I have just contemplated taking a picture of a neatly folded blue towel with a nicely-embossed Floris soap (Syringa) sitting on it, that has been resting  in the downstairs bathroom in case the daily visiting nurse wanted to wash his/her hands. Following Vik's example from 2011, I have been trying to take a photograph for every day of the year, and during this grey rainy January, with Paul in hospital for a minor operation for a few days, and recuperating with his bandaged foot up for many days after, it has been quite a challenge. Unable to ski, walk, nor until the last week, quiz, skittle or visit, I have wondered which rain-soaked part of the garden to take each day. Once I was reduced to taking a lovely cauliflower that I had bought on Miramont market on a freezing Monday and now, nearly, to capturing a bar of soap for posterity.

The no washing thing has bothered me a bit. Each day the nurse would dash in, take from a box that we had to pick up from the Pharmacie a syringe and jab it into Paul's abdomen, say something cheery and dash off. I had to not imagine them coming from dressing post-operative wounds, from infectious children, from .. oh well you get my squeamish drift. At least I knew P was clean, so the next patient should have few worries.
The hospital wards were very clean. Patients have a single or double room with a scrubbed bathroom. All is cleaned twice a day. Nurses, orderlies, Doctors all look steam-cleaned. But downstairs the public loo leaves a lot to be desired. Soap, for a start. And although clean in the mornings it was more like the British image of a French loo by the afternoon. As I came out I eyed the suggestion box in the foyer, wondered if my French was sufficient to make clear the point that most hospital infections are brought in by visitors, and how such criticism from a Brittanique would be viewed,as infection rates in France are way below those in the UK.

 And the hospital care was excellent. Staffing levels seem high and everyone was kind and helpful. Our experience of several hospitals, large ones in Bordeaux and little local ones, while P's Dad was with us and needing much care, left us with a confidence that all staff, from cleaner to Intern respected and empathised with the elderly. Not sure about the top bods - (do they empathise with anyone, or are we all just interesting cases to them?)- but then they don't do any hands-on caring so it can't be judged.
The French system, a mixture of state funding and private insurance seems to work well. And all emergency, life endangering conditions are treated and medicated 100% by state funding, so no-one unable to afford the top-up insurance need fear for their family's health. A lot of employers will fund their employees' insurance too.

So, today's photograph. Suggestions please, in the suggestion box.