Graham & Brenda

I have read the subject on this forum "Keeping up with English" but unfortunately the recommended link to Woodlands doesn't work. My English neighbour has 2 under 10s at French school where they are doing well. English is spoken at home. She is keen to maintain and develop the boys' written English - just as they would in English classes in the UK. Does anyone have any recommendations for appropriate books or courses please?  

Thanks for the links - I know my wife will enjoy a browse. We have recently purchased online from Lakeland and Screwfix, with delivery to the address of a friend who will be visiting us next month. Just an idea for those non-urgent purchases you just can't find in France.  

We heard and felt it - a bang followed by vibrations which seemed to go on for 4 or 5 seconds. It was at latitude 45.84N, longitude 0.14W, which is just NE of Siecq - about 10 km from us. Not having experienced it before it was quite concerning at the time. Apparantly there was another one about 20minutes later but only 2.8 and we didn't notice that.

They are called fouées -found this on Google - it explains it well. http://www.unimedia.fr/homepage/grezille/Nos_dossiers/Troglo/la_recette_de_fou%C3%A9es.htm    

Hi Fridgeman, Roughly 10cm square by about 5mm thick, before cooking. They don't taste like pitta or naan - but they are very tasty!!  

A kind offer Afy but I should say that might be an overkill for what I had in mind. Thanks anyway.  

We have seen - and tasted, fresh cooked flatbreads at local events recently. (The people who make them come from Verteuil, Charente). They start as 10cm or so squares and the chap puts them into a very hot oven like a pizza oven, whereupon they "pop up" or inflate as they cook - it only takes minutes. We'd like to make some at home but the recipes I have seen all seem to call for this incredibly hot oven. Does anyone have such a recipe that will work in an ordinary household oven please? Thank you,  

Most shops, especially bakers will love you if you turn up with change. Just hold your purse open in front of them and they won't be able to resist helping you find the right money. You could make lots of friends!    

If you move permanently to France and have diabetes, for example, you will need to change to a French licence before the UK one expires. At least, I found this the easiest way to do it and not end up in limbo with no licence at all!

I have a similar problem on 2 of our loos and had assumed it was caused by air in the system. I will now look forward to changing the plastic valves for metal to get some peace and quiet - or at least to be able to hear the tractors going past!

Try the Beau Rivage hotel at Mansle. Lovely view over the river Charente and we've enjoyed each of the many meals we've had there over the last 3 years. http://ldf.reservit.com/reservit/fiche_htl.php?userid=895349d84699744418e61d1cce9b46220050&hotelid=2787

I have sent you an e-mail with details.

B&B hotels (inexpensive motel style, http://www.hotel-bb.com/ ) have 2 at Rouen. We use the one on the Caen side for the motorway going south.

I was surprised to find that my French CA debit card did not work on the autoroute but my Nationwide credit card did. The latter does not usually work in petrol stations and has to be "swiped". However last time we filled up at Geant Angouleme (I think it was there) the chip worked and I keyed in the code - I was surprised to say the least. There are still some shops where it has to be swiped - GEMO in Cognac for example. There are still quite a few shop assistants who always try to swipe an English card and don't realise that the chip is OK now.    

Quillan. If you want to pay your UK card in full with a cheque in euros, how do you know the exact euro balance so as not to underpay by a bit and thus incur charges?

And my beard is La barbe!

We have had one since July 2004. It works well. There is a fine mesh basket before the filter which catches flies and surface rubbish from the skimmer. The basket is emptied when dirty as if it gets clogged it will slow down the circulation - it depends on what gets into your pool. The cartridge filter has to be lifted out and hosed down once or twice a week. If you leave it too long its harder to clean. We have the salt pool with automatic ph adjustment. Its easy peasy and the water is crystal clear (no I don't sell these pools!)

For a friend who is expecting a visitor who needs to use one.........does anyone know of any available in say a gym or fitness centre in the Angouleme area please. I have no idea what they are called in French but they look like this ==> http://www.slimimages.co.uk/    Thanks,

I know you don't need to buy all in one shop because we didn't! However we did our homework first and took a tape measure with us.........Sometimes the best value bed is not accompanied by the best value - or perhaps most suitable mattress for example.    

What is the best way to check the correct salt levels please? I have a salt pool which has run perfectly for 2 years without regular checking - just adding some extra bags of salt at the beginning of the season. I would be reassured though if I could take out the guesswork and ensure I'm running it properly. Thanks,    

"At the end of the day" Why wait - let us have the outcome now, or better still at the beginning of the day!    

Dotty, I use Win 98 successfully with Skpe. Also I use a cheapo headset (Sangha) with lip microphone (if that's what they are called!) attached, from Auchan    

Make sure the important things - passport and other ID, driving licence, insurance, banking, medical requirements etc. are at the top of your list - and all will work out. Try to prioritise and take one day at a time - don't expect to have it all sorted in the first week. In a few months' time re-read your posting and have a good laugh! All the best with the move,    

Bassman, I tried this but couldn't make it work. Does it only change to eg "HERE" once you post the reply? Even without the star mine doesn't change to a link. Can it be used in other documents like e-mail? Could the problem be due to the way I have set up Internet Explorer (I am running Win98 by the way). Its so good I'd really like to make it work! Thanks,    

This site is useful for looking up alternative telephone numbers - I think I got it from someone else who posted it on this forum a while ago......... http://www.saynoto0870.com/