Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Who Owned the Suitcase? (and other stories)

Here are my glamorous Welsh grandparents, who travelled with yesterday's little suitcase.They took this case to Canada on a liner, as my grandma refused all her life to fly, and my grandpa then took it on numerous North American flights while the family lived there.My grandpa was 'très sportif', like Son 2 - here he is, acting as ref I think, in the distant stripey top.
My grandma was très jolie, and wore her clothes so well, like my sister.
I will let the other photos of my grandma speak for themselves, and tell you about the doings of their descendants, namely Son 1 and Son 2. I think they would be proud of their great grandsons!
Son 1 went off yesterday morning to the town youth club (maison des jeunes et de la culture), which had tempted him with a morning's 'Cuisine du Monde'. He made a lot of pumpkin-related recipes, which was a thrifty choice as they were also carving pumpkin lanterns yesterday! The starter was pumpkin soup, the main course was a tabouleh containing pumpkin among other things (he liked it) and the desert was muffins. He had a good time and they all enjoyed their well-earned lunch!
In the afternoon we went down to the podologist. Son 1 is overly flexible (an advantage when he does gym), but it's caused his ankles to splay a bit as he gets taller and could cause knock-knees and arthritis if not corrected now. This is one of the truly superb things about the French health system - the doctor spotted this and wrote a prescription, the podologist saw him the day I phoned for an appointment, and the required insoles were ready a week later. I paid up-front but will get refunded by the national insurance system and Ben's work-provided mutual insurance.
The down-side of the system was shown on Monday, though, when we waited for over two hours (thank goodness for Nintendo DS games consoles) for a consultation with the local doctor. He is excellent but terribly over-worked, as he is currently alone in a two-doctor practice. It transpires that doctors in general practice are payed much less than hospital doctors (in fact, they are not paid much more than Ben), so that all over France there are vacancies and patients are waiting patiently (boy, can the French wait patiently!) for over-stressed doctors working through their lunch hours.When we finally left his office (by the back door, which amused me - he was obviously snatching time where he could) we had the typical mile-long prescription sheet.
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Until a friend pointed out that we could ask the pharmacist not to provide everything on the sheet, we always ended up with far more medicine than this British mother thought we needed. This time we gave the nasal douches a miss but accepted the allergy medicine and, with some reservations, the steroids. Son 2 has been coughing for two months and I have to do something - my British negligence has gone too far. So far, so good... and it's back to school tomorrow!

14 comments:

Olga said...

Hi Floss! Hope all is well. Lovely post :) I think you resemble you grandma a little - maybe its the similar hair cut, although I'm just judging by the pictures I have seen on your blog :)She was definitely a very elegant woman...The suitcase is beautiful!

karen said...

Thanks for sharing those hunni I do love looking at old photo's. I worked in a care home for the elderly before river came along and I loved sharing there photo's and memories.
Your NHS seem's very efficient I went up to the doctors today to try and get hubby an appointment and he can't get one for 3 week's. I was quite disgusted and told them to forget it because he'd either be better or dead by then lol. I hope all goes wel with your son.
(((HUGS)))
karen
Ps I have emailed you
(((hugs)))

Michela said...

Best wishes to Son no.2!
And yes,I agree with Olga, you resemble your grandmother (1st picture - the lovely couple)!

Lola Nova said...

What a lovely couple, and she is very much a fashion inspiration! I should scan some of my old family photos, it would be nice to have digital copies.
As for our health care...some days are good, some not so much. There seems always a wait no matter what. We are currently on the search for all new doctors as our insurance has changed. Personally, I will put off the doctor for as long as I can.
All the best to your sons and have a lovely day.

Pomona said...

I have hypermobile joints, too, but it took over 40 years before I was diagnosed over here (and most GPs are hopelessly ignorant of the condition)! Orthotics are just the ticket, though.

Pomona x

Glenda/MidSouth said...

What a great looking couple! Thanks for sharing with us. Sorry your Son is having to deal with this. One of my daughters is double jointed in her knees, and many times when she is standing she bows her knees towards the back, and one of my Grands has the same condition. Dr. said early on, that she would have problems with arthritis later in life.

. said...

Why did we all stop wearing hats? My paternal grandparents were also Welsh and I remember Nana had a fabulous collection of headgear.
Hope your lad gets better soon..I've got three at home with the lurgi at the moment and I'm quite over the smell of Lucozade and Vics rub!
Have a great week, x

Sarah - Red Gingham said...

What an amazing set of steps going around that tree. I love your family suitcase, it really looks beautiful with the aged look.

I feel for you in the waiting room. Such a waste of time waiting around isn't it? Bet Liz would have had her crochet bag with her for moments like these!

Bet your son has some wonderful party tricks with such flexibility.

Sal said...

What a fab piece of family history! And what a beautiful couple!
;-)

VintageVicki said...

What lovely old photos. I've got a growing collection of old family pics which I've collected from my grandparents. Have also learnt things I didn't know about my family - for instance both my boys were named coz o/h & I liked the names however they are also the names of my great grandfather & also his father - spooky.

Jackie said...

Floss ~ I just love those old photographs ~ your grandparents look like a very lovely couple and I'll bet that lovely old suitcase could tell a few wonderful stories about it's travels too! :O)

LissyLou said...

How interesting floss!

BadPenny said...

wonderful photos and I love the suitcese . How lovely to have it.

Children are a worry aren't they !

Lululiz said...

Old family photographs are such a wonderful treasure. I love the very last photograph in particular, it is so charming.