The winter is really gripping France at the moment with sub-zero temperatures everywhere, even in Corsica. Most of northern France is covered in snow and storms are being predicted.
Yet the weather in Caen remains unique. I think I’ve written how we’ve seen rain, sun and wind most days since we’ve been here, but even now the weather is different – no snow, temperatures about six degrees above Paris and plenty of sunshine.
It’s still cold, and we really notice it as the heating in our building is playing-up. The boiler is underneath our ground-floor flat and the warmth from that is usually enough to keep us warm.
When we wake up and the radiators are cold and the boiler is quiet we phone the heating company’s emergency line and an engineer is out within a couple of hours. After sounds of metal being thumped and French swear words the heating is back on – at least for a few hours.
Winter is not a great time for me. With all the immuno-suppressive drugs that I take, I pick up colds and viruses very easily. Usually a ‘flu jab keeps anything nasty away and – so far – my French ‘flu jab has done the job.
But I am suffering with cold after cold, feeling exhausted and miserable. I’ve lost my appetite for learning French and the other projects I have to keep me occupied. So I tuck myself up with a good book (in English) or play computer games. wait for the weather to change and emerge from my hibernation.
