We were in Bordeaux on Thursday, for an appointment at the eye clinic.
Blue eyes and strong South West France sun don't go well together and so cataracts have slowly been forming over the years. Still some way to go before an op, but these days the very young ophthalmologist has decided he wants me to have a regular check-up.
The clinic is new, cutting edge and full of young things in white coats doing lots of tests that involve drops in the eyes and flashing lights. All of this takes time and when we finally emerged it was gone twelve - lunchtime.
We don't get out much these days and being in Bordeaux, it seemed a good excuse to find a local eatery. Not only is the clinic new, but the whole area is being redeveloped, including what looks like a tram bridge being built across the Garonne, so we relied on Google and Tripadvisor to find us somewhere. The place was well-reviewed.
With the new Omicron variant on the loose France has tightened up its regulations - masks to be worn in all public places. So suitably masked, with our health certificates on the screens of our phones ready to be zapped, we pushed open the restaurant door. The place was heaving with masculinity. Jam-packed full of large, sweaty workers from the surrounding building sites. All cheek by jowl and not a mask among them. Even Le Patron was maskless. Mind you, I defy anyone to tell that lot that Macron requires masks to be worn when out.
Normally, in the interests of social distancing, we would have fled. But we were hungry and slightly light-headed from a morning of being managed by the French health service in all its glory. So we entered into the spirit of the moment, trusted our booster jabs to protect us and relished our ample "menu de jour": buffet starter, choice of two main courses, cheese, dessert, coffee and a bottle of red wine left open on the table to help yourself. Fourteen euros each.
It almost felt like the good old days. How our world has grown small, when a simple lunch in a worker's café in Bordeaux can make us, for a while, feel like we are on holiday!
And if we don't take care, that world will remain small. I sincerely hope that this latest 'variant' will see off the Covid problem that has had governments take unprecedented powers with - in my view - very little justification. Yes, when it first struck it was sensible to take precautions...but they have persisted long after the vaccine roll out - with all its political undertones. And where are the funds to put national health services back on their feet, with adequate numbers of doctors and nurses, and hospitals with sufficient beds to cope? Nowhere, of course...
ReplyDeleteSorry to moan, but governments everywhere seem to be controlling people ratherthan providing adequate health services.
Hello Fly, feel free to moan away. Hopefully you are right and our worlds will grow again and money will flow in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteWe are back to masks in shops, consulting rooms ( inc. Hospital waiting rooms) and I think public transport. But 'hospitality', ie eateries, for customers and staff are maskfree. The jabs don't give you immunity from IT or stop you passing IT on so I still keep away from crowds and hope that if contracted it is a very mild form. I do a test twice a week even though symptomless AND keep my fingers crossed!!!! Lesley
ReplyDeleteHello Lesley, what you are doing sounds very sensible - I'm not sure we were! Interesting how people seem to test much more in the UK. Here, it seems hardly to happen. I wouldn't even know how to go about it. So fingers crossed it is!
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