As is so often the way, we made up our Canal du Midi itinerary on Wednesday as we went along. We decided after lunch to take a trip along to the eight locks at Fonsérannes (the spelling of which varies wildly, by the way). and our route took us along the old National 9 from Coursan to Béziers. Every few hundred yards we'd see a working girl standing by the roadside, sometimes with a fellow sitting in a car nearby. I was about to say that I'd never seen this in France before, but then I remember the Bois de Boulogne back in the early 90s, when the prostitutes parked their white vans in line, and sat in their underwear at the open back doors. Indeed, I recall seeing a rather hefty lady standing by the roadside in the woods one morning: unfortunately, her five o'clock shadow was showing through the slap. Someone told me the Porte Dauphine was the preferred pitch for the rent boys.
And on that edifying note, I have to report that the kitchen electrics seem to be working. I'm not sure why. I replaced fuse 8, and all was well at sockets 1, 2 and 3 in the kitchen. I then pulled fuse 6, and sockets 1, 2 and 3 went out, then pulling fuse 8 took out the socket by the fireplace. The house has a rich mixture of circuit breakers and cartridge fuse boxes: one in the cellier, one in a bedroom cupboard and one in the bathroom, of all places. Our old electrician, Jean-Paul, told me he'd bid for the rewiring of the house under the previous administration, which opted for an electrician who was cheaper, but drunk. I think the moral, as in the case of the whores on the N9, is leave well alone.
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