Evianers

Oh yes indeed..... essential reading when one needs to know all the intricate details of the women's lives. What was amazing is Vera Atkins' background! Obviously for a very long time a closely guarded secret. Stirring stuff!

Your interest is very much appreciated. We are members of a thriving international club hereabouts. As such, all members are encouraged to lecture/talk upon their interests and hobbies. The stories of the brave women of SOE have been in my thoughts since my teens My OH, being a retired IT manager, will help put together a Powerpoint presentation on this painful but enthralling subject, but it will not be videoed for outside viewing. If you are not too far away, you could always attend on 8 February. The intention is not only to dwell on such well-known names such as Noor Inayat Khan, Odette Churchill and Violette Szabo, but also ensure that unsung heroines who barely receive a mention are also not forgotten. Madeleine Damerment, Diana Rowden, the de Baissacs, the Nearne sisters, Cecily Lefort, as well as Denise Bloch and Muriel Byck who were perhaps doubly courageous in that they were Jewish. Obviously Nancy Wake should also figure largely but if you have any additional comments or input, they would be very welcome.

A while ago, I posted that I was about to give a talk on the courageous and formidable women of the SOE in wartime France. This lecture was postponed because so many members of our international club were away on holiday on 31 August, that I was asked to give the talk in February. This should now take place on 8/02.  At that time, Nancy Wake had just died [aged 98?] which several forum contributors brought to my attention. If anyone has anything to add, or further updates which might be of interest, please feel free to post them in the next few weeks as I shall have to put together the Powerpoint presentation shortly after the New Year. Thank you all in advance.

Yes, that's it! Mea culpa

Can anyone please give us the most likely translation into English of this office? What would be the closest if there is no exact translation. TIA

We asked for some butternut seeds from our children last Christmas. There were 8 in the packet, which we dutifully planted. However after emptying the contents of our compost-bin onto the veggie patch, we found it was indeed similar to The Day of the Triffids in that we had butternut plants coming up all over the patch and on to the lawn. We're still eating then now having harvested them in October, and last night had butternut soup with 6 friends. Delicious!

This is why the old adage "comparisons are odious" comes to mind reading this posting. Swings and roudabouts. Availability of housing in LBF is probably although not always more desirable than that in the UK. By this mean that the day after tomorrow, our children are about to move into a 1930s detached house [extended] in an outer surburb of London which cost a jaw-dropping sum. For that price hereabouts one could buy a chateau! If you do not wish to pay the 6% agent's commission, business being very difficult for them nowadays, we suggest you do what we did and state unequivocally that you are not willing to pay 6% and how about 4%? You would be surprised how many of them are willing to bend the so-called rules.

Not likely! Shudder!

Another forum member and I have recently been discussing whether one's general expectations when moving country turned out to be correct, semi-correct, or much worse, utterly false. This because our family had far more of a culture shock and dashing of expectations when we moved from one large area of the southern hemisphere to another - more so than moving from UK to the SH. We had pre-conceived ideas which turned out to be far from reality, and suffered accordingly. Both countries were English-speaking. Perhaps one makes fewer evaluations when emigrating to a country with a different language? Interesting to hear others' comments. Or else, feel free to email privately if your experiences are painful, as ours were.

[quote user="Loiseau"]A "carte senior" (senior railcard) is quite expensive (56 euros per year), so worth it if you are going to make a lot of rail journeys within a year and get 50% off by travelling off-peak. But even if you don't buy one, you can get 25% reduction on off-peak rail travel by telling the ticket-office personnel that you are over 60 (and being able to prove it with a passport or similar). Some museums offer reduced rates for "seniors", but by no means all. Angela [/quote] Not half as expensive as in Swizzle. There a half price card costs, for one year CHF165 [was 150]; for two years it costs CHF300 and for three years CHF400. But then everyone knows the Swiss are RICH!!!

The simple answer is of course..........yes. We have now lived all over the world, in three different continents and with only one exception, which shall be nameless but is a huge island Down Under[!] we were blissfully happy with all our moves. However, that said, the largest single factor is attitude of mind. With very positive thoughts and very few reservations, the whole exercise runs more smoothly. If you need any further information, do not hesitate to contact us privately, as we have helped many people over the years on the theme "been there, done that".

IMHO you cannot give your little daughter a more brilliant gift than giving her the opportunity to grow up bi-lingual. Now is definitely the time to move so that she can start school here in France. We answered a similar request for information for a Scottish chap who wanted to move to Switzerland. We asked him had he thought of hereabouts in France. Upshot is, the family moved here and are thriving, loving every minute and never regret making the decision - they also have two small children.

My sister and BIL, resident in the Christchuch Hampshire area, now make six different curries for Christmas Day - each to his own [they are not Indian btw]

Thanks for this: it wasn't before but after: i.e. Mutter Radnabe. All helpful advice welcomed.

We have been trying to help a friend who would prefer to have his 15 year old Mazda 626 serviced hereabouts rather than very, very dear CH. So taking his last bill, we tried to translate this [with Google's help] from D to F. Please folks, what is a "Mutter" in French? And please do not say Mummy@!!@ The receptionist at the garage had no idea what we meant. Not surprised.....!

We used to find reasonably priced turkeys at Netto, but unfortunately the two outlets near to us have both now closed. The cost was half what the more usual supermarkets charged so this is a huge pity. Since the birth of our two little granddaughters, we now go to UK for Christmas. Having said that, the cost of turkeys in Sainsburys Pinner on 23/12 was hugely expensive - maybe our son left it a little late?

Yesterday instead of going for our normal constitutional at the appointed time of 14.00, we decided to go out during the morning. Not a soul to be seen. No passers-by, no cars, no cyclists...... but wait! after 11.30 out they all came in droves. Now I just wonder where the locals had all been and what they had been watching??? Well next weekend will prove to be a similar occurance - good time to go for a lengthy walk in the sunshine? In the meantime, well done The All Blacks - a deserved win.

Welcome back from holidays from the French Government. Nasty shock when we opened our "request" to pay the year's TF bill which has increased from 855 to 990!!! Wow, we realise everywhere and everyone in the Eurozone is broke, but that's some hike! So we live in a wonderful area with stunning views etc. and wouldn't think of moving anywhere else, but it's still come as a bitter pill. Anyone else suffered simularly?

RUDE!

PS..... forgot to say.... a "please" would have been rather appreciated.

You do not stipulate whereabouts you live, but an employee of ours has just completed the CELTA course in Geneva. Additionally, as far as I am aware, it is also possible to do a TEFL, TESOL, and other options in GVA.

"The property comprises of two salon's, one upstairs on road level" er....... under "Salons"

Sorry but salon's does not have an apostrophe. It is not possessive but plural so should be simply "salons". The price seems very reasonable - one could not even purchase a garage for that price around here!!!

For those [who like us] are interested in acquiring bargains, the annual huge VG in Evian-les-Bains takes place on Sunday 28 August from early morning until 18.00 in the afternoon. We have bought some amazing items in the past, and many of our Swiss friends who come over the border for the day/weekend, likewise.

We are ultra-fortunate in that we live in an area which is as close to paradise as it gets. However, that's not the actual point. We are fortunate in that we have a magnificent vista of Lac Leman in front of our house due to the fact that there is a huge field at present housing only four cows. In some trepidation, we went recently to the Mairie who told us that the terrain is UC - [urban constructible] but that they have absolutely no say in the matter of what is to be built there - only that the lots are to be 800m2 each and individual houses are to be built. If the owner of the land wishes eventually to sell to developpers, there is nothing we can do. In the interim, we have approached the owner and asked could we buy a strip of 15 meter width in order to preserve most of the view [it is on a slight slope]. She declined, saying she is not selling "at the present time". We are happy that there will be no blocks of apartments in front of our noses [as are our neighbours] but it seems extremely odd that the Mairie's hands are tied to this extent. Is this the case elsewhere in France, in the Haute Savoie only, or also in other areas? Seems to be something of a minefield......