As I seem to recall saying last night
It's a tumultous time for the French people - a change of President coming in the spring, and a big change in public behaviour from yesterday. From yesterday morning, they are no longer able to smoke in closed public places.
Our reporter Yvonne Murray is in France for PM and over the coming weeks you'll hear her reporting from around the country. She joined us live from the start of her journey in the South-Western town of Bergerac. As a treat, and for no extra money on your licence fee, here are some snaps.
This is Yvonne with the curator of Europe's only tobacco museum Bernard Clergeot:
These are some ornate pipes in the tobacco museum:
This man Yvonne met in a cafe tabac said the French authorities are treating him like a child. So she put him over her knee and whacked his French butt. (We are not allowed to show you the pictures of that.)
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Second from left, top shelf: The John Humphrys pipe?
PS - Eddie, how's the campaign going?
Second from left, top shelf: The John Humphrys pipe?
PS - Eddie, how's the campaign going?
I am presuming it is the cigarette butt that got whacked...
Hello Big Sister - (1) and, er (2). I will be revealing more of my plans next week. I will be using some of the suggestions I've received. We had the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ staff rag on asking for an interview yesterday - THAT's how big this thing is getting.
VRY NC EDDIE. ITS NC 2 SEE TH PPL BHND TH MC.
I imagine that's our fault too.
Well the strapline's wrong then, for a start -
PM- radio with pictures.
Thanks Yvonne
PS Don't forget to write on a beach somewhere for us. Or a riverbank if you're not near a beach
Hello to YOU, Lord Mair! Glad to hear the Beeb are taking you seriously. And sorry for the Repetitively Straining Blog earlier. I can provide no worthwhile explanation.
(PS Can you share the rag article with us when published?)
If brevity is the soul of wit then this post was written by Oscar Wilde.
Si.
Okay, now. There's a link to a posting sent in a while ago. It isn't here. It was in reply to Eddie's comment to me.
But if I repost I'll be in trouble.
Help! What am I to do?
Eddie (4);
If you're serious then I'm intrigued by it all. I took yesterdays thread as a light-hearted and not-entirely-serious one.
But that would be to overlook the Radio Times naming you as the 5th most attractive male voice in British radio in 2002 and the 5th most powerful person in radio in June 2005 less than two years ago. Your stock within broadcasting has obviously risen since then. So why not take you seriously in this regard.
Change of topic; to Yvonne touring France. Will she be doing anything on the British Diaspora to France over the last 25 years or so? Might be a useful topic to cover. Why did they go? When? Working or retired? How did they fit into French society? Where are the hot spots for emigrees currently? Cost of living / housing relative to Britain? What about the ones who tried it and returned to Britain?
I declare an interest: I'd love to move to France myself or perhaps to retire there in due course. So I'd be interested to hear the experiences of others who have made that move.
Si.
Okay, now I'm beginning to get a little annoyed. I must've frogged 8 or nine times today, including here, but none of them have appeared! Eddie, I do hope (if this ever arrives on the blog) that you'll see if there's any way next months' improvements can be brought forward...
***Okay, now I'm being told I'm posting too quickly, Grrrr***
*** Now it doesn't seem to have done anything. I had the bar crawling across the bottom to show activity after I'd pressed the "submit" button, but then nothing***
Hi Jonnie (5) - did you send your post in by text? :)
Look forward to seeing (and hearing) how well the smoking ban goes down in a country where it is practically mandatory to smoke! I'm thinking lead balloon with half a dozen other lead balloons tied to it!!
And Eddie - looking forward to a campaign update.
I got lost, somewhere between Annasee and Simon, the world grew dark .... Yet my footprint remained. Temporarily.
Last 7 days in November 06. Total Blog Postings 882 (15 threads)
Last 7 days in January 07. Total Blog Postings 912 (19 threads)
No count for December Holiday period
So the recent problems are not due to a massive increase in PM blog traffic.
I'd write more but I wnt 2 B brf.
GB Pipe Smokers of the Year:
1964 Rupert Davies
1965 Harold Wilson
1966 Andrew Cruikshank
1967 Warren Mitchell
1968 Peter Cushing
1969 Jack Hargreaves
1970 Eric Morecambe
1971 Lord Shinwell
1973 Frank Muir
1974 Fred Trueman
1975 Campbell Adamson
1976 Harold Wilson (Pipeman of the Decade)
1977 Brian Barnes
1978 Magnus Magnusson
1979 J. B. Priestley
1980 Edward Fox
1981 James Galway
1982 Dave Lee Travis
1983 Patrick Moore
1984 Henry Cooper
1985 Jimmy Greaves
1986 David Bryant
1987 Barry Norman
1988 Ian Botham
1989 Jeremy Brett
1990 Laurence Marks
1991 John Harvey-Jones
1992 Tony Benn
1993 Rod Hull
1994 Ranulph Fiennes
1995 Jethro
1996 Colin Davis
1997 Malcolm Bradbury
1998 Willie John McBride
1999 Trevor Baylis
2000 Joss Ackland
2001 Russ Abbot
2002 Richard Dunhill
2003 Stephen Fry
2004 Carolyn Quinn
2005 Iain Graham
2006 Duke of Thicktwist
Eddie and Team: If you scroll carefully through the threads you will see that froggers are falling off lilypads, and many threatening not to return.
I shall continue to visit you, though off for a brief spell in Wales (What is it with Wales, I wonder?) and back on Monday.
So, I hope the whole project doesn't fall apart meanwhile ..... and that solutions are found.
Ever-the-optimist.
Big Sis x
I hope the Frenchman in the Tabac was also having his Ricard and that it was also about 7.30 am. As is the french way :-)
It is getting dire, sure enough (the blog troubles that is!).
Si - good idea (the feature on France), I for one would be very interested also.
enjoy your weekend in Wales Big Sis, hope you return home to a fit and healthy blog - not this tired weary old soul!!!
Blog! What's up with it?
The Tobacco Museum Segment was interesting.
Miss Effingham (20):
I think you mean...
"Blog! Hoo-uuurrh! What is is good for?"
The blogging system has never really been suited to chit-chat - you need a proper bulletin board (or, better, a chat room) for that. But the joys of moderating such are onerous to say the least.
Endlessly posting thank you Fiona and Peter Rippon should know better than to say Blog debates are lively at the moment when he knows otherwise.
Rufus - Re Pipe Smokers of the year.
Are you sure about the 2004 entry?
oh look, nothing on this thread since 2.46. Weird or what? I have to say that I too am fairly fed up with the problems and also with teh iplication that it is all OUR fault and I am taking myself off for a week. If things have improved by then I'll come back. Otherwise, well there's no point to the thing if it doesn't work properly...
Who is this apologist? From which planet?
xx
ed
Golly, Eric, you're going to be featured in 'Ariel'?
Is Robin still editor?
BigSis;
I also heard Peter Rippon on the programme after WatO, proclaiming the excellence of the blog and wondered how in touch with the current reality he is!
Si.
Huh! So my dodgy Edwin Starr impression got through, but my possibly witty caption for the top photo concerning an invisible fag packet disappeared?
What's going on? To mis-quote Bonnie Tyler...
"Where have all the tech-men gone,
And where are all the frogs?
Where's the Net-wise Hercules,
To fix these broken blogs?
Isn't there a white knight, or better still a geek,
Someone who can get the posts on the web within a week? ... "
I've just noticed that the man in the cafe tabac is making a camel-shadow on the side of the bar behind him. Is he a secret Beach Blogger? Should this be the way we identify ourselves in public?
Gillian - Well spotted and I think you may be on to something. Please tell me that we only have to do the head and not humps and everything.
(I've just read that back - but I'm going to leave it anyway!)
RJD - how clever of you to find my ''secret'' message. I thought it would never see the light of day. I could get used to this subterfuge but I'll have to work on secret humping.....!