Battypuss

I am happily blowing their trumpet, http://www.epicerieanglaise.com/ Free books, bacon. Anything you want really, they will source it. Includes M&S clothes, Body shop, bags of cement, whatever. Fantastic lady called Sally and husband run and operate in markets, mail stuff in freeze boxes, make Christmas/Easter/birthday cakes, chutney. As I said, I don't work for them, just one very happy customer!!!

They don't do grapes, but google epicerieanglaise and you can get the granules!

This is the best news I've had all week! My daughter is at College and comes home telling me about the 'different' kids, who are integrated as best as possible. She has two really good friends, one a girl with Downs Syndrome and one in a wheelchair, who suffers from cerebral palsy. She never stops talking about them, how they are HER friends, takes no notice that they are not quite the same as an able bodied, bilingual English brat. I have tried my best to instil the idea we all have a place on this earth, and it seems to be working. I really, really hope this continues with your son too. I wish you and Kurt the absolute best and all three daughters join me.

I agree. Hang on a fortnight!

Three kids say it's damn good meat here in France in meals. They may have a few hiccups about couscous (which they loathe) but all agree it's good meat. Not much use to vegis I grant you. NB Kids are very fussy. THEY will give it back to the butcher before I do!

I'm happy to be corrected (yes, I know about Picard etc.) but there are definately fewer 'ready meals' on sale here; perhaps that contributes? Also the markets? We used to play 'let's spot something new in the food bit' every week. Kids are sponges, if you provide the water, they sop it up.

Well, I must be doing something right! Last week, my two daughters (aged 10 and 11), took over all the cooking/shopping/menu planning for a week and thoroughly enjoyed themselves...the menu was a secret until it hit the table and I didn't get a choice. Nor did I complain once, not even about the state of the kitchen. Eldest daughter arrived for lunch on Sunday (and she's a good cook) and enquired which bits they'd made: Quiche/Prawn Coctail Roast lamb with sliced potatoes, redcurrant gravy, yorkshire pudding and broccoli Cheese Crème Caramel/Rice Pudding I had to admit they'd bought the cheese... Apart from that, I had a lovely Sunday morning drinking coffee and footling about on the Internet!

[quote]Obviously not the St Jean in Saint LO then Batypuss. My mum was in there in September and I told her the food would be great (remembering my bosses tales of his mum's stay in a French hospital, where...[/quote] Same Clinique, different food! I had plenty of choice and would have eaten most of it happily; this was last June. Perhaps they've changed caterers?

Daughter is three days younger than your son and in CM2, hopes to go to College next year!

Try ADA in St Lo; they have no hassle with cars, so suppose a van would be OK; Or try Loca+, behind the garage opposite the railway station, don't know their policy though, but they are (apparently) cheaper.

This is one of those 'how long is a piece of string' subjects! In theory, yes, you need a license. In practice it depends on whether the person at the end of the line when you request an annulement has PMT or not!!! My tax form clearly states that as I do not pay tax, I am allowed not to pay the license fee; so I didn't. Red bill upon red bill followed until they finally contacted me to say that as a kind favour, they'd let me off! As someone mentioned, it became part of the taxe d'habitation this year (which I also don't pay), so I suspect they'll make you fork out in the end...if you French is VERY good, it might be worth arguing the toss, but knowing fonctioneires here, I doubt it.

If you get stuck in St Lô, make sure you don't break anything, like your ankle for axample. Dd3 did, and after 5 hours wait in Causualty, we went home as the last bus was about to leave and walking 4 miles with a broken ankle wasn't really an option! When I politely (I was, honestly) informed reception that we couldn't stay any longer, they got really shirty. I was called a bad mother and worse! This after the same snotty receptionist had watched the tears roll down Gabi's cheeks for the last 5 hours... The next day we went to the Clinique, a complicated journey involving two buses and me virtually carrying a ten year old with my one arm, but all was done and dusted in an hour. Before you ask, taxis are an endangered species here; you can only get one if you order it at least a week in advance.

Where are the kids he was in Primaire with? Do they live nearby? Can you invite them round or speak to their parents? Are you sure he isn't under too much presure to do well, whether inadvertantly from you, or from the teachers? Daughter three, previously at the same school, the private gaff, was reasonably happy for 5 years, then met a teacher who expected her to be the same as Polly. She isn't, in fact could not be more different. Teacher ridiculed her, said she would never pass the year...subtle and incredibly unpleasant. Guess what, I hauled HER out too (even more frowned upon than doing so in College and requiring permission from the Mayor to attend a different school from the one next door, not a good one). I wouldn't say she's over the moon about it (or school in general) but she passed the year with flying colours...

We are on good terms with one of our local beggars, Patrick. He is always polite, helps all the grannies onto the bus and causes no trouble whatsoever. Even the 2 central small supermarkets let him shift the trolleys back into rows and 'pay' him in food. Most people are dibolically reude to him, and I have had many an argument. Now there are a new couple, wearing expensive clothes (read Adidas tracksuits, Nike trainers) and a piece of cardboard that reads "No work, 4 children, no roof over our heads. Give money". No please even. One sits outside Lidl and the other outside the PO, since the signs are identical, I presume they are a pair. I will not give a centime, would guess they are early/mid twenties and entirely capable of working. In addition, if they have 4 kids they will not be left homeless and destitute!

My daughter is 11 and also in 6ième. She was just the same as your son; tears in the morning, terrible behaviour at home (she's normally very good)...and then money started going missing. Eventually, she told me she was being bullied and victimised because a)she was English b)she didn't have the right trainers c)they figured she's be too scared to do anything. Well, they were certainly wrong about number three! I wrote to the school in no uncertain terms, saying either THEY sorted it all out or I would. They didn't. I went to the school, met with the headmaster, form master, uncle Tom Cobbley and all and eventually lost my temper. This, I hasten to add, was a very Catholic and expensive school... I hauled her out overnight. This is apparently impossible, I can assure you it is not! She goes now to the local public College and is as happy as a sandboy. Less work, kids better, stays for lunch...a different child, or rather the one I'm used to. Being 10, your son might also be starting puberty, which can strike boys every bit as hard as girls (and boy, do I know about girls!!!). I'm not saying changing schools is the answer. But it worked for Polly. Perhaps his happiness is more important than German though; he can always try again in 4ième...

I found a site once that was like Chinese whispers; you put something in English at the beginning and it translated and retranslated through half a dozen languages and back to English...made Babbleshark look sensible! Anyone else seen it?

We only get 5 channels in Normandy, or four if you life in the sticks....

I realise the law changed on the first of January and have had a quick shufti through the Government sites, but can see no mention of the time one needs to have been separated before a divorce can be allowed. I know it used to be two years, but seem to remember that this has been reduced to 6 months? Please can somebody clarify the situation for a friend? I am happily divorced myself, it's not for me!!! As I understand the situation, both parties are in agreement.

Idiotproof chocolate cake 150g strong dark chocolate (more than 50% cocoa solids) 125g sugar 125g butter 3 eggs 90g flour 1/2 packet levure chimique Whisk eggs and sugar until they change colour. Melt butter and chocolate in bowl over simmering water. Cool slightly. Add to egg and sugar mix. Stir well. Sift over flour/levure chique Fold in gently. Pour into buttered tin, doesn't really matter what size, I use a small roasting tin about 9" X 5". Or an oval gratin dish, anything really as long as it's reasonably shallo, not a deeeeeep cake tin! Batter is more liquid than you would expect, don't panic. Bake about 30-40 minutes at Mark 3/4 but keep an eye on it. Fudge icing for top 75g sugar 50g butter/marg 100g chocolate 75ml evaporated milk (lait in tins, unsweetened kind) Put milk and sugar in a heavy saucepan over a low heat and allow the sugar to dissolve completely, stirring frequently. Bring gently to boil and simmer for 7 minutes WITHOUT stirring. Take off heat and stir in broken up cocolate. Finally add butter. Cool, stick in fridge for a couple of hours until it's spreadable.

I have no complaint about the food in the Clinique I was in last year; they even tried to force feed me wine "to cheer me up"!

I am not a great cake maker (I leave it to the children), but I can just about make a chocolate cake that is so simple an idiot could do it. Thus it's ideal for me. Every time I have wheeled this out, people almost swoon and always queue up to ask for the recipe!

St Jean de Daye south of Carenten and north of Pont Hébert? My Heavens, things have changed in the last ten years! (I used to live in Le Dézert) and you couldn't even find a ham sandwich...Polish yet. I'd love to see the locals faces, pity I have no transport from St Lô!

Dear Producer The aforementioned project might be rather more than you budgeted for pour l'instant, so may I suggest an alternative? You attempt to renovate a French Council flat (HLM). Most of the walls are made of straw and bend alarmingly when you try and paper or paint them. They do have the advantage of being easily perforated - read with a biro - should you wish to run a TV aerial into a different room. The solid walls are very solid. They're the only things holding the block up. Apart from the ones in the bathroom, of course where the sink was attached to a load of hollow cement blocks. The sink weighs about 20k. Go figure. It fell off the wall and, short of rebuilding the thing or injecting molten concrete, you will be on a loser. Then there's the ceiling tiles. They fall off too, usually when one is cooking. They land in the soup. Forgot to mention, the solid walls are coated with blotting paper, so painting is out of the question. Suggestions on a postcard please.

Being a complete clot atposting links, I suggest you put 'maladies de longue durée in to Google and click one of the top three sites, where all 30 problems covered 100% are listed. I just tried to post the link but it disappeared into cyberspace!

Normandy has a reasonably lax attitude as well!