Loiseau

I agree, mint, bizarre about tobacconists! But I guess they sell newspapers, magazines and stamps, and are there still those expensive stamps that are a sort of tax you have to affix to certain official documents? (Maybe I am a few decades behind the times here.) They haven’t mentioned if post offices are to close, have they?

I agree, idun, it was a lovely wallow in nostalgia to see those old names...

Interesting piece, Norman, thanks. I have recently been given a Netflix subscription, so will have to try and find some of them.

With bleach, are you risking splashing it on your clothes/person when using in conjunction with a pressure sprayer? I read somewhere that washing-soda crystals are effective against algae on paths. Haven’t tried it yet, though.

Ha ha, idun! I know what you mean about somebody talking over the TV! ?

Just to comment on an earlier post of yours, idun: QUOTE IDUN .... We sort of hoped he could use something like that to watch tv, save the tv being on so loud. END QUOTE Have you tried calling up the subtitles for TV programmes? Or would that annoy the rest of you just as much?

Very interesting, AZ. I shall look forward to updates.

PatF has asked me to say goodbye, or maybe au revoir, to her friends on Complete France. Since a problem on her 'puter logged her out, she can't get on again, plus other technical problems with the website. She says Bonne Santé and Bonne Chance à toutes et à tous. PatF

Enjoyed that, Norman! Thanks.

Staying in Lyon last year, I was recommended to order a "quenelle lyonnaise". Never having been hugely enthusiastic about quenelles, I was a bit reluctant. But, I have to say, it was a revelation. It was a single, giant quenelle in a delicious sauce. Can thoroughly recommend if you find yourself in Lyon.

Yum, those ideas sound great idun; thank you so much! Sorry not to have replied sooner; was reading replies on another computer, and not logged in to reply. Quenelles; now there’s another thing... I made them once from scratch. Won’t bother again.

I bought a packet of Crozets de Savoie recently, remembering a dear - now, sadly gone - French friend making a tasty dish with them. For those who have not encountered them, crozets are tiny little pasta squares, made I think of buckwheat. I am hoping idun - or someone - can suggest an interesting way to serve them. Merci d'avance!

A bit late to the party, but permit me to add my congratulations, Norman. It is France's gain, I am sure.

Only a notaire can give you an answer on all this, I fear. Some U.K. legal practices have a French-qualified notaire on their staff. Maybe you could get answers that way, if you are not currently in France.

Hello, Guzwunthis, and welcome to the forum. I think your brother may be able to sign something to renounce his inheritance. I know that, if the deceased's estate was more debts than assets, for example, you can do that in France. But whether it would be appropriate in your case, the notaire could tell you. Has the inheritance issue been legally sorted out already, so you and your brother are officially the owners? If not, this has to be done via the notaire, before the sale can go through.

I think maybe mijoter means more of a simmer than a boiling.

I have travelled from Singapore to Bangkok - in great luxury on board the Eastern & Oriental Express. I must say, though, that 48 hours on a train (even with excursions, and luscious food) was enough for me.

QUOTE MINT Norman could you believe that this is from the same pen as The Age of Anxiety? END QUOTE And here is a link to the celebrated film set to the poem: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zmciuKsBOi0

I recently travelled from London to Berlin and back by train. It was a pleasant experience, though ALL the German trains were late, which made connections a bit stressful.

Yes, I must say I have stayed in a few pretty run down ones when I was researching my Northern France guide a decade or so ago. I think the Logis grouping came into being after WW2, to encourage tourism. But many owners have aged (haven't we all?!) and done no further refurbishment, so often the hotels are in a bit of a 50s' time warp - decor and food-wise. That said, one or two have obviously changed hands, and spruced up a lot. Do them all good to have a shake-up, I reckon.

Yes, folks; Logis hotels are undergoing a radical new presentation. "100% de nos établissements ont été visités et reconsidérés avec leur propriétaire pour rendre mieux compte de leur particularité." No longer will a simple casserole tell you if the food is worth eating: now the restaurants will be categorised as: “...restaurants de Terroir, les restaurants Gourmands ou bien Savoureux, ainsi que les Tables Distinguées ou d’Exception.” And gone is the familiar fireplace logo. From now on you will have to select a hotel among the descriptions: "Essentiel, Cosy, Elégance ou Exception."

I have had problems one September, looking for accommodation in coastal areas of the Somme. I thought: “School hols over; should be easy,”, but had failed to realise that canny pensioners would be flocking to the seaside in the après saison.

Surely house purchase alone could not be proof. It could be as résidence secondaire.

Bonne année et bonne santé à toutes et à tous !

QUOTE Nomoss ...I don't know what on earth to tell friends what to write for "111". Printed postcodes don't seem to be a problem.... END QUOTE I would get them to add the name of the département, in the old-fashioned way! I remember now that for all my official French stuff coming to my English address, I eventually made sure it would include the name of my London borough just to help in the case of fractured postcodes.