Patf

Perhaps this thread has given the OP enough material to write her story [:)]

I'm not trying to out-do you Idun - but in the nearest bigger commune, on the main NS road, ( not giving the name) there was,  (still is) on the face of it, a restaurant which also provided extras for overnight travellers.

Very true, Idun. It was only after a few years living in our small commune that we began to find out what was really going on. Our nearest neighbour was a born gossip and she gave us (well me) the lowdown on who was having an affair with who, who was related to who. Who was feuding with who etc.You need to be able to understand and speak the language too.

"We simply are not the germans and the other countries who manage well with coalitions, although some do not, do they."Israel is an example of a country with prop.rep.- they're just about to have a 3rd GE in about a year because neither of the 2 leading parties has been able to form a viable coalition.

1euro.67! Amazing.It's just 'jumped' to nearly 1euro.2.

As far as I remember whether we had to pay tax or not depended mainly on the sterling/euro exchange rate for the previous year. As all our income comes from the UK.

She's human, like the rest of us. Cajal - hasn't anyone anyone in your family ever done something like that? I know some of mine have. What you're saying is that MPs have to behave in a super- moral  way.

As a very disappointed lifelong Labour voter, I don't think it's anything to do with the momentum/marxist/ communist fears.Corbyn never took a strong stand on Brexit, and goodness knows why - he admired Tony Benn and never wanted to join in the first place.  By not speaking honestly on that he lost much of his support in the the LP heartlands.imo this election was all about Brexit.And as for Dianne Abbott - she's a very popular MP in her Hackney constituency, which is multiracial. She is impartial, supports Jews, black people and all other minority groups.

And our eldest daughter lives in Crowthorne, not far away.Mint - I also wonder how long he'll last for, but he has the support of a network of similar characters, mainly based on money, so who knows?

It's predicted that we'll have the first snows of the winter next Thursday so probably the turnout will be low.Judith - I agree with you. If everyone ever had the ability to think for themselves, most have lost it now since the influence of the media.We have a good longstanding Labour MP who has got a lot done here, and will vote for him.Can't stand Johnson.

I've got a recipe somewhere for poppy seed biscuits, though I've never made them.

Loiseau - yes Reg Dixon. Thanks.Soupagirl I was going to mention chilblains - mine never came back after you were able to buy warm furlined boots for the winter.

talking about school - remember the small bottles of milk we were all given at mid-morning? In winter they were frozen solid and put to thaw on the radiators.They did try to keep us healthy.Can anyone remember who was the comic radio character who used to say "I'm proper poorly!"

I don't know, nomoss. Poor little bird. To me it just showed the influence of the chasse in some parts of France. It was changing, though, before we left.

That brings back memories, though it was in Czech.....They do damage crops though. We once found a baby one in our chicken run. The chasse had been out the previous day and killed a mother  - her babies ran all over the commune.So we were told by our neighbour who took the cute little marcassin and kept it in his barn until it was big enough for meat.This was 'illegal' evidently. We were warned not to tell anyone.

Remember the ice on the inside of the windows, soupagirl?And getting dressed in the morning under the covers?Those were the days (not really).And @ALBF -wor Dad's bad wi' the beor

Just to say that the phrase 'being poorly' or 'feeling poorly' is very familiar to me. I think it was common in the NE, maybe not so much now.We were tougher in those days, idun. No antibiotics etc.Sorry to say the Geordies here are going soft - I love those cold bright autumn days like during the week. (Not today though, rain all day). But when I say this to the locals they say "its freezing, hate it!"Still a few who go out in the frosty mornings coatless, short sleeved tee shirts.

Yes we've all taken chances, and sometimes paid the penalty.I wish this story could be spread more widely, not just SW France.

The funeral of the lorry driver was this morning, huge crowds. The comments from la Depeche readers are very interesting, especially this one: "que le premier qui n'a jamais fauté jette la premiere pierre.. Genlou Il y a 1 heure @robix12 il y a des limites ! Le chauffeur d'un attelage pesant plus de 50t ne peut pas être excusé pour avoir franchi un pont suspendu limité à 19t ! Ce serait trop facile." What do you think?

Good point Pip - forgot about that aspect. Probably not many for sale at this time of the year.

albf - it's not so . daft.Hoping it doesn't offend, but your 10 month old was the result of your wife's egg, fertilised by you, and eventually  a human baby was born.Compris?

Google dept 24 vendeurs de poules pondeuses.Many replies.

You have to ask for 'poules pondeuses'.Or buy some young ones (making sure they're femelle) and wait until they start laying.There must be many markets in dept. 24 where layers are sold.Or ask a neighbour.

I missed the paddle steamers - we came to Hull in 1970. Until 1990. We lived in Hessle and watching the building of the bridge was great entertainment.

Takes after his Dad, presumably.As far as I remember 10 months is a lovely age - they've outgrown just crying for the sake of it, so start to get around and entertain themselves. And saying a few words.You've got to childproof your house though.