The Riff-Raff Element

[quote user="woolybanana"]That's fair. Now what was that I caught a glimpse of on the telly last night about the imbalances in police numbers in different parts of France; It could have a bearing? [/quote] In the sense that we have none around here because they are all off cracking people over the head in centres of urban decay while rural France descends in to flames and anarchy? I exagerate a little, but I notice people are smoking in our village bar again as the gendarmerie are so thin on the ground that their whereabouts can be predicted with quite a degree of accuracy.

I can't get over the idea that not having a mobile phone marks one out as a potential criminal. That's slightly scary.

One of my best friends from school days moved to Aus last year (his wife hails from there and wanted to go home). He popped back for a visit last year and saw my brother. When asked what it was like there he answered that it was exactly like Sevenoaks, but hotter and the houses were further apart. I've never been to Sevenoaks, but I can't say his enthusiasm was exactly infectious. Plus, from what I've heard, I'm not sure I'd get in anyway with my less-than-simple ethnic origins.

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]Am I to assume that  all the feverent anti religious  persons or atheists do not celebrate Xmas(as Big Mac says it is to celebrate the birth of Christ). What do they do that day, how do they explain the non celebration of Xmas, or if they do how do they explain away Santa Claus , who is based on St Nicolas a Bishop in the Catholic Church, or are they just hypocrites and say nothing . [/quote] Is good point, jefe! Presumably atheist medical staff, atheist firefighters and atheist police officers volunteer to cover so that their "deluded" colleagues can have the day off. Or perhaps they take the day off to make a point about their secular view of the holiday and to illustrate the delusion Or maybe they do what Jehovah's witnesses do: go out tramping the streets looking miserable and knocking on doors.  Or just possibly they man the soup kitchens and shelters and do their bit. I couldn't say for sure.

However, it is illegal in the U.S. to use human medical waste to power vehicles. How on Earth did they get round to enacting a law that specific [8-)]? They're all completely mad over there.

[quote user="NormanH"]But surely ALL fanatically-held beliefs, whether they be  religious, political, or social are a manifestation of the same evil. For me there is little difference between the militant atheist, the fundamentalist religious preacher (of any religion) and the animal rights extremist.. [/quote] Too true. I have a feeling that the N-azis might have styled themselves as some sort of Christian mystics in an attempt to justify assorted genocides. But both Stalin and Mao purpouted to be atheists and they were arguably just as bad. Anyway, Santa worship is hardly healthy is it? Teaching kids that they get something for nothing is a poor lesson in basic economics. In fact, we could go further and suggest that Santa is the evil so-and-so that manipulated people into spending way beyond their means and getting us all into this filthy mess [:)]

The thieving swines in the garden centre wanted €50 for a two metre tree. €50! For something that will end up at the decheterie in a fortnight. Happily there was a slightly dodgy looking cove flogging identical-looking trees next to LeClerc for €10 (knocked down from €25 due to the lateness of the date - it was the 19th: what are these people on??) so we had that instead.

[quote user="ErnieY"]I think oil futures are the place to be, it simply cannot and will not stay where it is and within the industry, and don't forget that I work in it at the 'coal face' so to speak, in the the medium term of 2-5 years $70-90 is reckoned to be an achievable and sustainable price. Gold of course has the advantage that you can physically possess it, black gold is a tad more nebulous [:D] [/quote] Don't some of those contracts still offer physical delivery? Forget about a handful of gasoil longs (as did one of my more intellectually challenged former collegues, who also seemed to have a bit of a blind spot with messages marked "urgent") and you could find your heating oil problem solved for life. I could not with an easy conscience reccomend anyone attempt to trade oil, except with someone elses money. Betting on the nags is a more sober investment by far.

The article does make interesting reading. I suppose the UK and French figures are directly comparable since the GDPs and populations are broadly si:miliar, but saying that the US is "just" 100% is possibly a little understating the situation: normalising for population and the US's much higher GDP gives a comparison figure of around 150% and I have a feeling that doing the same for Germany would pop her into second place. Can't be sure - I've done the figures in me head. Either way, it is very worrying and slightly confusing: if all these big economies are so heavily indebted, to whom exactly do they owe the money?  [8-)] OK, the article suggests the Arab nations and China, but rich though they might be, they do not have reserves of $25 trillion (roughly what we're talking about for US, UK, France & Germany) so who has? Sounds like someone's shifting credit card debt around to me. Isn't global capitalism a wonderful thing?

[quote user="odile"]One big difference at secondary level, is that in the UK all students have a form tutor, and a Head of year- to help students with any difficulties, liaise with other teachers, educational psychologists, and other professionals. Teachers in the UK have to remain on site for the duration of the school day, whereas in France (and most or all other european countries) specialist teachers only attend for the duration of their lessons/direct teaching time. When I was a 6th form tutor, I had one hour a week timetabled to have regular interviews with all the students in my form (some I taught, most I didn't), to make sure I kept track with their progress and dealt with problems before they became serious. (with truancy, bullying, difficulties in some subjects or with some teachers, etc). Teachers in France do not normally have contact with their students apart from specialist subject lessons. [/quote] An interesting observation. I wonder: would it be fair to say that teachers in the UK have increasingly been expected to take on the role of parent while in France teachers are expected to teach with parenting left to parents? Perhaps we've been just plain lucky, but I've been more than happy with the quality of education my children have received over the past five years. The comment about "independent thought" being discouraged does not tally with my experience, though I would agree that there is a requirement for childen to learn what is being taught before indulging in flights of fancy, and that that can be quite harsh on those not inclined to work in that way.

[quote user="Cat"]Quatre pieds et une main (1,54m) ? Although I would say that 4 ft 4 ins is around 1.32 metres [8-)] [/quote] Thank you Cat: I didn't find that site in my explorations. 1.54 is, what, about 5'2", which I cannot believe was short for the epoch. Come to think of it, how tall is our current Mighty Leader? For Pepin 4'4" sounds much more like it. Perhaps they were using metric  feet or something? [:)]

I have googled this (in both English and French), but although much reference is made to the fact that  Pépin le Bref doit son surnom à sa petite taille, there seems to be no authoritive online source prepared to come up with a figure. There is some talk of his being 3'6" but wielding a 6 foot weapon for which he needed both hands, but I don't believe it. The 3'6" that is, not the size of his broadsword, because the people making this claim appear to be silly. My copy of Les Rois qui ont fait La France is also silent on the subject but does take time to note that his son Charlemagne was "much taller" at 6'4", or the metric equivalent. Does anyone know?

The other thing that can cause the door to blacken quickly is a worn door seal (that kind of fabric thing on the inside of the glass). Some people claim that this should be replaced every season, but mostly that is because they are selling them; we've found every couple of years is perfectly adequate. It's a fairly straightforward job - takes about 2 hours including time for the glue to dry.

It's all a matter of personal taste. I find I eat far better in France than I ever did in the UK and that there is far more harmony with the seasons than I ever got in the UK. I found the "choice" in the UK was largely an illusion: same old pap, different flavourings. In fact, I concluded that "choice" was far more important than any other quality in the UK food industry, including taste. But I reckon French bread is over rated, though only when compared with that ever-rarer thing an artisan baker in the UK. The French I feel have never really understood wholemeal bread believing it to be some kind od offensive weapon rather than a foodstuff. I'm also of the opinion that Italian food - for the most part - is grossly over rated. I travelled extensively in Italy - both business and personal trips - and always worried that the food never did it for me. It was either far too heavily flavoured or disgustingly bland. I purchased restaurant guides, sought recommendations from locals and collegues and still came away thinking it was all rather poor and not a little dull. It's not as if I'm scared of trying new things (family motto: "Try everything once except incest and folk dancing") but I worried that what was sold as Italian in the UK seemed to use better quality ingredients (and in season) and achieved far more interesting flavours. I felt rather guilty aboiut this. Then I read "Floyd on Italy" and discovered that I wasn't alone.

Out of curiousity, what exchange rate did you use? Don't worry, Spring is only about 115 days away  [:D]

I just got off the 'phone to a chum who's still in the industry (I'm on childcare duty, she's having her nap and I have nothing much else to do) and what he has said is broadly this: The Saudis and Kuwaitis are basically OK but not sitting on wodges of spare cash. They should both be able to cover their budget commitments but are unlikely to be going to load up on more western debt as they have plenty already - he seems to think that they already own about 19% of the US debt and about 12% of coporate America between them;Iran and Venezeula are both up a certain creek fabbled in story & song having grossly over reached themselves;Russia has spent of the order of $60bn propping up the rouble and their own economy and the cupboard is now bare. The smaller oil producers are in their usual chaotic state, either hopelessly corrupt or wildly overspent. There might be a bit of cash left in the Emirates to buy a football team or two, or loan some crumbs to RBOS but they don't really want any more western debt either.No one believes any cuts will be completely realised because the producers desperately need the money and will all cheat like mad. I don't think it really exists this money: the banks have lent their shares to the governement in return for gilts, any dividends will just offset the interest on the bonds. There is no actual money involved - it's the financial equivalent of the five-card trick that was popular outside dog tracks at one time. I wonder if we should be worried?  

So, now we've got all those zeros sorted out, that makes around £1,670 per head of UK population. Which is still a chunk of change. I mean, I'd be chuffed if I found that down the back of the sofa. But I do think the question "who are they borrowing it all from?" is a jolly good one. I don't think it is the oil producers: they've got their own problems since many of them budgeted for an oil price of $65 per barrel, which looked pretty sensible at the time. The soverign wealth funds are depleted, so what is left? OK - Norway is pretty flush, but they haven't got the funds to bail out the whole planet. Could it be that the money that various governments are using to buy shares in banks to stop them going under is being lent by the banks themselves, who are getting the money from selling the shares to the governments? I think it might be.

 Looks like another term for Mr Sarkozy then, since the PS seem absolutely determined to tear themselves to pieces. I imagine that they may well haemorage support from the more centerist vote to benefit Mr Bayrou (who seems to be categorically against sin but has damn all else in the way of policy), which could add a note of interest. Martine Aubry! What are they thinking of?

[quote user="Cat"]Google can be a useful way of finding facts if the original source of "official" information can be found. But for things that are often a matter of opinion, it all depends on how the query is worded.  For example, googling "confit d'oignons recette -sucre" I get 59,300 results, and if I then google "confit d'oignons recette sucre" I get 48,600.  Not proof by any means, just an indication of opinion (should I add a smilie here ?). [/quote] Not at all. I imagine that you are a very smiley person, ergo, the smilie is implicit in your response. Plus I don't go out of my way to take offence.

Well, I don't know about whether onion confit should be made with sugar or not, but I make mine like this: 800g finely sliced onions 200g chopped dates Couple of crushed allspice White pepper Butter Fry the onions slowly in the butter until soft then add the rest of the ingredients with a little water and simmer very gently until a thick paste is obtained. This is very good served cold with cheese or cold meats, a combination that horrifies my French neighbours. Does anyone else worry that Google seems to have become the unquestioned arbiter in so many discussions these days?

Crois-moi, ça marche. Mais, à mon avis, il faut qu’on fasse la purée sans lait et avec beaucoup de beurre (demi-sel) pour d’avoir une bonne texture.  Si non, le mélange peux devenir trop fluide.

And how terribly convenient it burning down like that, a fantastic town centre location up for grabs after an unfortunate fire. Funny how that happens [:P] I really liked that cinema too [:(]

1989. I base this on the following observation. I was a teenager growing up in Norwich in the early 1980s. Now, there were one or two pubs that had something of a reputation as rough houses, but everyone knew where they were and it worked rather well like that. Otherwise I was able to ars* about to my hearts content in pretty much secure in the knowledge that no-one would be trying to hit me with a bottle. In 1985 I went to university in Bristol, a far rougher proposition to be sure, but I went home fairly regularly and Norwich remained a haven of relative Friday night peace. In 1988 I settled in London and in spring 1989 I took a week off work and went to stay with my brother back in Norwich. In the space of that week we were attacked in the street twice. We were largely unscathed (my brother for various reasons being rather adept at defending himself) but rather bemused. He commented that it had "been like that" since Christmas. So that was the year. I don't know why of course; maybe they started adding flouride to the drinking water or something.

Ah, now there you have an unassailable advantage. Erm...you couldn't ask them for a recommendation could you?

[quote user="Bugbear"][quote user="The Riff-Raff Element"] .................................. were abolished by looney-left disabled-lesbian mollycoddling councils .......................... [/quote] You missed out 'vertically challenged' and 'politically correct'........................[:D][:D] [/quote] Well, I said I was hazy on the details, but I'm sure that that's basically how it all happened.