French people don’t expect to get something for nothing. Years of receiving scratch cards that bluntly say ‘ PERDU’, telephone calls fictictiously saying you have won a prize, heat pumps that are free, etc have hardened them to believe that there is nothing free in life. Arriving, with hope in my heart that entry in a competition was worth a chance, I was met with, ‘Vous croyez en Père Noêl?’ Even after losing several thousands of pounds on a ‘free’ heat pump, my belief had not been entirely quenched.

The newly opened IKEA promised prizes to the first customers of the day. Persuading my husband to leave our bed early on a Saturday morning was the hardest part.. My daughter assured me that IKEA was incredibly generous and gave out vouchers of varying amounts at the door and someone she knew had got £70 worth. Arriving just before opening time, I was second in the queue, behind a man. In fact, I was last in the queue too, as there were only the two of us. The doors opened and the manager gave us both a mug and indicated we should go upstairs to the coffee bar.

That was it! We could have a coffee in the mug that was the prize! No tokens, no vouchers – did they know that in English ‘a mug’ has another meaning?

I was still undaunted when the local municipal magazine promised a bicycle to the winner of a competition that had as its aim to teach us all about every tidy tip and recycling point in the city. There were about 12 questions on the specifics of various ‘déchèteries’ and recycling opportunities. Over the next two or three weeks we visited all the locations mentioned and found the answers to the questions. At each one, I asked, ‘has anyone else asked you this question?’ and the answer was invariably, ‘Non, vous êtes le seul‘. One or two of the places we needed to visit were the other side of the city in the northern suburbs. I became an expert at Google Earth on my computer and by dropping the little man in the location, I found the answers from the comfort of our study. One question asked, ‘which recycling facility was to be found in the carpark at Office World’. Because we lived nearby we knew that there had been a metal container for posting old clothes. But, it was no longer there!! I figured that if I got all the answers right, I must have an good chance of winning as anyone else who was not from Cormontreuil would search in vain.

I hand delivered my entry to the address given. Several weeks later I received a letter to say a bicycle was waiting for me. Always hope, always have faith!!