Last night a nasty cold developed, passed on to me by my nearest and dearest who has been sneezing for the last three days. Now it's my turn and, as usual, it's gone straight to my sinuses. I cancelled my language class this afternoon and have been wandering listlessly round the apartment, filling the bin with sodden tissues and popping paracetamol and feeling very sorry for myself. That is until emails came in from three friends telling me their news and cheering me up, followed by a phone call from someone called Elspeth who I've never met.
Elspeth is a member of the British and Commonwealth Women's Association and she organises Monday walks in the forest at St. Germain en Laye. I was very interested in the prospect of a group to walk with and contacted her by email. She sent me a long response explaining that they walk for an hour and that if I could get to the railway station at St. Germain en Laye she would pick me up. I thought this was very kind of her but then I looked at the journey and had second thoughts. It would take me at least an hour to get there, probably an hour and a half leaving time for delays and then they only walk for an hour. So that would be over two hours travel at a busy time on the metro for an hour's walk. So in the end I decided against it and thought I'd find places and people to walk with nearer to hand.
At lunch time today Elspeth phoned me up to tell me she thought it was a pity but probably the right decision. The other walkers all live in the suburbs to the west of Paris. We chatted for about half an hour. She's been in France for 25 years and she echoed what other British women have been telling me about the difficulty of making friends. She thought I was doing all the right things and wished me luck! It cheered me up no end and I thought how kind it was of her to bother to ring me.
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