Clarkkent

Treatment for acute gout does differ between Britain and France. The British approach is that  - in most cases - gout is self-limiting and the clinical priority is to control the inflammation and pain and therefore NSAIDs are prescribed and the patient is advised to drink lots of water and given other dietary advice. The doctor will usually discuss the usefulness of long-term medication (allopurinol). The French approach is that there is a substance which counteracts uric acid - colchicine - and this is prescribed. Colchicine gets rid of the gout in less than 24 hours, but it causes stomach cramps and diarrhoea which can last for two or three days. I have received treatment for gout in both countries and I know which approach I prefer.

  These photos were taken at Stratford upon Avon about 20 years ago. There were steam hauled trains from London every Sunday. These locomotives take me back to my childhood in Lincolnshire. I would lie in bed and hear the distinctive "chimes" of the Gresley whistle in the distance. [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/FlyingScotsmanx.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/Mallardx.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/FlyingScotsman2x.jpg[/IMG]

We stayed with a French family about 30 years ago. They had a dishwasher and I thought it was wonderful - the other half didn't agree though. Then I had a pay award with some back pay and I decided - without her agreement - to buy a dishwasher. She was soon convinced. I am now on my third. Over the years, I've been treated to some wonderful objections from friends and acquaintances: - Doesn't wash as well as doing it by hand - Can't deal with egg stains - The salt attacks the glaze - Uses far more water than doing it by hand - You run out of teaspoons But they all get one in the end. Like Dick, I think it's the best household appliance I've got.

Grumpy Go to Expedia or LastMinute.com and input a specimen itinerary and see what they come up with. I went to Tokyo (from Birmingham via Paris) and return on Air France for £350  + taxes.  

Is there any way of knowing if they are going to expand?? This may be a red herring, but in another forum there was a discussion suggesting that Ryanair is considering moving from Bergerac to Agen. I suppose this would give Mr O'Leary the opportunity to advertise services to Bordeaux/Toulouse!  

Didn't Chirac (or somebody) say to Blair (or somebody) "What a strange trade we have. You give us your old and infirm and we give you our young and fit."

To answer the original question, I thought their job was to authenticate transfers of land and other forms of contract. They do not act for either of the parties but make sure that the transfer is completed in accordance with appropriate legal requirements.  Part of this work involves collecting taxes. They also register wills.

So would I, Simon. Please PM me.

Hi Best of luck to you - you have been given some excellent advice. One point to consider  ...  the weather. SW France is in the same climate zone as the British Isles - it's just at its southern edge. It may be warmer when the sun shines but it gets just as much rain, drizzle and fog. Winters can be glorious, with warm cloudless days (though night-time temperatures my be -10) but they can also be cold and damp and grey and endless. And you don't see a soul from morning to night. Something else to consider about summer is the humidity which drains every last drop of energy from you.

Clark, if you look you'll see that you, Porky, and I, all appear to have joined on the same date. Of course we didn't really, it's something that happened when the software was changed. Didn't it reappear in the active list because someone replied to it recently? The rest is all a mystery to me. Yes, you are right about the 2004 date. But nobody has replied to it. It heads a new thread and is dated 2003. How did it get there?

So you have an original from 2003 and an individual named Porky whose membership dates from 2004? Didn't your search find it at the top of this current thread? This first appeared in the forum's old format (indented with contributions appearing immediately below the messages to which they referred) and generated a large number of responses. Mostly highly critical because of the questionable nature of its content. It appeared - as a new item - again (perhaps 18 months ago) and now it appears - yet again - supposedly as a new item but dated 14/07/2003. How is it that a contribution dated 2003 can suddenly appear at the head of a new thread?

Hello This is my first posting and i am wondering why so many people are leavin and setting up in France. I have just spent some months there and most of the people that I come across (English not brits) say many reasons, but the most have 3 things in common. 1 Its the eroding of their culture, many seem to find the state of England's policy on allowing allcomers to have access to many Benfits, Free health care, Free Housing but not to the people that have been born, worked and pay taxes ( and many who lost people defending it) and now cannot live in their old age comfortably, the lucky ones that have enough money get out as quickly as they can, either overseas or to the country. 2 Health, we have now more cases of T.B. Aids and other various dieases that have been brought to this country lately when once it was very small or unknown for years. 3 The state of the policing, so many get away with crime that its now a common policy, to look away rather then be a witness for fear of reprecussions. Take Tony Martin for instance, nuff said. I could go on, but like many I fear for my family so i'm leaving here as well. Its not just that, I have lived in the same place for over 50 years, (East London)and I do not know any of my neighbours as they have all gone, the small shops are so overpriced that I shop in the supermarkets, the pubs are closing down, the streets are fithly, the roads are in a terrible state, there is no commuity here now at all, and the local council have now published the asylum figures/immigrants and it is now over 66%, and Ken Livingstone well how many want to see him go.   This is at least the third time that this piece of contentious tripe has appeared in this forum. Why is that? Is there some mischief being perpetrated by someone who has access to the software or servers?

Certainly not as much as I would like to. There is no way that I would ever let my house, so it stands empty when I am not there. I bought my house 13 years ago intending it to be for retirement. Shortly after we bought the house, my wife was diagnosed with cancer and given two years to live - in the event she survived for nearly eight years. During her last year, when we had both retired, we spent about 13 weeks in France, since then I have spent between 8 and 10 weeks each year until last year. Last year I met someone with whom I have become very close. I had expected that she might be pleased to be able to spend time in France, but find that she has very little interest in spending time in my house. In fact, she cannot see the point of owning a house in France. I am caught between the pleasure my French home gives me and the comfort my new relationship gives me. I want to spend time in my maison secondaire, she would rather I take foreign holidays and go on a cruise. So far, she seems to be winning (but I don't like the idea of being stuck on board a ship for weeks on end - time spent on ferries sends me demented.) I am determined to spend part of April in France - but I may have to be alone.

Brett What the tv programmes don't tell you is that 50% of the people who move to France for the "better life" return within 3 to 5 years. What the tv programmes don't tell you is that French people in your position look to living in England to sort their problems. France is not the Promised Land. It is not crotch deep in pixie dust. It is just another country with problems. It is, however, a very agreeable place if you have the means to enjoy it.   Dick, try Bournvita or Horlicks.

By being adopted by a cat, you have been given a great honour. Treasure this honour and reward the cat appropriately. Don't worry about relationships between the cat and the dog too much. In time the dog will accept her subordinate position.

The paparazzi are ultimately to blame.  Hounded mercilessly by hordes of them, she was always trying to escape and have a private life.  Unfortunately, the drunk driver who thought he could outrun them was fatally wrong. The bast-ards were there when it happened, they know they caused it, but they couldn't even let her die privately. Patrick I understand your sentiment but don't agree. The man who thought he could control a high power automobile after consuming large quantities of alcohol was to blame. The paparazzi were a contributory factor to the incident.  

Mohamed al Fayad is quite possibly still smarting over the UK government's refusal to allow him to become a British citizen. In addition, since he employed the inebriated driver he may bear vicarious liability for the accident. What better way to disguise the banal reality of yet another death resulting from drunk driving than to create a smokescreen which will obscure him? He knows that there are plenty of people around who prefer the romance of conspiracy theory to the coldness of truth. The best analysis of this particular incident I have heard goes something like this: Most likely causes of fatal accidents in Paris:       Excess speed Most hazardous driver state                                Drunk Most dangerous time in Paris:                             Saturday night Most dangerous roads in Paris:                           Riverside expressways In this case ALL FOUR of these conditions were present. It is possible, however, that Mr Paul swerved to avoid hitting Shergar being ridden by Elvis through the tunnel.  

Japan. Definitely not France! Shinjuku, Tokyo [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/Shinjuku.jpg[/IMG] Canal City, Fukuoka [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/CanalCity.jpg[/IMG] Hiroshima [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/Hiroshima.jpg[/IMG] Miyajima [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/Torii.jpg[/IMG]

Not far from Brantome is Bourdeilles. This photo of a mill shaped like a boat on the Dronne was taken in about 1972. Does it still look like this? [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/Charentex0011.jpg[/IMG]

Digital Photo magazine - still in the shops, I think (it was our Tesco yesterday) is largely devoted to B&W this month. You might find someone who can send you a copy. If you have Photoshop or Elements there are tutorials on the supplied CD disk.

St Gervais d'Auverge - c1980 [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/StGervaissunseta.jpg[/IMG]

A lazy summer day by the Charente - nearly 40 years ago. [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/Charentex0006.jpg[/IMG]

OK. I'll try again. [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q190/HarrowbyHall/Paris6.jpg[/IMG]   I've identified my problem - I recently installed a new printer which decided to overlay the toolbar with one of its own and I had been trying to cut and paste using right clicks. I have now got rid of the new toolbar.   Many thanks for your help and patience.

Dick If I leave [IMG] in the URL, I get a message from Photobucket that the page cannot be found. Is this a Mac/PC problem?  

Clark - to get your photos in your posts, just go to Photobucket and copy the lowest address beneath the picture (the one with IMG in it) and then paste that into your post. Assuming you want to, of course. That is exactly what I have been doing. On my computer the URL appears on the screen in the posted message - when I click on the URL the picture appears. If I left-click on one of your photos and then click on properties, the form of your URL is similar to the one I paste into my post.