Battypuss

[quote]Just shows how the drinking patterns are so different. I often wonder just how many ladies who refuse or take very little to drink at table will actually have a tipple when alone.[/quote] Could not agree more about the ladies. A glass of watered down wine would not pass their lips in public; at home they drink Banyuls like Prohibition starts tomorrow!

http://french.about.com/library/blxm-adventcalendar.htm    

Try www.epicerieanglaise.com if all else fails

There are a couple of veggie restaurants in Caen. Look in a copy of La petite fute in your local bookshop; the Caen edition. Also try the one for Calvados; there might be something other than a creperie in Bayeux! BIO CORNER 2, rue aux Chanoines 14000 CAEN Tél : 02 31 93 86 09 Ouvert le mardi et mercredi midi et du jeudi au samedi midi et soir. A l’étage de l’épicerie maintenant bien connue des amateurs de la nourriture bio, se loge le resto qui permet de manger bio, et uniquement bio. La déco est de pierres apparentes. Les tables pas nombreuses se remplissent assez vite. Et le plat du jour change tous les jours. C’est frais, bien cuisiné et d’ambiance très cool. L’après-midi, le resto se transforme en salon de thé. Faiblesse : trop petit. Talent : l’ouverture le samedi midi.

Don't forget the crackers and if you want a BIG turkey, bring one with you! The French tend to celebrate on Christmas Eve and are still  "out of it" Christmas Day as they probably did not go to bed until 7am... I arrived on the 23rd December many years ago!

You shouldn't find a shortage of fish; why not make your own? Not being bloody minded, but the only takeaway (and you have to go and get it) in the Normandy area I was in for 15 years was a mini-Indian, opened when he felt like it so you could never tell, didn't have a phone and was run by someone from Birmingham! Some pizza places do takeaway, as do many lebanese/oriental (not chinese), you collect, they knock 10% off the resto price. And I didn't have a car!

There's a good one in Pont Hebert

[quote]You do go on Real Tit. Some of us are married to Froggies and can just about cope you know.[/quote] Some us aren't even married to French other halves...but still cope OK!

I wish you hadn't mentioned this; I was depressed enough already being in London...   ...and worse still, youngest daughter is off to France this morning (middle one and self remain stuck here) but at age 11, is too young to bring me any back!

If you work on the principal that the cloudier it is, the worse you will feel the next morning, you won't go far wrong. On the other hand, I have had utterly clear fluids in the past that laid me out for days... Sante. (meant to have an accent, I know)

[quote]I spotted 4 illegal UK cars in that time, so I would suggest that this issue has reached epidemic (or even pandemic) proportions. Like bird flu?[/quote] Bother, you beat me to it! (bird flu, that is)

From backbreaking experience I would suggest that you pour wine into glasses on the right hand and leave spades on the left. It may not work, but if you don't drink it, others will.   Then YOU drink the wine and persuade some other person to shift the gravel. Believe me (and anyone else who has been there and done it and has the Tshirt), spreading gravel will have you on your knees in no time. The more you spread, the less it looks...

[quote]I'm handicapped, an invalid, disabled or any other names people want to call it. What does it matter!? Could it come from ca[/quote] Well, in my experience don't bother going hand in cap or cap in hand or foot in mouth or...in England. Classisfied as an invalid in England, I moved to France. They agreed. Now back in London, I am amazed to learn that I am valid. I can't move all that much, mind you, but I am valid. Sadly, this has a negative effect on my heating bills, cab fares, electricity for the scooterthingy and so forth. On the whole, being INvalid was preferable. No offence is meant; please don't take me out and shoot me.

I am still waiting for two letters (both containing cash, which I know is stupid!). Funny how the non cash ones get from France to London in 2 days flat...

Well I wonder if the indigens       Well, I had figured out that the French were the French and the British/English/Welsh/Northern Irish/ those from Scotland were well...not French. Now I am worried. Who on earth are the indigens? Are they related to the carboys?

[quote]If you and your doctor agree that your child will not have any/some of the vaccinations then they can issue 'le certificat de contre-indication'. In line with medical confidentiality, the reason for ...[/quote] I have had two doctors in France. Out of interest, I enquired of both how they felt about signing a certificate of 'non-conformation' for any or all of required vaccinations. I hasten to add that my children had been inocculated and the question was purely a point of interest. Both were reaching for the telephone before I had finished the sentence, in order to call the guys in the white coats. It would appear that unless you wish to spend many happy hours in the surgery awaiting another temporary delay before some horrid person sticks a needle in your childs arm, you are doomed to home education. And that, believe me, is REALLY good fun to explain to the French Ministry of Education - whichever board. Been there, done it. And it wasn't over a jab.

Mmm. good one this. Verdict, please. I originally moved to France with my husband and two daughters. He was retired (on admittedly dubious medical grounds) and I was classified as an invalid. We bought a house, paid all the bits and bobs that we were supposed to; then he left France...with the car and the contents of the bank account and has been neither seen nor heard of since. No great loss; I got to keep the children, now up to three. Oh, and he flogged the house. As a single, soon to be divorced under French law, person, I had Child Benefit. I was entitled to CMU as I had no other income. Then, the French Government, with no prodding from me, invited COTOREP to examine my case. After due care and consideration, they decided that I WAS an invalid and would therefore receive a French Invalidity Pension and could not work due to my various disabilities. Note, please, I did not seek this classification.  I was entirely happy to work and was able to do so, apart from being forbidden on medical grounds! Anyway, with the IB and the CB, I was about 15 euros over the maximum allowable income for the CMU, so had to proffer my Carte Vitale and cough up. I also had to seek alternative medical insurance, at a cost of some 70 euro a month for the entire family. So, basically, I was not really a drain on the Health Service in France or the UK and have certainly paid enough National Insurance to support a vast influx of medical freeriders in either country. Now I am back in London, to my great sadness. It has taken me just over three months to succeed in obtaining £31 and a few coppers to support myself and two out of three children. Oh, and I get a few bob to feed them too! I am not complaining. But I do feel that in comparison with various foreign neighbours, here in London, who have fancy cars and state of the art mobile telephones, that perhaps both systems are a bit askew. Another board to which I contribute has a post concerning the possibility of of moving to France with 4 children (spouse not mentioned) and transferring Invalidity Benefit, Child Benefit, Carers Allowance and various Disability bits and pieces to France. It appears - and I may be wrong here - that the lady in question neither speaks French, nor has any intention of working and reckons that she can "work the system". I wish her good luck. I replied that perhaps she should remain where she was, secure in the arms of the more-or-less English speaking British Government. I have, with grave misgivings, helped people to set themselves up in France and can wholeheartedly agree that there are many, many British people who reckon France owes them a living. I direct my point to those who have no interest in French Culture, life or language; those who endeavour to set up a small corner of Britain in a French village and continuously comment upon the fact that if the French were as civilised as they wish to be portrayed, they should speak fluent English. After nearly 15 happy years in France (and yes, I speak French as do all three children) I abhor people who have watched one too many 'Life in the Sun' or similar programmes and figure that France as part of the EEC should support them. I have similar comments to make on the hundreds of black market builders, who cannot, but I think I had better shut up! So, am I, or have I been, abusing the sytem or not? Answers on a postcard, please. Or an email.  

Unless you have VERY good reasons for not doing so, I would suggest that all your children are jabbed against anything that walks, flies or crawls. Sadly, or not, depending on your point of view, with which I take no issue, the statement "I disagree with xxxx" cuts no ice in Normandy. Either your child is jabbed, and can go to school, or isn't and cannot. The law IS meant to change, but has not done so yet in France.   Conversely, my children (unfortunately) recently started school in London after 12 years in France. I enquired about vaccinations, knowing the pair were up to date and was utterly amazed to learn that the schools could not have cared less whether the two of them had received even the most basic of vaccinations.   To be honest, I find this rather worrying. Certainly in London, there is a major influx of children from other countries, many of whom have never heard of jabs, let alone received any. Small wonder then, that 'normal childhood ailments' are on the increase (if statistics are to be believed). Sorry, my darlings, stick your arm out and you can have a lollipop afterwards. At least I can sleep at night knowing that, even if some do not work, I have given it my best shot. Please feel free to shoot me. 

[quote]It's Learning Disability now, Gay. A catch-all for anyone at any age who has a cognitive impediment.I do object to the idea that British teachers don't care - they do, that's why so many of them bail ...[/quote] Dick, I didn't mean that all teachers in England didn't care! Just that elder daughter has noticed the vast difference between those who DO (about 4 out of the 9 that teach her currently), those who DON'T (3 out of 9) and those who keep changing their mind!

My daughters opinions, aged 11 and 12, after starting school in France at age 2 and recently moving to London. Bad things about French schools Kids are really nasty if you live in an HLM (council) house and their parents won't let them come and play/visit Kids are really nasty if you don't have a car Kids are really nasty if you don't have 2001 assorted relations Kids are horrid to black and Arab children, also ESN children (these two were left alone, apart from a couple of small skirmishes) Kids are really nasty if you don't have the latest trainers etc. There is too much homework The teachers are biased towards rich kids   Good things about French schools Lunch The discipline   Bad things about English schools No discipline Tatty buildings Lunch Teachers don't care Lessons are too easy and boring   Good things about English schools Nobody cares if you live in a council flat School uniform looks smart except stupid kids wearing two inch ties Start half an hour later Finish an hour and a half earlier Almost never any homework Not forced to do sport 5 times a week in all weathers and in all forms Kids don't care what colour you are   Strange, the things children like/dislike, eh? I figured they'd hate school uniform! And both panic because they think they must have missed out half the homework because it only took ten minutes, not three hours...

www.epicerieanglaise.com will send you as many jars as you like

Try marinating overnight in red wine?herbs/onions. Or pineapple juice. Or if you can get it, papaya powder.   I agree with the pressure cooker, Alexis!

I can't remember the name of the restaurant, so this probably isn't a lot of help, but there is a large square just behind the hall where they have the market. On one of the sides are a bar on one corner (lousy service) and a rather touristy-looking restaurant on the left hand corner. The menu is also in English, which is normally enough to put me off, but as I had two starving kids with me that day, I tried it. The menu was HUGE, but even that paled in comparison to the size of the portions. The kids menu steak hache would have fed a hungry adult with ease and the pizza I ordered 9which wasn't like any pizza I have ever had before, being a bread base and gryere instead of mozarella etc.) came with a good pound of mince on it and fell off the sides of the plate in all directions. Sneaky looks around showed that other people were receiving similar sized portions; the people on the next table had ordered the fixed menu and, I suspect, regretted it. The seafood starter was enough to serve four! It wasn't expensive either. Place has large front restaurant area with a long bar, plus a smaller room behind on the left hand side that overlooks a side street.

I don't know whereabouts Hesdin is and am admittedly too lazy to look. However, when we lived in Manche, the nearest big town was Caen and there was a guide (le Petit Fute) on Caen and its environs that listed a vast varity of gay bars, clubs, meetings and the like. There may be a similar guide for your area, worth a look I would have thought?

Until recently, I lived in St Lo, hardly the middle of the countryside. One morning I opened the window and on the patch of grass behind the block, where there were several trees, were three red squirrels! I had never seen one in the wild before and was overjoyed; my daughters merely yawned and said they had seen plenty - obviously they have sharper eyes than their mother! Now back in London, the pair were rather baffled by grey squirrels...