Evianers

And then of course, there is this : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8512215.stm

Not long ago, we were introduced to Le Bon Coin = marvellous! Yesterday we travelled to Annemasse and there collected a complete under-washbasin double vanity unit, taps, shelves, cupboards, 140cm in length, still wrapped in its original packaging. Bargains to be had for all seemingly.

....thanks for this. But which "ticket guy"? Tried to book on internet and it does not go as far as June, only March. Good idea, but.........

We have looked at the various flight options Geneva-London, Zuerich-London, even Basel-London and none of the usual operators have reasonably priced flights - all far more than usual. As it will be out little granddaughter's first birthday we should like to go for a few days. Any suggestions please? Driving would be too expensive in fuel/time. TIA

Vera Atkins' book now ordered via Amazon. Another book about some of the SOE women is "A Quiet Courage" by Liane Jones which I read some years ago. At the time it struck me as not so well-written as the others mentioned in this thread. Perhaps I should read it again. Thanks to all contributors.

Thank you so much, not only for the virtually immediate response answering the question, but also with the link, which is fascinating. Of course, several of the women mentioned on the left of the item were the same 7 who were taken from Fresnes together with Odette. Astonishing that she survived to be 82 years old. What brave and resilient women they were. NB, being out of print for almost 50 years, I finally tracked down the Nicholas book "Death Be Not Proud" to a book shop in Sydney - the bookseller told me this was the second copy he had sold in a very short time. Will also try to find a copy of the Vera Atkins book to add to the collection.

Having just re-read "Death Be No Proud" by Elizabeth Nicholas - her story of the 7 women working for SOE as couriers/wireless operators during WWII occupied France, and who were deported from Fresnes to Karlsruehe to a horrific death, I decided to then re-read "Odette" by Jerald Tickell. In one of the first few chapters, JT mentions that Odette Brially was married to Roy Sansom, with whom she had 3 daughters. After staying together with Peter Churchill during the war, she then remarried and became Odette Hallowes apparently. However, nowhere subsequently is Roy Sansom mentioned. Does anyone know what happened to him?

And here is another version of the same thing : http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/france-tops-international-ranking-as-best-place-to-live-1858696.html Very surprising Oz beats Swizzle.......... hmm

At our international club last evening, we found out from French speakers, that "pulling your leg" in French is [verbally speaking] "faire marché" Question is: is this faire marché [as in market] = probably not? faire marcher [as in walk]? or faire marchez [you........]? Enlightenment would be appreciated, especially why faire marché/marcher/marchez Thanks to one and all

[quote user="memb"]Nativity plays banned, Xmas back instead of Christmas, changing carols to suit the multi cultural society but  when a teacher substitutes a "partridge in a pear tree " for "corncrake in a palm tree" because she doesn't want to step on any toes, then that, for me, is the end.  When are true Brits in Britain going to get some backbone and declare enough is enough.[:@]  [/quote] Not relevant to Christmas [and we utterly share your sentiments here]; visiting friends from Oz told us the nursery school teacher had the 3 year olds singing "Baaa baaa pink sheep, have you any wool. Words fail us, they really do!

If we are in the UK shopping, sometimes when the amount is less than a round figure, we automatically give the shop assistant the extra change, i.e. if the amount requested is 1.49, we try to give the 9 pence [or so]. Here in France we have noted on more than one occasion that if one voluntarily tenders the odd amounts to help the assistant, it confuses them greatly. Last week we gave a 50 Euro note and some odd change to make up the difference and got short-changed by 30 Euros. From now on, we'll simply watch them digging time and again into the till extracting dozens of coins in small change.

[quote user="Hoddy"]The only place I've ever come across them is in Shakespeare. Hoddy[/quote] Yes, they sound and look very mediaeval.

thanks guys. Guess what? looked it up in the OCD and it gives the definition [correct] and afterwards says "Japanese loquat". So our guess was right. Neither OH nor I have ever heard of medlars - sad, isn't it?

Neftles...............? We were at our international club's Thanksgiving dinner last night. The table was decorated with kakis [we know what they are yum], sour cherries, rosehips and a very curious looking brownish fruit with spikey top. We asked the French contingent what they were: they looked at us as if we were all daft and said "they're neftles of course". Try as we might, no translation service, nor our huge dictionary can give a definition. Would they perhaps be cumquats or loquats [look to me definitely like something in that family]??? Thanks for all knowledgeable answers.

Our local Troc shop is horrendously expensive and not very well patronised because of this, but being a fairly upmarket area not too distant from Geneva, what can one expect. Personally, we use Ricardo - a goldmine of eveything one can conceive of, inexpensive and mostly good quality, but then it's best to be able to communicate in Swiss-German or otherwise at least High German. For those interested, see Ricardo.ch...........much better than eBay!

No, no, a thousand times no. [Just what we did.... and look what happened to us]!

Yes.... we also have one in Thonon-les-Bains. Prices are much, much higher than on eBay or on Swiss Ricardo [equivalent] We have only bought one thing there = mostly the prices are outrageous.

This morning we went to the post office in Lugrin to send off several parcels: to UK, to Canada, and 3 within France. The woman at the counter told us "you can no longer wrap the packages in paper - they must all be put into boxes". Since we had been 3 times to Evian PO last week, we could not understand this. She then showed us the back of the sticker which one has to adhere to parcels for posting within France. In miniscule letters it did in fact say this. However if one pays a surcharge of €5[!] they will accept parcels wrapped in paper. When we complained that the Evian PO had accepted all parcels without comment [except to say that there was not sufficient sticky tape on one] the woman in Lugrin telephoned to Evian PO and asked whether what we were saying was true! Unbelievable! To cut a long story short, she did eventually and reluctantly accept the three French parcels without extra cost but warned us this would be the last time. Boxes or nothing! [Except padded envelopes we suppose]. So lesson learned. The moderators have locked this duplicated thread. Please see this other thread: http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1902244/ShowPost.aspx

This morning we went to the local post office to send off several parcels: to UK, to Canada, and 3 within France. The woman at the counter told us "you can no longer wrap the packages in paper - they must all be put into boxes". Since we had been 3 times to another PO last week, we could not understand this. She then showed us the back of the sticker which one has to adhere to parcels for posting within France. In miniscule letters it did in fact say this. However if one pays a surcharge of €5[!] they will accept parcels wrapped in paper. When we complained that the other PO had accepted all parcels without comment [except to say that there was not sufficient sticky tape on one] the woman telephoned to Evian PO and asked whether what we were saying was true! Unbelievable! To cut a long story short, she did eventually and reluctantly accept the three French parcels without extra cost but warned us this would be the last time. Boxes or nothing! [Except padded envelopes we suppose]. So lesson learned. Anyone else had this problem? Happy festive season!

It seems that we are often the "forgotten corner" until someone wants some advice regarding ski-ing and chalets for rent during winter time. Please, administrators, can we have OUR area = a very large one BTW included in the South East? Yes, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence Alpes, etc. do [just] fall into the south east, but the REAL south easten part of France is the Rhone Alpes area. Do you not agree?

The annual Vide Grenier which is always super and extremely well attended, takes place from 08.00 - 17.00 in the centre of Evian next Sunday. We have purchased some fantastic bargains over the years, including several packet of English Christmas cards for next-to-nothing and items which we have sold on at a profit. No wonder so many people come over from CH [Wallis, Genf, Waadt that's Valais, Geneve, Vaud for the French speakers]!

Used to live in Belgium for 15 years - they can all be a little "quirky". However, medical system excellent in our opinion and experience. If you ask a Belgian is he a Belgian, he will generally answer, No I'm Flemish or No, I am Walloon. Sad really. Good deal of angst between the two rival language groups.

We hired a suitable machine, plus two bottles of chemicals which did the job splendidly. However, after experiencing this DIY method for the first time, we feel that it is necessary to add don't put too much water on the carpet as this tends to make it "wavy" afterwards. Having said that, we shall hire the same machine next year.

How we wish that more people in the Geneva/Haute Savoie/Lac Leman would post in this section. There must be dozens of us out there with whom to share experiences. It would be really good to have some additional input from those living in the 74, 73, 38 etc. Departements. Look forward to hearing from you.

Yes folks, ANOTHER three mistakes in various supermarkets' bills this week alone. Needless to say always in their favour. Said this before on the Forum and here we are again. It is sooooooooooo frustrating and annoying. Is it allowed that we name 'em and shame 'em? Please admim do let us know. This week overcharged on two items of children's clothing amounting to €4.50 refund; another article passed through the checkpoint marked €2,89 per kilo which came up as €3.50 per kilo; despite the fact that we are retired, frankly, we do have better things to do than stand for ages at the Acceuil waiting for a reimbursement. [Garden calls etc.] So, unfortunately, have to say it again to all you shopper out there CHECK YOUR BILLS!