maintaining a classroom system for nursery, primary and secondary schools, where physical and sports education (PSE) will be able to resume “normally”. High schools, “more than two-thirds of which are already in half-size”, will all adopt this system. As for the universities, the current system will remain unchanged.
► Closure of shops that are not “of first necessity”
In order to enforce the containment, only the so-called “first necessity” shops will remain open. These are mainly food and DIY shops, but also record shops and bookshops, which were added to this list by a government decree issued at the beginning of March.
► Outdoor activities allowed in confined areas
“Brake, but do not lock up. (…) Get some fresh air, go for a walk, do some sport”. In this logic, outdoor activities will be authorised, unlike previous confinements which only allowed short trips for walking or running. “We know today that we contaminate ourselves infinitely less when we walk in the open air than when we are grouped together, without masks, indoors,” declared Jean Castex.
► Travel within a 10km radius with a certificate, without time limit
A considerable relaxation. In place of the “1 hour, 1 kilometre” rule, which had prevailed in previous confinements, the executive has this time decided to authorise travel within a 10 kilometre radius, with no time limit. However, a certificate is still required to justify each trip, and the reasons remain unchanged.
► Ban on inter-regional travel
To preserve as much as possible the spared territories. To prevent the virus from spreading in the departments where it is still relatively uncommon, inter-regional travel will once again be prohibited. It will therefore not be possible to leave a “red” zone to go to a “green” zone, except for imperative or professional reasons.
And most importantly
► Resumption of vaccination with AstraZeneca from this afternoon (Friday)
The European green light has been given. The vaccination campaign with AstraZeneca can be resumed on Friday. Currently, people aged 50 to 74 with risk factors and all those over 75 can be vaccinated.
Stuck in the U.S Airways lounge at Philadelphia’s airport in transit back from Charlotte to Germany after a hard week’s work in North Carolina. The plane to Munich had a few hours delay.
I got stuck in very healthy and getting-spicier-all-the-time Bloddy Marys. Cannot remember too much about the red-eye flight back across the Atlantic.
Those boots were brand new and purchased a few days earlier. More pairs were purchased on a later trip to Nashville.
Typical of Shanghai. This photo was taken on my little street, which I admit was full of restaurants. All sorts of super cars were parked everyday. Most of the owners were under 30 (possibly under 25, hard to tell with the Asians). Many girls too. As I said before, I never so many Ferraris in my life than when I was living in China.
After the English variant, the South African variant and the Brazilian variant, is it time for the Breton variant? In Lannion, in the Côtes d’Armor, a cluster has been discovered in the hospital centre. According to the Regional Health Agency of Brittany, 71 positive cases were recorded, 27 of which concerned staff of the establishment. The samples taken revealed that the virus that infected these patients was a mutation of Covid-19.
My friend Gerard was very quick to capture this information with a very appropriate drawing
Just walked into town to pick up from the bookshop the book I had ordered. Am looking forward to read it.
Florence Arthaud, nicknamed “the little fiancée of the Atlantic”, born on 28 October 1957 in Boulogne-Billancourt and died on 9 March 2015 in Villa Castelli, Argentina, was a French sailor and the first woman to win the Route du Rhum, in 1990
Florence Arthaud died on Monday 9 March 2015 in a helicopter accident in Argentina during the filming of the TV show “Dropped”.
Thirty years later, with the agreement of Marie and Hubert, Florence Arthaud’s daughter and brother, this poignant declaration of love for the sea was finally published.
In France as is the case in most countries, it is the law to have and carry an Identity Card. In France you are liable as from the age of 14. Within the EU, it is the only document you need to travel which is a good thing because as opposed to a passport, it is free of charge.
Smaller, more secure
Finally there is a new ID card on the horizon. It is the size of a credit card, smaller and more secure. It consists of an electronic chip with biometric elements. It contains all the usual information: surname, first name, date and place of birth, sex, nationality, address and date of validity.
No longer the need for a separate wallet
It also has a QR code with the same information, which will allow for quick detection of possible fraud if the photo has been changed. There will be a digitised photo and two fingerprints, except for minors aged twelve. These fingerprints will not be kept in the national file if the cardholder so requests. This more secure national identity card will be valid for ten years instead of fifteen. The aim of this new generation card is to combat fraud and identity theft. It also makes it easier to identify oneself for online procedures.
Info from the Interior Ministry
France had until this summer to comply with the European regulation on the security of its identity documents.
The new fridge has arrived as planned and is almost fully loaded up. Summer can come.
The question now is how t get rid of the old fridge? Our local dump (déchéterie) does not collect and suggest I got in touch with the “mairie”. This I have done yesterday evening by email and I am waiting for an answer.
