All Activity

Oh it's lush green here too...it should be, never been so well watered 🤣 It's frustrating though, only being able to do jobs in between showers and then only things that don't require a dry spell afterwards 🙄

Calling Menthe !!!! Hope you're okay. Storms gave us power cuts in the last few days/weeks. Hopefully that's not the case for you Menthe. Perhaps she is out in a sunny place for a long hike.

Anyone got any news of Menthe? She seems to have gone very quiet all of a sudden.

albf, West Sussex, do you know Halnaker?

Went to see my mum in West Sussex a few weeks back…and her garden is blooming. Its a sight to see. Its like a Monet painting. Surrounding countryside areas where she lives is just lush green.

Bordeaux is a dump…who cares if Ryanair pulls out. Every Tours - Stansted flight we have taken is packed out. I flew with my son to Stansted a few weeks back…18 euros each way. Then the baggage and all that. So lets say…250 euros return for both of us. Try doing Tours-Paris return on a tgv for the same price……good luck with that.

Well, you know Michael O'Leary - any hint of higher landing fees, handling fees or higher costs and he'll pack his bags and go somewhere else. As you say, Bordeaux airport should have considered that some older cheaper fees from Ryanair would be better than no future fees at all.

Wow, the article doesn't state exactly what the 'beef' was - Ryanair asking too much of BOD or BOD asking too much (€) from Ryanair. Considering the Ryanair traffic out of BOD, it doesn't appear very smart to let them go.

That'll be Bordeaux Airport that has the money problems - not Ryanair. Ryanair forecast after-tax profit for the year to end March (2024) of between 1.85 billion and 2.05 billion euros, easily beating its previous record of 1.45 billion euros in 2018. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ryanair-forecasts-record-annual-profit-promises-regular-dividend-fares-soar-2023-11-06/ Bordeaux hikes their charges - Ryanair closes the base and moves to another as yet unspecified. https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/ryanair-blames-airport-charges-hike-bordeaux-base-closure

Yes, it has rained nearly every day since October here also. And it continues. We're not sure if it will EVER stop. Gardens are completely saturated and can hold no more. Rivers overflowing their banks often. Rock slides and fallen trees blocking roads are frequent. Everyone is talking about it. Any outdoor workers are so far behind on their jobs, it could take a year or more for them to catch up. That is, if it ever stops raining.

Yes, it's hardly stopped raining here in Lot et Garonne since last October. Some winters/springs are like that, some winters we have quite a bit of frost and some are pussycats. We never know what we're going to get. It's a great shame for all the Associations that try to organise events as they're usually relying on the success of them to keep their heads above water. Ditto artisans and not to mention agriculteurs! A freak hailstorm a couple of Sundays ago wiped out most of the crops round here. Not too drastic for the tournesol, though, because that seed drowned soon after it was sown. What makes me really spit is that the weather in central and SE UK is often better than it is here, at least for gardening 🤐

Our 2015 Honda Accord had a similar recall to do with the generic Takata airbag fault a few years ago. The airbag module is replaced that's all.

Thanks for that information Harnser. I passed it on to British friends who live locally and who have a C3 - news received with less than total enthusiasm, but with thanks !

It seems that that they are going to cease flying from Bordeaux as well, money problems.

Well, yes I know that it’s a subject that we (Brits) always moan about ............ but this year is a bit different ! Down here in the south, we’re pretty much accustomed to high temperatures - it goes with the territory and you didn’t expect it before you came .........!! However, this year ! Normally by mid-May, the idea of still wanting a jumper first thing in the morning and in truth for much of the day, would be considered madness. Well I still am, as are most other folk. The restauranteurs must be suffering terribly, at least they will be if they have no indoor seating arrangements, which few have around here because they’re not needed nor wanted by the clientele. Talk about ‘feast & famine’, or perhaps the other way round. Last year, we had a total drought, with the water supply being regularly cut off (understandably by the way) in order to preserve supplies. This year, we’ve had almost incessant rain for what seems like ages. So depressing. Has it been the same where you are ?

Reading around the French forums today…..it seems that Ryanair is getting it in the neck. For what exactly? For being a cheap efficient airline? Well…I’m coming out….I love ryanair. I have flown with them for 20 years…..never had a problem. Vivre..Ryanair. And please don’t close the Tours route to London.😀

Whilst the recall for Citroën could be serious and I thank Harnser for alerting people, I couldn't resist placing this picture that could affect Renault owners 😀

I agree…he had info and they wanted it…..and they now they have it. He is dead now I reckon.

Avoid becoming elderly and ill in France. That is ALBF advice for the day. Jesus folks…..the system sucks….and very expensive too. Two elderly French relatives have become ill (one very terminally..literally months). The process, the administration and everything else to get them all sorted in their final time is a nightmare. France should be ashamed. Just count on 4k per month to live out your years in an ephad. More if you need specialist care. Im telling you. Also, just hope there is someone to help you with the process. Its….a nightmare. They don’t tell you that in the magazines.

I have a suspicion they didn't grab him out of kindness, and that it's unlikely he'll be seen again - by anyone.

I am still trying to escape France. 😂…..but no I am still locked up in this country. So I am not on the lose. Sleep well tonight. Back on topic….this whole affair is bizarre…a very professional hit to extricate a nobody. What is going on ? Senseless killing of people doing their job. There is more to this story that meets the eye.

Citroën is asking owners of C3 and DS3 models to report. These vehicles were respectively sold between 2009 and 2017 and 2009 and 2019. According to the site Rappel.conso.gouv.fr the faulty workmanship concerns the “Takata” type airbags. Many of the owners of these older models may not be known to the Citroen dealer network so it up to the driver/owner to approach a Citroen dealer to have the recall done. https://www.ouest-france.fr/economie/budget/airbag-defectueux-quels-modeles-de-c3-et-ds3-sont-rappeles-par-citroen-c2e342fc-12da-11ef-8a2a-01c2428a5400

Reports of a violent prisoner escape made me wonder if it wasnt ALBF on the loose as he has been very quiet of late.

Although, one has to say, with one of the best theme tunes in the last decade.