Georgina

Thank you Lisleoise, at last someone without their tastebuds burnt out by a vindaloo!!! Here is a recipe seeing as I am feeling like sharing my good taste. No need to buy expensive fish as the spices will be the basis of the meal.  I buy frozen from Lidl (only about £2.20 for six pieces). The whole spices and green chillies add background flavour but are not overly hot (the seeds and membranes of chillies contain the heat and they are not exposed to the curry), so this is mild enough for the children to eat and enjoy. Ingredients 2 tbsp vegetable oil half tsp brown mustard seeds 4 cloves 6 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed 1 large piece cinnamon stick 1 small onion, finely chopped 5cm/2in piece fresh ginger, peeled and quartered (you can find this at Intermarche and Geant) 2 large garlic cloves 1 tsp ground coriander 300ml/10½fl oz coconut milk (intermarche was cheapest for this) 2-4 green chillies, left whole salt, to taste 100ml/3½fl oz water 10 curry leaves (you can miss this out) ½-1 tsp freshly ground black pepper ¾ tsp garam masala 500g/1lb 2oz salmon or firm white fish fillets, cut into large pieces To serve 2-3 tsp lemon juice 50g/2oz fresh coriander leaves and stalks, chopped (buy frozen from Picard tastes stronger) Method 1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the mustard seeds, cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick and stir fry for 20 seconds (be careful, the seeds might pop). Add half of the chopped onion and fry for 4-5 minutes until soft. 2. Meanwhile, place the remaining onion, the ginger, garlic, ground coriander and 100ml/3½fl oz of the coconut milk into a blender or food processor and blend to a smooth purée. 3. Add this mixture to pan along with the whole green chillies and salt, to taste. Cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for 12-15 minutes, giving the pot an occasional stir. 4. Add the remaining coconut milk, the water, the currry leaves, black pepper and garam masala and the fish and leave to cook undisturbed for about 3-5 minutes, until the fish is opaque and cooked through. 5. To serve, stir in the lemon juice and coriander. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, then pour into bowls and serve with rice.

My god you must have had some bad curries man!! I used to live in the middle of curry city for my sins, but I know the good from the bad at least.

Yeah it's okay. But you can get some frozen already, which is good as fresh at Picard.

[+o(] I make my own curries and I totally disagree with you.  If you like the real thing these are absolutely barf! Georgina

Blimey, how much did that cost you? Georgina

Right, the very nice young man has been and we have a leak.  He showed me how to read it - it involved banging the meter with a very large screwdriver, too technical for me.  Anyhow the last red number goes round very slowly when we are not using water.  Now the problem is finding the leak.  I have listened intently around the house(and I have good hearing), now looks like we are going to have to undo everything to find it.  Anyone got a stethoscope? What advice do you have Sid apart from obviously calling a plombier and waiting six months, digging up the garden (which the dog is doing as we speak) is there anything I can check that I cannot hear? Help. Georgina

Is there a market for RHD cars then?  Or is it just for people who have moved here who want to keep their steering on the right. Because if you want to use it in the UK you have to change the lights back yes? Personally I find it better at avoiding driving in those wretched ditches and feel safer. Georgina  

Sid -Don't you know how much electricity you use either? Or how much fuel in the car? Oh to be so rich (or foolish) that I could fritter my hard-earned cash away without a second thought. Guess not. But that is why I decided to do something about it. Georgina 

We paid a registered French artisan a few days before he finished with the job, it was only cosmetic to do, but guess what, he did not come back:  his friend got ill and he had to go to hospital, his friend died, he got hospitalised, he and his girlfriend split, he went out of business - he still works but never came back.  Excuses I have heard them all from French and English alike.   Still, not a great deal out of pocket but a lesson nonetheless.

I think that is good advice Deimos but easier said than done.  Most people hate confrontation and avoid it at all costs.  When someone is annoyed by noise, they start to expect it to happen all the time and don't do anything about it until it really drives them insane, which is why you hear of sometimes neighbour shooting each other etc in England (possibly here too). Noisy neighbours - no one will understand unless they have had them,  it is hard to be reasonable after you have suffered any length of time at the other end.  Not easy.  We can all be reasonable about something when it does not affect us at all.

I don't think anyone really knows how much they use unless they are a miserly type and don't have kids.  As I said our meter is not possible to read because of the moisture under the face and it involves looking down a ruddy great hole.  The swimming pool did not get a look in this year so next bill should be less.

I have just been to the Water office and they are sending a very nice young man to my house to check for leaks next week, gratuit. Excellent. Georgina 

Not much good to anyone one here, but for others reading, the Ikea in Brest is due to open in March - whooppee, (cartwheel cartwheel). I am soooooo excited, I could crush a grape...............[:)]. No need to get anything from England, if you wait long enough, it comes to you eventually. Georgina

Actually, a very close friend of mine had a complaint made against her and got a letter from the Environmental Health in England.  She was really furious (which was totally out of character for her) and said to me "they don't bark a lot do they"?  I said "well actually if you want me to be completely honest, they do".  I was shocked at her total surprise and I don't know if she believed me.  They really don't notice I am sure of it.  She knows I would never lie to her, so it was peculiar to see her face when I said that.  My neighbour also thinks her dog does not bark a lot, it does, but it does not bother me as I have a dog.  Selective deafness, it's the same when someone plays their music too loud, nobody likes being told what to do basically. Georgina

Our neighbour was reported by her next door neighbour to the Gendarmes and they came round and threatened her with a fine.  She was very upset but the dog does not bark as much now so she must have been dealing with it.  Some people just do not realise that they are barking.  It's a bit like kids, you have them and you filter out the noise most of the time. However, I make sure our dog does not bark unless there is someone coming to the house.  I have never had a problem stopping her.  Ask the other neighbours if they have a problem with it, be prepared to be unpopular as my friend's neighbour is.[:D] Georgina

Yeah I thought about that but it's down a ruddy great hole and hard to see as it retains moisture in the face. I don't know what else to do really. You are right though, I need to sort it out.  Is there any chance that someone else could plug into it, I know that a neighbour has been fiddling with his pipes (so to speak).  It's not unheard of for someone else to tap in (excuse the pun).   Georgina

Okay I'll do this cos I am bored:[:)]   Did you do much/any research first? Lots Was it all plain sailing? No What were the fears? No money Did you have to change your plans? No How did you overcome the problems? Learnt more French Did you give up? Never Would you recommend it? Definitely Did you do it alone, with a partner. With partner. Could you have managed it alone? Possibly not. But I will never know. Was finance a problem? Not really,  not yet anyhow   Georgina (Did I score highly??)

But that is what I am saying, I think it is expensive as I think we do not use a lot as we mostly have showers and there are only four of us, two kids who do not like water as well. [:'(][:)] Georgina

No I wasn't saying it was the pool. [8-)] just pointing out that I thought it was expensive for what we used.  Funny side, what funny side!!! Georgina

[:'(]Water charges !!  Really expensive, small pool refilled last year twice (plastic 9ft diam) we paid over E500 last year for water. Yikes. We don't have lots of baths mainly showers so I thought this was horrendously dear but really it was the same as England. Georgina

[quote user="J.R."] Yes I do Georgina but "je suis celibatair" so I always have done. Between 2004 and the end of 2006 when I was travelling and thereafter living rough in my workshop while building the first flat I used launderettes, lavenderia's, (I think is the Spanish spelling)  laveries and of course hand washing, only a few times in streams, though sometimes while wearing the clothes. However throughout that time I never touched an iron! that has only recently changed with better surroundings and bringing my good clothes, the iron and board from storage. At the moment it is a novelty but I will soon get fed up with it. In actual fact a man (useless or otherwise) would never have complained about running out of shirts, he would have just bought some more and worn them straight out of the bag complete with the square creases on the back[:)] Editted I cant believe this is the legal section! [/quote]   Wow, washing in streams, well you beat me there, this is turning into a competition to see who has had life the hardest!!! Now that would be a good topic. Georgina

[quote user="J.R."] As a not so useless man I found it funny that the sympathy only arrived when the poster revealed herself to be a women, all of a sudden a non functional washing machine is accepted as a real problem[:)] Whereas when the poster was thought to be a man, (she did say after all my last shirt, not my last blouse or my son's last shirt) and was lambasted, we men (useless or otherwise) were probably wisely keeping out of it! Reminds me of a sketch on the Harry Enfield show, a group of workmen were laughing at what they thought was a womens attempts to park, "go on darling you could get a bus in there!" - "ohmygawd she's reversed into it now" etc etc, when "she" got out and was seen to be a "he" it was "well done mate, tight gap that" etc etc[:D] [/quote] Okay okay, I will wear sackcloth and rags for a week ........... least I did prior to getting a washing machine, but really do you wash your own shirts washing machine or otherwise? [:D]   Georgina

Yes, I said sorry........  I am normally very sympathetic, put it down to PMT.[:(]

Sorry, in retrospect, not feeling sympathetic this week, thought it was some useless bloke who did not know how to wash shirts.  Many people here however put up with much worse than this. Georgina

[quote user="Bead"]Hello Georgina. Since you seem to enjoy hand washing, would you mind coming over and doing it for me? :) In fact I am a single mother with a son of eighteen who I am putting through film school at the moment at the cost of eleven thousand euros, not counting buses, books and all those other little things, I'm sure you will understand. Before that I home educated him until he reached the age for O-Levels. In fact I work a 56 hour week as a translator, not French unfortunately, that's one language I don't know yet. I have been divorced for eight years, my husband had very little commitment to marriage, parenting or even work for that matter which meant I had to double up as mum, dad, housekeeper and worker. Sorry I couldn't keep up with you on the three children, but the instability of the marriage loaned itself to only one child. My boss is upset at the moment because of a problem, his computer isn't receiving emails, so of course it is my fault. Well what is a girl to do. On the subject of shirts, blouses are something I have had to leave behind a long time ago, t-shirts and jeans are handy when falling out of bed to begin another day of work. Foundation and high heel shoes aren't quite the first thing I am looking for in the morning. So you see Georgina, I have been coping very well on my own for the past eight years, so I have not quite been unable to cope as you put it :) sorry for the misunderstanding, perhaps it is the way I wrote the original post LOL. Thanks for all the help - Sharon. [/quote] My, you deserve a medal!!! All that and you could not cope without a washing machine.