Loiseau

I think that, as a soufflé base, the bechamel needs to be reasonably thick. So I would bet on it meaning "no lumps".

Nope, got me stumped there, idun! I was mystified when French friends said I must know "Benn-eeel" though.

"angry" and "hungry" - amazing how they will put an H on the wrong one and leave it off the right one. Going back to idun's "apple", maybe there is difficulty for French people pronouncing two consonants together? "Apple" being one, but of course "Southampton" is a classic - that combination of "th" with another h following is near-impossible.

QUOTE mint I was thinking of the one to the north of Nantes that they were all demonstrating against a few years ago; at Notre Dame des Landes. END QUOTE Well we that live to the south of Nantes are in no hurry to see THAT one built, mint. It will take twice as long to drive to from the Vendee as the present one...

Some French friends who otherwise speak excellent English just can't do "guard" or "Guardian". They always stick in a W: gward/gwardian

Yummm! Skons for me, too, idun! See, or even dee skons would be better still!

un oeuf ("erf"), but des oeufs ("euh") always gets me; not sure I have it right even now. And I think it's similar with un os (ohss), but des os ("oh") Maybe Eric will pop by and tell me I have got all that the wrong way round!!

Somebody I know who moved within France used "Les Déménageurs Bretons", who proved entirely satisfactory.

Were you and Norman walking hand-in-hand, then, WB?

Hi Sandra, There is quite a lot of information about the Vendée on my website (see www tab below), though I have not updated it much recently as I am in the process of selling my own place there. Regarding events for socialising with other British residents, I am not sure how much goes on around me, though the nearby village of Apremont does have quite a lot of Brits living year-round. There is also a British-run shop open a couple of days a week at a local farm. You may find larger British communities towards the eastern side of the Vendée, around Vouvant and La Chataigneraie; and beyond there, in the Deux-Sevres, I believe that L'Absie is also popular. I suppose one way to meet fellow ex-pats might be to join one of the church groups if that is your thing: All Saints Vendée holds regular services in my area and also in eastern Vendée; and an organisation called "Joie de Vie" holds services near the resort of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. Regarding reptiles, I suppose in the 40-odd years that I have been going there I have seen no more than three snakes anywhere - and they have always been in uncultivated areas. You are not very likely to see them - in my area at least - in a garden. I do get lovely lizards scampering up the outdoor walls in the summer sunshine. Good luck with your search Angela

Locheelad Have sent you a PM. Angela

QUOTE PatF Other parts tend to have more extreme variations of tide level, like the Essex coast. Huge distances between high and low tide . I don't understand why END QUOTE Doesn't that depend on how gentle the slope of the particular beach is, PatF? The more shallow the slope, the further the tide goes out at low tide. Think of Mont St Michel. From TV programmes I have seen, there seems to be a good spirit among the economically-strapped inhabitants of Jaywick. It seemed a bit like a village, with a certain amount of looking out for one another. So I hope they can recreate that if they are moved somewhere else.

So glad you are ok, idun. Bonne année.

Will that be one of those pizza vans like we have in my French village on a Saturday night then, ALBF?

Yes, I can imagine that, mint. I have occasionally found myself in a supermarket either with a limited amount of cash, or with a voucher valid if I spent a certain amount, and the brain has to click into totting up every penny on the way around. It's a lesson. Angela

+1 to that

albf, we always used to turn off the water and drain down the system when we left our previous holiday house. We had a problem just once. Arrived, turned on supply, then - shock - water pouring through ceiling from upstairs bathroom! On investigation, we found that the ceramic lavatory cistern had fractured during a very cold spell, so water was spraying everywhere. Since then, we always made a point of flushing the WCs on departure after turning off the water, to make sure no water was left in them. And we fitted a plastic cistern to replace the ceramic one, Angela

Oooo, mint, I think you might have been uber-friendly in signing off "cordialement" - though I would like guidance from ericd to confirm this... "Salutations distinguées" is nicely distant in a letter. You seem to get "cordialement" more in emails and textos. And more to people you know a bit, like the local plumber etc. I hope your letter works, anyway! Angela

I think a reunion in English has overtones of being organised, rather than happenstance, Norman. Angela

Maybe your local Mairie would be interested in buying it, or could advise. Angela

So I suppose "meeting up again" would be our equivalent, though that sounds rather more cumbersome in English than in French.

QUOTE Ericd Would this phrase (in english) not be better rephrased as "Has this thread past its sell by date?" END QUOTE Sorry, Ericd, cos your Englsh is always so perfect, but I think that should read: "Has this thread PASSED its sell-by date." Angela

Not sure if it's relevant/helpful here but, if you have double glazing, you might need some discreet extra ventilation over the windows. Angela

But doesn't the OP want to SELL rather than buy?

Here they all are, as a refresher: https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panneau_de_signalisation_routière_de_priorité_en_France AB1 is the one to be wary of, indicating priorité à droite coming up - just once, or it might mean throughout the whole town or village you are entering. AB2 means YOU have priority at the next junction. And the yellow lozenge in the second row indicates your road has priority until you reach a yellow lozenge with the black bar through it. Bonne route Angela