hoverfrog

OK, so I get the point. On the news they were whistling along (and almost in tune) which is why I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about! ISTR lots of people humming along to the UK national anthem at sporting events (probably because they didn't know all the words!) so wondered why whistling was different :)

WTF? Why is this such a big deal?

I spent an amazing week doing the vendanges - the work was hard but the team spirit was all the better for it! I've been accepted to be back on the team next year, something I wouldn't miss for all the tea in China :) One of the funniest moments was when we did a field next to a large uptogether place, and the English owner came out and offered us water from the tap in the courtyard. As soon as he was out of earshot everyone dissolved into laughter (and I got some flack being only English person on the team) - with the comment that he didn't really think the team ran on water, did he!!! The casse-croute at 10am was more than welcome after a chilly 8am start in the fields - bread, pâté, rillettes cake and beer. In spite of breakfast, casse-croute, 4 course lunch (bien arrosé), afternoon casse-croute and 5 course supper (extremely 'bien arrosé'!) I managed to lose 4lbs in the week. All the foils are kept from the wine consumed during the week - apparently they can be set against production as losses, a bit like a tax rebate. We had quite a collection :) We were all sad to see the last buch of grapes cut, marking the end of the week's work. No financial gain - our reward was given in bottles of wine!

Cora in Limoges have an excellent "foreign food" double aisle. Grand Frais (also in Limoges) have fruit & veg from all over the world - and quite a few i've not seen before and can't identify!

mine came from Castorama - and I must admit the electricity bills have gone up no end since installing just 2 of them, even though they are wired in to the heures creuse circuit!

they already have a photocopy of the long birth certificate, which has been acceptable for the last 3+ years. They now want a copy less than 3 months old and translated into french and authenticated by the issuing authority. I think I'm going to argue the toss - although apparently there is new legislation from April 1st this year. My friend's dossier has been "en attente" since March - and all the CAF will say is that they are waiting to see about the new legislation...

thanks Clair - now at least I understand the 3 month bit! Not that the kids have got married/divorced/died at all recently... The request states: "Si l'acte d'état civil est en langue étrangère, il doit être traduit en langue française et authentifié par l'autorité émettrice" - which I read as "must be certified by the issuing authority", so I hope a "traducteur assermenté" will do! In case anyone else has to do this, certificates can be ordered from here for 7GBP if you have the GRO numbers... http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

despite being "on the system" for over 3 years, today I received a request from CAF for translations of my children's (long) birth certificates. Not only that, but the translations must be verified/authenticated by the issuing office! Oh, and to cap it all they must be less than 3 months old... "avec mention en marge" - whatever that means! What's going on? Do registrars in the UK provide such a service? Is it just me or has anyone else been asked for these?

a "sarco" - as in "Petit Président" :)

pine round here is taken away in wood-lorry lengths and cut up at the timber place. No, it's not usually used for firewood - that was just an illustration of how much it costs to have someone deal with the wood!

the average price for woodland (at least in Limousin!) is around 1K a hectare. The average value of the wood on it is around 2K a hectare. Not sure what the price of converting the trees into usable wood is - but I do know I can get a chap to do it (for firewood, 1m lengths) for 70 euros a corde. HTH

ohmigod - they don't make champagne too do they? I picked up a bottle of champagne (for when my daughter comes over) with a very pretty pink label... just had to check the brand, it's "Lanson"...

I said a couple of years ago that a couple of glasses helped my french no end... the (then) OH replied that that was to be expected, as I sat immersing myself in French with the TV of an evening with a glass in hand! His explanation - "you get to the same state, and it's all there!" :)

you what? we have no such thing - and have never had a requirement for one. Have you added anything recently that might affect liability (like a swimming pool)?

"Gars, yes, guy, bloke, lad.. Mec is roughly the same, but to me " gars" is originally a word used in the countryside , whereas mec is slang.. so if 'gars' is used in the countryside, how does one refer to a male that one knows 'à peine' in polite society?

[quote user="Jonzjob"]A load of folks don't know that it was first designed for and used by the USA army to stick damaged soldiers together when they were shot up in Vietnam and that's why it sticks fingures to everything unsuspecting so very well! (not-a-lot-a-people-know-that?) [/quote] my 1st introduction to superglue was someone I knew who used to stick his dog together with it... Seemed a bit bizarre at the time - but then I read up on it :)

as a general rule of thumb, don't count on anywhere you really depend on being open : 1/ on Mondays 2/ between 12 and 3 3/ on a Friday afternoon 4/ anytime on a Saturday 5/ during the quinze d'août and even then, it's hit and miss! :)

"deplacement sans intervention" is a call-out charge (probably a flat-rate one). "frais de dédit" is a forfeit charge, but I couldn't possibly hazard a guess for what! I reccommend http://www.wordreference.com - not just for words but for phases too :)

I grow mine outside (Limousin) and just let them get on with it... Oh, and definitely moussaka!

it might be a symptom, and nothing to do with the real problem... my friend had a similar problem with ClubInternet. It got worse over time, and after intermittant 'working' during the day (nothing at night) it stopped working altogether. She then changed to FranceTelecom (and an orange-box) and it started to go the same way... Eventually, (fuelled by PMT and a certain quantity of wine...) I rang up FT for the umpteenth time and tore strips off the poor chap on the 'helpline'. FT engineers were there the following morning at 8am - and apparently there was a broken wire at the exchange!

we cut down a large sweet chestnut last spring. The wood was outside for a couple of months then under cover. It was definitely not ready to burn last winter (but we had to burn some as we ran out of older stuff!) Here in the Limousin they reckon 2-3 years - preferably 3. The oak I cut in February is destined for next winter but one...

get peed (and sunburnt) on the beach? That's all that interests mine, apart from horse-riding and shopping :( "you can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" comes to mind :) Try getting one-of-each brochure from your nearest information centre, then insisting that they chose somewhere then going there/doing it. Keeps them quiet, if nothing else!

before you buy, look on google for the make/model+ problem/service/complaint/etc. I bought a 2nd hand John Deere, and was very pleased with it for the 1st couple of years. Now it needs a belt replacing - simple enough, I thought! Turns out the manuals are available only if you pay (a lot) and don't help much, there are forums aplenty full of people complaining that the after-sales consists of paying lots of money to get things done, and every little thing is made into a money-making opportunity for the manufacturer.

Peas are once again available in Casino - they didn't have them for ages either! Shallots keep the same way as onions - dry them off in the sun then store them in the cellar.

I got my card reader yesterday (Haute Vienne). Does anyone know whether they will be implementing the same system for credit cards? I only ever use the credit card online, not the debit card!