Catalpa

[quote user="Sue Buckle"]We have never attempted a restoration before, and are worried about the constant refrain of builders always charging more than their estimates. [/quote]Do you properly understand France's devis system? [quote user="Gardian"]Best advice, which has been alluded to, is to employ an architect. He / she  will probably cost you €5k-€10k, but it'll be money well spent.[/quote]I agree - in principle - however, an architect (or project manager) can very easily be a waste of space and therefore a waste of money. We had a project manager and ended up managing the renovation ourselves. He was a complete chocolate teapot. If you do employ one, make sure the artisans bill you and you pay the artisans directly. Don't contract for the project manager to bill you and then pay the artisans.

[quote user="Keni"]Ours is in weekly rubbish collection, as would be a baby's nappy I suppose?! [/quote]Ours too. In our weekly rubbish collection, I mean... not in yours... [:D]

Looking forward to hearing how it all went, Coops. Best wishes. [:)]

[quote user="Gardian"]Note to self: don't go to fancy villages. [/quote]Or... go to fancy villages... along with a really nice picnic and a couple of chairs. [8-|]

[quote user="brianagain"]After one bad experience at le poterne in Caen a while back, (check the reviews)...[/quote] I have. Oh dear. [6]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"]I've found lately that it's less costly and often better to eat out at lunchtime in France. [/quote]Yes. I'm spoiled for choice if I want a good quality 4-course ouvriers' lunch for somewhere between 10 and 12 euros but if I want to spend somewhere between 25 and 35 euros for a prix fixé style menu in the evening, I'm rarely very excited or inspired - by what I'm served. It's rarely worth double the lunchtime price.

[quote user="idun"]...and then went into the kitchen.[/quote] ...as all good women should. [:)] You spent too long in France, Idun. [:-))]

[quote user="Lou"]We've also had people blame foxes for our cats disappearing - interestingly our vet says he's never heard of or seen cases of cats being taken by foxes...[/quote]It does happen, is very rare, and is normally either a very young and small cat - or kitten - or an elderly cat. I do know of one person who actually saw her healthy, full-size adult cat attacked and carried off by a fox and she was too far away to do anything about it. The cat was not seen again. But it is very rare and in France, disappearances are far more likely to be down to trapping / snares, poison or shooting. A local acquaintance of mine lost one of her dogs briefly a few months ago. Fortunately she knew that someone locally put down wire snares. She badgered him into taking her to each trap and reluctantly he did so. There was her dog, foot caught and swollen. He's fine but his foot would not have been if he'd been caught up much longer. I really sympathise with those of you who have such carp neighbours.

As the OH of an artisan... it's really nice when someone comes back and says no! - even if no explanation is given. It just feels as if the effort made in visiting the job, pricing it and preparing the devis is being acknowledged - just by giving us their decision - rather than being ignored.

What a gorgeous cat... [kiss]

I don't care if you've advertised here, in an Archant magazine or in Tatler... congratulations on what you've achieved in a very short time. It's hard work getting it right and you are obviously doing it right.

Roasted butternut squash soup Peel and slice or cube a butternut squash (or two). Drizzle it with olive oil along with 2 or 3 medium to large onions, sliced into thick rings and 2 or 3 (or more!) peeled cloves of garlic. Roast at about 160 - 170 (fan). Don't let the garlic burn. When cooked (soft when pierced with a knife) blitz everything in a blender until very smooth - you'll need to add water or a good stock to stop it going gluey and unless you have an industrial-sized blender, you'll need to do it in 2 or 3 lots. Finally, blitz half a jar of Lidl roasted red peppers (or roast and peel some of your own) plus a dollop of harissa paste (to taste and dependent on the strength of the paste). Simmer very gently for 20 minutes taking care that it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. Taste and season. Serve with some finely chopped red pepper and / or chorizo and / or toasted pine nuts sprinkled in the middle of the bowl on top of a swirl of crème fraîche. This is the rustic version; to make it velvety, pass it through a chinois before adding the crème fraîche and the trimmings. Tastes even better on day 2. I've never had it last till day 3.

A few years ago, some of the more isolated maison secondaires around here suffered similar post box damage. Several of the houses - including one adjacent to us - were subsequently broken into. The attending gendarmes said that the post boxes were opened so that the age of any mail could be gauged in order to tell how regularly the house was occupied. Ancient, damp, snail-nibbled mail = no one either resident or any neighbour taking in the post and therefore keeping an eye on the house. Conclusion drawn: safe to burgle. The appearance of the quad bikes may well be linked but you'd think they'd arrive a little more covertly! [:P]

Coops, try the "wayback machine" - just enter the website address of FHI. It's surprising what is archived and still available.

I am so shocked to read this, Val. You can have no idea how many times over the years your posts here and elsewhere have informed and guided us - me and my OH that is... but plenty of other members too, I'm sure. This was both through our renovations here and also as OH prepared to set up in business. The thing was, we all knew you and your husband were "doing the work thing properly" and your comments could always be relied on not only to be accurate but tell it as it is. Sincere condolences and best wishes.

[quote user="David Watton"]I would suggest that instead of wasting their time posting on stupid forums they enjoy their time more productively. My own posting was a wind up, you fell for it.[/quote] You're one of the people featured on the show, aren't you? Or no, perhaps one of those rejected by the show... hence the pique... [:D]

This latest "intergration evangelist" isn't the first, won't be the last and has nothing new to say on the subject. There's no point in trying the challenge the narrow thinking of the More French Than The French contingent. I too think the Dordogne is beautiful... but it is also the only place in rural France where I've been in heavy traffic... with most of the cars having British plates. [:P] That was about 15 years ago, one sunny September morning, just outside Brantôme... I'm sure all the cars have been re-registered by now... [6]

This link was posted on LayMyHat this evening... it's a link to a post and ensuing discussion by Stuart who was on the program last night and it gives an insight into the reality behind the program. Or at least, what he experiences vs what the program showed.

[quote user="andyh4"]I am not allowed to post links to other forums where a number of persons confirm having reported the presence of Frelon asatique have had confirmation from their maire that this is required locally. [/quote] I think you can, Andy - this forum has always been happy to acknowledge the existence of other fora and links to many of them have been provided in the past.

No, not at present, RH! But I was being kind and giving the poster the benefit of the doubt. [:P]

Well, if it is a really cute idea, it might be quite canny not to divulge details on the forum. It's one thing to share details via email or PM but posting something that is ingenious on the forum makes it the property of the forum - ie, Archant - doesn't it? Archant would be free to reproduce it elsewhere.

Don't beat yourself up. Speaking to an audience requires confidence but is just a skill that can be learned. "Presentation Skills" was a permanently available 2-day course in all the companies I used to work at and some people did it several times; there's no point in kicking yourself because you didn't feel you could do it as well as you wanted straight off. There are probably classes in public speaking at your local college or similar. Why not do one and then you're prepared if a similar situation arises again. The skill is good for far more than public speaking - it's useful for marshalling and presenting your thoughts if you're doing something as ordinary as complaining about a service, both face-to-face or on the telephone. Personally, I don't believe in the popular advice to picture the audience naked or imagining them sitting on a lavatory - you want to engage with them as equals, inform and influence them and trying to make them less than you in order to make you feel better isn't a good strategy. Or so I was told, many years ago. [;-)]

A few moments before you start speaking, take a couple of deep breaths and swallow a couple of times. This prevents that weird thing early on where your voice suddenly cracks and gives out half way through a sentence. Another thing to do is tape yourself reading the text. Then listen to it 3 or 4 times - really listen, not read. You'll find that hearing better embeds the text than just reading and then while you are reading (if that is what you feel you must do) familiarity with the text gives you chance to look up and engage (meet the eyes of) members of your audience as you speak. And if you're going to type it and read it, remember less is more and keep it as brief as you can. Oh and make the print big enough to read it easily!

If you're not totally sold on this area because you already know it, you could also look a bit further south - perhaps around Mayenne. For the small distance involved, there is a difference in weather - ime spring arrives about 3 weeks earlier and though winters can be a bit colder, they're likely to be a bit shorter and brighter. I'm guessing it would only add about 30 minutes to journeys to / from ports and you have Rennes airport about 90 minutes away.

Have you definitely identified them as Asian hornets? Do you have any photos?