Yes, today was the last weekday of holidays..... I went to pay my taxes, I feel better about handing the cheque in at the Treasury in person, and I went to collect the forms for French cistizenship at the Prefecture.

This was interesting, although I didn't have to wait long - there were a lot of Africans etc, and they won't give out the forms unless you seem to qualify. One man was having an argument with them, because they wouldn't give him the forms, but his wife and children were in Africa, so that is where his closest family ties are, so he would get refused. I don't think his French was great, either, and that is another motive of refusal.

When it got to my turn, the woman looked me up in the computer and gave me the forms at once. She did enquire whether I was married and had children, then just said to make sure I arranged the documents really well. So I imagine there won't be a problem, once I have submitted the documents - which is going to take a while, there will have to be some extra things from NZ. After that, normally the wait is 18 months, I know this, because our boss, who is American but married to a French woman has done it not long ago. It will be good for me to have dual citizenship, I'll be able to vote again (at present I have no vote anywhere), and I pay taxes (and how!), so it will be good to feel I have some say.

After that, I went down to Montparnasse and bought the latest "De Fil En Aiguille", it has beginner's cartonnage, with embroidery by Sophie Delaborde, whom I have met and just adore. Then went to Hippo for lunch and had two courses, so I came home and flaked in front of "The Queen". This is such a good movie, and the Prince Philip reminded me of my grandfather, saying "the whole world's gorn mad". Tony and Cherie were gruesome, just like one always imagines them, and the Alastair spin-doctor character (forgotten his surname) was mad, also just like one imagines.

There is another Diana thing on tv tonight, we had a whole evening of it last night, some of which was mawkish in the extreme. And we have had the memorial service, with Prince Harry, and I can't get over the voices of William and Harry, both of them. They certainly don't say, I've GORN and LORST my specs, I took them ORFF and put them down...

So.... I've done practically all the big things I had to do on my holiday, there's still a bit of a clothes mess, but nothing like there was. Some more shopping tomorrow, but nothing too strenuous, I hope. The big shock is going to be getting up by 7am on Monday, urghhhh..... the days are getting shorter, and it is light from 7am to about 8pm at present, a bit different from the 6am to 10pm we had only a while ago.