Loiseau

Yes, I've been following it as well in the French press. It seems incredible that the child should have been in the area all the time, and not found, despite intensive searches. It sounds like somewhere steep, so perhaps he had slipped down a slope and been hidden in vegetation. I guess we may never know, but so terrible for the grandparents, who had charge of him, as well as for the parents.

I miss Chancer. Has anyone got news of him?

Cooperlola! So sorry i couldn’t remember her name when I posted. She was amazing. Coco had a lovely B&B in Normandy; I stayed there a few times en route to the Vendée. Dear TeamedUp was in some ways the ALBF d'antan; always reminding newcomers to France to remove their rose-coloured spex; I hope she's doing ok back in England. Oh, SundayDriver, So full of good advice.

I am sure i joined in the very early 2000s. I remember Coco, **** (short form of Richard) Smith, and other old-timers. In fact some of us made an assignation at the French Property exhibition one year. Russet house of course, and Auricaria(?sp), Christine Animal, and the marvellous woman from Le Mans, who went on an "itchy feet" tour to meet some of us.

I love it too. A huge magnolia across the road has been resplendent, and my slightly naff pink camellia has more blooms than I have ever seen on it. But my star performer is a viburnum burkwoodii next to it. Its white flowers have the most amazing perfume that you can tune into from halfway down the street. Three weeks of fragrant heaven ahead…

Vouloir le beurre et l'argent du beurre. To want to have one’s cake, and eat it

Just remembered: horrible mashed swede, served at school.

Beetroot. Oh, and yes, kale.

You'd better move fast to snap up a copy of this: It only comes out every leap year, so you'll need a retentive memory to follow the serial they apparently publish!

Mr Banana and I did manage to get to one of the morning workouts of the Spanish Riding School, which was fascinating. I had seen them perform at the International Horse Show in White City Stadium, in - ahem - probably about 1953. I particularly enjoyed a visit to the MAK museum, for the Viennese furniture etc, including a fabulous display of Thonet bentwood chairs.

Yes, thank you Lehaut for opening our eyes to these quirky structures. It's been fascinating to read about them

Well, I betook myself to the Wallace Collection today in the rain and, indeed, found a magnificent shiny fountain, adorned with muscular caryatids. After a pleasant wander through the first-floor galleries (my goodness, that guy just didn't know where to stop with his collection of paintings!), I ducked into the shop and saw on the very first shelf the guidebook mentioned above. French-published, and in two languages, it contains suggested walks around Paris to find all the fountains. Looks great fun, though at £11.95 a copy I thought I wouldn't invest in it just yet. Better wait till a trip to Paris is in the offing.

Aha, found a fuzzy photo on which the London one appears:

And the "interval" films: potter's wheel, kitten playing with wool, etc… (Just testing who is old enough to remember!)

How fascinating! I had never been aware of them, despite having lived in Paris for a time. i shall scurry off to the Wallace Collection to admire my nearest one!