(54) A new life, A new place (54) Une nouvelle vie, Un retour en France…

I still have my website running (https://www.cheesefromage.com/), it is dedicated to help catering professional with the service of cheese. You will find other information as well, all relative to cheese, like taste, cheese serving, and descriptions of different products of high quality readily available throughout the world (or at least it should be). Obviously, I still live in this world, and many things catches my attention, especially these last few weeks. So please read further to see what I think and what happened.

In the world we still have the intransigence of the Middle East, where both sides are wrong. On that score, each side is supported by other states which makes it even more muddled. A simple question: how come a little bit of land with so many people and so little resources can create so much havoc and be so radicalised? Yes, you can have pity on the poor people of Gaza, but they have been manipulated by clerics and states on the name of their own politics. If they had had the chance to have a regular education without indoctrination, they would not be so populous first, and then they would be more open minded…

The second big, maybe I should say enormous, problem in the world is the war in Ukraine. Let’s not kid ourselves, this was started by Poutine, in 2012, and actually before by his agents trying to influence the politics of this country. Remember the background of the Russian president, he is a manipulator, not a negotiator. He will try to bend the will of people to his own, not to try to understand the situation and resolve any problem to the best possible solution for everyone. His standards are concentrated on himself, even if he tells this is for Russia, he still thinks anyway that He his Russia.

Russian paranoia was well known during the cold war, guess who was raised at that time? Therefore, Russia have been looking into the democracies of the west, their ancestral enemies, and they have been disruptive (anybody saying otherwise would delude himself). This is not to better themselves, so what is the real purpose of this aggression? To look into it, think of the Romans: divide and conquer was one of their motoes, so the Russians are weakening the west to be able to do what they want. This has taken diverse technics: pressure on oligarchs, assassinations, bribing of political organisations, using the communist parties of the diverse countries, spying on journalists and control of medias, sabotage of pipelines and suboceanic communication lines, without talking about the diverse political initiatives towards India and China, with some meddling in South America and pressure on South Africa. And that is why we have people looking more into their own interests than the global goal of harmonious well-being. This is one of the reasons why we have more problems nowadays in the West, most of the political troubles is the result of the war in Ukraine and the unwillingness of the citoyens to think globally.

When you add all the many forms of fake news propagated by social medias, the sensation of unease is permissive. So, let’s look at the economics of the war. A good question to ask is: the URSS received an enormous amount of economic help during the Second World War, they would not have been able to fight otherwise in any positive way (it would have been a huge meat grinder with very little gains), did they give back anything? The countries of the West had to pay back vast sums for the next fifty years, what happened to all the help given to the URSS? They gave resources, but much less than what they used and certainly much less than the value of what they got.

So, what about now? Well, Ukraine is certainly a good prize to have for Russia, grains, minerals, industrial capacity, technological know-how, especially in aviation, and many other possibilities. This is without saying anything about the Baltic States, by the way! The interesting thing happening now is the involvement of the Americans, they are starting to grab mineral resources and asking for money. But more fundamentally, Trump is looking to get to the Russian market if he could get Putin to cease his war in Ukraine, and this explains his reluctance to sanctions Russia. After all, not many American company has really left Russia, they have just created shell entities and make money a different way, business is business afterall!

This situation is very good for Putin. He has managed to create or influence individualistic preponderant political entities in so many countries of the European Union, that it has become very difficult to reach a consensus in the block, to really go forward and have a positive force credible to the rest of the world…

A new place, a new Life

In the meantime, I have moved back to France.

One of my first culture chock, is the amount of English used everyday on television, this was not the case a few years ago. However, many people seem more integrated, less aggressive, or maybe the area where I live now is more peaceful…

I compressed my ceasing to work in London, my move, my signing of my new flat in the Savoie, and my installation in it. This worked rather well once arrived in France. However, the move by itself was catastrophic. And this resulted in a very slow installation witch is still going on, and on…

I checked different companies for the move, researched the companies, described the goods that I wanted to move, and asked many questions. I contacted the general consulate of France in London and was glad to have their advice. I let myself three months to organise myself in advance for the move, I prepared the boxes, I made ready almost everything. I had selected a company based on the best advice received and the best package offered. They were a bit vague as to which day they would collect, after me having offered many days possible, and they gave me a day warning, even though they told me they would give me two. But at that stage I was beginning to be doubtful, so I was glad that they were coming, I was a bit nervous at the idea to be late in France for the signing of the official act of purchase of my new flat.

I had selected this company based on the offers received from five different moving companies going to France as part of their usual business. They offered me the best deal as to volume and weight, however, when they loaded their van, I discovered that the quote was ridiculous. Which brings the question: why do all of these companies with good reputation and knowledge of their business were so far off the mark? Well, it is to make money of course, idiot! But is it fair? Definitely not. As a commercial identity, if you do not answer correctly to your customers’ demands, you should not be rewarded, you should be kind of punished. Of course, there is no real recourse for this abuse, as for international movers, your customers will be far away from a country which is outside any block and do not recognise really any other jurisdiction. And on top of that they lost a costly item and has still not dealt with it (this was two months after pick up of the goods).

To go back to the quote, every company asked for details of the goods to be shipped, so I obliged. I described the huge amount of heavy stuff that I had accumulated over 34 years in London. At the end, I had to take what I could not replace easily in France, I did not take anything from the kitchen, I left a very good bed with an almost brand new mattress, I left a very good television with a very good glass stand, and I had thrown away so many books! I consider this a complete disaster. Not one company commented on my description, they all decided based on a one bedroom flat which was the basic question at the beginning. I understand that they want to make money, but this system is for crooks, not for honest people. And when it was time to go through the border they decided to do it on August 15^th. Of course, the French border wanted some extra paperwork which was unobtainable at that date. Having taken precautions, I researched the requirements for the border control through the official website of the border administration and correlated it with the information given from the French General Consulate. What the French border Officer asked was not on the list of required documents, I believe he just felt compelled to charge me anyway. I should add that they can create their own leeway and be creative, it just depends on their mood, I guess! I definitely feel that I have been cheated, and this is not fair.

I have only to fight for the missing item, it seems that the company went missing as well…

I have started working at a dairy in the area of Chambery, at the foothill of the Alpes, and this is a big change. Of course, the weather is slightly different, with ten degrees more compared to London, and I am not very well accustomed to it yet. However, the picturesque landscape is always pleasurable. As to work, I went back to basic. This was kind of planned, but it is none the less a bit of a shock.

At least I am seeing everyday good products, and the area is fertile in other dairies producing some excellent cheeses as well. I just have to make the right choice, which is more than I can say about the music choice of my colleague at the moment! It might seems futile, but I will get spots listening to techno or danced cover versions of popular songs. But the job is easy, and once I will be settled in my new flat I should be OK.

In the meantime, do not hesitate to try different thing in your life, I have certainly done that in abundance these last few months. With a bit of patience, kindness, and understanding anything is possible.

You can as well do the same at your cheesemonger, try something new… you might just like it!

Open your palate and mind, and let’s celebrate quality cheeses.