I can't understand why so many people still pay by cheque in France. I have often seen the French pay by cheque at the supermarket for amounts as low as 5 euros. They're crazy. I have never had a cheque book in my life and never will. On the rare occasion when I need a cheque I would get a bank cheque which takes about 5 minutes to get from the bank.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy in France. I must be one of the few people not to have a chequing account here. That doesn't bother me but I need a cheque to pay for my home contents insurance. The insurance broker I got it from is in Montpellier so I can't pay by cash and they don't accept credit cards.

I went to the bank on Friday thinking they would write out a cheque for me right there and then. I must have briefly forgotten where I was. Of course they couldn't write me a bank cheque on the spot. I need an appointment with one of their advisors. The earliest I can get an appointment is in 10 days time. Brilliant. My insurance is due in 1 week. Not only do I have to wait that long for a cheque but I need a one hour appointment to get it done. One hour! So in theory the bank 'advisors' (they don't have tellers at the bank) could spend their whole day writing 7 cheques! Very efficient. This is just another reason as to why this country is so crap.