naps

Chat to your son - he's 13 and has the option to go into a school FULL of girls!!! (French girls at that!!!) I think he'll love it there.  Seriously though, if your children are keen, then go for it and stop worrying.

Ok we went out and got the TPS satellite 'thingy' with dish, etc. because they said it would pick up BBC 1, BBC 2, etc. but I guess they figured BBC Prime = BBC 1 and BBC World = BBC 2 as we're limited to these.  It's ok if you want to watch 'To The Manor Born' EVERY DAY!!! but no thanks. Have now heard that we need to get a double head??? on the dish and a second (decoder I guess) (it was in French and it's slipped the OH's mind at the moment) which will pick up the Astra satellite and ''beaucoup de canals etrange'' I can already see the cancellation letter and the subscription to sky..

Guess you may already have done it but... Try downloading Lavasoft Adaware (mine is version 6) - cleared up all my ''spam'' (begins with the same letter) really well.

Great Lorna -let's see if the our willpower matches our good intention. We're coming over to the UK for a couple of weeks from 13th July. Driving up to Calais, 4 days in Suffolk, 4 days in Lincolnshire, 4 days in Northumberland and then the long slog home. Looking forward to being back here already! Weighed in at 79.7 this morning, so the dog walking and dieting are going well. Gone back to the traditional, healthly, low fat, reasonable portions, with absolutely NO SNACKING between meals.

You're on - but as it's two weeks away, and everyone does well at the start of a diet I'd like to up the target to 2kgs weight loss.  You say you're serious too as you've a goal, so we'll do it this time - together. The hardest part is going to be keeping it going while on holiday (I go away the week of the 11th!), but that's a different matter. The OH has just walked in and is using his reverse psychology  approach, you know the kind of statements... 'nah,you'll never do it', he means well, but it's only me who can sort this body out. His next more positive suggestion was to get out with the dog now for a half hour brisk walk - suppose I'd better go and get my shoes on! (Another bonus is that it will get me away from this glass of wine - oops!)

Instead of purchasing our next vehicle, we're considering a long-term lease agreement. Has anyone else gone down this route and can recommend a long-term lease company in France?  

Lorna - welcome back - I failed our mini-challenge too. It's the bread with me, ok so not just the bread but the salted butter spread thickly over it. I've gained approx 2kgs too - ouch.  Stepped on the scales this morning - 80.9kgs!!!  However, there is a good side to living here (in addition to the fact that we're loving it) - in our bathroom we've got a huge, unavoidable mirror, which reveals every roll of flab and square inch of cellulite.  It's the first time I've had a full length mirror in years and what a shock it was.  Have sworn to start dieting and had a good day, but there's a long, long way to go.  Perhaps by Christmas I'll hit a dream weight? What's our next goal?

Thanks for those - no I didn't know of any.  Also got a pm with a list, so sorted.   

Can anyone recommend any recruitment sites for employment in France?  Thanks

I think the whole of Poitou Charente has a hosepipe ban at the moment (and for the foreseeable future). We're in 79 (Deux Sevres) and we aren't allowed to use the hosepipe, or wash our cars.  There's also a ban on filling pools, etc - although there are exceptions for 'in the ground' pools, where leaving them empty would lead to later problems with filtering equipment, etc.

No problem, I'll host one - anyone out there with kids who want a couple of hours play?  

Hi, Looking for any Mum's and Tot's groups in Deux Sevres which I can take my 3 1/2 year old and almost 2 year old to. Alternatively, if you've pre-school children who would like playmates and are interested in meeting up, drop me a line and we'll see if we can arrange something.

So now it involves a drive to Normandy too!  I was already put off by the 48 hour skimming process.  I could get a Ryanair cheapy and pop to the local supermarket in the UK to buy the real stuff in less time. I think given the choice I'll stick with one of the alternatives supplied - that said I haven't needed double cream yet!

John/Maria @ Le Tilleul, I've tried e-mailing you direct to send you a cheque for the use of the tumbledryer & wood but haven't had any reply - could you contact me to let me know who I should make it payable to.  Thanks.

Ok, so technically the recipe may not be correct, but in this day and age with time limits and room temperatures well above 13 degrees, what's the harm in taking a short cut for a suitable alternative?  

Thanks!  What a great site this is for answers.

Anyone know of a routeplanner or site which will also give an estimate for the toll charges here in France?  Or is there a simple way to calculate it, if for example my routeplanner says - take toll road 'x' for 180 miles (or km equivalent)? I'm trying to find all the alternatives for people visiting us, but I want to give them true cost comparisons between the different options. It's ok for flying as the price is in full, but when it comes to driving, there's fuel, hotel stops for those coming from the north, ferry crossing and the toll roads to take into consideration.

Yes, we used to have cakes with cream too (soesjes) but I think they kept it for the bakers as there was never any available from the chill cabinet.

Fantastic, I survived the last 4 years in Holland without double cream and was gutted to find I couldn't see it easily in the supermarket here.  Only one question.... Has your Mum got any other wonderful recipes she'd be willing to share?  

It seems we have the same problem then - I can't see your photo of the weeds, but I can see mine.  I did however see the inflatable mars bar and arm.

We brought our cars from the Netherlands but they were already registered there, so the ruling will be different. However if you're bringing a car into France which is less than 6 months old, I believe you get stung with a tax here.  There's just no escaping taxes.

 anyone else able to see them? 

Hey, the link worked really well for me, I had to wait a moment as the page loaded black at first then up came the photo. If they are weeds I wouldn't mind some in my garden.  

It was a simple ariel amplifier, which once plugged in, allowed us to pick up standard television in all the rooms with a connection point.  I'll take a look at the info. you've pointed me too - thanks.

.. sorry if this has been covered a million times, but we've been in Deux Sevres (79) for just over 2 weeks and have now got the standard 5/6 french channels (with the aid of a french t.v. ariel chap who popped out and plugged a box in for 25 euro's).  I'm getting serious withdrawal symptoms though - so what's the best way to get the BBC channels? For all I know Brittany Spears could have divorced and married Prince William!  Don't let this travesty go any further - end my nightmare and advise now!