Clarkkent

Its protagonists believe that it will reduce the narrow scope of A-levels. For example, students who study arts subjects should still study science and mathematics (and vice versa). It will result in people who are "more rounded" than at present. Students enter universities too focussed.

I'm not sure that in these times of globalisation "adaptable" any longer has much currency. "Cheap" is rather more important. Nations like India (to their credit I would suggest) are turning out university graduates from an education system based on the UKs 40 years ago at a rate of a MILLION per year.   You appear to be impressed by this statistic. India’s population is now estimated at about 1000 million, Britain’s at 61 million. In 2002/3 Britain produced 282,000 graduates. Proportionally, Britain produces about 20 times as many graduates as does India. France’s output from the universities and Grandes Ecoles will greatly exceed India’s, too. India will need as many graduates as it can produce just to run itself.   I don't think they achieve this by being fluffy about how they teach either. Like the Chinese they are concentrating on science / technology based courses, and for some reason are avoiding degrees in media studies.   Interesting points being raised here. How important is a technology-based education? Most jobs/tasks for graduates are based in administration, and much high technology has a short half-life. It is not the role of the university to train people, but to provide them with the analytical and decision-making transferable skills which will make them managers at some time in the future. They can obtain these skills as readily in media studies as in chemistry or information technology.   Employers should train for job skills.   The city of Bangalore, for example, is rapidly emerging as Asia's IT capital. How long before the computer giants start siting there? Well educated, adaptable and, above all, cheap workforce, readily available.   You may be right, but I can’t help thinking that it is more likely to be the generation of marketable ideas and the ability to develop and capitalise on them, which is more important. My understanding (which may be wrong) is that India is producing high quality programmers. If Microsoft moves from Seattle it will be more likely to cross the border into Canada than move to India.   A few years ago, Jacques Nasser, then head of Ford, said that he envisioned his company as a

[quote]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4204569.stmRather an ominous comment from the BBC business correspondent at the end of the report.[/quote] Yes. But he is talking about the company not the tunnel. If the company ceases trading the tunnel will still be there. The 122 (or whatever) banks will still want some return from their investment OR to rid themselves of this troublesome asset. The tunnel will continue operating whatever happens. If nothing else it generates cash. Who knows, if the banks decide to cut their losses we shall end up with an efficient and effective channel crossing system. Even with the idiot managers the French shareholders foisted on the company, it makes an operating profit. If the debt burden could be removed the tunnel should be a very attractive alternative to the ferries - using the tunnel I have done motorway to autoroute in less than an hour on a number of occasions.

  The following can be found at http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/miftitslingbrassir.shtml   "Brassiere" is first recorded in a Canadian advertisement of 1911, and in the U.S. Index of Patents for the year 1910 (published in 1911). Dictionaries derive it from obsolete (17th century) French _brassiere_ = "bodice", from Old French _braciere_ = "arm protector", from _bras_ = "arm". (The French word for bra is _soutien-gorge_, literally "support-throat".) In the southern U.S., a bra is sometimes called a "tit-sling". This has an obvious derivation. Wallace Reyburn, to whom Thomas Crapper owes his current fame, wrote a later book describing a lawsuit over rights to the bra, fought from 1934 to 1938 in New York, between a German-born designer, Otto Titzling (1884-1942), and a French-born designer, Philippe de Brassiere. Martin Gardner, in _Time Travel and Other Mathematical Bewilderments_ (Freeman, 1988, ISBN 0-7107-1925-8), p. 137, says: "The book by Wallace Reyburn _Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper_ does exist. For many years I assumed that Reyburn's book was the funniest plumbing hoax since H. L. Mencken wrote his fake history of the bathtub. [...] Reyburn wrote a later book titled _Bust-up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling and the Development of the Bra_. It turns out, though, that both Thomas Crapper and Otto Titzling were real people, and neither of Reyburn's books is entirely a hoax." On its AOL message board, Merriam-Webster Editorial Department wrote: "dull though it may be, all the available etymological evidence indicates that the word derives from the French 'brassiere' [...]; there are many examples of the use of 'brassiere' in the women's apparel sense throughout the 19th century -- in French. [...] Given the word's history and that country's language heritage, it is not surprising that the first occurrence of the "brassiere" in English comes from Canada. [...] We can find no verifiable evidence that anyone named either 'Titzling' or 'Brassiere' had anything to do with the origin of the term." You live and learn.

[quote]Didn't I read somewhere that NOT wearing good support, until the muscles firm up, causes sag? Or is that just a rumour started by Playtex? Alcazar, (who also looked at this topic as he thought it wa...[/quote] But there are no muscles in breast tissue. Breasts are mainly fat and their (wonderful) shape is maintained by skin elasticity. The underlying muscles can help improve posture. My best guess - as an enthusiastic amateur - is that as long as there is not too much mass, they will not need support until the skin loses its elasticity. Of course, there are other factors such as comfort and control during activity which may be just as important. But "training" ... an interesting concept. It implies that you are teaching them to do something! Apart from making young men's brains stop working, that is ...

Replacing it is the problem as we have satellite TV and want to watch UK programmes. I don't know where you get this idea from. Go to your nearest hypermarket and buy the tv you like best. It will be multistandard and you will be able to connect your digibox with the SCART (peritel) and you will be able to watch your UK programmes. I have bought two tvs in France without even worrying about this. Understanding the operating instructions if there is no English translation is a different matter - but you could always go to the brand's website and see if there is a manual available for download.

As far as I can gather, etiopaths practise manipulation, like osteopaths and chiropractors, but restrict themselves to the cranium and the top part of the spine. There is no entry in Wikipedia and the practice appears to be uniquely French.

Training bras. Oh dear! From my male perspective this seems like another variation on the number one weapon of the female fashion business: make women feel bad about their bodies then provide an expensive solution. This variation is ... get them when they are young and have nothing to worry about. I once (on TF1 news) saw an item about American holiday makers in Florida. The interviewer asked why little girls (2 or 3 years old) were (apparently) universally wearing bikini tops on the beach. One formidable matron replied: "Because it's the American way."

Mais non!   Separation of Church and State is about the most sensible thing to ever happen in France. I fear You may have missed the point here, SB. I don't know how widespread this is in rural France, but in my commune all the church buildings seem to owned by the commune which maintains them and makes them available to the cure. The post above seems to describe a similar situation. Hardly separation.

I use slow cookers a lot in both France and England. Frankly, they use so little electricity that using one at cheap rate times will make little difference. The power consumption on mine is 160 watts, which is less than many people use to light their living room. Make up the dish in a saucepan and ensure that the liquor is boiling. Warm the slow cooker for about 20-30 minutes before putting hot food into it. On High a meat dish will need about 6 or 7 hours, on Low about 10-12 hours. Why not do a Google search for recipes?  

 We need to make up our minds whether we are part of Europe or not [both physically and politically]. The high cost of crossing the channel is a barrier to our coming closer to our European neighbours and v.v. How I agree. All too often I fear that UK politicians perceive the Atlantic Ocean to be narrower than the English Channel. A French friend believes that the tunnel should have been EU funded since it is used for the better movement of people and trade between EU countries. The actual cost of moving a car through the tunnel is about £12. All the rest is paying off Eurotunnel's debt interest. The financial formula which determined the construction of the tunnel was forced through by the Mad Woman of Grantham who was determined it would be a beacon for private enterprise. It should have been identified as an essential infrastucture project which would have reinforced Britain's membership of the EU. Instead, a mountain of debt was created which has rendered the project financially unworkable. The recent shareholder (French) revolt has meant that the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Almost inevitably the current management team will fail and the banks will be forced to sell off their asset to the highest bidder. Eventually, someone will get a bargain and the banks a beating! If Eurotunnel goes broke, the tunnel will still be there. It will still be used. But let us hope that a little sanity will prevail.  

Well we have slow and we have escargot slow... we signed and paid the Notaire for our house in April 2004 but to date we still have not received the final title deeds for the house. The Notaires booklet suggests this can take between 2 and 8 months but soon 10 months will have passed. Anyone else had similar long waits for the official house deeds to arrive? You will not receive the title deeds - in the English sense. These will be kept by the notaire. You will eventually receive an "expedition" which is a copy of the acte authentique.

Yes, I see what you mean. I suppose I had believed that companies like easyJet and Ryanair would develop their services into being attractive to business travellers. But then if Mr O'Reilly keeps looking for cost reductions like out-of-the-way cheap airports he isn't going to attract business passengers and he is stuck with a more fickle passenger base. Which means impermanent services. This is where we started. Perhaps the low-cost airlines aren't prepared to do the business marketing which would make routes viable in the long term. Then Toulouse would not be pricing itself out of the market - if that is what is happening!

I have made a posting in the Travelling to France forum, which may give a clue about Toulouse. There is a rumour that Airbus is taking back some of the airport, in order to fly this new plane they are building. It seems some of the smaller airlines are losing out. One presumes BA will keep flying there but I wonder if it will become more of a business than a leisure airport. Maybe the leisure carriers will start to use more of the local airports like Cahors..who knows. For the last couple of years villages on the N113/N20 north of Toulouse have been plastered with signs objecting to a new airport and it had been my impression that Airbus wanted increased/exclusive use of Blagnac. However, the A380 will not "need" more of Blagnac in order to be flown. A big aircraft does not take up more of an airport operation than does a small aircraft, its size is not a material factor when it comes to runway occupancy and there are unlikely to be many more than half a dozen movements a day when it is flying. The airfield has two runways and is hardly overused (consider Gatwick - probably 10 times the daily traffic from a single runway). And anyway, I would guess that EADS (Airbus' owner) may look to establishing final assembly plants elsewhere. When I passed through Blagnac last week there was an exhibition celebrating 50 years of operation and looking to future expansion. My guess is that the airport's owners are increasing their fees or otherwise discriminating against low-cost operators. If so, more fools them! I would like to see Agen being used. By the way, why do you consider low cost operators to be "leisure" operators? Are they "less" of a business than full service operators like BA? Do they only carry non-commercial passengers?

but apparently up to June 2006 it is possible to change for children under 13. Yes this is the case. A similar law was enacted in Germany in 1976 - 10 years later less than 2% of couples had bothered to use it. Under English law you have the right to call yourself anything you like (providing it is not for an unlawful purpose) and there are devices such as deed poll to enable this. What seems so strange about this new French facility is that you must signal that you have joined two names by having to include a double hyphen in the new name. Also, anyone possessing a new double-barrelled surname cannot pass it on to his (or her) offspring. Only one name can go forward to the next generation.

This is a more suitable place for this than the first place it was posted. As from 1 Jan French people have been able to give their children either the father's or mother's name ... or both. But look at the bureaucratic control involved: The following is from  Le Nouvel Observateur.   La loi autorisant désormais les parents a dormer au premier de leur enfant soit le nom du père, soit celui de la mere, soit les deux, dans l’ordre de leur choix entre en vigueur au 1 er janvier, rompant avec une tradition patronymique remontant au XIe siècle. Ne samedi 1er janvier, Jules, premier enfant de M. Dupont et Mile Durand, pourra s’appeler Jules Dupont, mais aussi Jules Durand, Jules Dupont--Durand (avec un double tiret), ou encore Jules Durand--Dupont. Les textes réglementaires ne parleront plus de “patronyme” (nom du père) mais de “nom de famille”.   Heavens! Fancy having to put a double hyphen into your surname! I wonder how many software applications won't cope?   - Le double nom de famille reste une option, que les parents peuvent demander en remplissant une “declaration conjointe de choix de nom”. En cas de désaccord, c’est le nom du père qui prévaut.   - En l’absence de declaration conjointe, rien ne change: si les parents sont manes, i’enfant légitime prendra le nom du père. S’ils vivent en union libre, l’enfant naturel prendra le nom du père en cas de reconnaissance commune. Sinon, il portera le nom du parent qui le reconnaIt en premier.   - Les parents doivent choisir le nom de famille a la naissance de ieur premier enfant. Ses frères et soeurs porteront le même nom que iui, pour des questions dunité de la fratrie.   You can't have children in the same family with different surnames. It isn't tidy.     And, it seems, a new double-barrelled name will only last for one generation. Subsequent children must choose which half they will keep.  ... It all seems rather Prussian to me: that which is not forbidden is compulsory.

HELP I was going to move my previous post to an alternative location (second thoughts etc). But the EDIT facility has now disappeared.

And now for a variation on this fascinating theme... Names and titles are not taken lightly in France. The following is from  Le Nouvel Observateur.   La loi autorisant désormais les parents a dormer au premier de leur enfant soit le nom du père, soit celui de la mere, soit les deux, dans l’ordre de leur choix entre en vigueur au 1 er janvier, rompant avec une tradition patronymique remontant au XIe siècle. Ne samedi 1er janvier, Jules, premier enfant de M. Dupont et Mile Durand, pourra s’appeler Jules Dupont, mais aussi Jules Durand, Jules Dupont--Durand (avec un double tiret), ou encore Jules Durand--Dupont. Les textes réglementaires ne parleront plus de “patronyme” (nom du père) mais de “nom de famille”.   Heavens! Fancy having to put a double hyphen into your surname! I wonder how many software applications that will crash.   - Le double nom de famille reste une option, que les parents peuvent demander en remplissant une “declaration conjointe de choix de nom”. En cas de désaccord, c’est le nom du père qui prévaut.   - En l’absence de declaration conjointe, rien ne change: si les parents sont manes, i’enfant légitime prendra le nom du père. S’ils vivent en union libre, l’enfant naturel prendra le nom du père en cas de reconnaissance commune. Sinon, il portera le nom du parent qui le reconnaIt en premier.   - Les parents doivent choisir le nom de famille a la naissance de ieur premier enfant. Ses frères et soeurs porteront le même nom que iui, pour des questions dunité de la fratrie.   And, it seems, the new name only lasts for one generation. Subsequent children must choose which one they will keep.  It all seems rather Prussian to me. That which is not forbidden is compulsory.

Go to your nearest hypermarket and you will almost certainly find "free" disks from Wanadoo and Tiscali offering a range of tariffs including pay-as-you-go dial-up services. I have a Tiscali dial-up connection on my laptop and I can use it to "intercept" e-mail from my UK ISP. When I'm in France I just set it as my default and unset it when I leave.

Since your income is in Britain and you will service the loan from Britain you should borrow the money in Britain. That way you will be able to remove the effects of variations in exchange rate and the high cost of money transfer in order to service your loan. French interest rates may appear to be low compared with British rates but the "saving" may be more than wiped out by transfer costs and exchange rate instability. You may also find that a French mortgage is not as flexible as a British loan, particularly if you wish to redeem it early. You may also be able to negotiate more easily with a British lender.  

This can be a really serious problem. In extreme cases its manifestation can put other travellers in danger. This what www.aviation-health.org says: Aerophobia, or fear of flying, is an anxiety unlike other phobias because it can recur even after supposedly successful treatment. However, there is a great distinction to be made between other anxiety disorders and the nervousness that most passengers experience when they fly. The attitude of aerophobics is caused mainly by their lack of knowledge about the relative safety of flying. The phobia is complex, which goes some way towards explaining its unusual feature of recurring. There are six elements of aerophobia that have been distinguished. These are - Claustrophobia, in which a person feels trapped and fears suffocation. A panic related anxiety in which the subject fears that he or she may experience a heart attack, go crazy or lose control yet have no means of escaping from the aircraft. Space phobia, whereby a person is terrified by the idea of being 'surrounded by nothingness'. The fear of the aircraft crashing because of adverse weather, mechanical failure or a terrorist bomb. The fear of heights. Post-traumatic reaction in which the fear of flying follows an emergency landing or ear problems Most studies demonstrate that anxiety disorders such as this are more predominant in the middle-aged than in the young or elderly and are more common in women than in men. There are various methods of treating aerophobics - Most airlines run courses for fearful flyers. The medical profession provides psychotherapy through chartered clinical psychologists (UK) and cognitive behavioural therapists (US). Stress therapy such as transcendental meditation is a useful alternative to clinical intervention. Confronting the fear directly. This method, based on behavioural concepts such as desensitisation, is practised by many airlines. The fear is gradually overcome through repeated confrontation of the object or situation. Those who like to feel more in control of the situation may benefit from trying out a simulator in which they can experience ' piloting ' an aircraft for themselves. For people who suffer from serious fear of flying  a temporary pharmacological fix will not be of any real help.

One of Strasbourg's proud boasts (in keeping with its political status) is that it is the car torching capital of Europe.

Having worked for a leading world wide organisation based in Switzerland I and many others who did at that time work for them and then left have stopped giving them money after seeing the way they waste it, you would be lucky if 1p in every pound gets to the people it's meant to. I'd rather spend my money sending a couple of cases of bottled water and tinned food through the post. This chestnut comes up time and time again. I cannot comment about the International Red Cross but I have just looked at the Oxfam site. For 2002/3 their fundraising income was £124.3m and their charitable expenditure was £115.1m. In other words, out of every £1 collected 92p went to its charitable objectives. Urban myths are not usually a good basis for action, and you can bet that stuff sent through the post would never reach the people who needed it. The people in the devasted places need our help - the major aid organisations are best placed to deliver it.   Just an afterword, Iceni, in view of the scale of this disaster, your comment about Reunion did seem rather parochial and I can understand why SB responded in the way she did.  

Am I losing the plot, or what? No, Dick. These are honourable gentlemen. Their ways are different from our's.

My question of resignation vs sacking was not about Blunkett - I cannot recall any minister ever being sacked, that's all. It is just a bit of constitutional flummery and dates to the time when ministers were believed to be gentlemen. Ministers were invited to return their portfolios to the prime minister. To be honest I rather like the French approach to this sort of thing in as much as the French press don't really bother with their politions private life. The Frenmch are more concerned about the minister doing a good job which is what he is guaged on. You have been reading too many tabloids, Quillan, this NOTHING to do with Blunkett getting his leg over, but with (a) the extent he used ministerial influence to do his mistress a favour, and (b) upsetting his colleagues by revealing "home truths" about them. The first was a piece of minor corruption and the second a piece of major stupidity which ensured that the corruption would not be overlooked. The tabloids seem to believe that what people in the public eye do with the contents of their underpants is of major concern. The hoi polloi confirm the tabloids' beliefs by buying this rubbish. There are very strong pressures on French newspapers which prevent disclosure of politician's inappropriate behaviour. In this respect French practice may be preferred, but the cost is an arrogant and corrupt political establishment which can act without any effective control - hence "the crook not the nazi" slogan at the last presidential election. In a world ranking of perceived lack of corruption UK came 10th and France 25th (only Italy and Greece from the old EU came lower)