We have 4 different magazines that are delivered to our house free of charge. The commune of Cormontreuil publishes one, Grand Reims does another, the Marne yet another and lastly one comes from the Grand Est Region. There is no excuse for not knowing about local politics.

When the Grande Reims magazine offered a free bike to the winner of a competition I thought my chances of winning were quite high as far fewer people would enter than if it was a national competition.

A double page spread showed all the recycling places in Reims, including the containers for old clothes. A question was asked about each of these facilities and you had to go and visit them to find the answer.

Each weekend, we went exploring and posing the questions. At each place I asked if anyone else had been there on this quest. Invariably the answer was, ‘Non, tu es le seule.’

One of the questions was about a series of recycling containers in the Northern part of Reims in the commune of Bethany. I was running out of time and opportunities to visit. I discovered Google Earth maps and just sent the little yellow man to walk round Bethany village centre. I found what was required.

Now, one question was about a recycling container in the large carpark near to our house. We knew that it used to exist, but when we looked for it, it had gone. Google Earth showed me which one used to be there.

How many people would give up at that point? If they had gone to the carpark and looked – there was nothing to be found. I was pretty sure that my entry would be the winner. We found the offices of the Reims recycling department and left my entry there.

A few weeks later I received a letter saying that I had won and to come and collect my bike!