Patf

I hope you find someone good Chrissie.I forgot to mention one thing about Bishops Move - you might not get the exact date you want. Because they wait until they can coordinate 2 or3 other collections.Ours was more more or less a good date for us, as husband stayed behind in the house for a few days, with minimum belongings, which he brought back in a trailer

We moved back last Feb. from the Gers. We got 3 estimates, 2 from nearby french companies and one from Bishops Move UK. The UK one was half the price of the french ones.Removal day was a nightmare because of the weather - our drive was a sea of mud and they had to shuttle up and down to their lorry in the lane in our neighbour's transit van. Took 2 days instead of one. We fed them and they showered in our house, slept in the lorry.But they worked hard and the company kept to the estimate. Everything carefully packed.Their lorry had a trailer, they said they had picked up one load, and were going to pick up another on the way back. Back in the UK the eventual delivery of our belongings went quickly and efficiently. Nothing broken or missing etc. I definitely recommend Bishops Move.

Yes Idun, it can be delicious.I had a friend who just made a pastry flan base, with frangipane mixture on top, which was very good.Puff pastry - I bought a low-fat Jusroll one yesterday and made a chicken pie which worked well.Never made puff pastry.

Another point - Some places offer a grant towards a new fosse. We were offered 5000 euro, the rest of the cost to us. It may not apply for second homes though.We didn't take up the offer as we had decided just to leave well alone.

Like L'Oiseau we sold our french house last year, with an old nonconforming fosse. But which had worked fine for us all the time we were there."I suspect my (French) buyers, sensibly, will do nothing about replacing it until they are absolutely compelled to."Same here.But to the OP, yours sounds a bit more complicated. Especially the location of the fosse. You need to weigh up the costs. If you like the place so much, that means a lot.I guess a new fosse septique costs about 10,000 euro to install.

Mazal Tov @ M. et Madame ALBF [:)]Especially Madame - sounds like a long drawn out birth. I bet his big brother and sister are thrilled to bits!

'Like' has been in common use in Geordieland for many years.eg Someone is moaning to her friend about her husband - what to do?The friend replies "Are you thinking of leaving him like?" Like sort of means "perhaps".

Mint - I knew about bobos, but this is from an article from the local paper quoting our french doctor, when the grandson joined the family practise:«Il y a beaucoup de bobologie mais il faut rester constamment en éveil pour ne pas passer à côté de quelque chose de grave quand c'est grave. Faire le bon diagnostic...».

'glottophobie' good word, Mint. It should pass  into the english language too.My favourites are 'bobologies', and cochonneries (which I think I've mentioned before.)As for accents, 'pain' is pronounced 'ping' in the deep SW. And they always sound the final 'e' in a word as a sort of 'uh'. Plus a gutteral rolling 'r'.I wonder where that comes from? Not the Geordies.

Here's a link from La Depeche - copy and paste to get it::https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2018/12/29/2932547-affaire-benalla-parquet-paris-ouvre-enquete-abus-confiance.htmlI 'm naive and je ne comprends pas the undercurrents.

"Cette belle pomme est à l'origine de 'Golden delicious', 'Cox's Orange  Pippin', 'Red delicious'..."I found this article about the McIntosh Red apple:https://www.rustica.fr/blog-redaction/pomme-mcintoch,13489.htmlAnd wondered what the above sentence means.I remember these apples from childhood, but haven't seen them recently. Until last week, I found some in a local market.

Thanks Eric [:D].BTW we're not far from you (Gateshead). I grew up in Blyth.

How would you translate 'grateful' into french? I've found 'reconnaissant', but that doesn't seem to convey the exact feeling.When we left France our buyers agreed to take on our Kat and poultry. Which was a big relief as they wouldn't have survived here, and we didn't want to kill them.The lady - french- sends regular updates and is quite apologetic if anything goes wrong with them. Today she posts that the favourite cockerel has been killed by a dog.I want to reply and say no need to apologise, we're only too grateful that you agreed to take them on.She writes partly in french, partly in english.

"I'd rather be me than a fifties throwback."No need to get personal Betty [:D]

Have you had a lot of rain lately?Our water (Gers) used to be brown sometimes after heavy rain. It came from a nearby river where the clay mud gets churned up by heavy rain, then leaves a deposit. In fact one small river was called Le Boues. At Marciac. I think you've got clay in Lot and Garonne.

There are many issues here. Is it against parl. rules to say 'stupid woman' about another MP?Is it misogynistic to call someone a woman?Is Mrs. May stupid? How bad is it to lie about what was said? If he was lying.If he was lying, was this a worse lie than all those peddled by the pro leavers in 2016? etc etc.

Woolly -  [:@]  but probably true.He knows when to 'hold his tongue'.

ALBF - being dyslexic is no excuse. You should ask your wife to check your spelling, like my husband does. He's dyslexic.And my husband doesn't post silly things.

I once watched the french rugby team singing 'MUgir ces feroces soldats!'They made a lot of that sound.

I've no idea about a contract like that, but suggest the seller should contact a notaire near the property.You're both going to need someone who speaks french and english.In the transition period who is going to pay house taxes, insurances etc? If you're going to be using the place during that time, would it be difficult to get insurance? It sounds a bit like a longterm tenancy.

I see. So you have to be careful to distinguish between the  french sounds  'ou' and 'u' .Which some of us find difficult.

Related to another thread on here - what's the correct french word for 'neck'?Is it 'col' or 'cou'? I know it's not 'cul'.eg bareneck chickens, how would you say in french?

"We're lucky they still support it, especially considering the alternatives. I'm very glad it is surviving."I've sometimes thought that too, nomoss.

Lovely - I was thinking that it was sleep, that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care.But it should be music.

@ Richard - so you're nowt but a young lad [:)]As for the C word, I read a series of Pepy's Diaries a few years ago and it comes into that sometimes.It was a fascinating read, about 11 vols. Our local library had it.