MrCanary

My wife and I were invited to a meal with an Indian family who live near us in the UK. The man is a good friend, but we had never met his wife. The food was stunning, loved every bit of it. But our enjoyment was spoiled by the fact his wife and daughter were not allowed to sit with us. They waited on the table wearing their traditional Indian clothing and ate in the kitchen. We all got together for coffees in the lounge after the meal was finished. During the meal, I pleaded with our host to allow his wife and daughter to sit with us, but he said they would not as they knew no other way and would be uncomfortable. I do respect other people's cultures, but I find situations like this one very unfair and can understand why many women get fed-up with what is perceived as being second class. I would have gladly sat in the kitchen with them, but was also told I could not do that!

Moving on from my earlier post in this thread, I am with allanb about letting the courts decide... However, if it is genuine, that 'charge sheet' is quite damning. But we must also remember the wording on it is formulated from the information provided by the hotel maid. And, of course, whether he tells the truth or not, DSK's version of events will be different. I can easily imagine what his interpretation of the charges will be. It is quite easy, one persons word against another's... And even if there is some crossover in the forensic evidence, that can be dealt with as well by a clever lawyer. Just remember, there are three sides to every story... Hers, his and the truth.

Interesting stuff, isn't it... I would like to comment on Lori's and 5-element's posts above... Re: Lori's - yes, you would think people would learn from the downfall of others, just what is wrong with them? That is, of course, assuming the facts as supplied by the media are correct. If they are proved to be correct, he deserves everything he gets. But it just amazes me that such an apparently intelligent man would do this - dragging the woman along the hallway and trying to lock her in a bathroom - and even remotely think he would get away with it. Are these the facts, or an exaggeration of the facts, or a made-up story? None of us know the answer to that, we can only make guesses. Re: 5-element - I agree, it has never ceased to amaze me how a man in this situation is treated. We saw him in cuffs and bundled into the back of a car before any forensic testing, so all this was happening on the word of the hotel maid. And this is what happens the world over when a man is accused of this type of offence. Even if he or others in this situation are completely exonerated from all charges, many members of the public will always see them as guilty. I am not sticking up for this man and knowing police procedures as I do, both in the UK and America, I am sure they feel they have a good case against him. But, as has been said, is their early behaviour a bit OTT? It is, but always is in these cases. If he is guilty, lock him up for however long is deemed necessary. If he is innocent, he will never recover from this.

Hi Paul - yes, I will also be doing that!

You are right Sid, I set out this time with an open mind - albeit somewhat nervous about everything I had read - and ended up being quite happy! I will be using Ryanair again, although my prefrred mode of transport does remain car/ferry.

I am just back from my first Ryanair flight for a number of years. My wife and I did a round-trip from Stansted to Tours, getting back Monday evening (09/05). I imagine many people will know I am a regular critic of the company and how they operate... So how did my trip go? I have to be honest and say it was much better than I had expected and what I had perceived as a complicated purchase and usage procedure, was actually relatively smooth and easy. I do still think the cost and weight allowance for putting a bag in the hold is very unreasonable, but I have to put that aside as I knew that before we set out. Getting our boarding passes online was simple and is a good idea. (I was paranoid about folding them or getting them creased as I was sure I would be refused boarding if they were not pristine.) Going through security is much stricter than the last time I flew, but I am all for that. Going to the gate, queueing and boarding has not changed that much - but I had to smile at the self-important people who had paid to get on first, but then got overtaken on the tarmac! Tours airport has changed its procedures since I was last there, but they are better and more straightforward. All the Ryanair staff, at both airports and on the planes, were polite and helpful. So, all in all, I am struggling to find anything to complain about... Ah, hang on, yes I do have a big gripe about something... My Hertz rental car at Tours was scruffy and damaged - just the same as the last time I had one from there - I must try a different rental firm next time!

And once you 'tick' that box you will be helping them keep their fares low by contributing £10 a month!!

Davy... I admit I did not read the terms and conditions, but the offer on the website is very cleverly worded with the facts hidden away. I don't usually get caught out by these devious deals, but I did on this occasion. Irrespective of what we all think about Ryanair's 'add ons' to their charges, I would have thought them bigger than to get involved with this kind of stuff. My purpose in starting this thread was to use my embarrassing and pathetic mistake as an example to fellow members of this forum to hopefully prevent anyone else getting caught out!

Then expand please, Paul...

Hi Théière - normally 'no' to flying. In fact, I cannot remember the last time we did. But on this occasion I have to get to France on the one day that is available between my grandaughter's 2nd birthday and our beautiful French neighbour's 80th birthday two days later. So, short of knackering myself with a quick long-distance drive between parties, Ryanair is the best option.  

I recently purchased flights from the Ryanair website and, of course, incurred all the usual add-ons... At the end of the process, it is claimed, I ticked a box that offered me a discount voucher for a future flight. Maybe I did, I'm not sure. But I am sure I would not have turned down the opportunity of getting money back from Ryanair, so perhaps I ticked the box. I have just had £10 taken from my credit card account by a company called 'shopperdiscount.co.uk' - who had absolutely no permission to take that money and one has to wonder how they got my credit card details... I have located this 'company' and they told me I had joined their organisation whilst buying tickets from Ryanair and that the £10 is the first of my regular MONTHLY membership fees! I have, of course, accepted their offer to end my membership... HSBC have refunded my £10 and are now investigating this. They told me they have had lots of similar complaints.

Thanks Albert... My wife will be disappointed, she likes to pronounce it far too similar to a part of the male anatomy...

How do you pronounce... Pneus ? Thanks...

Quillan - really funny - thanks... I did not see it last year, so I'm so pleased you exposed it again!

LOL - I have two 'places' and the only one I want to get on the market is the UK one (as much as I love it...). BTW - it said on UK TV yesterday that the French property market is on the up...

I know I have raised a similar point to this one in the past, but I think it is time to resurrect a happy positive thread about living in France... In another thread I read that there are three 'D's for leaving France - death, divorce, debt - but I want to hear about one 'D' for staying there - because it is delightful! Come on all you long-established and happy ex-pats, or all you newly resident and happy ex-pats - spread the good news about the place please!

Never given this a thought before... We've been going back and forth to France for about 7 years and invariably do DIY whilst at our French home. I do know that our travel policy does not exclude DIY, so I am assuming all would be well...

Thanks Christine... I thought I had but could not find it! What was my name again?

Everybody who speaks French much more fluently than me seems to have a different answer for this... OK, mathematically some of them have to agree, but what do you think? Translate this from English to French... "We miss you" ('you' being plural)

"This thread is about ferries ... another hijack???" I agree - sorry - my fault... But just to clarify, there are 27 as I forgot the Waitrose - but the majority of the Tescos are small 'local' shops... And the city is much bigger than 134,000 when you count in the fringe areas and suburbs.

Just Tesco... I don't like the way they are trying to monopolise the UK. Norwich now has 26 Tescos of varying sizes compared to 2 Morrisons, 3 Sainsburys, 1 Asda, 1 M&S, 1 Somerfields and a sprinkling of Co-ops. I just wonder how they get their planning permissions? They have just bought and closed down a Norwich pub to build a Tesco. The opposite side of the road there already is a small family-owned local supermarket and next door to the pub is a garage with a Spar shop. And Tesco's are NOT cheaper than other supermarkets!

Yes that is an excellent way of travelling cheaply... But like you are with the sea, I am with Tesco's, so would never be able to collect the vouchers!

I remember reading some time ago on this forum that it was possible to get a discount for over 60's on the Newhaven to Dieppe crossings (not sure about other LD routes)... Well, I finally remembered to check it out this week and it's well worth having! You can only get the discount for telephone bookings, but at a generous 20%, it's well worth the phone call. Just ask for it when making your reservation and it is given without any problems. However, you will have to show proof of age when checking in at the start of your journey.

I think that is a very reasonable summing-up, Sprogster...

If by any good fortune your husband is a retired UK police officer, travel insurance is available that covers ALL pre-existing conditions... If he does meet that criteria, email me for details...