Alcazar

We have a "barny" that lives in the barn also used to store our caravan. When we first had the property, and no furniture, we used the caravan to sleep in.........and awoke with a start the first time I heard the barn-owl call. What a strange and chilling noise THAT is[^o)] Alcazar

[quote user="Blanche Neige"]If you ask at your local Mairie they would be able to tell you and may even have a leaflet telling you which decheteries you are entitled to use.[/quote] And when you get to whichever one you use, a little bloke will rush out of his hut to tell you that you went the wrong way round, you can't put card in with plastic, etc etc[:D] Alcazar

On a slightly different track, why is the French for "bra", "soutien gorge"? Surely, "bassiere" and hence "bra" are French words? Alcazar, (sorry if this has been asked before).

€122 a year doesn't surprise me, not when, in some of the shops I've been in with the wife, one bra is over £40!!! Alcazar

I put "Buffalo Grill" into www.pagesjaunes.fr, inserted "Alencon" into the town, then when it gave me the location and telephone, asked it for a map. Two parks showed up roughly SW of the grill. Doesn't say how dog-friendly they are though. As for dogs in a Buffalo grill, try their website. It works for hotels.... Or give them a ring, on: Pôle d'Activités d'Ecouves - RN 138 61250 ALENCON (Valframbert) Tel: 02.33.31.19.28 Alcazar

Mine is a Stihl, can't remember the model number offhand, and it's locked up in the barn in France[^o)] It starts well, (now that I've learned how to do it properly), and works well too. I've had it about 4 years. The only problem I had was that the manual was the only one, of all the things I bought in France, to give instructions solely in French, and wouldn't you know it, my technical French wasn't up to it, and neither was my dictionary. An e-mail to Stihl in the UK when I got home, saw an English manual in my hands within two days, free of charge. When I bought it, the man selling it me also recommended "Partner" as a good buy. Alcazar

Saw on the news this morning that a survey carried out across quite a few countries, (around 50, I think), by the BBC world service, rated the USA as second only to Iran for having a negative impact on the world[:(] It also said that the UK felt 65% that the USA were negative, while France felt 75% the same. Alcazar

I thought very carefully about this before we decided how to heat our house, but for the life of me, I COULD NOT get an answer to the question as to how to control it. As far as I can see, and if my woodburning stove is owt to go by, control of the heat output is rudimentary at best. How you stop it boiling off the water is beyond me.   Maybe someone out there knows..........[:^)] Alcazar

Gabe: have you taken into account getting your oil tank filled, when thinking about siting it? Our LPG tank couldn't be put where we originally wanted it, as it was too far for a tanker to lay pipework to connect to it, if you see what I mean? We ended up with it nearer the road, and loads of work to lay a pipeline from it to the boiler. Our Ballon, (hot water storage) is at one end of the barn conversion, about 10m from the main house. My plumber, (who has done a very good job so far, and I trust implicitly), didn't see this as a problem. I even asked if I ought to lag the pipes, and he said if I wanted, I could, and he'd get me the stuff,cheap,  as it's better than that in the local Briconauts........it is, he's used it on the c/h pipes when they go through the cave! The ballon isn't in use yet, as I'm still wrestling with fitting the shower room. Going again the week after next, hope it's fine enough to work in an unheated, (so far), barn! Alcazar

IMHO, Tom Baker UTTERLY ruined Dr Who, with his stupid scarf, and camp performance. But then, no matter what he's in, I've never seen him play anything except "Tom Baker". (Which probably means he'll be up for a knighthood or something, like all our other so-called "great" actors, most of who just play themselves: Judi Dench comes to mind immediately.) Anyway, what I'm trying to say, is, don't take the man seriously, he's just got a huge ego. Alcazar

Seems a nice area.........we didn't look there as wifey said it was as flat as Lincolnshire, where we live [:(] I particularly like the area  just south west of Chartres, I have fond memories of the "Beauce", and especially Bercheres les Pierres. Alcazar

[quote user="Blade"]months to come in france? does this apply to all regions of france? does it apply to hybrid cars which do both?we are based in south west in countryside. thanks in advance.[/quote] Well...........the rest of us live in hope[:D] Alcazar

[quote user="Pojo"]My bottom is very precious to me and needs a bit of padding!!![/quote] Ha..........if you want to see padding, you should look at my beer belly[:D] Alcazar

http://www.oscoop.com/?s=Karine%20Schaaff::critere Yes, that's the one, glad to see it resolved. I had a feeling from the early news reports that both had a part in it. That poor girl.[:(] Alcazar

Hmmm, some well thought out and deep responses. Interesting. There's nothing I'd disgree with in any post, and obviously, we don't either have the full story, nor do we actually know the young girl. My youngest uses MSN, and has done on a regular basis since he was about 13, BUT: he isn't EVER phased by what anyone says to him, (as some VERY rude teachers at his comprehensive school found to their cost), he's the ultimate "smart *rse" as far as responses are concerned, so unlikely to suffer any fools on there gladly. He just blocks people who annoy him. Best of luck Lori, you come over as a really good parent, and one who cares deeply. I am sure you and Nina will come through this slight bump, and be happy again. Alcazar

Sorry to post such an awful topic, but can anyone help me with this? During the summer of 2001, or 2002, I read in the French dailies, with mounting horror, the story of a young girl apparently knocked off her bike, the assaulted and killed before the murderer attempted to burn her body. It happened somewhere near Colmar, and the papers carried daily updates as the police found a suspect, who first denied it, then came out with increasingly bizarre stories, and finally tried to implicate his girlfriend in the attempted burning of the body. We came home before it was resolved, and I've often wondered if he did it, and why. The recent fuss about Sir Ian Blair and the Soham murders brought it back. Anyone know the outcome, or point me to a link? Thanks. Alcazar

Hi Lori. It's when I read posts like yours that I thank my stars, and anyone else out there that I got two boys. Not that boys don't have problems with puberty, etc, but as a bloke, I'm more equipped to deal with them, understand them etc. Two things you said in your first post set off alarm bells with me. Firstly, your daughter needs reassurance that you DO trust her implicitly. It's the OTHER people out there, those who may, or may not be who they say they are, who you DON'T trust. Explain that over and over until she feels valued again. Secondly, you mention your husband, (and I assume, Nina's dad), working away. Does that leave her a little isolated? Is your house at all isolated in it's situation? Or does she have plenty of friends nearby? What about siblings? What I'm getting at is that teenagers, (and she nearly is by age and probably is by maturity), NEED input from their own age group. An isolated teenager is an unhappy teenager. I know: my eldest was an isolant. I think quite a lot of what people say about chatrooms is knee-jerk reaction, and can be taken with a pinch of salt. It's certainly no worse than what you'd overhear in the playground, cafe, disco, etc. What you MUST do is to stress, then stress again, then stress again, the dangers that CAN exist, and the rules for safe conduct. I think that with guidance, she can be both happy, and safe. My own youngest lad, (now 16), has met many members of both the opposite, and the same sex through chatrooms, often there are mutual contacts, and he has a wide circle of friends through it. His contact list is over 200! I know you are worried, but try to see it from Nina's point of view too. Hope some of this helps, and none of it upsets[:)] Alcazar

[quote user="Clair"][quote user="Alcazar"] Millou Bridge Meggastructures Program Wouldn't have believed Tin-tin's dog NEEDED a bridge that size.............[:D] Anyone know if the programme IS to be repeated? And if so, when? Alcazar [/quote] Alcazar Surely you mean MILOU   ? The viaduc de Millau has an informative website... http://viaduc.midilibre.com/accueil.php [/quote] [:P]  OK OK so I stretched it a bit.............I thought it was funny[:D] Alcazar

Millou Bridge Meggastructures Program Wouldn't have believed Tin-tin's dog NEEDED a bridge that size.............[:D] Anyone know if the programme IS to be repeated? And if so, when? Alcazar

[quote user="Dicksmith"]Fascinating. We have owls in trees/barns near us, and we often see hawks hunting in the pastures, but rarely near people, they seem pretty nervous. We often see buzzards perching on telegraph poles and the better sort of fence posts, and occasionally hawks. Seeing a buzzard fly up to a pole from the ground is a very impressive sight![/quote] I agree, Dick, and even MORE impressive was the one that flew up and landed on my outstretched hand, (luckily, a hand WITH gauntlet), at a Rapter show in the Dordogne last summer. WHAT a beautiful creature! We have a barn owl that lives in one of our barns, and has been known to visit the other one. I know it's been, 'cos it leaves pellets and lime everywhere under it's favourite perch, which just happens to be right over my caravan[^o)] We now have to have the 'van covered with a blue tarp when it's in there...........and I naively thought it would keep cleaner than in the UK.[:'(] Took me AGES to get the lime off it, first year! Alcazar

Trouble is, the average rural Frenchman (at least in packs) has little regard for the law when he disagrees with it. I'd go as far as to say that MOST of the French I've EVER met agree wholeheartedly with laws........they think the laws should apply to, and be enforced on, .....................everyone except themselves[:D] Isn't that the French government's "take" on European law too? Alcazar

Weeds? Alcazar

If I lived south of London, my preferred pick up point for Eurostar would be Ashford. Good long term/short term parking, straight onto the platforms from the carparks, and dead easy to get to, either by train, car or bus. Don't know how many will stop, on the way out, at Stratford. Not too many, would be my guess, as the new line is all about shaving minutes OFF the journey, not adding them with more station stops. More are likely to add an extra stop there, incoming. I'm glad the original post apologised for selfishness[:)]. We, in the North, HAVE had to do the cross London thingy now for years when using Eurostar. We USED to be able to get a through ticket via the East or West Coast main line that used their trains, the tube, then Eurostar, all for one price,. NOW you have to fight to get a reduced fare with GNER![:@] And don't let's forget that in the original submission to government, Eurostar PROMISED to run PROPER (Eurostar) trains from Leeds, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham etc straight through to Brussels, Paris etc, with intermediate stops in London for some, and at Ashford for others. As soon as the tunnel was finished and they had their money from Government, they reneged on the promise. AND on the promise to run sleepers...THOSE sleeper carriages already bought, (with goverment funding), were then sold for use in Canada, and the profit went back to Eurostar. What's the betting that the promises made to run more trains serving the SOUTH of England when the new line opens fully, WON'T be reneged on though? Government won't allow THAT will they? Alcazar

[quote user="Lori"]Alece - what's the gadget called?  Can I buy it here in France? Condorman - lovely reading as I sit here recovering from a terrible bite more than a week ago that is a huge crusty scab now !!  Yuck, they just seem to seek me out. [/quote] So................when you lift the scab, will there be THOUSANDS of spider babies under it? Like that poor woman who was bitten last year, and is now in a mental home? BTW: this is an urban myth! Alcazar

At a guess, if steam cleaning it has caused it to do as you said, a steam wallpaper stripper will lift it for you, with the aid of a scaper tool. I got some REALLY nasty stuff off the bathroom ceiling using one. The glue had been used for polystyrene ceiling tiles. Only problem was that over-applying the steam to the ceiling resulted in some of the skim plaster coming away too[:(] At least you won't have that problem on a floor. Alcazar