It is not that the blog's management has decided to give me Christmas
off in recognition of the long, unpaid hours of labour since the blog's
launch in October. Nor is it awarding an end-of-year bonus for all that
willingness to embrace new ways, new technology.
The plea of poverty is not quite the whole story in any case. In truth,
I am excitedly awaiting my first payment for your clicks on targeted
advertisements. There is reason to believe that the figure may well
stretch beyond cents into dollars (though in low single figures).
But leave aside Christmas, arrival of daughters, family visit to Le
Mans and even - on the box tomorrow - Crystal Palace vs my beloved
under-achievers Sunderland.
There is the imminent move to consider.
This time next week, we shall be hitting the road in our elderly, sans clim'
BMW and exchanging the famous room with a view over the Tuileries for a
home from which you can see, beyond the rooftops of other houses, for
miles across the hills of the Var.
Monette, accustomed to a swish, mollycoddled life as a Parisian chat d'intérieur,
will have to learn about the outside world. And about other cats. We'll
have to see how the geraniums get on without polluted Parisian air.
Before the removal men arrive, there are a million cardboard boxes
still to fill with CDs, books, files, clothes and whatever. A mail
redirection form to fill in. Change of address cards to send; "no, sir,
we don't sell them, they're found uniquement à la Poste,"
I was told in a stationery shop though la Poste insisted they'd stopped
stocking them ages ago.
If I get the chance, I will blog, but it would be unwise to make too
many promises. For now, then, allow me simply to wish all my readers,
supporters and critics alike, a fine festive season.
In particular, I hope that Nathalie Gettliffe
is able to derive some enjoyment from her short spell of freedom,
granted smartish - and rightly, of course - very soon after her
repatriation to France.
She has to return to prison after Christmas, pending legal moves to
obtain a more permanent release.
But as one who does not consider that French justice always works as it
should, I am delighted to applaud the judge who reached the sort of
compassionate decision that seemed beyond the thinking of Canadian
counterparts. Meanwhile, there is plenty of scope for comment in recent
postings and the responses received so far, so don't ignore croissants,
culottes, Diana and the forever growing France in Flashes. Meanwhile, Salut! has notched up two notable new
achievements this week: the total hits passed 20,000 and profile visits
1,500. That, in two-and-a-half months, isn't bad for a blog described
here recently as dying the death.
Labels: advertising, Canada, cat, Christmas, daughters, family, football, Monette, moving, Nathalie Gettliffe, Paris, Sunderland, Tuileries, Var
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