Stuffing a national treasure

Well we're back in BOA. Got in early hours of yesterday morning having driven through torrential rain on our side of the channel. Seemed to be a lot of customs activity checking lorries going through. Can only assume there was an alert on. Crossing was a bit up and down, literally, but having taken something in advance, we were fine. Port traffic meant we  disembarked about 30 minutes late. Very busy, but customs checks were moving along. We got in at about 12.30pm. Not too bad. Our friend John had got some milk and bread in for us and as always had sorted through our mail in his usual meticulous fashion. Only this time he'd had four months worth to deal with. Nonetheless it was all laid out, Bic style in  'her' and 'his'piles.  Mike discovered he had a tax rebate - three figures - so useful. And I discovered I was now eligible to register to receive my pension. Got to bed around 2am. Up at 8am. Ploughed through the paperwork. Online pension registration didn't seem to be working, so I phoned the 'special' number and had a very nice lady take my details. Then she asked if I was considering delaying receiving my pension in order to get a better deal or lump sum or something. Politely, I explained to her I had already had an 18 month delay from my 60th birthday before receiving my stately dues, because of changes to the system, and suggested that perhaps I should automatically receive 'the better deal'. Strangely she laughed! Finally all was correctly registered and we parted company on the best of terms. So as of 6 Jan 2013 I officially become an OAP.  What more could a girl want.
By lunchtime we were asleep.  Got going again in time for me to start my first advanced French conversation group at The Dandylion pub. Mike's starting his group next week. Called 'French Upstairs' I got there for 6pm had about an hour with two others. Gérard who leads it is a very nice guy. Apparently there's usually five or six people, but most were away this week. Then afterwards I shot off round to a near neighbours to meet up with Mike and some others for dinner. Great evening, lovely food. We left around midnight. 

This morning of course we were both wide-awake at 7am. It was only a matter of time before fatigue kicked in. I'd made arrangements to meet some friends for coffee. On the way I went to buy some vegetables from the lady grocer in The Shambles in the centre of BOA.The street really doesn't look that different today, from the photo here.  Anyway I asked for two big flat mushrooms. Or so I thought. She stared at me and asked if I'd meant to say that. 'What did I say then?'. 'You asked for two big flat tomatoes'.  I'd already managed earlier this morning to write out our Sainsburys shopping list in French. 
Now I've just decided to eat some Quaker Apply and Blueberry Porridge oats, which is the only thing I use the microwave for. And of course it has overflowed all over inside and  down the side of the bowl. What was left of my porridge was delicious. I'm approaching equipment with care for the rest of the day.

My hazy gloom however was only momentary. Let's try this out. What does
Get stuffed mean. I can think of a few interpretations. To get stuffed, as in eating too much. Why don't you get stuffed? - the unpolite version of to please mind you're own business and go away. Researching further, there are various websites telling you where
to get stuffed crust pizzas. There is a cookery programme called the Get Stuffed Cookery Show, an ITV late-night show offering apparently 'unpretentious recipes for the totally clueless'. Tring Festival has a Get Stuffed Comedy club. And of course there's www.thegetstuffed.co.uk. an old established company dealing with all aspects of taxidermy. 
The next thing I researched was the meaning of A National Treasure. Stephen Fry is often referred to as a national treasure (N.T.). Sir Winston Churchill was described by Queen as an N.T. in 1952. David Attenborough is regarded as another one. A more official definition of a national treasure is an artefact, institution, or public figure regarded as being 'emblematic of a nation’s cultural heritage or identity'. No surprises there.

So it was very interesting this morning to read about Albert at the Foreign Office.
I want to keep this in perspective. Here in the UK, like everywhere else, we're in dire economic straits. Drastic action required we're told. Which is why this government of ours is cutting everything back it can gets its paws on. We know it. We feel it. William Hague our Foreign Secretary views deep cuts to public spending as 'essential to the future of the country'. That must be why he's signed a £10,000 bill on behalf of us taxpayers to have Albert the Anaconda who has hung in the F.O.library for 120 years, re-stuffed. Albert was last stuffed about fifty years ago.  A spokesman for the F.O. stated "we will not scale back in our dedication to preserve this historic national treasure". The work was carried out by a specialist team from the Natural History Museum. Shame none of us are going to see it.