Recycling

The first sign of spring, our neighbours' almond tree in bloom

I read last week that Amazon was running out of cardboard.  Not really a surprise to us, since the last delivery we had from them was a smallish item in a huge box padded with screwed-up paper.  I don't really make much apology for using them - we are in a vulnerable group better avoiding busy shopping centres even were they open.  Besides, lots of our Amazon purchases come from small suppliers only via Amazon, and often we have made links with the original merchant and bought direct from them the next time.  But Mr Bezos and his like are certainly getting rich on the bonanza of online purchases - I saw today that he is saving his pennies to fund a space project!

Macron is doing his best to seem green - not the first politician to jump on this bandwaggon - and this cartoon suggests a citizen's panel he set up has talked a lot to come up with very little.  But as new hope appears following the transition from Trump to Biden, I guess we are all hoping there will be some positive movement on climate change.

more signs of spring this week - cyclamen, daffodils and bay flowers in the garden

Meanwhile back in Lunel, like most French communes we have had various recycling options since the beginning of the millennium or before, but for the past year or two we get a small amount of local tax relief if we throw away less general rubbish (measured per collection by a microchip in the bin) and we have just heard that from next month all our plastic waste will be collected in the yellow bins we've always used for card, tins and plastic bottles.  This is a big change for us - hitherto we have always avoided adding it to the general rubbish by taking it to one of the local supermarkets which took its share of responsibility by collecting back its packaging.  But now, no more storing separately and carting round bags of used packaging - all simply added to the yellow recycling bin.  Cynics with more energy than I have might try and check what happens to it back at the depot, but I am just pleased some efforts are being made.  Glass and paper are also collected, separately and in different ways.

Over 40 years ago I was in charge of Friends House in London, and one of our perennial worries was whether the waste paper man would turn up to collect the paper we  generated in quantity.  It depended then as I expect it still does on the market for scrap paper, but I think things are a little more secure now - in the 70s, when the paper price dropped we had problems, sometimes for months on end.

Two 'new' expressions - obvious but suddenly part of everyday conversation.  First unboxing, simply the act of taking a new purchase out of its packaging, but now acquiring a kind of mystique as people start making unboxing videos.  Over the years I've suddenly found it really useful to look at videos about 'how to install' this or that, most recently a new counterbalance system for the dishwasher door when it broke, but apparently now it gives people a kind of kick to watch the process.  The most amusing things recently have been receiving large parcels which turn out to have tiny things inside - perhaps indicating that Amazon had run out of smaller boxes!

Then there is the whole concept of the podcast.  I was puzzled by this - you see a random title and lo you have a whole series of things to listen to.  Not always polished - you have to put up with noises off, and sometimes ums and ers.  And I thought they might be hard to find, but as soon as you look you trip over them everywhere.  So far this month I have tried two wine podcasts, another one called The Prime Ministers by Iain Dale which is serious stuff.  There's one following the publication The Week which we enjoy (it turns out the journalists are less good at talking about their chosen subjects than writing about them),  and two by the New Scientist which are excellent if slightly prone to publicise their own other stuff.  

The one Mary and I are beginning to enjoy together is the History of English podcast by a very well-organised American, Kevin Stroud, who is apparently a lawyer by trade but who knows is subject inside out and is exploring the history of the language thoroughly at least once a week for over 10 years after the first podcast.  I started looking for something to listen to while I do my 40 minutes' pedalling on the static bike each morning, but the range of things I can listen to now would keep me going day and night for ever!

As cycling is ever more popular in France there are now machines to
count the traffic, which may be confused by tandems!!