roger taylor

Jill We cook a dish simply titled chicken with 30 cloves of garlic. Peel 30 cloves place them in the bottom of a casserole dish put the whole chicken on top and roast till tender and browned. The garlic changes its characteristics and the dish is not at all "garlicky" Roger - Lancashire and Deux-Svres 79

I really liked the bit about Sikhs being able to cover their hair as long they were discreet. The Sikh turban is anything but that. Still I suppose in France they don't see many Sikhs other than Nigel's friend Nippi. Roger - Lancashire and Deux-Svres 79

An Arabic radio stationed recommended caution. Until they do a DNA test it could be one of his many doubles. The radio station didn't think Sadam would allow himself to be taken alive. Roger - Lancashire and Deux-Svres 79

I have a wonderful VHS tape of the 10th Anniversary concert of Les Miserables at the Royal Albert Hall a few years ago. The encore was performed in their own language by many of the worlds Jean Valjean stars including Japans. Roger - Lancashire and Deux-Svres 79

Whilst we are denied the pleasure of our forum go have a look at http://www.totalfrance.com privately run francophile site with a good forum and free advertising for gites, b & B, campsites? building renovation, all sorts of useful stuff. Roger - 79

Look on the velux web site, www.velux.fr for france or .co.uk for an English version. Roger

A while back I asked for suggestions on how to make my concrete stairs more attractive. They are the worst feature of the house and although not visible to anyone but us are cold and unattractive. I thought of covering the steps (Marches) and the risers (contre-marches) with pine but could not find a supplier selling wide enough planks in the Bressuire 79 area, even my woodworking neighbour had no ideas. Back in the UK I looked for staircase timber but again the only planks wide enough were in B&Q and very expensive. I finally had an idea, window bottoms (windows sills to the un-initiated) So I have bought 13 metres of pirana pine which I intend to cut to size and glue to the concrete with "no-nails" Unless that is someone has any different ideas. Roger pirana pine has no knots and seems very stable, no visible shakes unlike knotty pine.

I have been researching this to get them put in my downstairs bathroom (in a single storey part of the house) and have the following observations. They are cheaper in France Don't buy them yourself unless you are fitting them. Your local installer can buy and fit and will only charge 5.5% TVA. Finding an installer might be difficult I haven't started phoning yet. Roger

We did just that in March last year (2001) paid our final amount by cheque from our CA account in Bressuire to the notaire who didn't bat an eyelid. Roger

LAST EDITED ON 29-Nov-02 AT 09:46 AM (GMT) Tim Check out the ING Bank savings website (ING Dutch banking group who bought Barings after Leeson broke the bank) http://www2.ingdirect.fr/ceo;jsessionid=0CMD0WAAAA4WSCSLJGGSYAQ?KEYWORD=MINI_EO You can transfer to and from a French current account into the ING Saving account apperently without fees. Its the nearest I could find to a UK internet site and you can open it with a UK address too. Roger

By the time Blair has his way it will be on parity. Roger

Virtually anywhere. Just don't use them in the UK in machines owned by Hanco or Hanko and another company who site their machines in pubs, shops and garages. They charge big style for cash withdrawals. Roger

I was sent a pin number and use that together with my account number to access my accont details on the web. Don't keep doing though because they charge for every access to your accont details. Roger

Did you enquire about the free banque card that was mentioned in the recent news article. You should have a free cashcard if they are making you use the DABs. Roger On a different subject can explain le treizieme mois which the lorry drivers are going to strike over. I have tried to grasp the coscept but TF1 asumes you already know.

Where did this come from? I can't see any details on their website or todays financial pages. Roger

LAST EDITED ON 31-Oct-02 AT 04:22 PM (GMT) According to the TF1 website BNP are going to charge 5 euros for withdrawals from "distributeurs automatiques de billets (DAB)" (ATM withdrawals) of under 150 euros after tomorrow (a partir de vendredi) They are also going to stop cashing cheques in the bank to encourage people to use the ATMs. However they are going to issue cashcards FOC in future. The motive to incourage people to use the DABs, to have less cash in the bank and to discourage hold-ups. They will only cash cheques in the bank if the ATM is broken or if because of handicap, ill health etc the client is unable to use the ATM. I wonder if they will make a charge of 5 euros against UK card withdrawals or other French bankcards for that matter. Roger

|Somewhere someone has mentioned buying euro travellers cheques and sending them to your French bank Account. Roger

>Just looked at Cahoots website and >they are offering 4.33%Gross Interest >rate with a 25 pound >Transfer fee, and a spot >rate for today of 1.575 >10k+. > >This sounds to good to be >true.................is it? Can you post the url (if there is one)of the page where you found this info. I cannot find it perhaps I an too lazy to drill down. Roger

currencies4less have a similar stipulation but will do smaller amounts for existing clients, however they add a 20 handling charge on anything less than 5000.00 Roger

I have long sung the praises of the Nationwide BS and their debit and credit cards. I always use the credit card for purchases and the debit card for hole in wall. They came out top in the Daily Mail Money pages a few years ago and remain top. Roger

You can buy an Alcatel phone in Mr Bricolage for 130 FFr. I suspect an adaptor will cost as much if not more. Roger

We had dinner on Saturday with a former French teacher (of French) her family own prpoerty in various parts of France and her dad has a fine big house in a village in Champagne (he is from Paris) His house was broken into and his cellar emptied. He knows it was people from the village but cannot get anything done about it. Roger

Can you not make an arrangement with one of your neighbours. It is a good way to get to know them. My neighbours keep an eye on my house and open the windows and shutters occasionally on a sunny day. Roger

Hi Karen Why realfood? We bought a house this year in Deux-Svres, near to Bressuire and not far from la Vende border. We spent 10 days on the house hunting trip from Dec 27th in the cold and rain so that we saw the properties and locations at their worst. We looked at houses owned by French people being sold by French agents, houses being sold by English people directly and houses being sold by an English agent through an intermediary in the UK. Our conclusions were that English vendors wanted more than their houses were worth to us and were not prepared to negotiate. The English agent whilst very pleasant didn't listen to our requirements and showed us expensive rubbish. The French agents all seemed willing to volunteer the fact that we could knock the prices down. We bought from a French agent who spoke excellent English, wasn't in the slightest bit pushy and in the event gave us almost three whole days without showing the slightest impatience. We went back to the house we bought three times. Other French agents were equally accommodating. I hope this is of help even though it has nothing to do with Carcassonne. Regards Roger