I just love life in rural France

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Lot-et-Garonne, France
I've just arrived home after taking some bottles to our village bottle bank. While I was there, dutifully recycling, the 'soon to be' mayor came across and shook my hand. He commented on the glorious weather we're enjoying, asked after my wife and a recently bereaved friend, asked how my photography projects were going, and then looked me in the eye and said, "Peter, I wanted to have a word with you because Patrick Francois told me you were flying a drone over his fields a few weeks ago and that you were taking some aerial photos of the old church opposite your place."
I thought, here it comes... "Do you have a permit? Do you realise that you aren't allowed to bla bla bla..." So, I explained to him that it was true, that I did buy a 'drone' (that's what they're commonly known as in France) but that I'd sent it back and was actually awaiting a replacement. "In the meantime," I told him, hoping he'd understand, "I'm practicing on a simulator and I've been in touch with the DGAC (the French civil aviation authority) about obtaining a permit for it and a licence to fly it for commercial purposes. I now have all the documents and..."
"Yes, yes yes, I'm sure you have," he said, cutting me off in mid grovel. "Well anyway, what I wanted to ask you was if you could do me a favour and let me have some aerial photos of the cemetries at Lagruere and Lamarque. They're in a right mess and I thought that if we could get an aerial view of them it would help me see exactly what was needed to be done in order to sort them out and we could then ask for some funding for the work from the County Council."
"Guy, I'd be glad to," I said, "but the DGAC won't allow me to fly over a populated area without those permits I just told you about."
He smiled, winked, put a hand on my shoulder and said, "I think we can leave the DGAC out of this. OK? Do you think you could do it before the end of April?"

And that, my friends, is an excellent example of why I love living here :D
 
Classic! There is a saying "You can change the law but you can not change peoples hearts".

I for one would love to see some of the century old cemetery photos when your finished with them!
 

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