Swissie
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Posts posted by Swissie
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What would you do if something like that happened to you in France? It's an appalling position to find oneself in. Any advice really appreciated. Merci.
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Bubbly ?!?! our Mauler has won many gold medals- beating lots of French champoo - I can tell you. LOL We will definitely crack a few when they have all finished - like a mad house here. BTW the Gruyère from La Brévine has recently won the Cheese World championships for the 2nd year running - beating thousands of cheeses, from allover the world.
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My brother recently paid back a debt (wow- never thought I'd see it back - he lives in domenican Republic and is a bit wild!) - in Swiss Fr 1000 notes - never seen any of those before that's for sure. Wonder what will happen when I turn out at the bakery for a loaf. Well, don't try and find me - it's gone - new patio and a balcony at the back. Thanks bro.
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Does anybody have any idea of the process for medical complaints. Is there really no equivalent of the GMC in France. A friend had to have a hip replacement in France a couple of years ago. A year later, when just walking, the new hip suddenly gave way. It turned out that the prostesis had broken! Ensued a big op to replace it - not easy as the bone was fragile because of first op, etc. Since then, a lot of pain, a leg shorter than the other, etc. Friend asked surgeon to get a report from Manufacturers to find out why it had broken. Nothing- and asked again and again. Got solicitor to write to Manufacturer to request report/expertise. Refusal! The Director of the hospital then made a request for same - nothing. Initially friend only wanted to know what had happened, but now is is very angry and wants redress - but is reluctant to employ big time lawyer due to finances. What can he do? He is thinking about going to the Anglo/French press. Any advice really appreciated.
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I can't quite see the problem here. Even in the UK eggs are sold by size, small, medium, large and extra large. So I suppose eggs would have several categories with a weight range- would help make recipes more accurate- as there can be quite a difference between a small (pullet) egg and a very large one.
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And if they live in France, it makes perfect sense. Those in the French community in London, who buy French food, furniture, clothes, send kids to French schools, use French doctors, dentists, lawyers, and only seek the company of other French - I (personally) just do not understand. Why come to London to work and live - why make it their home? Unless it's just for a year or two as a business/work opportunity. (but even then - why not take part, learn, try, experiment, make friends - enjoy).Most of the French I know in the UK actually live there because they love England, love the differences, and make the best of them.
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Mrs R51 - I have always said that it is possible to totally integrate and keep some aspects of your own culture- It would be really sad and empoverish us all if we all became the same in this great melting pot- and it is true that the French tend to go for the 'metlting pot' idea, rather than the 'value the differences' principle more prevalent in the UK (rightly IMHO). There is absolutely nothing wrong, I'll say it again, of wishing for and bringing some favourites from back home.PERSONALLY it makes no sense to import the majority of food stuff and good from 'back home', if you choose to live abroad- on ecological grounds, but in so many ways too. Here we shop in our local village shops, but also both in Swiss and French supermarkets (we live right on the border- and for big super markets it's 5km either way).I would be very interested in a serious study that would look at the correlation between a/ the adaptation to local foods/ recipes, etc b/ the ability to communicate in the language (no fancy grammar needed) - and how settled and content 'one' feels in a foreign country. Any budding sociologists out there?BTW - I have worked with many French colleagues in the UK. All felt very comfortable and happy there, bar 2. Guess which 2 permanently complained about everything British. Only my own observations of course.
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A long long time - as they are called Opel here! lol-Why should a French man living in France buy British products? I am talking about British people living in France, not quite the same.Agree about apples - British apples are far superior, crunchy, juicy, tasty. But those who were responsible for French apples breaking the back of our orchards- where the customers- nobody forces 'one' to buy anything. WE can influence the market if we try a bit harder to think about what we buy, from where, how it is packaged, etc. I have often called the manager from Tesco and other supermarkets in the autumn, to ask them why they didn't have English apples on sale - then tell him/her I'd rather not buy any, if they have only got foreign. Only takes a few minutes, and the message would get through if more of us did this, perhaps?
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Betty, I fully agree about yearning for special treats, we all do. And we all make use of car space on trips and ask friends to bring a few favourites over.A whole difference though to buying everything on line from Tesco &Co and having it shipped over every few weeks.BTW, I 'participate' on 2 Forums, this on and TFF - and it is amazing how different reactions are from one to t'other on many topics.
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Has she got a passport? Is she good with other dogs, cats, children? How old is she?
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A foot over the line, how clear can that be. Blind! Where is the technology in 2010!?! We was robbed.
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Sorry Pat, it doesn't. If anybody wants to see any videos, just french Google Guillon.
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Their sacking I'm sure will fire back in the face of those who wanted to silence them- the French do not take kindly to their satyrist/comedians being gagged - and good for them. I am not good at posting links/u-tube stuff - but maybe somebody can help with this. Hilarious.
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Would be interested to know how you got on - and whether you are buying as an investment, a holiday home or to come and live here?
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A German girl who lived with us for a while used to then wrap the pot in her woolie jumper! Worked fine.
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In the US they always ask 'would you like normal cheese or Swiss?' - which drives me mad as their so-called Swiss cheese is nothing like and has never set seen Swiss meadows! Yuk.
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You've mentioned one excellent hard French cheese - a good Comté is yum.
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We digress here a bit, but never mind. Emmenthal and Gruyère are totally different cheeses - and sadly the French sell French made Emmenthal (shouldn't be allowed, as Emmenthal, like Gruyère is a region!) and it taste and feels like old wellington boots (with less taste!) - in the US they have similar rubbish which they cheekily call 'Swiss' but comes from Wisconsin. Fondue has different recipes depending on the region, but traditionally Gruyère and (proper) Emmenthal. Jura (Swiss) and Comté (France) are very similar to Gruyère - but like with most cheeses, the taste depends on quality and maturity.So I agree that the UK has excellent cheeses- and that it is great to have some as a treat- but with so many good cheeses here, it seems normal to eat them most of the time rather than import from Tesco. When I first lived in the UK I did wish I could get Swiss/French cheeses and other foods, but quickly realised that if I was going to be happy there, I just had to get on with it, discover new foods and how to cook them (with just a twist of 'je ne sais quoi' / like I would use herbs and a dash of pepper in baked beans- and rosemary and garlic with the lamb, etc). Again, nothing wrong with occasional treats- back does it make sense to buy most of once shopping from abroad (back home) and import (+15%)?
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We digress here a bit, but never mind. Emmenthal and Gruyère are totally different cheeses - and sadly the French sell French made Emmenthal (shouldn't be allowed, as Emmenthal, like Gruyère is a region!) and it taste and feels like old wellington boots (with less taste!) - in the US they have similar rubbish which they cheekily call 'Swiss' but comes from Wisconsin. Fondue has different recipes depending on the region, but traditionally Gruyère and (proper) Emmenthal. Jura (Swiss) and Comté (France) are very similar to Gruyère - but like with most cheeses, the taste depends on quality and maturity. Like cheddar, which can range from the sublime to tasteless rubber (and could be made in Timbuktu!).So I agree that the UK has excellent cheeses- and that it is great to have some as a treat- but with so many good cheeses here, it seems normal to eat them most of the time rather than import from Tesco.
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I lived in the UK for 39 years - and I love England very much too. Lived in Staffs for a few years and had a fabulous time there.But .. Gruyère, bland??? How could you! Gruyère for export is very young and perhaps even bland- our local Gruyère has won Gold Medal in the World Cheese championships this year and last year. Mind you loved our Stilton when we lived in Leics, and agree that there are great cheeses in the UK. Stilton is becoming popular here with gourmets, but VERY expensive (loved Ye Olde Cheese shop in Hartington) Regards Odile If you lived permanently in France though- could you imagine importing most of your stuff from Tesco, etc, via an agent?
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Things are defo more expensive if you don't adapt to local foods and keep on buying English things like Heinz baked beans, etc. Wouldn't you agree that moving to another country needs adaptation to some (and increasingly large as years go by) extent? It can be great fun and not a chore- experimenting with different ingredients. This winter we ate a lot of chicory for instance- in salads and also 'au gratin, with Gruyère (our local cheese) and ham'. Would cost an arm and a few legs in UK, but VERY cheap here- same with ratatouille, fabulous fruit, etc, etc. How settled and 'happy 'can one be in a country if one is permanently hankering for things from 'back home', I sincerely wonder.(I have some experience, having lived abroad for 39 years of my life).
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We did this once with a house - I was heavily pregnant, with a toddler on tow, and with threatened eclampsia - on my own whilst OH was living in a hotel having started his new job 80 miles away. We got on really well with the seller and he just gave us the keys. Our solicitor was aghast, and advised against it - but it all worked well. It is however a risk, I suppose. The sensible answer is don't do it - but I'd go with my gut feeling. Surely you could get a written permission from owner to be on site, working on his behalf to clear the land before sale?
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We had real problems when we moved over from UK to here - with DialPipex internet. It took months to cancel - and they kept giving us a number we couldn't call from here.Bonne chance.
In France and about to make a deal but I have a few questions before I do anything.
in Finding/Owning French Property
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