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I like beetroot but I must confess I have only started to like them since I read that they are good at lowering high blood pressure.

I agree about Jerusalem artichokes but peppers I adore and add them to lots of cooked dishes and to salads in the summer.

But I have never particularly liked that dish and have never made it. Do you use lamb? If so, I don't normally eat lamb.

OK, so the topic doesn't fill you with enthusiasm. But, NO new topic for several days so here is one that should be non controversial and nobody is excluded from putting in their tuppence worth! Mine has to be aubergine which is on an equal footing with kale. How do you make either of those tasty? And don't mention ratatouille because I have lots more interesting things to do with onions, tomatoes and peppers than making that. As for kale, there are literally dozens more tastier green vegetables than that! Over to you...and do try to put some sort of life into the forum, svp...

Would it be easier to leave your dog in a kennel back in the UK? Or can your host suggest anywhere near him/her? Do you have transport, for example, to go to where your dog might be going? The people I know with dogs all have their regular nounou de chien with whom to leave their pets. Or they have helpful neighbours.

This is one for gym bunnies but others are welcome to join in the laughter. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2024/mar/02/perils-of-sports-bras-edith-pritchett-cartoon

The French can get very touchy about their flag! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13146809/imam-French-flag-satanic-arrested-deported-Tunisia-Britain.html

You don't have to watch the break dancing! There are lots of real sports and, in any case, if you put the tv on at all, you'd not be able not to see something!!

Here is a short video about the village: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=images+of+olympic+village+in+paris#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e9cc8e63,vid:OOHcYYMTAtM,st:0

Well, I managed to see some pictures of the Olympic Village. The buildings look interesting and are MASSIVE! The athletes' bedrooms (2 per room) are NOT air-conditioned. They said that they face away from the sun and that special materials and high tech insulation are used. But Paris' heat is, I believe, not like heat elsewhere! Also there might be a transport strike......I'd never forgive these strikers if they ruin everything for the competitors and visitors...what horrible, disgusting spoilsports!!! Do they experience no pride and no joy and not want everyone to have a good time?

Only saw the headline, so not yet watched it on the news. Great it's at Seine St Denis, might give the area a bit of a boost. I have a friend whose husband was a policeman there for several years so I could imagine what life could be like there. By the way, for lovers of walking, there is a Grande Randonnée à Paris. I have signed up for it on 18 March. And, before anyone gets the wrong idea, I am NOT walking all the way to Paris; merely a stretch as far as Périgueux. Hope my knees stand up to it as I haven't done much walking for several weeks due to incessant rain and flooded footpaths.

How they do it, Wools? Perhaps with a bit of self-discipline?

Loiseau, thank you for the pictures. I haveI always loved the looks of bentwood chairs, especially the rocking ones, but I have also wondered about how comfortable or otherwise they are!

Lehaut, thank you, yes, I filled in the cert of cession and sent it with the cancelled carte grise, etc to the people liaising between me and the assurance. At the time, I was thoroughly confused. The car was picked up from a garage near our house. Then it was sent to the car expertise tens of kilometres away. After, I must say, a very thorough and fair assessemnt, including comparison with other cars of the same make and model for sale, I was given the choice of having it repaired at my own cost or scrapping it. I thought the expertise bods were going to repair it but, no, it would have to go to another garage for repairs. Then the administration of the reimbursement was handled by yet another company in Nantes. At one time, I had 4 different places to ring for information about different aspects and choices. As you know, I felt extremely ill and frightened (nothing to do with the accident) and all this phoning and explaining and being explained to gave me much stress and many sleepless nights. To cut a long story short, I let the car go to save my sanity!

Hectorsdad, I thought I'd better remind people to cancel their policy. As it happens, the insurance people have been very quick. I explained the situation this morning and, by this afternoon, they have emailed to say the contract is now cancelled and that my reimbursement would be by direct credit to my bank account.

I thought it worthwhile to revisit this subject, although many on here would already be familiar with the process I am about to describe. There might be others who could benefit from my experience. Last year, I mentioned here that I pranged my car and damaged it so badly that it was uneconomical to repair. The damaged car was transported to "experts" and was thoroughly assessed and a devis for repairs was provided. So far so good. The next stage concerned my health because it was during a time when weird things were happening to me. I was falling about and hurting myself and I stopped driving for the safety of myself and other road users. I had no easy means of getting to the garage of the assessors and reluctantly decided just to let the car be scrapped. I simply couldn't face all the hassle involved. As far as I understood it, the car was sold in its damaged state to the insurance company who suspended my contract about a fortnight after the sale of my car to them. All reimbursements due to me were paid and in fact it was pretty smooth as these things go. However, what I didn't think to do was to also resiliér the contract. I assumed that as they had the car and I had told them that I had no thought of buying a new car and therefore there was no need to keep the contract to be used against a purchase, the contract would be automatically rescinded. This is NOT so. Therefore, if you ever get into a similar situation, don't forget to résiliér your contract, as well as all the other stuff you need to attend to after your car is written off. Doesn't make sense to me but just do it, otherwise no return of the unused part of your policy.

Thank you for all the posts which I greatly enjoyed. Alas for me, my travelling days are over for the present time but that's OK because some things cannot be readily changed. Special thanks to Wooly for the further post on the concert he went to and to Lehaut for his beautiful photos.

Nice to see you appreciate the Old Masters, Wooly. What was the weather like? Plus, you didn't mention the concert halls?

Thanks, ALBF. Will have a look. Won't be installing it ourselves though. Will find someone to do it😜

chasse (toilet flushing mechanism) you install? I am bewildered by the different types on offer in the shops and indeed by the varying prices. Wonder whether just to take a photo of the present chasse and show it at the quincaillerie. Any ideas, anybody, PLEASE?

Gardian, I enjoyed your photo! As for Fr vs It, I agree, it was a shame the way the match ended. How could the ball fall off the tee? Couldn't have been placed on it properly to begin with. A real pity because Italy has been steadily improving and I like Garbisi (have I spelt his name correctly?)

Lori, I'm delighted to hear you say that. Before we moved here, I had a French friend who grew up in Périgueux and she always said that the Dordognais were "très chaleureux" and "ouvert" and so it has proved to be. She visits me now and again to remind herself what it was like living here.

Yes, that's one thing we noticed, and still do about the French. Always polite and, in our rural part of the Dordogne, it's still the practice to say "bonjour" to everybody you meet, whether you know them or not. So, while passing on the pavement, while joining the queue in the post office, boulangerie, doctor's surgery etc etc. We have a C of E church very close to us and, TBH, it feels weird when Brits come and go and you never get a "good morning" or a "hello" nevermind a "bonjour". It is all very charming, we loved it and still do! Edel, hurry up and find that house and, if you could find a property via leboncoin or a site for private sales, all the better. Estate agents fees are ridiculously high and could push a property outside of your budget.

Edel, if you're still thinking about Mussidan, it's actually well located and well catered for in terms of transport. There is a mainline station (in Bordeaux readily and the car park is still probably free!), plus it's not far from on a direct route to Bergérac with (I think) daily Ryanair flights. Sorry, my info is not up to date, haven't been there for quite a long time. Good Luck with your decisions. Your posts have brought back happy memories for me....from the times and visits my husband and I were ourselves househunting in France🙂 PS they even have DENTISTS (young and enthusiastic!)

Oh so now you agree that there ARE surveyors in France? Why did you state so categorically, and I quote from your first reply on this thread "You don't have surveyors in France". I felt obliged to contest that statement because it was downright misleading. BTW Martin LP, you were right not to employ a survyor from the UK! You should always engage someone local who'd know the history and conditions of the area. For example, where we lived in South Wales, there was heavy mining for decades so a local surveyor would or should know where likely sink holes might appear. Equally, here where we live, I know a couple of families from a town near us where their whole "estate" (group of housing) had subsidence problems. You'd have to be local and even to have practised for several years to know this particular history. All the houses had to have their foundations underpinned and the local mairie organised the works for every house there. What that surveyor you contacted, M Kingfisher, should have said was I could certainly look at the building and point out its defects to you and even provide details of the necessary works, but I would strongly advise you to get a local professional who would know the conditions and would have a better idea of the costs involved. Buying a house is an expensive business and so not to be taken lightly.