pussigato, moonshadow et al, my internet was down. My friend downstairs said I could use his computer, but of course I only did that to see whether clients wanted me for a job or anything official.
pussigato and moonshadow, congratulations on quitting smoking; it is very difficult and a great accomplishment. My father died of smoking when he was the age I am now (I’m a boomer). My mum lived to 98, but she never smoked.
moonshadow, we have similar measures here; also private businesses. Yes, it is pleasant not to reek of tobacco after an evening out; I rarely go to pubs any more, but even in restaurants people smoked before. In fact, people even smoked at the local YMCA, where I was teaching languages…
Moonshadow, I have a friend in France, still alive in his 90s, who was in the Resistance in Normandy during WW2, and had hearing loss not only due to action but also to the fact that it may well could have cost them their lives to seek medical attention.
pussigato, thanks for the pic of Lady Livia! That little black cat does look very much like her, and yes, she was quite literally an alley cat.