January 1st - Happy New Year!

01/01/2009 by Brigid.

Phew! There goes Christmas for another year and here comes 2009. This year, for a change, we have resolved to lose weight, get fit, learn French, decorate the house, and generally be more social and out-going! All this, you understand, on a shrinking budget.

As I write, the BBC economics page lists the value of the Euro as £0.9563. Commentators have been predicting parity by the New Year for months, but it looks increasingly as if the Euro might actually overtake Sterling. Shocking. Especially for those of us living on pensions generated in the UK. Since we moved to France in July 2007, the value of the Pound Sterling against the Euro has dropped by nearly 30%, meaning a reduction of over 750€ per month in John’s pension in real terms.

Even so, things aren’t as dire as you might think. Our reduced income has just meant that our lifestyle isn’t quite as we envisaged when we first moved down. We are being forced to get creative. On the plus side, I am discovering economical recipes for things like beef shin stew and dusting off what I learned in the “make do and mend” class at school. Before you know it, I’ll be signing up for the local WI branch!

Another reason to be cheerful is that I have got myself a little part-time voluntary job teaching English to a small class of 3 to 5 year old children. I have no children of my own, but then I was never one to let lack of experience stand in my way. Luckily, English mother-tongue was the only essential qualification.

I’ll admit the first class was a bit scary, but subsequent sessions have been a joy. In our last, I got the children to make an English-style Christmas card for their parents. Christmas cards are not common in France, so there were a few bemused faces as I explained that we were going to colour in a snowman figure and dress him in a scarf, hat and gloves, then cut him out and stick him on a folded card with a greeting inside.

Only a couple of the kids felt confident enough to cut out the snowman and his clothes. Most, like Axel, finished colouring-in and brought their masterpiece to me to cut out and assemble. Unfortunately, I snipped off one his snowman’s arms. “Ooops”, I said mildly, suppressing the urge to swear. “Comment est-ce qu’on dit ‘Zut!’ en anglais?”, said Axel, as I hastily stuck it back on. Bless him.

Happy New Year to you all.

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