Breast Cancer Now Forum

HI all, Nicky it sounds like your break to Cornwall was very nice and glad you managed to get away. I don't know Cornwall very well but have been to Bude. It is one of the places I would love to retire to. Lily how is your new working regime going, are you doing ok?   Our teachers here have to wear a mask all the time.  Since I last wrote YD is a supply teacher for 7 hours a week at one school, and a supply teacher for a few hours at another.  One of the schools is more like a training college, mostly teaching young male, 18 years old who are doing apprenticeships. Being only 25 herself she is not a lot older than her students.   It's going well for her. I managed to break more ribs by walking into a door frame, it happened so quickly I can't even begin to describe how it happened. Consequently I have been in a lot of pain since and I think this lot is probably the worst I've ever done.   The majority of pain is behind the left breast, I've even worried about having a heart attack. But it does ease slightly with the use of painkillers. Our weather turned overnight, with Saturday being very warm and sunny and Sunday wet, much cooler and very Autumnal. Yesterday I put away summer clothes and brought out the winter clothes. Always a depressing time of year although hopefully colder, frostier weather that has bright and sunny days will soon be here. No change with my Mum, the UTI cleared but they decided to get her checked by the mental health team as obviously her dementia has progressed.  I do wonder if the change in her routine for the last 6 months due to Covid has created the increase in her dementia. She wasn't allowed visitors until a couple of weeks ago, no daily newspapers, rubbish programmes on the tv that she didn't enjoy etc. The mental health team didn't think her dementia was too much worse, but as she keeps waiting to go home, waiting for someone to take her, they were going to give her some sort of anti anxiety drug.   We've coped with the repetition for years but the new things are something new. She will be 94 next month. Lisa, how has work become so busy for you? Are you working from home? Anyway, everyone take great care, Carole xxx ... View more

Hi all Nicky I'm so pleased that your awful side effects have calmed down so now you can try and get on with the new normality, of Covid life continuing. Sorry to hear that sorting out your Mums house has fallen to you, with two brothers not pulling their weight. It's not fair and you have every right to moan, I doubt your brothers are coping with what you're going through?    We have similar, my sister who is 73 and has not been to visit my Mum in her nursing home since the beginning of lockdown, understandably, but she has taken over a few bits and pieces of shopping and seen Mum through the door.   My brother does barely anything, he lives the closest to Mum but doesn't phone her or visit her.   My sister and I phone Mum every day and discovered on Monday mum was extremely confused, her carers say she was packing a back to go home. Consequently it was discovered yesterday Mum has a urine infection! Lily how did your first day at school, do you wear a mask or visor?   Here the teachers have to wear a mask for the entire school day. YD who has applied to teach English locally says that some teachers don't want to wear masks so are going off sick.   This should work out good for YD as it's a locum teacher post she is after. Try not to stress or worry, you know the precautions to take and I assume your students are spread out? We had about 3 days of rain which was very much needed, and now it's back to sunny, even up to 24 degrees by the afternoon, which is a much nicer heat.   It does get chilly though overnight so I have a quilt back on the bed. Our choc lab is suffering from an allergy to harvest mites, constantly scratching and licking his feet.   The blighters get in between the toes and all areas where there is a crease.  He is on anti histamines although they don't seem to be doing much good. I didn't mention before that for a week in August we let a room to air bnb.  It involved a lot of bed changing, and cleaning but other than that we didn't see the guests after they arrived. My physio has diagnosed dupuytrens disease in my hands. I'm seeing my GP tomorrow to see what she thinks, and like we do, after googling I've found that there is no cure but cortisone injections, or an operation to release the cords can help.   Normally it makes the fingers bend into the palm, what I have is the opposite and can't bend the 3rd and 4th fingers into the palm. Trust me to be  different. Last night one of the cats was playing with something so I went to investigate.  It was dead, about 12 inches long so I assumed it was a slow worm. However after posting pictures of it, it turns out to be a western whip snake (yuk) but a baby one.   Does this mean I have a Mummy snake lurking about??? Really don't like snakes. Well on that note, a quick hello to Lisa, hope you're ok, and I'm off to potter in the garden as the beans are growing like mad and need picking each day along with the cherry tomatoes. Take care and stay safe Love Carole xx ... View more

Morning ladies, it looks for you and for me the weekend will be sunny and warm.  Our temperature is going to hit around 40 degrees.  I don't like it that hot, 25 is about my ideal.   I am a bit fed up of having a sweaty neck, back and hair is always dripping. Nicky I am so sorry you are having such a tough time, I can only imagine how awful the itching was.   It drives me nuts when I have an insect bite which is nothing compared to yours.  It must be dreadful experiencing this side effects, especially when you know that the drug is helping.  Yes, steroids also impact on the blood sugar, which is why I'm trying to avoid taking them as they always upset my levels. It's fantastic news that your D has a new job. Being a chef during these times means it is very difficult to social distance, as Mr P has found out. Yes, it is very anti social and almost always involves working weekends, and even on Christmas Day which I always found hard.    Lily, your 45 minute D experience sounds grim.   I don't know how you managed to keep your mouth open for so long.   Did you have little breaks from the treatment in order to open/close your mouth? Wow that was a big bill. As for the camper van, not really my type of holiday either.   Caravanning is better because once parked up you still have a car to get around.   At the moment things are so unsure because of restrictions, even over Europe. I see the UK is also going to see about quarantining again from France.   I had a rather horrible experience yesterday. I had an appointment with an auto immune doctor.   He decided he wanted me to have a blood test so he can be sure what, if any treatment I might need.  Obviously immuno suppressants are powerful drugs.   So I had a nurse try to take blood, she tried 2 times to find a vein but couldn't. So then her colleague had a try, he managed to find a vein lower down my arm but couldn't only get enough blood out to fill 3 of the 10 vials.   Then I was sent off to the laboratory so a more experienced phlebotomist could try.   Well no such luck!! She tried 2 times in my arm, 1 time in my wrist, 1 time in my leg and then decided to go in the back of my hand.   Experienced???? I think not.   Eventually she managed to fill 9 and a half vials, leaving me sore, stressed and generally upset. Several bruises are appearing today. So on that note I will say cheerio and enjoy the sun this weekend but stay safe buddies XXXX ... View more

Hi ladies Lily you must be relieved that summer holidays are here, but, what a different summer this year will be.   I'm with you on not wanting to fly so have you decided where your staycation will be?   I've visited Somerset and Devon quite a bit in my younger years, or have you thought about hiring a camper van so you can have your own accommodation and even cater for yourselves if you want.   Probably not your idea of a holiday as you are used to flying and staying in a hotel. Mr P has quite strict controls on his ferry and usually changes into something sloppy (eg house clothes) as soon as he gets in. Nicky your side effects sound horrid, what will they do to help alleviate them?   Maybe a lower dose of the treatment and build up slowly?   I don't know if this is possible but if it worked in just 2 weeks it must be pretty powerful stuff.  Your days away sounds nice, I'm jealous of you having fish and chips 😁 . Hope you're ok Lisa? Our weather has been mostly hot, too hot to be outside sometimes and some evenings and during the nights it has been difficult to sleep.   Today is a welcome relief as it is cloudy and much cooler. I started seeing a different physio for my hands, fingers which still won't bend without pain he is manipulating and using the ultrasonic machine. Not much improvement after 5 sessions so far. The auto immune bit of my blood test still shows positive, so for this I am seeing a specialist and hope to get some answers.   The problem with my  hands has been nearly 2 years now.   Peeling potatoes, a simple every day task is very hard Most of our green veg has been massacred by the white cabbage butterfly and caterpillars, although our cabbages seem to have survived this attack and are very nice, our tomatoes are just about turning a bit red and our green beans are growing well but not producing beans yet. Better get on, i've got watering to do.  Love Carole xxx ... View more

Hello all, nice to see posts from everyone. Nicky, I looked up the 2 gene mutations, gosh it's scary isn't it how our bodies can produce these defects. Did I understand correctly that the mutations were something you were born with?   Or, is it something that derives from the cancer mutations.  Sorry if my questions sound a bit daft, I also looked up the side effects and can sincerely say that I hope you find this inhibitor easier than chemo. In any case we all hope that this new treatment will kick the buggers away. Lily, very sorry for the confusion. How is your garden renovating going?   How is the new puppy getting on, is she easy to housetrain?   Hope all your elderly's are keeping safe. Lisa, do you enjoy gardening?   Has your weather improved?  Hope you and your family are staying safe. Our raised beds are producing well, except for one type of lettuce.   We have already had the broccoli and some kale which was delicious.  The good thing about this plant is the more you pick the more it grows. We've had to keep out the white cabbage butterfly, who's offspring completely destroy green veg.   We have tomatoes and cucumbers too. YD's divorce interpretation went ok, she was pleased with how it went. Hopefully there will be lots more in the future and hopefully too she will become an authenticated translator as there will be lots of documents needing translating owing to Brexit. My constant cough got the better of me as it was keeping me awake for a few hours at night. So my dr gave me a ventolin inhaler which has really helped.   Not much can be done about radiotherapy damage. Off to enjoy the sun and walk the dogs now, although I'd rather be having a dip in our pool but I can do that when I get back.   For now, stay safe everyone and take care Love Carole xx   ... View more

Evening buddies Lily it must be an enormous change for you to work from home and it sounds an enormous challenge to look after a little one whilst you carry out your tasks. Do you set him puzzles, playdoh, Lego etc whilst you are busy.  I understand what you mean about online planning and tuition, YD has been doing the same since start of lockdown. She is just beginning to start one to one lessons face to face. Anyway, thankfully she has still been working as not entitled to any gov help. We've had a very hot week here, so thank goodness we are lucky to have a pool. With the very hot weather we get incredible storms too.  This evening we ate our first homegrown produce, new potatoes and early broccoli stems.  We're battling to keep the green veg from being eaten by caterpillars laid by the white cabbage butterfly.  Next week YD is doing her first interpretation case in court for a messy divorce so we wish her well as she will be nervous. This week she found out her business account had been hacked, thankfully today she got all her money back. So tomorrow we're making proper net cages for our green veg to keep those damn butterflies out. As I'm off to sleep another storm is starting so wish me luck for sleep and I wish you goodnight, and have a good weekend love Carole xx ... View more

Hi all, it's been a while since I last looked in, Nicky so sorry that your scan wasn't what you expected but hopefully, you and your Oncologist will have a plan of action.   Are you feeling ok except for this news?   I'm hoping that you are still enjoying some nice walks and visits to the family and grandson. Lily I think you must be back at work now, it seems a bit daft to me to open up schools again so near to the summer holidays, what are your views? Lisa nice to hear from you and it sounds like you and your brother are keeping busy, especially with the garden project.   The picture didn't seem to appear? Things ticking over here, I wish I felt a bit better as I am so tired, and almost every day have to have a siesta, and even then finding myself nodding off in the evening.   My heart check was fine, although BP a bit high at the time which I think is just white coat syndrome.   The last blood test I had still shows a positive for an auto immune disease so I think I will have to see my dr for a referral to another centre, specifically for auto immune illness. The hospital I went to is a general hospital, but there is a specific clinic at Toulouse. I've been having physio for my hand problem which is just not helping. Our raised bed veggies are doing well, except for our beef tomatoes.   These look pretty poorly, even though we keep feeding them. Since the end of May our weather has been very changeable, like spring showers really but temperatures are not as warm as they should be. Take care all and keep safe.   Well I had better get on with checking the garden, making sure no bugs like cabbage butterflies have laid their caterpillars on my curly Kale  🤣 ... View more

Evening Buddies I see that 6 members of a family can now meet with social distancing so hoping Lily and Nicky can at last see their children and grand children? Lily our dogs have been raw fed for over a year now, they love it.   I order from a frozen food supplier and collect once a month.   We did buy a second hand freezer to keep their food in.   A raw food diet mainly consists (for ours) protein mince, offal in liver, another secreting organ which is usually a bit of kidney, bone as in duck necks (it can be quite scary at first to hear them crunching away, but it's excellent for their teeth, and as long as bones aren't cooked, no problems). Sometimes when we can get them they also have quails, usually sawed in half as one whole one is too much, sometimes tongue, sometimes brain.   It just depends on what I can get.   They also have a frozen sardine each day (Aero won't eat them if thawed) this is for their omega 3.  The amount they have each meal (x 2) depends upon the dogs weight.       As a treat when they go to bed at night they also have a day old chick, complete with organs etc.   Sorry if too much information.  For your poodle, if you have a whizzer/liquidiser you could put all the food in and whizz it down to liquid.   I do this when I make them a bone broth, all the bones of a cooked chicken, but slow cooked and liquidised to form a paste which sets and ours absolutely love it.   You could try all the different ingredients blended down until she is able to eat bigger bits.   Bones need to be crunched for the teeth cleaning.Hope that helps but don't hesitate to ask if you have questions.  It can be a bit of a hassle, but I wouldn't go back to "ordinary" dog food now. Ours also eat a variety of veg and fruit.   Congratulations on your new addition. It will probably be a while before she gets used to it. Sorry to hear you still have some family problems.   I speak to my Mum every couple of days via whats app, which is good as I can show her around our home and garden, and all the pets.   Our veg plants are doing really well and we've had to take the polytunnel down now as temperature is just too hot at nearly 30 degrees for the last week. The pool is up and running but at the moment only the dogs are swimming, it is still a bit too chilly for us.   I will post a photo of Aero in the pool. As for what we can now do/not do, we can go out freely without filling in any forms but are only allowed to travel within a 100 km distance.   We have to wear masks in shops and other places.   Restaurants and cafes will open next week but with a limited number of people and social distancing applies. Mr P returns to work next Wednesday which seems to be ok for the moment. Nicky you must be relaxed about seeing your girls soon, although being in the ultra vulnerable group do you have to hold back for a bit longer? Has your tummy eased up a bit?   I remember taking ginger, and also peppermint in water to help digestion. Lisa, where are you and how are you? So that's it from me for now, weather is gorgeous at the moment, in fact a bit too hot. Take care and stay safe, Love Carole xxx       ... View more

I'm pleased you enjoyed the photos Lily, how are you and your family doing? I'm sorry your Mum is suffering a bit. My mum keeps saying she can't go out as they have to stay in. Now she hasn't been outside since the day she arrived. Where is the logic in that?. I think in her mind she remembers the shops she used to walk to more than 3 years ago, but forgets she can't do that now as she's too fragile and doesn't live near any shops now. Dementia is so sad, but today she mentioned how you never forget your babies when they were born. So it's all same here, our confinement has finished and in the supermarkets things are back to normal.  I had to mention to two people on Saturday to "respecter le distance " as they came too near to me for distance". So, it remains for me to say how much I hope you're all doing well. Love Carole xxx ... View more

I'm so sorry it's been a while since my last post, where does the time go?   Nicky you've been having a rough time, what with in laws, funerals to be arranged, and postponing your 2 chemos. Will you ever find out if it was Covid 19 that caused the death of FIL?   It has been reported that broken heart syndrome is a definite cause of some deaths, strangely it happens to women more than men. If ever there was a bad time to die it must be at the current time. Lily I'm sorry to hear about your Aunt, and the situation with your Uncle must be an enormous worry for you, being the primary carer. We are still in lockdown, although I have noticed that there seem to be more shops open than before.   I find this quite worrying, how can normal life ever resume?  I always wear a mask when I go out, only a home made one but better than nothing. I also carry a small bucket, water and soap to wash my hands after every shop. I am desperate for a hair cut, how about you ladies?   Mr P left for work yesterday, a long journey for him as the only way he could go was via Calais/Dover.  So a 10 hour drive this side, and then a 2 hour drive UK side.  Hopefully by the time he returns there will be an easier way for him.   So, after such a long time his absence has hit me quite hard.   Never mind, it's only 2 weeks. I personally don't know anyone who has, or had Covid. ED who works in a Care Home has had some deaths. I'm quite worried about her as she is "frontline".   Our Son and SIL have both been furlowed.  Our region in France had a panic a couple of days ago when the government published a latest map showing our area as being in the red.   In fact the figures were wrong and we are in green which is good. Phew. Boy did they have to apologise for the error. To end I'm adding a couple of bird photos.   A woodpecker and a hoopee, both are one of a pair that we see every day in our garden.   On that note, take care and stay safe.   Hoopee   woodpecker and a tit   ... View more

Hello ladies, Nicky and Lily my heart goes out to you, you're both very much under pressure and at the moment I don't know what the solution is.   Like you Nicky, when we walk the dogs we usually don't meet another person so from that point of view we are safe.   However, our shops are generally packed and although people try to keep a metre away it does become very difficult.   So I wear a home made mask which gets washed every time I've worn it and we carry water, soap and kitchen towels in the car so every time we've been shopping we can wash our hands.   Just to make sure we have also got some alcohol wipes.   There isn't much more we can do to protect ourselves, and yes even it's not for food there are household items that need to be bought.   For my hands tomorrow I am starting physio sessions, my diabetic dr thinks it is capsulitis of the finger joints which is a common problem for the shoulder in diabetics, so it makes sense it could be the problem with my hands.   I hope this is a solution.   We haven't seen YD for weeks, except by video calls, she is worried if she visits (and she's not really allowed to at the moment) she may bring it to us.  She is managing to keep working via video calls, and has applied to be a teacher of English.   Mr P returns to work on 6 May.   TBH I am dreading it.   Life in isolation is hard when the two of us are here but on my own..... When we go out we still have to complete a document in case the police are about.   On a positive note we decided to buy a small polytunnel, and have been busy sowing seeds and plants.   Hope to have cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale, potatoes, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and broccoli.   With green veg we always have a problem with the cabbage butterfly, the caterpillars completely shed the plants.   So hoping having a polytunnel will prevent that.   I speak to my Mum almost every day but conversations with her are becoming more difficult.   She is so forgetful, chatting is always repeated.  At the moment she is complaining about the food, being bored because she can't go out but she forgets that she never went out anyway.       Well take care everyone, stay safe and hoping chemo isn't too unkind for you Nicky. xxx     ... View more

Hi buddies We are now in confinement for another 4 weeks until 11 may. It has to be done I think even though getting a bit much now. This virus has to be stopped somehow.   Stay safe buddies and hope you had a nice Easter even though not seeing children and grandchildren xxd ... View more

Gggrrrhh. Just lost quite a long post. So in brief we are all ok here. Mr p doesn't need an op just physio. All physios are closed atm so he is doing exercises as the surgeon said.   My hands are still pretty useless, they also need physio but all closed for now   On the positive side of lockdown we've discovered loads of box sets on iplayer, like Life on Mars and Gavin and stacey.     I'm currently watching Contagion on Netflix,  with today's crisis it is very accurate.   Does anyone wear masks when out? We are unable to buy them here, so make do with scarves. I did a homemade mask from YouTube but it needs tweaking slightly. Enjoy easter buddies and stay safe. XXX ... View more

Nicky i am so sorry to read about both your losses, at such a difficult time as this. I speak to my 93 year old Mum every day, often repeating the same conversation but I would be devastated that I would not be able to go to her. Also with you having to go through your treatment at such a distressing time.   Big hugs.   So how are you Lily and Lisa?      I was due to visit the children in UK last weekend but of course that was cancelled so I thank the wonders of technology for at least being able to see them when we talk. It's also been weeks since we've seen YD.   She is doing all her teaching via video chats, she's very worried about the Covid situation, well we are all worried about it but she's staying put as much as she can.   We are allowed out to go shopping, medical appointments, exercise but close to home, 1 km and only for an hour. We have to complete a declaration saying the reason why we are out.   Lockdown has been pretty tough but thankfully the weather has been good so lots of gardening done.   Mr P is not returning to work today, not because of Covid but because he found out last week he has broken 3 bones in his wedding ring finger.   This injury was actually done in January but as he didn't want to take time off sick he left it.   Consequently our local dr thinks he's left it too long and nothing can be done for his painful hand and finger.   We are seeing a hand trauma specialist tomorrow to see if it can be repaired.   Silly man, not going to sort it out back in January!   Lily and Nicky, are your husbands like that?   Well, that's it for now, but I wish you all to take care and stay safe.   Love Carole xx ... View more

Hello buddies I'm isolating myself, can't really do much else really as we live in the countryside.  I have neighbours but rarely see them. We have to carry a piece of paper explaining the reasons to be outside of home, you have to tick a relevant box and if asked by the Gendarmes to provide it then you show them.   It has got to be done because this virus seems uncontrollable. As I always have a cough I wouldn't be able to go by that so am taking my temperature twice a day.   To think that 20 days ago we were in Spain when there was only a couple of cases of CV, look at now, 2nd country with cases behind Italy.   No diagnosis for me except fibromyalgia.  My Diabetic specialist thinks my hand problem could be  capsulitis, apparently it is often seen in the neck and shoulder and hands.   This has never been mentioned before so I have a prescription for physio, but of course physio is out of the question at the moment.   Have a good weekend all and Nicky I hope your new chemo regime is kind to you?   Love Carole xx ... View more

Hi ladies, I hope you are all avoiding the c virus?   We had to cancel our planned trip to Italy, it just wasn't worth taking the risk. So many tourist sites have closed that we had planned to visit.   So we are now in Spain and have been to Roses, Tarragona and Zaragoza. Tomorrow we make our way back to France. It's been a good trip, with loads of walking around the cities. Lots of exercise. Mr P had a nice 60th birthday.    Lily what an awful time with your tooth problem. I know we all fear our dentists, so just to say hang on in there buddy 🤔 🤞 🤞 🤞 .    Otherwise love to all xxx   ... View more

Just a quickie. Lisa we used Staysure. They cover pre-existing conditions.   Nicky, I'm so sorry that you had to have another liver biopsy, I'm sure they're not nice. But, on a positive perhaps the results might open up new treatments? Hope so and my heart goes out to you with  cyber hugs. Love to you all xx   ... View more

Hello buddies How are you all doing? I hope that storm Ciara didn't cause any damage to your houses or gardens?   We were lucky, just a bit of wind and rain which hasn't stopped for days.   I was in hospital last week for 3 days.   I still can't say I have an auto immune disease as the hospital blood tests say I don't, but my local lab has said 3 times that I do with a high positive.   So the hospital is double checking my blood again.   I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.  The pain specialist said that it could be as a result of cancer, chemo, tamoxifen, radiotherapy even after all these years.  So I am on anti depressants and gabapentin.  My hands are still as bad so I think I'm going to have to learn to live with them like this.   Lily yes, our youngest granddaughter is walking now. She looked really cute on her birthday last month.   In a couple of weeks we're off to Italy for a few days.   Lucca, Florence, San Marino and Rome are our destinations.   It's to celebrate a big birthday for Mr P.   Well that's my news for now, hope you're all ok?  Love Carole ... View more

Hi Buddies Lily, you have a big one coming up ???? Well your plan of lots of little breaks and seeing all your family sounds a wonderful idea. £3000 for an implant? My goodness that's steep but, if it were me and it's a front tooth I think I would try everything to have a tooth, will they take payments over 6 months or 9 months?  It sounds like your Mum is behaving well at the moment. Nicky how are you getting on? I hope your CT scan results showed improvement or at least nothing new. The place that you're looking at for your Mum sounds just the ticket as she is still quite independent. Lisa have you managed a trip away recently? I still have no confirmation of my tests, and yes Lily the next visit is to do the same thing.   They mentioned giving me a dexa scan as I've had so many broken ribs, and in fact have another episode now, x ray today to confirm or not but on examination my GP thinks they are broken.   They will do a CT scan because of this persistent dry cough. So at the moment they are planning to give me a bone strengthener called Aclasta, and if they strongly believe I have Sjogrens Gougerot they mentioned a drug called Plaquenil, which is in fact an anti malarial. I broke down in tears yesterday with my doctor, she's prescribed morphine patches for pain and Cymbalta which is an anti depressant, and also is known to help pain. I had weird thoughts through the night and don't believe I slept at all. Hope this gets better as I get used to them. It was my birthday last Saturday so we went out for a lovely meal, and last Friday our youngest granddaughter was 1.   Time flies. Take care love Carole xx ... View more

Hi to all   How are you all?   Hoping you all enjoyed Christmas and New Year with your families and friends. It seems a long time ago already!   I'm still waiting for results of all the tests I had in the hospital.   Last week I had a capillaroscopy which wasn't at all painful or unkind, basically just looking at my hands under a very fine microscope.   He couldn't find any signs of vasculitis or vascular disease, so this is good news but still leaves me wondering why I can't use my hands and fingers without pain.   The auto immune disease they are looking for is called Sjogren Gougerot, and another name for it is the "dry" disease.  The lip biopsy should confirm this, but I've joined a forum for this actual disease and found that people have all the symptoms but still don't have confirmation. I'm back into the hospital for another 3 days 3 February for more tests including a CT on my chest.  One thing I did learn from the last tests that as well as broken ribs I also have a broken bone in my spine, thoracic area.   I have no idea how this happened.   The good news is that YD, who is now 25 has been accepted by the Civil Service in France (can't think what it is actually called) as an official interpreter.   She also applied for official translator but they're saying she hasn't got enough of a diploma!   Typical really as French bureaucracy goes.   With Brexit about to happen as a translator she would be able to give an official stamp to things like birth certificates, marriage certificates etc.   Apparently 5 people applied for translator/interpreter and only 1 got the accreditation for both.   She is hoping to appeal this decision, but in the meantime can go ahead with being an interpreter.   Our ED finally passed her driving test, it's only taken 25 years to do it! Son's family have all gone down with a sickness bug so I'm hoping it won't affect any of you.   Our doggies turned 2 on NY day and are still bouncing about the place causing havoc. Mr P has been home since early December I'm sure going to miss him when he returns to work on my birthday.   Enough from me, how are you all? xxx       ... View more