Lindsey2

[quote user="Russethouse"] I remember Rag, Tag and Bobtail, Picture Book and Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben and there must have been one other? Picture book was Wednesdays I think. [/quote] Monday - Picture Book Tuesday - Andy Pandy Weds - Bill and Ben Thurs - Rag, Tag and Bobtail Friday - The Woodentops That's as I remember it (as if it was yesterday!) And what about Shirley Abicair, the Australian lady who played the zither?

Hi Lollie, I agree they are incomparably good! Sorry can't help with French outlet, but I think if you order, as I did, from one of the many on-line suppliers, (just Google GHDs), you will find that it will be as cheap or cheaper than any retail outlet, even allowing for postage. But do check carefully the comparative postage charges, they vary a lot! Happy straightening, Lindsey

Thank you for that kindly reply, Musicmonkey - very balanced and reassuring !

As a first-time gite booker, (not owner!), I am looking for some advice that I hope you gite people might be best placed to offer. I have just booked a week in September in a French gite, through Gites de France - whose service was remarkably fast and efficient, I have to say. Obviously all communication so far has been via the agency, but as the full name and address of the owner is included in the paperwork, I am in a dilemma as to whether or not it would be the done thing to make some direct contact with her. It's not that I have anything particular to say, other than possibly a rough ETA, and to write something polite in French would be quite an effort, but wouldn't want to be thought rude if contact is normally expected. Any suggestions?

[quote]Well yes I am a bit confused now! Anyway, I took my laptop to a couple of computer bods ( small french enterprise not too far away) and they got it going again and re-loaded everything without losing...[/quote] Sorry to confuse. Verbal diarrhea on my part I'm afraid. Won't do it again. Promise.

To Ewa : If the articles you send to your county magazine are relatively simple text documents i.e. simple layout and formatting, then save the Appleworks files in 'Rich Text Format' - RTF ( File menu - Save As - RTF ). Word processing applications, including MS Word, happily accept RTF files because it is an agreed standard format. It can't deal with complex layouts however. If the magazine only wants your copy, and it then formats, RTF might be a simple way of avoiding problems. By the way, I've taken to using Textedit in MacOSX for writing letters and the like. The basic formatting is usually enough, and saving it as an RTF file means it is available to use in any other word processor I may want, including all the flavours of MS Word. MS Word can also save as RTF, but because of the ubiquity of Windows and Word, not many are aware of it, let alone use it. RTF is a good example of an open standard. Strange you have problems with JPEG files, another open standard. Have you tried compressing them? Sometimes 'wrapping' the files in a 'zip' coat can work wonders, but don't put them in a folder, just zip them as a group of files. Our office interacts with PC users constantly, and find that most problems with email attachments usually come down to the set-up of their system, very aggressive virus and spam scanning, or upper limits on attachment size. To Flora ( the original poster ) : I hope my earlier posting didn't confuse or muddy the water. You had asked for comments and I gave mine. It's such a pity you can't test drive a computer in the same way you test drive a car, actually even more so with computer operating systems because we are interacting with them on a more subtle level. You're in an unusual and privileged position: you are aware that there is a choice. All of us posting here are self selecting, in that to respond we must already have some knowledge of the question. But almost the entire computer using population only knows Windows, and most of the Windows users I meet can hardly conceive that there could be any other way for a computer to function. To them Windows IS computing, and Microsoft the benign provider who just sort of organises the whole thing. Like fish, they swim in water of Microsoft's making, and they are completely unaware of it. You have a chance of looking outside the tank - that's exciting. I don't know how you have arrived at considering a Mac, but if it's that you know a Mac owner, ask to sit with them and watch them use it. Get them to show you how it works, where things are, what it can do. If they are really helpful, try to become familiar enough that you can sit down and use it yourself. When you stumble, or get stuck, remember, as someone said earlier in this thread, learning something new takes time. I'm learning French (well, trying to). It's not easy. The concept of words having gender is like a red rag to a bull for me. It's then I have to remember that French is a fully functioning language used by millions who are just as capable of subtle expression as English speakers. With your grounding in Windows, you're likely to hit your own 'red rag' moments with a Mac. But just as with my experiences of French, this doesn't make it wrong. If a Mac isn't available, and you are in England, there are Apple Stores in London (Regent Street) and Birmingham (Bullring). At these stores all the various types of Macs are freely available for use by the public and all are broadband connected. There is no limit to the use of these machines and no hard sell, although experienced staff are there to demonstrate or answer any query. They have a great reputation, and Paris is due it's own Apple Store later this year (Champs Elysee). Failing that, John Lewis are official Apple suppliers, always have machines on display, and the staff are knowledgeable. These are ways of actually getting your hands on a Mac and using it, albeit in a limited way. I like the Mac and I like Apple as a company. I like it's history, and the way it made computers usable by the likes of me. It has never been a challenge to Microsoft, who's origins are with IBM and the enormous business and corporate market. But it is a measure of Apple's influence that Microsoft aped the Mac with the development of Windows. Buying a Mac means you will be in a minority, but that doesn't mean it will be a limited experience. Good luck

Can't help myself, so here goes....I too use a Mac for both work and play and love 'em (in a healthy sort of way you understand - nothing funny). I've only used Windows fleetingly, but I'm sure XP is fantastic. Crikey, 98% market share can't be bad, can it? Large companies buy Dell computers with Windows by the lorry load. Now there's a testament not to be sniffed at. The amount of software for Windows.... so colossal it fair blows the mind. And the choice of hardware.... jeepers, there are so MANY different manufacturers. But I like the Mac. And as with any purchasing choice any of us makes, the issues can be complex. One reason for me, is that amongst all those myriad software items available for Windows, there are tens of thousands which I DON'T want to run on my machine thank you very much. They're called viruses, spyware, trojans or what you will. It's worth noting here that no malicious software has been found for Mac OSX. I don't care what the reason for this is, it means I get to sleep at night. And I certainly don't have to spend at least 2 hours a month cleaning out my machine as some friends do; or absolutely, without fail make sure that my anti-virus software etc. is up to date. Here's what the Wall Street Journal reported the CEO of Intel, Paul Otellini, as saying back in May of this year, "buy a Mac if you want to avoid security risks". In the article he revealed that he spends an hour a weekend removing spyware from his daughter's computer and suggested that the mainstream computer user in search of immediate safety from security woes should buy a Mac instead of a Wintel PC. And this is the man who is in charge of the company that makes the chips which are probably in the computer you are using right now. So he must know a thing or two. But the most important reason is the issue of Open Standards. They're not talked about much, and maybe here is not the place, but for me the adoption of open standards is the single most important means of preventing us ALL from being held to electronic ransom. Apple have publicly stated that where open standards exist, they will support them. From what I see, Microsoft try to subvert standards in order to gain control. I know which position I prefer. (climbs off soapbox looking flushed and exits stage left leaving an embarrassed silence )

[quote]hi you can go tours to Bristol with ryan air , i do all the time and for about 30 pounds each way.[/quote] I am a bit mystified by this - as a Bristol resident, and frequent flyer to Bordeaux, Bergerac, Toulouse and Nice, I have never heard of a service to Tours, and searches on Ryanair and Bristol Airport websites have revealed nothing. Can you tell us more? Lindsey

Has anyone ever visited the Lapin Agile chanson cabaret in Montmartre? I have left it a bit late to be asking this, as am in Paris next week, but I should very much like to go, and am wondering whether it is essential to book in advance, and, if so, by how many days - don"t really want to try phoning them from UK if avoidable, though I know from the website that I could e-mail. The other thing that worries me slightly is that the show goes on till 2am. How safe are the streets of Montmartre at that time of night? Would it be easy to get a taxi? Or, if we were to leave early enough to use the Metro, say midnight, would that be a bad idea? Or walking - our hotel being only about 1km distant. Any thoughts, anyone - please???

Last time I was in Nice I bought one of those ubiquitous recipe postcards, (Recettes Provencales), which featured "Cake d"Olives" - as well as green olives, it contained ham and chopped hazelnuts, and very delicious it was too! I just served it in slices with a green salad.