andyh4

Richard wrote: Your post is predicated on the assumption that a good comprehensive education is worse than that of an independent school. Sometimes Richard that chip on your shoulder gets so big that it blocks your vision and you cannot see past it. My reference to comprehensive school had nothing to do with him having been to an independent school and everything to do with all of you other objections that followed: I paraphrase - was trained at officer level in the military - probably good for defining strategies and having a disciplined approach to problem solving Went to university - actually quite a good one - well good luck to him, and we do need educated people running the country. Of course you are permitted to think otherwise - but I would submit that there are already enough idiots in politics and we need no more. Has had legal training - pretty much essential in a roll where everything is going to be defined in a contract (aka treaty). Sometimes you really do show yourself up as a plonker which means the true arguments that you have get completely lost.

which of course has nothing directly to do with choosing a new Bexsh1t leader. Sometimes the chip on your shoulder actually does more harm to the argument than it does good. If you genuinely believe the best person to put in front of the EU to negotiate the final details of the divorce and then the start of the trade deal has to have had no better than a good Comprehensive education, should have absolutely no legal background in order to fully understand the pitfalls of a comma here or a "but" there, then you really are living in another world. I am afraid that in the world of 21st century politics the likes of Nye Bevan would be eaten alive and the bones spat out into the gutter. And do not misunderstand, I am a great fan of Nye, but his time passed some 50 years ago - if not more.

A good general purpose spud to grow is Mona Lisa - not the best for mash nor for roasties, but better than many.

Auchan Tio Pepe Fino €15/bottle don't feel any duty to reply on the cost or the quality, but it is sherry and available in France.

Richard51 wrote Is to the west of say Marseille any better than to the east. There is an area of heavy industrialisation to the west of Marseille so really until you get to the west of the Rhone much of the area has restricted attraction - there are some nice coves on the Cote Blue but to get there you are forced through the industrial or vast trading estates. Once on the western side of the Rhone, you lose the attraction of steep hills and mountains behind the coast. So in answer to the question, with of course exceptions the west of Marseille is not as attractive.

The Cote d'Azur has been a winter watering place for the British for over 125 years. That attraction I think is a basis for why it seems so popular now. I think over time the climate has shifted and the area is less appealing now than it was at the end of the Victorian age. Plus of course the rest of the world has discovered it as well. Today more a multinational attraction than the previous British winter enclave. Note I have used winter twice above since summers would surely have been far to hot for civilised Victorians. The popularity has undoubtedly been promoted by such works as "A year in Provence". Dordogne is perhaps the CdA of the late 20th century. Personally I find little to attract me to either - but to each his/her own. It would be a dull life if we were all the same and ALBF's corner of Tours would be incredibly crowded with Brits.

You can see the sense in what they are trying to achieve, but exactly how it would/could be put into force is another matter. It is also a tax on those who live outside the cities. For example there is no hobby and craft shop within 60km of where we live. We do patronise this shop on the one occasion per month when we visit the city; but between times if something runs out, that is urgently needed, we order on-line. Putting a 1€ charge will do nothing to increase the turnover of the shop and I doubt will realistically reduce their taxes.

Clair wrote We have 4 cats here... Do cats eat pumpkin? Not usually, but never say never. We had a cat that loved melon and would beg for it - as in sit back on its hind legs and rear up waving its front paws in the air to attract attention.

Stilton (blue Stilton) is available in our Auchan and also from time to time in Grand Frais. Red Leicester - also available in Grand Frais as Vieux Leicester - looks old and dried out under its plastic wrap - it isn't. Wensleydale, proper crumbly Lancashire or Cheshire - still waiting for the world to change. But they do have Blue Shropshire - not my personal favorite but OK - and little cheddars wrapped in wax - which I will personally avoid. And before ALBF gets on his hobby horse, I also love Danish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish cheeses. They each have a character of their own and we should refrain from saying that A is a good substitute for B or A is as good as B. There are good'uns and not so good'uns [according to your own tastes only] and they all have an individual character.

Our two pharmacies have amalgamated into one - perhaps no bad thing since we now have a 6 day service no matter which we historically used with a 4 1/2 day service. AS far as I can see everyone is happy. No loss of jobs, bigger premises, TBH 2 pharmacies for a commune of 4k inhabitants - perhaps doubled if every outlying commune and hamlet were added - seemed at bit OTT Perhaps it is this rationalisation that is taking place. As to making medicines expensive, I am not sure I follow. My Ameli statement shows the cost of the medicine, a payment to the pharmacy, a payment from CPAM and the rest to be covered or not from the mutuelle. If there were fewer pharmacies, where would the reduction in cost come from? Reduced payment to the pharmacy itself is the only way I can see - but they still have staff, taxes and cotisations to pay. I have yet to walk into any pharmacy without a queue - so they are not over staffed. And not a lot they can do about taxes and cotisations.

Well just for once we seem to be ahead of the curve Mint. We also have prepackaged Wyke Farms which is OK for cooing, but the cheese counter in our Auchan also has blocks of White Cheddar cut to order - Cheddar fremier. - as well as the red. These are also Wyke products but the white cheddar is pretty good. Friends brought out some Cathedral City over the summer, and while the taste was different, if I had been scoring them I would have ended up with very similar scores. And yes for melting onto toast/crumpets or just on top of things, Cheddar is impossible to match.

Let's try this. It has been stated that upon Brexit a CdS eu citizen will be simply exchanged for a new document. A CdS for a non EU citizen requires a payment of €269 https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F11201 So if current cards really are exchanged simply (ie without charge) the you save €269 per person.

Right at the bottom. Courriels seem to have died a death.

+1

As Idun has so eloquently pointed out there is little chance of there being proof one way or the other. So the senate committee will need to base a decision based on a balance of probability. In some cases this might amount to the probability of whether I get re-elected or not.

Someone has been tinkering. Your post was there this morning and Judith's post was on page 2. Forum Gremlins at it again methinks.

You have my full sympathies but I can see someone thinking, I only need to put up two signs and the job is done, whereas I will have to change the tubes endlessly - such is the modern and warped world we live in.

I think the question of do you really know the area you are planning to move to applies wherever you are. Even within the UK. You did your research on schools, better areas to live, distance to the railway station, etc - but do you really know the area, its local culture and customs? Moving to another country probably just adds another magnitude of difficulty. Why France? They have possibly been on holiday here. They may well have learned (and forgotten) French at school. House prices are cheap (out of the major conurbations) and they can aspire to properties that would be an unaffordable fortune in the UK. They probably think that the weather will be so much warmer all year round based on their 2 weeks in summer. The number of visitors who are gob-smacked when we say we have to be prepared for snow in the winter and to be cut off from the towns with the supermarkets for several days. We show them photos of the house and garden under a couple of feet of snow. "What year was that?". "Every year." is the reply. So we take them for a walk through the village and point out the mountains on the other side of the Rhone valley. "See those? That's where Ski Sunday is made." "Ah now I see." But I am still not sure they really believe.

Normally in these situations it is the insurance that covers it - but you did not have any. That basically is what insurance is for and if there were other avenues you would not need insurance. I am therefore fairly sure your money is gone.

But then Chocolate is poisonous* as well and no one bats an eyelid at using that in desserts. * LD 50 for an average adult is estimated at 22kg so less of an issue than the apricot kernels.

That is one reason why herbs could be a good choice. Many are very tough, come from the Mediterranean area and are relatively drought resistant. Just don't buy those ones in the supermarket with the plastic outer wrap coming up to the top of the plant. You pluck off a few leaves for the recipe, decide that tastes nice and you could do it again next week and so plant out the pot only to find the plant is dead after 4 days.

Well the first thing to say is that September (well 2 days away) is rather late to be sowing things, so the choice will be limited.. Second is that LR is a very large area and includes places close to the coast, where even in winter temperatures are likely to remain above freezing for most of the time, as well as inland and upland areas where winter temperatures are likely to cut back any small new plants. So some things to think about: radish lettuce Pak Choi Spinach If you wait until November then you could think about broad beans for cropping late spring, but if you are in a cold winter area, they might not survive in pots. Aquadulce is a good variety for overwintering. Many perennial herbs do well in pots and you could look for plants of Thyme, mint (it will die back in winter but grow again in spring), rosemary, sage, chives - also likely to die back over winter. In the spring then sow parsley seeds. Keep the mint in a pot of its own - it spreads and can strangle other plants around it.

The fundamental difference between now and when I was in school education is that the western world has exported the vast majority of it unskilled manual jobs or has replaced them with mechanisation - but t'was ever thus. Leaving school without qualifications and having a "successful" life (whatever that actually means) becomes more and more difficult and those that achieve it probably more than ever have to have rather special skills. Skills perhaps in the arts (all forms) or an ability to work miracles with 1s and 0s in a digital world - but then you might accuse them of living off their fellow men by developing games that rob others of their time. A third area would be criminality but that might suggest that this is a preserve of the "uneducated" which is far from the truth. I consider myself very lucky as the product of a much "kinder" world - educated in one of the dreaded grammar schools (despite coming from a poorer background), recipient of a 100% student grant and able to step directly into an interesting and lucrative job. The world is largely not like that any more - despite all the talk of improving social mobility.

Permanently on the continent for 22 years and in France for 5 - can start thinking about a TdS permanent now. Bought our house some 15 years ago and have probably spent more time in France than the average second home owner in the 10 years before the final move.

Am I reading the same article as you? "Fluid frontier controls" could mean anything from letting British tourists in without undue formalities, though to rapidly deporting any British residents in France who do not meet their residency criteria.