rowland

I found that buying recipe magazines was one of the best ways of improving my french vocabulary. Learning new words is always easier when the subject really interests you and it is amazing how many everyday verbs and nouns are used in recipes - to add, to mix, to sprinkle, to stir, to taste etc. etc. The first thing I do when I arrive in France is to buy a copy of Cuisine Actuelle or similar.

HI Will be arriving in France on 5th December and it will be our first visit outside of the actual Christmas period. Does anyone know if there are any Christmas markets in the region that are worth a visit. I will look on line but thought someone may have personal knowledge. Thanks in advance

Oh what memories have been conjured up - we used to go on our Sunday School outing every year to Aberystwyth and always printed a name tag in the amusement arcade. It was a time of steam trains with pictures in the carriages, my brother always trying to see if he could squeeze himself into the luggage rack and tea in the town hall with buttered currant bread. Obviously have given away my advanced years! Back to original thread - most of our neighbours have their names scratched on their postboxes. We used stick-on letters and so far they have stayed on.

Storecupboard friendly Florentines Makes 25 - Prep 10 mins - Cook 12 mins 85g/3oz cornflakes, bashed with a rolling pin to crush a bit 85g/3oz toasted flaked almonds 50g/2oz dried cranberries 50g/2oz glace cherries, sliced thinly into rounds 397g can condensed milk 140g/5oz milk chocolate, broken into chunks 140g/5oz white chocolate, broken into chunks Heat oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4 and line a couple of baking sheets with baking parchment. Tip the crushed cornflakes, almonds,cranberries and cherries into a large bowl then stir in the condensed milk until all the ingredients are sticky. Spoon tablespoons of the mixture onto the sheets and leave lots of room for spreading. Flatten each spoonful slightly with the back of a wet spoon and bake for 8-12mins until golden brown. - if you take the Florentines out too soon and they are sitll pale they won't firm up when they cool. Cool on the sheets for about 5 mins until almost firm then carefully turn each one upside down and transfer to another sheet of parchment to cool completely. Melt the chocolate over simmering water or in the microwave. When the Florentines are cool, spoon or brush the chocolate over the bases of the biscuits with a pastry brush. Leave until the chocolate has set and serve or box/bag up as presents. Will keep for 5 days in an airtight container. Enjoy!!!! (Made these regularly for work colleagues and they always went down a treat)

I make lots of small jars of chutney (cranberry and apple, fig and cranberry or spicy damson) and put christmas ribbon and labels on the jars. I also make batches of florentines, stack them and wrap in clear cellophane then finish with christmas ribbon. They always seem to go down quite well as gifts.

My other half loves bananas and eats one most days. We have recently spent 10 weeks in France - our first extended trip since our retirement. The only thing that he didn't enjoy was the fact that he could not find a decent banana!!!!!

The book is called A Place of Greater Safety

What really annoys me is the difference in Ikea prices between UK and France. Bought a wardrobe this summer 199 euros - just checked on the Ikea website and the same thing here is £146.

Have only just seen this thread but it reminded me of a time years ago when we were travelling through France. We stopped at a Frites van in a lay-by and started to enjoy the most wonderful chips. A car pulled up in front of ours, a man got out and promptly unzipped his flies and peed directly in our line of vision. We carried on eating our chips and then my husband said " he really did need to go" It doesn't sound at all funny now but it was one of those moments that has stayed with us . We have a neighbour at our holiday home who comes home every day, parks his car and then promptly pees in the gateway!!!! Husband reckons he his saving on his water bill by not having to flush the loo!!!!

Frecossais What about La Coupoule (excuse spelling)? It is where the V2 bombs were produced which bombarded England during the war. Really interesting place to visit.

For good basic cooking the Hotel du Centre in Wimereux is always reliable. Also The Welsh Pub (don't let the name put you off) in Boulogne serves good traditional fare.

Hi We buy an annual policy from Direct Travel which, even adding £30 for my husband's pre-existing condition of angina costs £100. This is for any single trip of 45 days and because we are in France this time for 10weeks we had to pay £90 for an extension. Thought this was dear when we got the quote but changed our minds when Saga wanted £261 for the extension period as a single trip policy.

I had some info some time ago about fly screen roller blind kits but not sure if still relevant. Contact details are:- Tel/fax 0033 (0)2 33 37 46 74 Email [email protected] We just haven't got round to doing anything about it because never had such a problem before now.

This year we seem to be plagued by flies which door curtain and sticky things for windows do not deter. Is it possible to buy those electronic blue light zapper things in France? I know it is possible to get battery versions for camping so thought we could try one of those. Thanks in advance

Please can I join in and have a little grumble. It has been so hot the past few days and uncomfortable to sit on patio that we have bought a parasol - cannot believe the prices - cheapest we have seen was 35 euros but anything decent was about 70 euros. Am I being mean? Also, is it me but has meat in general become very expensive? Will get off soapbox now. Rowland

Just retired so spending our first long visit to house. Didn't want expense or bother of getting landline for short periods so decided to get a Cle 3G for internet access to use laptop. We are in an area where we cannot receive TV without a satellite dish so was bit apprehensive about reception. Have to report that although we are not in 3G range we can receive reception through Edge. Speed is quite quick and we have enough for what we need. It is a bit expensive (20 hours costs 25 euros) but top ups last 60 days and the Cle remains active for a year from your last top up. Had a bit of a problem registering our details initially but very helpful lady at the shop telephoned someone and got it sorted remotely. E-mailing everyone we know at the moment as we have four days unlimited access free. Bon soiree

Setting off for France next week - just enjoyed a really good rib-eye steak this evening. Can anyone tell me what the equivalent cut of beef would be in France? Thanks in advance

Seems to be a 'french' thing as all our electric cables seem to be on the diagonal - only discovered when we stripped wallpaper for re-decorating

Thank you

I am probably being very stupid but I can't find the correct form to complete on the 'impots' website. We are non resident and making our first declaration of income from apartment rental. Is it the 2042 form that we have to print off and complete? As it is our first, I don't think we can make the declaration on line but I am never sure if I have read things correctly. Thanks for the time limits - I see that we have until 30th June to submit our form. Any help gratefully received Thanks in advance

I love my slow cooker - it is great when we have visitors and not sure at what time they are going to arrive. It is really good to be able to cook something that one knows isn't going to spoil if guests do not arrive at the expected time. It also means that one is not disappearing into the kitchen with lots of preparation and no time to talk to one's friends. It does make great rice pudding - just remember that you have made it! I once started to cook a rice pudding and promptly forgot all about it - three days later it was discovered and although it was served in slices, it was still edible!!!!!

Hi Cacknanty As far as I know, last year it was every Saturday between 11 and 12 but there is nothing on the website for 2011. Will keep looking to see if anything is posted.

During our last visit to Bourgogne, we discovered the Cave at Buxy. We bought a selection of single bottles and so far, we have enjoyed the wines bought. It was a really good visit, the staff were very friendly, the choice of wines excellent and the prices good. For many of the wines, there are information cards which, as well as describing the wine, include a recipe to accompany it. Having discovered the Cave, we are now looking forward to visiting on a Saturday when there are discovery mornings with food and tasting. Wine can be bought en vrac and bag in box. All in all an extremely good trip. www.vigneronsdebuxy.fr

Our immediate neighbour stands at our gate and shouts coucou when she wants to attract our attention.

Ours too is simply Le Bourg, Village, Postcode. I think it must be common when the place is small.