betty

Quote: 'Friends who are in their middle/late 70's have asked whether it is worth having travel insurance(because of the cost) when they are covered by a UK health card.Probably not.' I am in the lower end of that age group. My travel insurance (French) was very expensive but I had to go to hospital for a bad migraine. The bill for just an x-ray, a few drugs, hospital bed for 3 hours and talking to a doctor for a few minutes. $5,700.00. YES $5,700.00! Where? The USA. I think travel Ins. Is a must but I used a well known UK company on an earlier holiday (praised for cost etc on another thread) yes the price wasn’t bad but did they want to pay out for a claim, NO.

[quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="betty"][quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="betty"] [quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"]Bill has been passed. What now?[/quote]   Take cover! and I don’t mean from the rain, rather more from “les jeûnes” that self-esteem ppp would appear to support, which I find quite disturbing.   [/quote] More female students participated than male, particularly in Lyon. 1967 was in Grosvenor Square, 1968 Rue St Mich"[:)] [/quote] What on earth has that got to do with my post, are they, or are they not les jeûnes? On other the other hand perhaps you indicating that you are a MCP along with other unmentionables? [/quote] MCP wozzat? Is it good or bad? [/quote] MCP? I am surprised you did not know that.   M:Male C:Chauvinist P:There are other versions but for the time being lets name it   Good or bad? You decide. Post edited by the moderators. Please do not post messages which are insulting, abusive, racist, sexist, or derogatory in any way to others, whether they are individuals or companies, users of the Forum or not.  

[quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="betty"] [quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"]Bill has been passed. What now?[/quote]   Take cover! and I don’t mean from the rain, rather more from “les jeûnes” that self-esteem ppp would appear to support, which I find quite disturbing.   [/quote] More female students participated than male, particularly in Lyon. 1967 was in Grosvenor Square, 1968 Rue St Mich"[:)] [/quote] What on earth has that got to do with my post, are they, or are they not les jeûnes? On other the other hand perhaps you indicating that you are a MCP along with other unmentionables?

[quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"]Bill has been passed. What now?[/quote]   Take cover! and I don’t mean from the rain, rather more from “les jeûnes” that self-esteem ppp would appear to support, which I find quite disturbing.  

[quote user="dragonrouge"]I forgot Betty they also said to rip up blankets and towels and make do as nappies. Again it was Churchill who put the troops into South Wales in the General Strike and shot miners.[/quote] That was the year 1911!  

[quote user="Quillan"]Which reminds me of something I left out in my post, how about putting an extra 1% or 2% on 'income' tax that way everyone, including the bankers, pay towards reducing the debt. How would the French react to that idea? Again not a dig but a serious question.[/quote] Interesting post Quillan, but could possibly lead to tanks replacing c/s gas.   Although unions have their place, I personally do not have much time for them since the Gormley/Scargill days which heralded the phrase “Everybody OUT.”   Protest or strike if disgruntled workers find it necessary, but peacefully please. Surely there is no need for all the violence, vandalism and looting? As France is presently on a ‘red’ terror alert, the country should be vigilant and on the lookout for terrorist activity. However, some of these rioters have their faces covered just like the Taliban, it’s disgraceful. It would be SO easy for bombs to be placed in high activity areas, especially abandoned stolen cars. At the end of the day who suffers? Joe public, who else! Who pays?  

[quote user="Frenchie"] Enjoy your apéritif before the supermarkets run out of booze............ [:D] [/quote] Thanks Frenchie Hadn’t thought about that, looks like another ride up that b#~><* hill.

Success! Just arrived back from the shops without being blocked by the gendarmes. Just as well, it’s a long flog up the hill on my bike. I thought about going disguised as a student to make it through the blockade but my days in tight jeans and short skirts were over many moons ago and as for the wrinkles, well it would have been a dead give away. Time for an aperitif Bonne soirée!

[quote user="ebaynut"][quote user="Will"]So once again a discussion about French current affairs degenerates into Daily-Mail-style UK bashing, particularly directed at immigration. Perhaps the mods would care to move it to a non-France-related section of the forum? [/quote] I think you will find if you re read this thread it was a mod who first brought up the UK!!!!!![/quote]   and NormanH brought up Britain in post No.5

Thanks ebaynut.   I think others are missing the point.   This thread was meant to be about France and nowhere in my comments have I tried to compare France to the UK.

Yes peaceful demonstrations by all means but for the gendarmes to stop me for my own safety indicates to me that this demonstration was not peaceful.

[quote user="5-element"][quote user="betty"] Today on the news, shops are being looted in Lyon and cars set alight in Paris.   What! Arrest the students, don’t block me. [/quote] Just for clarification purposes, the youth looting shops and burning cars (and pelting the police) are NOT students. They are from the banlieues, they can easily mingle with the students and lycéens so it is difficult to tell them apart. It is unusual for them to get out of their patch and try to have some fun with the police, and burn cars that are not their neighbours. That is an interesting development, if that trend spreads further. [/quote] With due respect, you have misquoted me, I wrote:   'Last week I was cycling to the local supermarket and the gendarmes stopped me from continuing for my own safety due to a student protest re the grève. What! Arrest the students, don’t block me'.   In this case they were students.

[quote user="Théière"][quote user="Iceni"] But none of us is jealous of the £5m or is it £10m that he will be paid each year. John [/quote] Oh please don't exagerate, it's only £80,000 a week [:-))] + endorsment of various sporting goods and after dinner speaking.........scratch the after dinner speaking [:D] [/quote] This morning the BBC quoted £500,000 a week ! I do hope that was a mistake

[quote user="sid"] Some people don't want to be helped, but please don't tell me about managing on a small pension. Sid [/quote] Where did I tell you that? You need glasses

Yes and I have also heard about Henry viii   Do you know it is now the 21st century?   Times do change.

I suspect the others had difficulty due to their piles.

Yes, I see what you mean

[quote user="NormanH"] Many of the violent confrontations and damage being done (such as burning down a school today) are the result of other deep tension [/quote] Deep tension! don't you mean arson?

This whole strike business is getting beyond the joke. Today on the news, shops are being looted in Lyon and cars set alight in Paris. Last week I was cycling to the local supermarket and the gendarmes stopped me from continuing for my own safety due to a student protest re the grève. What! Arrest the students, don’t block me. In this area there is no petrol that I know about. Today the post office was closed, due, yes you have guessed. My neighbour, a midwife is worried how to get to work due lack of fuel. My son flies into Paris next week, he normally rents a car and visits, now he is concerned about the availability of the fuel to make the journey. If he takes the TGV, it will probably go on strike during the journey. There are delays at ports and the channel tunnel, re BBC travel this morning. In the past the gendarmes have turned a blind eye to sheep being burnt alive, diesel poured over fresh fish and much graffiti splashed on our local roads during the more recent milk pricing problems. Are the gendarmes only here for speeding tickets? Some senior gendarmes certainly do not uphold the law in dangerous dog management as was mentioned in a thread under pets a few days ago. If the rebels want to cause problems, why don’t they chat up Mme S but please don’t let the innocent public suffer. Us, well we are planning a move to a more civilised part of the world ASAP. I wrote this in a hurry to pack, so please no comments about grammatical or spelling errors.  

[quote user="Chancer"] I did quite a bit of driving today and every fuel station I saw was dispensing fuel from all the pumps (many were 24 hour pumps) and not noticeably any queues, some had run low/dry in the week but deliveries must have come through. [/quote] Dept 22. No queues here either, all the pumps have run dry! Not surprised after seeing many stocking up with jerry cans etc.  Fortunately I rely on pedal power for transport.  

Audio,   My son is a USC, he routes from our house in Brittany to Paris CDG 2 or 3 times a year. I will ask him the best way and send you a pm.

[quote user="sid"] On balance I have to say that the most sensible advice was the laptop suggestion. [;-)] Sid [/quote] Perhaps you will buy one for me at Christmas

[quote user="Jay"]What on earth have you got on your hard drive that is so sensitive that you would not trust a friend to use it? The swapping of hard drives is a particularly silly idea and is doomed to failure. I would forget it and buy yourself a laptop.[/quote]   What on earth have you got on your hard drive that is so sensitive that you would not trust a friend to use it?   Personal. Would you let your friends have unlimited access to your hard drive?   I would forget it and buy yourself a laptop.   I wish I could but some of us pensioners are struggling as it is without splashing out on luxuries.   My thanks to others who gave sensible advice and suggestions.    

Whilst staying at friends, we have been offered the use of a computer minus hard drive. Can we use our hard drive without any problems or reprogramming? We have Vista, they have Windows 7. For a return favour to them, would it work the other way round? I.e. Win 7 h/d in a Vista pc. I understand that both drives are SATA.

[quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="betty"][quote user="pachapapa"] The man in the white coat agrees with you.[:)] All shutters should be removed in order to eliminate house breaking and burglary.   [/quote] I think you are missing the OP’s point. Leaving your shutters closed is an advertisement that ones house is empty, as the OP states ‘What an invite to burglars’. I do not think that closed shutters would be any deterrent at all. I must say that this rule applied to our insurance and worried us while we were away for some weeks.   [/quote] On that basis, a priori, I can take you to hundreds of rural villages in La Vienne where at 20:00 all the shutters are closed. As I drive through it had never occurred to me that all the houses in these villages were empty; now I am puzzled as to where all these people go every night.[:)] [/quote] I think you have difficulty understanding. It would appear to me that the shutter closure in question is for holidays or long periods of absence when they are shut 24/7 for several days or weeks not just overnight.