Travels with Forty Roses: Flurries

Along with the cold winds out of Siberia there was more than snowflakes flying this week. The UK was hit with Storm Emma, called the worst snow storm in 50 years and even today roads are closed and some folks in the north still snowbound. One little girl in Wantage is happy about Snow Days on Thursday and Friday and sledding today in the back garden. This morning we received a WhatsApp video of a daring sled run down the garden slope. Here the storm was a great deal gentler. Snow arrived overnight Thursday and departed by 4PM the same day. But snowballs were flying and many snowmen constructed. Perfect packing snow for such activities.

Meanwhile we were in another type of flurry; that of officialdom paperwork.

To supplement the fuel tank over the winter, as we use the Kabola on diesel for heat, John cycles pulling our neighbours bike trailer, to the local Leclerc petrol station and fills up 4 20litre containers at the pump, cycles home and using a siphon pump puts that fuel in our tanks. Now the tanks are huge (one of our builder issues) and oversized and will hold 3000litres of white diesel. This is way too much for gently motoring the canals as we do. Usually tanks are not more than 1200 litre and some much smaller. Diesel degrades, so to keep these tanks filled is wasteful and costly, as old diesel becomes contaminated, and must be removed. But we do need fuel for our spring travels. So, John investigated a delivery truck coming to fuel adequately for our travels which are about to begin. After speaking with our neighbours, Luciole and Randle, who are guest carrying cruise boats, we discovered a company in Moneteau who would do the job. With the Siberian wind blowing brutally, John rode his sturdy bicycle up the canal to the fuel company, with his Captain’s book in tow. Much paperwork is required to legitimately fuel a boat in France so he was well advised to be prepared. “Oui M., livraison sera le lundi.” Au contraire, as a couple of days later a call came in to say Monsieur was required for further signatures on more paperwork. No, the driver could not bring the necessary paperwork with him for signing at delivery, all must be signed and sealed prior to. So back he went on the trusty bike, this time through snow. We anticipate delivery this coming Monday, hopefully without incident.

On top of that paper flurry we received a text message from the l’Yonne Prefecture to say that our titre de sejour had finally arrived. The story of what is required and the process by which one applies for this very important card is too long and serpentine to go into here. The point is we have been organizing this material via on line applications, physical prefecture visits and follow-up visits since July 2017. We were assured that the finalized cards would be in our possession before Christmas. Not so. Another visit. Another translation. Finally, we went Thursday to pick up our cards and found, to our consternation, we have been overcharged for the “tax” which you must buy at a Tabac in the form of timbres fiscaux. Our friend Marie-Joëlle rushed down to the Prefecture to help us with a conversation much too complicated for our bumbling French. Not expecting a problem, we went prepared with our simple and basic language skills to pick up the cards and turn in our tax stamps and temporary cards. Au contraire! Our dossiers must be opened and to do so we must write a letter explaining why we are not late!! We felt like either weeping, grinding our teeth or rolling on the ground in hilarity, as in this process we are not late. Dutifully, we returned home and wrote a detailed letter with all the necessary requirements, reviewed by Marie-

Joëlle to ensure it was satisfactory French and sufficiently politely worded. Another trip to the Prefecture yesterday where we were greeted like old friends and where we thought our cards would be handed over. Au Contraire! We must await the Commission which sits next week. This eminent body will review our case and dossier and hopefully, hopefully deem us ne retardons pas and delete €360 from the tax. We know the dossier will reveal all. . .but. . .???