I have just returned from a week in Plymouth, having gone over by ferry with the car to bring back Kim ( Mrs. Noah ) and her numerous purchases after an extended stay with our daughter Alyson. Now Plymouth is the city where I spent most of my formative years, from 11 to 18 as a teenager, and a more recent stay of 20 years or so before moving to France. You would say, then, that it is the most familiar and homely town that I know.... and yet I find now that I really don`t know it any more. It`s not only that the streets and shops have changed in the 11 years we have been in France, but the living conditions have worsened to a surprising extent. Even the street plan has altered, with a new attempt to create a more rapid traffic flow into the town in the mornings and out in the evenings, a system unlikely to succeed, I feel. TRAFFIC, that is the one thing that renders the place unsuitable for civilised life, a huge, almost stationery double line of cars that means commuters will spend over three-quarters of an hour on a ten minute journey and no doubt waste several litres of fuel into the bargain. If there is one advantage in the move to France, it is the relative scarcety of traffic jams. I will admit they do exist, any journey near Paris will reassure you of that! However, here in Deux Sevres, they are an endangered species, I am happy to say. Long may it so remain!
Bye for now, off for a burn-up on the open road!
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