Loiseau

Congratulations on the latest addition, albf! We can probably expect some postings from you in the wee small hours, then...

Wow! I have just realised that today I am not getting the usual pages of guff today! Thank you whoever is responsible (or maybe it’s just my iPad doing an update!).

And do you have to go through the rigmarole of the smallest person present having to hide under the table, and then call out the name to whom the next slice should be delivered? Actually I find the French tend to dislike dried fruit, so must find British obsession with mince pies in Dec/Jan equally annoying.

Wowww!

Heartfelt thanks from me, too, Hoddy. And bonne année to one and all!

And I love the Rupert Brooke, mint! As I hadn't read the poem since schooldays, I found it much more witty and meaningful than my 12-y-o self did.

Beautiful, Norman. To my shame, I had not read any Prévert before.

Yes, GG, I am always using the "Active" option as my access to the forum. I believe the banana is suffering the same thing; he wonders if it is due to some iPad update. If I could work out how to add a picture, I would post a sample of the lengthy screen I have to scroll through.

It's driving me demented! Every time I open the forum, or change screen when on it, I have to spool down through three or four pages'-worth of blue side-headings before I get to every page, or even to write a post. It's OK, if I am on my laptop, but I am almost always viewing the forum from my iPad. Does no one else suffer the same?

LOL mint! Interesting discussion on "C dans l'air" thanks Norman. I didn’t watch the whole thing (why do those programmes go on so long, on French tv?), but was glad to catch up with the story.

Strange, mint. I just did a copier-coller of the link, and it went straight through to the OF page. If you do get to it, is that Benalla in the photograph, gazing adoringly at Macron? :-|

I managed to read a bit about it on the Ouest-France site. And noticed a new word for you (and me!), mint. “limogeage”. Now is that link going to work... EDIT. Hmm, apparently not. Should be this https://www.ouest-france.fr/politique/affaire-benalla/passeports-diplomatiques-de-benalla-l-elysee-n-recu-aucune-information-sur-leur-utilisation-6153555 But it is looking a load more complex now!

Just squeaking in before Christmas Day (well, here in the UK there is a quarter of an hour still to go), to wish you all a very merry Yule, and a tolerable New Year - et surtout une bonne santé !

For that elusive “u” sound, try putting your lips as if you were going to say “oooo”, but actually SAY “eee” (without moving the lips).

I think "ras le bol" is quite strong; not to be used lightly by us foreigners. It's so hard to tell, isn’t it, who can say what? Somehow swearing sounds worse from those whose language it isn’t; I can be shocked by French teenagers cadually using the f- word in English, whereas it would sound quite run-of-the-mill from native speakers.

Arras indeed does have a beautiful town centre, and that Ibis off the smaller square is perfectly placed. Maybe check with the tourist office what eateries will be open on Christmas Day and New Year's Day; I fear there may not be many. You might have most luck with non-French ones. And, for Christmas and New Year's Eve, you should be sure to reserve in advance, as restaurants are likely to be fully booked. If your Ibis room has a fridge (can't remember if they do), you could lay in some provisions to ward off starvation in case of restos being closed. If you are thinking of visiting battlefield museums, again check their opening details because in my experience most of them close for around a month in Dec/Jan.

Gosh, I am flabbergasted to see how much standard roses cost! I went on the David Austin French site, where they are 49 euros. Thinking that was a huge amount, i looked at Meilland and other French growers, but even the non-Austin ones are at least 39 euros. They do look stunning, though...

If you want French purée-ed spuds, they use instant, "Smash"-type flocons, I'm afraid.

I guess all this contributes to the long waits endured in hospital A&E departments, if patients need more urgent attention.

Moi non plus.

You'd definitely have trouble with the joints, as has been said earlier. I have some kitchen chairs that we had dunked in the 1970s, and the wobbly joints always annoy me...

I remember my mother taking an Alsatian [female dog] we had to the vet after she had been seen with a strange dog while she was on heat. He gave her an injection, and billed it as for "mismated [female dog]". So I guess your first step must be the vet. [Edited to cope with forum software censorship!]

I'm afraid that's just France for you, Betty. You won’t get them to change anytime soon. I went for direct debits on bills for our holiday home, because I was always fearful a French bill would arrive in the U.K. as soon as we were ensconced for the summer hols. With the major ones (taxes fonc & d'hab and electricity) split into monthly payments, and phone/internet regular too, it was not too difficult to estimate how much to keep in the French account. ( I always erred on the generous side though, having once been caught out being overdrawn by about 15 francs on the rubbish bill and being threatened with interdiction bancaire). The only snag cropped up after having sold the house last year, when the taxes fonc and d'hab went on being taken for a couple more months while they got their head round the fact that I no longer owned the place. But they coughed up eventually, and paid it back into my French account.

Fascinating link; thanks Betty!

Welcome to the forum, Nigel. I can see why the locksmith can’t do it without the owner being present. Can you ask a local friend to represent you? You would have to provide them with authorisation, I should think, as well as to the locksmith. Otherwise I fear you will have to hop on a plane and make a dash over there.