Miki

[quote user="Cassis"][IMG]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i26/cassiscassis/wildlife/banquet_dinner.jpg[/IMG][/quote] Aha, a quick change from a  McDos to a Le Quick quarter pounder with those new fangled thingies........................................vegetables [:)] P.S Does the gravy (ou sauce) come attached or was it poured on [;-)]

No they are cool and photos are crisp and clear, as you photo chaps are aware. It is the Chez Nosh, Restaurant du Yuk and Café de la Stodge gaffs that I am talking of 'ere, the photos are older than BR sandwiches and just as curled.[:)] Edit : BR were still abart when I was living in la Belle Britain, I am led to believe they eez no more ? Still, I bet a few of their sarnies are still knocking abart [:D]

[quote]  So we've dropped them for 2007 and I'll splash out with the 40€ on something else. [/quote] Mmmm, McDo, chips and a coke....4 times....seems better value dunnit.............[:)]

And don't put pictures on nyver ! Ever seen those restos, who think it is pretty cool to show the actual menu in full colour photos....jeepers, who ever told them that they will whet the appetite of passers by ! [+o(]

That sound polite enough to me for some of our guests [:)]

I will say just this. When we had the resto, sure we advertised an example of the menu, sometimes we had it in full. It was a large part of our biz but only a touch as the internet had only just began. As a table d'hôte, we do not now. We did many years ago and what happened ? Some guests expected the example to be on the menu every night, people expected a choice (interdit !), they took us to be a resto and expected choices, make it clear you offer just one choice plus a kiddies meal, if you don't wnat it to happen to you as well. By all means,  put on a delicious sounding menu but please, please, do not make it sound like an Olivier Roellinger or Paul Bocouse menu, it is OK for them, people expect it. Listen instead to Gordon Ramsey, when he says, tell them exactly what it is, not some mamby pamby description, pretending to be coming from  some 3 Michelin gaff ! I wouldn't do it, we tried it, got the wrong results from it. It gained no extra bookings to our knowledge apart possibly from those who said the menu looked nice but they would have booked anyway as we show we do evening meals. We fill up, we do not feed all our guests, I can't tell your exact percentages of those that do or don't, take meals. I tend, rightly or wrongly, to not worry about those things. If you have read much of the B&B section, you will see we are not intending to do evening meals in July and August, due to the work load and the heat taking its toll and 8/9 weeks of anything, between say, 8 and 15 people eating on many nights is just...well too much ! Our area is crammed full of some of the best restos for many miles around and we cannot, or indeed want to, compete with that but we have what most others do not have...bedrooms within seconds of the table and bottle !!

[quote user="Gary aka Bugbear"][IMG]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/Bugbear2/Monks.jpg[/IMG] What is he saying to the lady with the bag.? ------------------------------------------------------------ [/quote] Monk with bald bonce "Take another good look at him" Bag lady " No, I can't place him" Monk "Just try a little harder, have another look" Bag lady " No.....but his face rings a bell. Monk "Look if it helps, here's a little clue............ we're the Jordanaires"

[quote user="chris pp"]Congratulations, 5 elements, exactly, I'm totally lost for words, that to me just about sums it up. Brilliant. Chris [/quote] Snap !!  I can both recognise and sympathise with most, if not all of that, 5 Elements

Yes, I  know a few people in Liège with Italian descendancy. There are quite a few there, many amateur/semi pro soccer teams are based on Italian influence. It wasn't just the mines, the steelworks (Seraing) of which Cockerill (now called CMI and a much more varied enterprise to boot !) was the major player, brought in many people to find work. Friends tell me that although it has been diminished over the decades, Cockerill is again moving forward these days. I have some King Badouin medals from visits to Liège but that's another story..................

I have a few friends born in and around Liège and naturally they are all Walloons. (In fact one of the members on here and I have exhanged emails, as he knows Liège very well also). They have often told me that they would like the region to quit Belgium and become a department of France, which they were indeed once before. Some bank holidays were (and I believe sporadically still are) often an excuse for the young (and not so young) to have meets and fight the Flemish.  Kind of like the Mods & Rockers but with a little more meaning !!

[quote user="Russethouse"]Drat - I fancied a little flutter........too late ....again ![/quote] Just enjoy Kautos Star performance, sometimes it is better not to have a flutter and just watch a race. Saves the finger nails ! Betty, I was the one running amok to pick up my winnings on Shergar but I was also the same one who gave it all back by the last race, so, any chance of a sub on the strength of your winnings, Please....................?

Good point, seeing as it has now been agreed that the driver used, was not the one who was even meant to be driving the couple that night. He was used, as they tried to trick the paparazzi to believe that another car parked outside with chauffeur, was the one to be used. Again, none of this would have been known to anyone else but those in close attendance and it would have been a little late to hatch up any conspiracy then ! One of the paparazzi in question, did last night, apportion blame on them all for the way they hounded the couple but the driver must take much of the blame for his his drinking and reckless driving.

[quote user="Russethouse"][quote user="Miki"][quote user="Russethouse"] And they all have a bet on Shergar [;-)] [/quote] Can you tell me the odds for the Arc de Triomphe, can't see them on Betfair ? [/quote] Hmmm - I'll just get my Chrystal ball.............what price is Kualto Star,(sp) anti post for Boxing Day ? Chris, Was Shergar a grey ? I can't remember, Miki will know.............. [/quote] Not anything like a grey............ Tut tut, the horse that won the 1981 Derby by something like 10 lengths and you don't know the colour. Shergar  was a beautiful Bay with a wonderful white blaze................. Kautos Star is now odds on. I luckily got good odds just before Kautos warm up, two races ago and I bet with Betfair, to keep the bookies sweaty hands off my hard earned dosh and to hopefully gain a little better odds [;-)]

[quote user="Russethouse"]And they all have a bet on Shergar [;-)] [/quote] Can you tell me the odds for the Arc de Triomphe, can't see them on Betfair ?

[quote user="Chris Head"]There are no simple facts, only what you've all been fed and read in the press, the truth is only known to those who know the truth. To shoot down anyones opinion is crasse, nobody knows what happened.[/quote] So let's not discuss anything then...........seems to be the best way these days. We all know for afcat that the French have said the chap was 3 times over the limit, a blood test as proved it was his sample and again it showed someone 3 times over the limit we know the rourte it took...OK so far ?  We know it went in the tunnel too fast, that tunnel has a terrible entrance and the experts have shown how the car crashed, no seat belts, still OK ?  We know from witnesses, that because of the presence of the paparazzi, they changed the route at the last minute. We have seen all this both in the press and on TV, aren't many other places for us mere mortals to get ones views from. The SAMU act differently to the way we are used to seeing ambulance staff act here. Diana then died in tragic circumstances, that has been shown in video and in eveidence given by those involved. William and Harry has said that his Mother had never shown any concern about her health or danger and have said they believe implicity in Lord Stevens findings. No one is demeaning any other side but some of us are putting the other side and none of that is speculation, unless one still believes in the conspiracy theory and the facts found out at great length by the Stevens inquiry are just not true, which means an awful lot of people are now involved in witholding the supposed truth and does anyone here, truly believe, that so many people can be kept quiet............................sorry, totally impossible, like it or not, it was tragic accident.

Simple facts. Driver had too much too drink. He drove too fast and couldn't handle the tunnel. Try it yourself sober and see how it feels at high speed............ No guarantees that anyone would be killed in a car accident. Only survivor (bodyguard) had a seat belt on, no guarantee that the others would not be wearing seat belts. The driver took the route at the very last minute. Anyone who knows how the SAMU operates here, know that their first concern is to get the injured as stabilised as possible before driving to the nearest suitable hospital, so the people baying that it took too long, have no idea of how it works here. And in the instance, of just of the rescue service and the hospital alone, how many would need to be warned to keep quiet about what they saw ? Far too many and far too big a bounty to keep anyone quiet and that goes for anyone involved in such a thing as well. They couldn't keep Nixon safe from good investigating journalism and it wouldn't take much for any good journalist to seek the truth in this case, if it wasn't all just a terrible accident. It is tradition that any one with a high profile and who dies without warning, that a conspiracy theory is out before the funeral. Just think how many famous folks have died in such a manner and ask yourself just how many have been followed by a conspiracy theory and how much money it has made for many individuals. And, see how many put facts forward, that actually stand up under investigation.

Thanks Gay, She said tonight that she can't wait to visit.............................Boots the Chemist, as that is somewhere her and all her French girlfriends really would love here in France. She has orders already, for "stuff" to be brought back, from some of her friends !!

The rule of thumb, some years ago,  for a complex in a good position and with a nice house for the owners to live in was generally around 7-8 times annual turnover plus a figure for the owners house. Times have moved on and 10 x annual turnover (isn't that just another way of playing with the same figures ?) plus a figure for the owners house would seem reasonable. The bottom line is quite simply pitching the price at a figure it will find a buyer at, either quickly (lower Estimate) or the figure one thinks it is worth when compared on a like for like basis i.e another similar property sold recently and is comparable with turnover etc, in which case one will value it more and possibly (probably ?) have to wait longer for a buyer.

Thanks to all who offered advice, by both PM and on this thread, it was all quite precise. Sadly the dogs vaccinations had gone past the one year mark and thus it would mean another blood test and a six month wait and as Christmas is just 10 days from now..................... Anyway, the boyfriends Father's cousin is going to take Lola the Pug for the 9 days they are away with us and neighbours and friends of theirs will feed the cats.

Yes, the house on the Dronne looked roughly the same (dare I say, perhaps not quite as nice as it looks there and hope the owners are not looking in !!) as when we left in 1999. It was owned at the time by some Brits, or was it Americans??? ...........Anyway, it's a lovely little town.

[quote user="Suze"]The very beautiful nearby Brantôme.  BTW it's not a chateau or cathedral in the background - it's an abbey! [IMG]http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g127/Lisleoise/Other/ArchivedPhotos419.jpg[/IMG] [/quote] Brantôme, some time back, my nearest town, we used to eat at Au fil de l'eau which is the resto to the right of the photo with the shades up and the tables by the riverside . Some people might remember, a post where I once said a freak storm blew up and took tables and chairs in to the water from a resto we were eating at, well it was this resto. And if one looked directly behind the person taking the photo, there is the Le Fil du Temp resto where we ate in March on our way home from Spain. I am told that along with the Moulin De L'Abbaye resto, they are owned by the same people ? Nice photo.

Any more info ? The actual website URL is best. We get umpteen new forms of advertsing sent to us by email or post every year. Every one saying they can do this and that. I have found that most of these kind of sites are really aimed at the hotel trade. Personally, I would only pay that kind of money to Gîtes de France.

House and two of our cars now with Gan Assurance. After having paid for a fair amount of insurance over many years here, we have at last found a company that has insured our business and house in a clear and well documented contract. The bottom line is quite simple, we all talk of our one little agency, run by one to 10 people (add as many people as you like I guess)What MAAF do for the others and Gan does from me, is purely from the view of our own agencies. You must do the leg (or fingerwork) to try and get the best deal for you, ask around your local area, never ever have I gone with any assurer who I couldn't get to, within 15-30 minutes or so. Just as when buying electrical "stuff" buying local, although appearing more expensive at the time, will all too often, pay back in spades, at the actual time of need. I know I can get cheaper on the internet, I also know the hassles I am likley to get should I need to contact them to make a claim.

[quote] .................I was wondering as well.  At a guess, does James pick them out of a hat?  [/quote] [:D] If only !! They apply.   I believe for some,(note the emphasis of some)  it will be something, that is seen along the lines of the wearing of a uniform, or so I was told by someone who runs a very large Forum........

Thanks again to all for the further info. We are staring to think it will hinge on whether the dog had had his further injection within the time lmit and indeed, even if that was all up to date, whether the ferries (already booked) can allow us to book a dog now !! Flipping kids...they told me two weeks ago all was OK and they had someone to look after the dog (boyfriends Father, who now decides he is off to the mountain and they are worried the dog will get out and get lost or whatever !!