E.G.B.D.F.

The French do love their acronyms. Quangos, public bodies, utilities, they all have them.

We got a letter from a four lettered acronym, to say that, on the 6th May there would be work going on and we would experience fluctuations in supply and occasional cuts in supply during the day.

I wrote 'Kettle, Pans' across the top in red and pinned the letter up where it could be seen on the 6th.

One early acronym we became familiar with was RIB. That is a piece of paper with one's bank details that everyone seemed to want when we first came here. to connect an electricity supply, EDF; to get water SAUR, to connect the phone, SRF and to join the health service CPAM, to receive payments from our savings, PSIs, 'please attach a RIB'. Then there is ERDF which controls the electricity infrastructure.
And they change, confusingly. CPAM has suddenly turned into AMELI, thus clouding a favourite film.
On the bottom of bills, look out for HT, Hors Taxe, as when the tax is added the bill is much bigger. People used to British customer service will often comment wryly or rudely on HS, hors service, signs. Just means out of order, but lack of service can apply in many situations.
SAMU is important, its emergency number is 15 and is the ambulance service. The ambulance services one sees advertised being nothing like what we mean by ambulance. You can book them for hospital appointments but cannot get one late at night when someone must go to hospital. For that, SAMU are the boys.

 Twice I have had to call 15, and a doctor answers, calming, comforting. the doctor triages over the phone and on those two occasions dispatched the emergency team, who were superbly trained and equipped. Totally different from the white coated, heavily smoking taxi driver who once brought Pa in Law and me back from Agen hospital after a check up for Des, and who banged on his blue light and siren at every threatened hold up that kept him from his friday night tipple. And kept chatting on his cb. Radio that is, CB is Carte Bleu or Carte Bancaire.

Then there is FNAC, a wonderful site, books, and every concert ticket you could want, SNCF and its super TGVs, but terrible website so we go to the local station to book tickets. Where the service is very helpful I have to admit.

So on the 6th I was blearily making the Assam and caught sight of the piece of paper that had become part of the wallpaper in the intervening days and saw the 'kettle, pans' in red. So I filled a couple of jugs and the 4litre casserole and just for good measure put a filled bucket in the bathroom.
"SAUR may switch off the water later," I reminded Paul.
Then, just as the toast was nicely toasting and the eggs were nicely poaching, (those of you who have stayed here will know that means it was wednesday), just as I was wondering to switch over from JH and politics to 6Music, off went the lights, the cooker, the grill, the radio and the clock.
Not SAUR. ERDF
"Oh well," I thought, "I can always finish the toast off in the terrible toaster."
DER.
The acronym for the terminally bewildered.