Rabbie

[quote user="idun"]   I hate hospitals, I don't trust them. [/quote]Not surprised. They're full of sick people [:D]

After a lengthy study, a South American scientist from Argentina has discovered that people with insufficient brain and sexual activity tend to read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse. (Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late).

There are always cases of individual injustice when the same formula is applied to all cases. Unfortunately there is a tendency for divorce settlements to bring out the worst in people revealing their inner greed.

[quote user="Quillan"]Never mind, the experts say it will be 1.25 by Christmas or was that last year, so many experts it's difficult to remember which one said what. Don't forget that the Euro was supposed to be dead by now. Excellent news if your looking to buy a property in the UK with Euros. Perhaps the French will go on a spending spree buying second homes for their holidays in the UK.[/quote]Is that 1.25 euros to the pound or 1.25 pounds to the euro?

[quote user="Russethouse"] What I do find upsetting was the dancing in the streets in the US, it is hypocritical. Its stupid and somewhat thoghtless - but didn't the same happen after 9/11 in certain anti West countries ?   [/quote]Two wrongs don't make a right. It just leads to a spiralling descent.

[quote user="Quillan"]Well I don't know about that and I can't find any reference anywhere. [/quote]As I have never been a fan of either I may well have remembered wrong. Certainly don't want to quarrel about this when I am relying an increasingly quirky memory[:D]. 

[quote user="Quillan"] I am sure I read somewhere that not all of France has 3G, I know where we are we don't get it and I have an SFR phone on monthly payment. I can' remember where I saw it because it's of no interest to me.  One thing I did discover is that if you want to use it 3G for Internet connection it ain't cheap as I found out the hard way. [/quote]Not all of the UK has it either.

[quote user="sweet 17"] And have you taken her to see her aunt, your darling sister Randy? Oops, hope I'm not exposing any skeletons in the old Wooly family cupboard?[:P]   [/quote]Does any family worth knowing not have a few skeletons rattling away[:D]. Glad to hear the cat has returned safe and sound.

IIRC This remark of Thatcher's was actually made in the early 1990's before Blair became leader of the labour party. This is probably the reason that Hattersley used this expression. Blair's father was certainly a devoted Thatcher fan.   

[quote user="woolybanana"]They seem so irrelevant in the context of today, just a couple of posers.[/quote]True - and could equally be applied to most of the royal family!

Much to the irritation of many tories, Maggie was always a Blair fan and regarded him as her true successor

I understand from another forum that Christopher Greehy's body has been found. Seemingly he was drowned in an accident.

[quote user="idun"]My Dad still 'loves' Maggie. I never understood her or her politics, they never felt good, right or fair to me.[/quote]That's because they weren't[:)]

[quote user="JK"]Theiere, It's 'cos I used Opera browser instead of IE. The quote function goes all weird.[/quote]I get the same effect with IE if I don't click the compatibility icon. Then it works OK

My personal choice when I go - "Another one bites the dust" by Queen

[quote user="idun"] I would actually disenfranchise everyone over 75. Please bear in mind that I am not young. The reasoning isn't complicated and quite easy to work out.   15 Years now to vote in national elections when abroad, used to be 20 Years. [/quote]There was no right to vote if you lived abroad up until 1980. It was brought in by the Thatcher Goverment because they thought it would benefit them - their assumption being that ex-pats were more likely to vote Conservative

Be a boring old world if we all laughed at the same things

[quote user="idun"] Remember that animals can fail that blood test, ours did, and then we had to wait and get another rabies jab, then blood test, all very costly and then wait for a further six months. [/quote]My wife is a vet and the stuation is that you can do the blood test 2 weeks after the injection. The 6 months starts from the date of the succesful blood test. Hope this clarifies the situation. BTW you can take the dog to France before the 6 months is up but the dog cannot re-enter the UK until this time

Unfortunately HMRC are unlikely to agree to anything that will reduce their cut in the present economic climate

See this thread ( http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/2415015/ShowPost.aspx) which maybe will answer your question

[quote user="pachapapa"] The french meteo is pathetic & no surprise that punters use spanish weather sites, particularly in the south. The rain will come from spain! [/quote]And I always thought it stayed mainly in the plain[:D] Still we live and learn

Obviously the French system is different from the UK system where you do not pay NI contributions after reaching pension age. In UK you can contiue to work and still draw a pension as well. Of course this is taxable but free from social charges.

[quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="sweet 17"] One certainly can, Coops. OK then, back to Square One, and perhaps I should have said mais il y a des exceptions, alors! Actually, I was only thinking of effect as a noun but it's usually in the plural as in "the effects of the dead man didn't amount to much" Edit:  perhaps these are words that are best learnt through use?  I've just thought of "the effect of George Osborne's cuts is to devastate the economy"....no joking matter. Hey, Coops, do you remember when we had "learned" and "learnt" at some point in the past?[:'(] And we won't discuss "lie" and "lay" this evening.  It's been too hot and I am bushed. [/quote]I was only responding to Frecossais.  I agree with you and the person in RH's link - best to think of effect as a noun and affect as a verb and forget the exceptions because that way you will be right the majority of the time.  Assuming, of course, that your audience knows what verbs and nouns are.  I guess most on here do but does this generation of pupils and students learn parts of speach?  For instance, I hate to hear quicker used as an adverb - to me it's an adjective and one can only run more quickly - one cannot run/drive/walk etc quicker.  But if I say this I wonder if anybody understands what I mean any more by the words adverb and adjective.  However, I start sentences with prepositions every day and will continue to do so, even though it was a total no-no when I was at school.  We all have "errors" of grammar which we find acceptable and those which wind us up.  Lie and lay, well, I'm with you - really irritating when I hear them used wrongly.  I do wish people would teach their dogs correct grammar and tell them to lie down.[:)] I do indeed remember the leaned and learnt conversation.  My blood pressure goes up when I hear people say they "earnt money" also.  Grrr.  But then I imagine my spelling amuses and/or annoys people at times too.  We all have our blind spots. [/quote]I was always taught that it was OK to start a sentence with a preposition ie "In the morning..." but not to end a sentence with one. I was also taught not to start a sentence with a conjuction like "And" or "But". However language is an organic thing and always changing so the rules are not set in concrete. I think you just need to make sure there is a pleasant rhythm to what you write/say.

[quote user="cooperlola"] [quote user="idun"]And I am wearing a very nice pendant[:D][/quote][:)] The pedants are revolting?[Www] [/quote] I resent that! [:D] We pedants are very law abiding and respect the rules[:)]

[quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="Rabbie"][quote user="pachapapa"] I should have wrote...; The baby had his/her first apple.[:P] [/quote]"I should have written" would have been better english[/quote] I isn't no pendant! [/quote]But I am Honorary President of the local pedants society.[:D] Not sure if that is really something to brag about[:)]