Catalpa

Quote from NickT: > Really? I'm so glad that I come from a country - even if I'm not currently living there - where, if this is a mistake, the police and authorities admit it rather than immediately instituting a coverup. If this guy is completely free of any terrorist connections, it's obviously a dreadful thing to have happened. But I also think the police and security services are in an impossible situation where they are damned if they don't come up with the intelligence that would have prevented the actions of the suicide bombers of 10 days ago... but they are also damned if things go tragically wrong.

A friend of mine has just had this diagnosed and she's in misery. She's starting the round of anti-epileptic drugs as they can work but it's a question of finding the one that fits the person and it may take time. You have my sympathies. Another friend was told she had it, held off on starting the drug therapy until she had a wisdom tooth (impacted and intermittently infected) removed. The pain went away. This was 2 years ago. A third friend's mother was diagnosed and it does seem that she has solved her problem with... one of the anti-epileptics but I can't remember which. I could find out if you want. There can be other reasons for this sort of pain. Tension, trapped nerves etc. I am wondering if (in the UK anyway) trigeminal neuralgia is suddenly a fashionable diagnosis. And the only people who I've heard about having it are all women. But I'm sure you'll have explored the other possibilities because it's obvious from your posts that you're not daft! For the friend that had a wisdom tooth problem, I did some research and found a trigeminal neuralgia help group based in the US. I've been told there's a UK one too. I expect you've already googled them but if you haven't, it might be informative. Good luck.

I've been over to look too... well, it's too cold to sit outside tonight and telly is cr@p! I see some old friends are over there, cjb for one and a favourite of yours, SB, if I remember correctly: Jasonito.

I'm in a holding pattern over (the age of) 37, have been for some years, and have no intention of coming in to land. And also... middle age is *always* 10 years older than you are at the time. The doctor's remark that opened this thread: that women should grow old (or age, was it?) gracefully... maybe (a generous!) interpretation of the intention behind that remark was more that we should appreciate ourselves - whatever our age - for what we are, what life has made us - and not be totally focussed on or obsessed with halting the aging process. Though delaying tactics are obviously okay!! I'm not anti-HRT and I'm not saying that osteoporosis, aligator skin and anything else that goes with ageing should therefore be embraced as more life-enriching experiences. Unless medical opinion comes out otherwise I'll be knocking back the calcium supplements, taking weight-bearing exercise (zimmer frame with weights!) and wearing sunscreen when I'm 90. But ageing is natural and I think we sometimes choose to ignore that. And thinking about it, I'm uncomfortable with the thought that we're ambling through supermarkets and judging other women by whether we think they're on HRT or not. How liberated of us is that? Or will we always be bitches at heart??

[quote]Catalpa, you missed the whole point, even if there it was jovial, it was a reminder that the British microchip does not work in France. At the ports they can see that the animal has one, but the grea...[/quote]   How odd. The last paragraph of my post must be invisible. My point... whole or otherwise... was that your statement, if taken out of the context of lost pets (or wives) was incorrect. A casual glance at this thread could mislead.

[quote]He was wise to prefer the tattoo, which can be immediately seen, and the British microchip doesn't work here anyway.[/quote] Christine, I know that your post was in the middle of a jovial (though just a teeny bit sexist??) exchange which you may have been joining, but for the sake of any startled pet owners, I want to say the British microchip - when inserted in an animal - does definitely work in France. Otherwise there'd be some problems at French vets and ports with animals going backwards and forwards between the UK and France, would there not?  I don't think the registration of a UK microchip number on the French national database is possible - which may be what you meant? - in which case a tattoo gets round that problem should a pet get lost.

[quote]I know this may be a touchy subject for some, but looking at French women 'of a certain age' in supermarkets / villages etc, it appears to me that most don't take HRT. I do, and intend to continue - ...[/quote] er... how can you tell ??? ...that they don't take it? (wondering if it's quantity of facial hair, bowed spine, general SOH failure...??)

It's the silly season, Gay. ... SVP!... Please... Pink Fluff... unprovoked agression...

[quote]  ...then the next request was a BBQ, would  it be possible for them to do a BBQ tomorrow when there other friends arrive. Mugguns said yes provided they supply all the stuff and clean up after them. This morning I am told their other friends who are staying else where will also be coming, making about 16 but of course you are invited too!. More phone calls. [/quote]   I'm confused. I thought you were operating a b&b. But surely you're now into the realms of a serviced gite??? On-site maid and caretaking service. They are seriously taking the pi$$. If they're still there and making noise at 3am, can you chuck them out? If one of the non-residents drown in the pool, will your insurance cover you? If these non-Europeans are those of the nationality famed for their interest in litigation that wouldn't be funny. I think you deserve your rant.

Very interesting article. France has to change... LOL! I know there'll be plenty of people slanting a glance at their monitors and saying "yeah right!" but even France cannot stay the same forever, it will have to evolve. Some things will evolve for the better... some... not. But bloody revolution? Dunno, but I don't think so. That would require more activism than the 35 hour week would support, wouldn't it?? Fantine: > It's a good article to show to people who are thinking of moving, who will have to find employment, have young children to take through the education system - who will have to find work at the end of it... but I suspect the majority (?) of people moving to France are older, no dependents, may still need to work but don't want (to continue) a high-flying career - making the article interesting reading but perhaps not directly applicable. Would be their perception?

Try AngloInfo too - there's a Normandy and a Brittany section. If you post re the cats on there, you will have to include their chip or tattoo numbers as it's a requirement on that particular site. http://normandy.angloinfo.com/

I quite enjoyed the randomness. I read all sorts of threads that I'd have normally ignored. More mind-expanding bugs please, ForumAdmin

quote from Arnold:

Hmmm. This thread should really take off now

There was an instance of someone contracting rabies from a bite from a bat in the UK... last year? I think it was someone who monitored bats; he was bitten, offered rabies shots, refused them, developed the disease and died. So rabies is in the UK - though probably rare and perhaps pretty much contained within the bat population. I'm horrified about the comment about cats being destroyed regardless of whether they've been innoculated against the disease. Is this definitely fact? Or the view of one vet? Edit: it was in 2002, Scotland http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2509375.stm

[quote]3. Where do they get those glued-shut purses from? It hasn't happened to me yet this year, for example my sister just brought me 5 whole seasons of The West Wing on DVD, (we were supposed to share t...[/quote] You've got series FIVE!!?? Lucky sod! I haven't found it cheap enough yet but have 1-4. Bestest series ever. Would your sister like another sister??? Dragging thread back on topic... we don't suffer from mean guests yet. It's something to do with a complete lack of roof. And doors. And windows. But I suspect it'll happen. And yes, I agree with... TU was it? If I get goodies handed over like bacon, it will go straight into a secret freezer to be gloated over after generous guest's departure.

[quote]I’m sure someone has done some research into why some of us react so badly to insect bites when others don’t. I know that Di and Coco are at least as fair-skinned as I am and wonder if this may be a ...[/quote] I didn't know that could be a factor. I'm fair haired / skinned and I react very badly to most insect bites. I'm sitting looking at a burgeoning horsefly bite on my arm - which most creams (Onctose) and anti-histamines (Telfast 180mg) either don't touch or at best keep under control while the bite takes a week (via a blister) to calm down. I will try control experiments with vinegar and Tiger Balm. I have plenty of sites from which to make my choice! As far as repellents go, most work for me - I just don't like using chemicals 24/7 in summer. I prefer spraying my clothes and shoes but after a few months, the chemicals do seem to bleach / rot the fabric. This year I'm going to try a mossie net on the bed and fly screens on the windows. When I get a ceiling to suspend net from and windows in which to fit screens. The joy of building.

[quote]Many thanks for all your assistance. By coincidence, just arrived home and quotation received along with other post from France, may have got held up somewhere. For information the quotation is a sta...[/quote] Ours is a 5000l Eparco, sings, dances and has a system of filters thru sand eventually delivering water you can put on the garden. As we have a stream at the bottom of our very sloping land, we wanted emerging liquids to be as pure as possible. This work was done by Entreprise Loisel at Brecey (Villedieu direction) and cost E6000-ish. Not cheap but reasonable spec kit. A benefit of Loisel is they do a lot of public works for various communes so your Mairie should be agreeable. You could also track down a contractor by the name of Chapdelaine south of Vire towards Sourdeval area. We've used him for ground works and he was very good and very reasonably priced.

++ One thing that I would take off is the "not suitable for children" unless it is absolutely definitely not suitable for children. What age of "children" isn't it suitable for? ++ Oh I don't know... made me instantly want to book! I would think an unpatrolled, unfenced 17 acre lake would be what every parent... wants?? That's got to be the hook? for this episode of the Gite Doctor program.

Had a quick look at your website (on my slooow dialup connection). Looks professional, photos take time to load but the text arrives first so plenty to read while waiting. My quick look didn't show me any "look at the size of this!" type photos of fish. Are there any? Is that relevant? Off the top of my head: if it's not really a family gite site, you need to target people interested in fishing who haven't got kids. And as someone has said, the August months are expensive. So who has to take holidays in July / August but doesn't necessarily have kids. How about targeting teachers and lecturers at agricultural colleges who *might* be a bit more interested in rural pursuits?? You could offer them a special deal. Are there big UK angling clubs you could contact. Send your details to smaller angling clubs. How about talking to one of the angling magazines and seeing if you can offer a free stay in one of your gites for a competition prize. You'd get coverage - though you'd probably have to take out an ad too. Yes, there's a cost associated with all this... but what's the cost of having empty accommodation? And thinking about it, plenty of people *do* choose, even without kids, to holiday in July / August because the weather is likely to be more predictable.

Are you advertising directly to the fishing market? You've probably got family gites (haven't looked at your profile for a website) but if something relatively unusual / special is the fishing at your site, then are you targetting directly the people to whom it will appeal? Then if you emphasise the family-friendly aspects of the site, family stuff to do in the area and region... Can you offer 'fishing for beginners' courses with rod hire and stuff? But perhaps you already are. Bonne courage!

for anyone interested... having googled manically, I came up with the information that anti-virus email scanners can corrupt Outlook Express and the .dbx files. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx I got a free download at: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,23383,00.asp but I followed the instructions at the microsoft site first. I have all folders and messages back - albeit a bit randomly.   Thank you Ecossais and Chezshells for your suggestions.

++ I have heard Euros 1,000 a room being mooted as a norm ++ Yep. We're getting quotes for a total wiring job at the moment and that figure seems a very accurate rule of thumb - though it's probably worth saying that the work we're specifying is more complex than a light switch and say 4 sockets per room. If our quotes are coming out at 1000E per room I think it would be a very fancy configuration to be more than that. Or very fancy fittings - which ours are not.

Long grass a health and safety issue... whaaaat???????????? Thank you. I’m having a trying afternoon (my OE inbox has gone AWOL which is causing me some problems) and this thread has so cheered me up. We’re in the middle of a renovation project. We stand goggle-eyed as we watch the succession of “questionable” work practices unfold before us. It would take a side of A4 to catalogue what we’ve seen. And yes, our builders (French) are completely legal and insured. Most of the power tools are lacking in any form of safety guard; the ladders get fastened to the ancient, rotten roof beams with string; sheets of corrugated iron are removed from the roof by one worker on a very windy day (we made an excuse and left); we’re on a serious slope and the Matbro all terrain fork-lift thingy has brake problems; when our fosse was being installed, the sand for the filter – in the large ½ ton+ bags – was suspended on a digger… while a worker stood in the trench beneath the bag… can you hear me getting all shrill here? Then safety hats… steel toecap boots… yeah, right! I am sure the long grass thing *is* a real safety issue – I’m just amazed and impressed that a French artisan thinks so!

I've lost my inbox. Always an embarassing thing to admit. I've got Outlook Express I've got wanadoo.fr It's been set up and operating nicely for about 10 months Suddenly, this afternoon, the contents of my inbox have vanished and the local folders with filed and saved messages. My sent items are still there My contact list is still there I can send and receive new stuff... but existing stuff is hiding from me. Any ideas anyone? Edit: btw, I don't have McAfee - and apparently inbox disappearances can be a problem with McAfee - but I do have AVG and ZoneAlarm. Oh and the Scotty dog patrol thing. And Onspeed.