|
Post by kerouac2 on Jan 17, 2021 13:39:31 GMT
Renault made their best deal ever when they bought the Romanian Dacia company. They had planned to use it to make cars just for the "poor" countries of Europe and Africa but demand was so high in France that they had to rethink their project. People don't just want flashy cars -- they also want cheap and reliable ones. And the Dacia Duster is the second best selling car in Europe now, right after the Volkswagen Golf.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Jan 19, 2021 19:17:51 GMT
Many years ago Mrs Cactus bought me a Mont Blanc fountain pen but I couldn't get on with it even though I changed the nib.
It sat in my desk for years together with the original ink bottle and ink.and during lockdown I got it valued by a local auction company. Estimate £150 - £200.
It went to auction today and made £240! Result!
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 19, 2021 19:30:28 GMT
Super! Congratulations.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jan 19, 2021 23:30:30 GMT
Just wonderful! What are you going to buy for Mrs. Cactus with that £££?
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Jan 20, 2021 7:44:23 GMT
Just wonderful! What are you going to buy for Mrs. Cactus with that £££? Clothes! What else?!
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Jan 20, 2021 8:25:17 GMT
I love it when an unused item fetches big bucks! Good for Mrs.Cactus on not encouraging you to pass it on when un-used.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 25, 2021 14:36:34 GMT
I had totally forgotten, until reading it in the local paper today, that Larry King’s granddaughter had attended school with my daughter. He was the guest speaker at their high school commencement.
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Jan 25, 2021 19:39:32 GMT
Great result Mick but does Mrs M need clothes ?- pjs and slippers are pretty much all that are required now during this covid/ lockdown time .
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jan 25, 2021 19:55:59 GMT
But Lugg ~ we don't know what they get up to in the privacy of their home!
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Jan 26, 2021 17:26:27 GMT
Women want clothes no matter what. Men regard 10 year old t shirts as new.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on Jan 26, 2021 21:27:01 GMT
My oldest t shirt is 36 years old. I had ot on today actually.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Jan 26, 2021 22:08:31 GMT
Youngest grandson has returned home from Glasgow School of Art. He has yet to actually access the University and all work has been done from his room. But now he has security not just on his building but on his floor and he has to justify every movement outside his room and it has become a prison. He can do his work from home anyway and will look again at returning in March.
This us just not fair as he still has to pay the full amount without any of the facilities and is withholding his rent. We are all supporting him and the money is kept separately.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Jan 27, 2021 7:29:46 GMT
I understand that universities have gigantic overhead costs which could possibly sink them forever if they lose all income, but there seems to have been a lot of abuse. I know that was a huge outcry in the United States at the beginning of lockdown when universities like Harvard (annual tuition fee US$52,000) refused to provide any refunds. I have no idea if they have relented any as the crisis continues.
In the news in France there have been a lot of reports of university students suffering from depression and extreme boredom, especially the ones far from home. But here at least the yearly university fee is 170 euros + a student and campus life fee of 92 euros. Obviously a lot of students are losing their accommodation costs if they went home to the family, and the other big problem is that student jobs have almost completely dried up. To compensate this, meals in the student cafeterias have been reduced to a price of one euro.
What strikes me as horrible is that while we older people are relatively phlisophical about the situation, when you are around 20 years old losing a year of your life is unbearable.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Jan 27, 2021 8:35:44 GMT
Mick, I wish I had some words of wisdom to share with a young cooped up student. I am sure he will come away with this experience with more patience, tolerance and appreciation for the freedom we all enjoy.
You men have such a different outlook on clothes. It seems as if you never get bored with them and unlike women, where a new outfit perks you up no end, it's just the opposite. The older the shirt the more you love it like an old friend. I know that Mr.Tod has shirts he loves to wear because they are so comfortable. He used to reserve these precious items for wearing on holiday in the bush and pottering around in the garden. But Covid has brought about a new feeling of "Who cares if I'm seen in this old thing". Masks are a great disguise..... Nowadays I encourage him to wear his old tatty falling apart , collar frayed to the inner lining, shirts. I want people at the supermarket to look at him and say "Isn't that old Mr.Tod from the Fabric shop?" "No, can't be - this old bloke looks like he needs a hand out".
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jan 27, 2021 10:05:00 GMT
Hmm, not sure I like these stereotypes about women liking clothes. I haven't bought anything new for ages and can't say I feel like rushing out to buy anything at the moment. Not because I'm sheltering, which I'm not, it's just that I don't like much of what I see in shop windows, and I have more than enough clothes, most of which I don't wear.
I suppose that if I were leading a busy social life I would be more tempted, but wearing jeans every day seems to suit my current lifestyle.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Jan 27, 2021 10:07:06 GMT
Oh dear. Sorry bjd.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jan 27, 2021 12:03:20 GMT
No need to be sorry, Mick. Anything to keep the threads going.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 27, 2021 13:18:20 GMT
Since the beginning of 2020, I have purchased one pair of walking shoes, two pair of sweat pants, one pair of exercise shorts and two exercise shirts. As for the rest of my clothes, other than the jeans, I could get rid of most and they wouldn’t be missed.
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Jan 27, 2021 14:05:10 GMT
Going back to the university question.
I have always been highly critical of this craze for everyone to have a “university education”. We have a shortage of people with practical skills, because they are looked down on. Then one sees that the top people in universities arrogate to themselves salaries in excess of £400,000 and we know the world has gone mad and lost touch with reality altogether.
|
|
|
Post by casimira on Jan 27, 2021 15:44:52 GMT
Hmm, not sure I like these stereotypes about women liking clothes. I haven't bought anything new for ages and can't say I feel like rushing out to buy anything at the moment. Not because I'm sheltering, which I'm not, it's just that I don't like much of what I see in shop windows, and I have more than enough clothes, most of which I don't wear. I suppose that if I were leading a busy social life I would be more tempted, but wearing jeans every day seems to suit my current lifestyle. Same here BJD. The only apparel that I have acquired in the past year were a pair of Doc Martin boots and a cardigan sweater. Both were purchased at a yard sale that I happed upon while on a walk with our dog. Too good a bargain that I couldn't pass up. My husband on the other hand has made a habit of going to a thrift store on Seniors Day when everything is reduced to half price. On these days I am sometimes tempted to go but remind myself that I have way too many clothes and should be donating them rather than acquiring any new ones.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Jan 27, 2021 16:35:57 GMT
Well said Mossie. You don't have to have a degree to make it in life. As a matter of fact I'll go even further and say one does not even have to have done well at school to become a multi-millionaire or somebody that can do something wonderfully good for the human race. Yes, we need our brain surgeons and all the people who are lucky to be very very clever and can do much good, but I need my car mechanic to tweek the motor of my car to perfection, and that talented chef who just knows how food should be put together. I need him too. We all have our little jobs - it's when talent is turned to bad deeds that is so sad.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Jan 27, 2021 17:00:05 GMT
One of the good things about French universities being open to anyone who has obtained the baccalaréat is that the fees are relatively negligible so that they can drop out easily if they decide that higher education is not for them. And they can return years later if they change their mind and have found their true vocation. The youth in countries where university studies cost a fortune do not have this opportunity.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jan 27, 2021 17:50:32 GMT
The down side of the French university system is that there is very little emphasis on adults returning or going for the first time after working for years. Compered to what I saw in Canada, where there were huge numbers of part-time or even full-time adult students changing their qualifications, or just interested enough in a subject to attend evening classes, this essentially does not exist in France.
A few people (mostly housewives) sitting in on classes on art history, for example, but not much else.
But it's true that it's cheap.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Jan 27, 2021 18:40:51 GMT
I know that most of France does not have access to this sort of thing, but the University of Paris VIII was created for casual students after the events of May 1968 and is open to all, with or without the baccalauréat. It was first labelled an experimental university and was located in the Bois de Vincennes until 1980. It was always extremely political so there was a major crisis when they were evicted from the Vincennes campus (which was immediately destroyed) and moved to the new university campus in Saint Denis. It has become much more traditional since then but still offers an outlet for non-traditional students.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jan 27, 2021 20:01:49 GMT
In fairness, all poor Mick said was that "Women want clothes no matter what". He didn't claim that all women are clotheshorses or spendthrifts when it comes to clothes. Not to throw fat on the fire, but it is generally true that women try to look okay before leaving the house, whereas many men only care whether they're decently covered or not. Yes, we can all think of many exceptions to this very broad statement. Youngest grandson has returned home from Glasgow School of Art. He has yet to actually access the University and all work has been done from his room. But now he has security not just on his building but on his floor and he has to justify every movement outside his room and it has become a prison. He can do his work from home anyway and will look again at returning in March. This us just not fair as he still has to pay the full amount without any of the facilities and is withholding his rent. We are all supporting him and the money is kept separately. I understand that universities have gigantic overhead costs which could possibly sink them forever if they lose all income, but there seems to have been a lot of abuse. I know that was a huge outcry in the United States at the beginning of lockdown when universities like Harvard (annual tuition fee US$52,000) refused to provide any refunds. I have no idea if they have relented any as the crisis continues. [In France] at least the yearly university fee is 170 euros + a student and campus life fee of 92 euros. Obviously a lot of students are losing their accommodation costs if they went home to the family, and the other big problem is that student jobs have almost completely dried up. To compensate this, meals in the student cafeterias have been reduced to a price of one euro. I have always been highly critical of this craze for everyone to have a “university education”. We have a shortage of people with practical skills, because they are looked down on. I think your grandson's decision not to pay for something he can't use is reasonable, Mick, & it's good that you all are supporting his decision.
University fees in the United States have become obscene in the years since I went to school. Nevertheless, the assumption continues that somehow no one learned anything nor was prepared for adulthood in the 12 years of school before college age. That has led to people acquiring enormous debt and also, as Mossie points out, some pointless and ignorant snobbery about "education". Of course further (I say "further" and not "higher" education deliberately) is required for many fields, some of which should take place in universities, but not all of it.In the news in France there have been a lot of reports of university students suffering from depression and extreme boredom, especially the ones far from home. What strikes me as horrible is that while we older people are relatively phlisophical about the situation, when you are around 20 years old losing a year of your life is unbearable. That is a really important point. I didn't think about much until recently when I was with my landlord's daughter, who is in her early 20s. She has finished her graduate studies in music, but remains poised to leap into full adult life.. Instead, she left behind covid-ridden Mexico City to come home to Oaxaca. She told me most of her friends have dispersed for the same reason and, with covid-distancing and all, she really misses the companionship of her peer group. "Losing a year of your life", as you said, sounds dramatic, but at that stage of life enforced isolation really does constitute losing an important period of growth.
|
|
|
Post by questa on Jan 27, 2021 22:37:51 GMT
The concept of "a gap year" was to give young people the opportunity of a time to learn about themselves as much as doing something hands on to help other people less advantaged. Maybe if the 'bored and feeling lonely in this time' people seriously take on a task it could give a way to feeling less bereft.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Jan 28, 2021 5:30:33 GMT
There's not a whole hell of a lot that the young can do right now in lockdown or semi lockdown.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on Jan 28, 2021 20:48:34 GMT
I am not toung but i went to a restaurant today !! A private one, owned by the company that i visited and that opened for the 4 of us. A gigantic table, so we were quite well distanced.
Good. Real good. And nice.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jan 29, 2021 16:42:40 GMT
I'm surprised that Belgium has such a large vaccine-producing industry. Seems the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also produced there, along with the Pfizer and most of the Astra-Zeneca.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Feb 3, 2021 19:52:17 GMT
This is about corona virus, but is more of me just venting than anything else. Don’t be surprised if I delete the post later out of privacy concerns. As I’ve been getting to know the maternal side of my biological family, I’ve enjoyed much of our interactions, but have also seen some things that have bothered me and made me even more thankful for my different upbringing. I think I typically have good judgement and use good common sense, though I often err on the cautious side. My older sister, however, is a concern. She was born and raised in the northeastern US, but moved to the far southwest many years ago. After retiring, she moved back east to be near family, but has travelled west every year to stay with friends during the harshest part of winter. She’s has a lot of health issues, and very little financial means, but has insisted on driving herself back and forth across the country so she can have her car during the three/four months she spends on the west coast. A direct drive typically takes her six days. Before covid, she often stopped and visited friends on the way, but now stays mostly in motels.
In 2019, she planned to first drive south, visit me and some cousins, then drive west, but she got sick the first night away and ended up in the emergency room where it was discovered she had cancer. So, in 2020, she decided, once again, she’d travel to Florida (two days of driving), visit with me, go see the cousins, then head west again for a minimum six-day drive. Due to covid, I was reluctant to have her in my home, especially since she had been out and about back in her hometown. She’s very careful to always wear a mask and keep her hands clean, but is very high risk for serious complications if she were to become infected. I felt bad about the situation, but I agreed to meet her and picnic in her hotel parking lot on her trips to/from the cousins’ home. We had nice visits, but I seriously think she figured I was being overly cautious. The cousins live in the part of my state that has been impacted the most, so being around the cousins, and staying in their home, was quite risky and I certainly didn’t want to share their germs.
Anyway, fast forward two months and my sister has been rotating between three different households on the west coast and now is in shock because she may have been directly exposed to covid. One of her friends, in whose home she was staying, had most of the classics symptoms starting last week and refused to be tested or call her doctor. The situation escalated and, after several days of being frightened out of her wits while trying to stay isolated in another part of the house, my sister finally was able to move to a hotel. She’s now waiting for results from the covid test she had yesterday. As I’ve said, she’s older and her health is fragile due to chronic and past illness. Covid would not be kind to her, I’m afraid. Hopefully, the friend only had the flu (catching that would be bad enough). No news of the friend, so far. The visit didn’t end well.
While I’m very sympathetic to my sister’s plight, I’m also a bit peeved. It’s difficult for me to sit back and watch someone make what I believe to be poor choices. However, those choices aren’t mine to make. While I do think we all need to live our lives as best we can, I also think we need to try to choose wisely when making decisions. At least she didn’t catch covid while on the Florida part of the trip, or somewhere mid-country. For that I’m grateful.
|
|