Cancer 92

I am testing myself. One of my greatest pleasures has always been driving, but I tire much more easily now (13 cycles so far….), so I am wondering if I can still do the distances. I did 200 miles on Monday, 120km plus 7 hours on a ferry yesterday, and 400km today. Yes, I am knackered. I really needed to stop at 3pm, but I am ready for my next 400km tomorrow. Cancer? Huh, it will have to try harder than that to stop me driving.

I do like France but it has its imperfections.

1. Tea. Why can’t they do tea? When they have tea bags they are always odd flavours rather than good British tea. I don’t want flowery grass seeds or blueberry muffin flavour.
2. Tea. Why do they think that tea can be mashed properly significantly below 100 degrees? They bring out a pot, with the tea bag separate, and expect the flavour to emerge when the water is 90 degrees or lower when the tea bag is added. Not going to work.
3. Tea. They serve it without milk. Milk is essential for tea. It takes away some of the bitterness leaving a perfect flavour.
4. Milk. Fresh milk is becoming more common but there is still often the expectation that UHT milk can be used. It can’t. Anywhere. It is a terrible product. They even expect people to put it on cereals at breakfast, where there are cereals at breakfast.
5. Breakfast. Come on, croissants and pastries? When I am in a hotel I expect bacon, sausage, eggs, and so on. Ok, this morning we did get fairly good sausages and well-presented scrambled egg, but no bacon. And rotten tea.
6. Breakfast. It needs tea. Have I already mentioned this?
7. Driving. Every French person on the road tailgates. It doesn’t matter what speed you do they tailgate. They can’t stand a foreigner being in front of them.
8. Driving. This applies to most British people too. Reversing out onto a road. Gross incompetence.
9. Mealtimes. These are largely fixed. You will eat at 1230 and at 1930 every day. You cannot be hungry at other times.
10. Food. Too much cream and creaminess

I should create some balance here. Some positive things:

1. Food. Foie gras. Unbeatable. I don’t care about how it is made. Those ducks and geese would do it to us if they could. It is called being higher up the food chain.
2. Food. Bread. So much better than nearly all UK bread.
3. Food. Rough pate. Why don’t we have proper pate in the UK any more?
4. Driving. The roads are so much better than in the UK. No potholes, smooth tarmac. Perhaps we need to introduce charges for using the motorways.
5. Driving. There is no one in France, so driving on the ordinary roads is such a pleasure (except for tailgating. OK there are some people in France).
6. Food. Availability of veal. Why is it so difficult to get in the UK?
7. Proximity to countries such as Germany and Spain, where the food is better.
8. Battlefields. Lots of them (past ones of course, I don’t want the other sort).
9. Vauban forts.
10. Secularism.

I have no doubt you could add more to both lists. Fee free.