LesPonts

When we recently lost our chocolate labrador to cancer, Christine put us in touch with a 2 year old chocolate labrador needing rescued from Paris. He was not being mis-treated but was living in innappropriate conditions for a lively, large & intelligent dog. Almost three months later he is enjoying life to the full in rural Charente and keeping our Old English Sheepdog company all day long. I thought a photo of him enjoying his new life may encourage more people to take on "rescue dogs" ! [IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/LesPonts/Web2.jpg[/IMG] (PS - The Old English has a frisbee in her mouth!!)

Thanks very much Gary...... if you could let us know where it is or the telephone number we can call in as we are quite often in 86! Thanks again.

Thanks Gary......but are you sure they'll sell us them without the husks?

Does anyone know of a French supplier of huskless sunflower seeds (tournesol ecale) in 20-25kg sacks? Our garden birds are surviving on sacks imported from the UK at the moment but we can't carry on like this forever.....I can't believe, that in the land of sunflowers, we are having so much trouble finding them for a reasonable price! 

Thanks everyone.......the catalogues are flooding in! I also did some internet searching a got hold of the Organic Gardening Catalogue. When reading the source of the plants I spotted the Sainte Marthe connection, found their website and ordered their catalogue. What would I do without the internet?!

Oops sorry! Didn't notice the "create link" icon

If you tap in "supports pour boules de graisse" in a search engine it will come up with suppliers of fat ball hangers in France. The following link is just one of the ones I came up with: http://www.toutjardindirect.fr/e_commerce/LES-OISEAUX/LES-OISEAUX/LES-OISEAUX/MANGEOIRES/MANGEOIRES-c-363-sc-369.htm Happy shopping

We use plastic drip trays from under plant pots to provide water for the birds in our garden. It is shallow enough for them to bathe in or drink from. In the winter it's usually part of my early morning routine to break out the ice and re-fill with fresh water. A cork floating on the surface sometimes helps to slow down the freezing process (but not always). When providing water please always make sure there is a means of escaping from the water dish (such as a twig, stick, tile or stone) for the birds, animals, insects that will accidentally fall in the water. Re: Fat balls in nets! - Yes it is true, birds get their feet caught in the netting. Please, please, please remove the plastic netting before putting fat balls out in the garden.

Just clicked onto the links..........and now most of the evening has gone!

Many thanks - life is complete now!

As autumn approaches thoughts turn to evenings spent in front of the fire looking through seed catalogues and dreaming of spring.........can anyone recommend a good French mail order seed supplier/catalogue?  

We've got one (a Breville) and it's absolutely fantastic. It cooks rice to perfection and keeps it warm & perfectly cooked for up to at least an hour after it's "ready time". It comes into its own when you've got friends round for a meal.....no stress just perfect rice. Also when the main dish takes a little longer to cook than originally planned your rice is still perfect. Couldn't live without it now! 

You can buy them mail order in France via "Vivara" who sell all sorts of bird foods, feeders, nest boxes etc. Web: www.vivara.fr E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 08 10 10 98 08

Hello All Does anyone know where I can find a good quality garden shed in the Charente?? I've been to all the usual brico places but they either seem to be flimsy (stapled together) or they look like little swiss chalets!! Hoping someone can help. Les Ponts

Does anyone know where I can buy a good quality garden shed in the Charente?? I've been to all the usual brico places but they seem to be either quite flimsy (stapled together) or they look like little swiss chalets!! Hoping you can help out there. Les Ponts

In reply to Dicksmith's straight forward question here is a straight forward answer.......... The use of animal derived products in the production of alcoholic beverages is fairly widespread not because no alternatives exist, but because they always have been used and there is little demand from the consumer for an alternative. The main appearance of animal derived products is in the fining or clearing process, though others may be used as colorants or anti-foaming agents. With wine, it is in the fining process that animal derived ingredients make an appearance. Finings can be isinglass, gelatin, egg albumen, modified casein (from milk), chitin (derived from the shells of crabs or lobsters) or ox blood (rarely used today). But alternatives do exist in the form of bentonite, kieselguhr, kaolin and silica gel or solution. Also newer methods such as centrefuging and filtering are becoming more popular. The majority of organic wines do not use animal derived finings - but some do. LesPonts (16)

We have a DVD player and a good stock of "middle of the road" DVDs which lots of our guests seem to watch and appreciate. I can't get my head round people wanting to watch British telly when on holiday though. Most guests tell us it's great to be away from everything and they do seem to completely chill out by the end of the holiday. I just fear that if British telly is provided they might not relax as much as they are at the moment and might not feel as refreshed as they could when they get home.

[quote]"The children just love those Babybel cheeses"= expect to see the red wax trodden into floors, ground into furniture and stuck to the bedding.Don't you just wish those things could be banned ?[/quote] There is an up side to babybel cheese.....we have one girl staying with at the moment who is making the most amazing mice, Loch Ness monsters etc from the shells of the babybels!! They look even more stunning now that you can get red, green & yellow babybels!!

Hello to you all, From all of your experiences do people (clients) now expect to have a TV receiving British programmes in a gite?? Despite my youth I think that a holiday in rural France means getting away from it all (including Big Brother!!!!).......or am I old fashioned??!!

When we stayed in a B&B many years ago my husband had to go to the doctor. Our hosts pointed us in the direction of the doctor's surgery and left us to it. We were happy with that and didn't expect any more of them. For us it was one more adventure to look back on. Isn't that why even the smallest phrase book has a section on "visiting the doctor/pharmacie"? It would be a different situation if the problem was more serious and required an urgent trip to the hospital etc. 

ITV2 now show it instead of Channel 4 (think it is just highlights early evening except at the weekend where they show it live) and Eurosport show it also.

Thanks for all your replies - we all seem to offer the same generous amount. The only thing I don't offer at the moment is the cheese (and cold meat of course!)  - I'll have a look into that one. I'm always keen that my guests have a good filling breakfast as sometimes this may have to keep them going all day until they return in the evening. My own experience so far is that 2 croissants each is too much for people and the croissants are often left when I clear up.

Does anyone know of any art clubs in the north Charente area? I'm looking for a club in the Champagne-Mouton, Mansle, La Rochefoucauld, Confolens area that is concerned with painting & sketching and where I can improve my French as well as meeting local people who are keen on art.Hoping someone can help - Jocelyn

Does anyone know of any art clubs in the north Charente area? I'm looking for a club in the Champagne-Mouton, Mansle, La Rochefoucauld, Confolens area that is concerned with painting & sketching and where I can improve my French as well as meeting local people who are keen on art. Hoping someone can help - Jocelyn

We are in our first year of living in France fuul-time and enjoying travelling around the country, exploring different regions. We are also in our first year of offering gite/B&B accommodation. Our experience of travelling around France is that what we get for breakfast varies dramatically. Some of the time it is...1 Croissant, 1 Baguette between 2 people, some jam, butter, a glass of fruit juice and a small pot of coffee. At another place we were each given....large jug of fruit juice, pot of coffee, 2 types of bread, toast, 2 croissants each, half a pineapple, half a grapefruit, muesli, dried fruit, preserves, honey, butter etc etc (we couldn't eat everything of course!!) What do you give your guests?