Merteuil2

Will <<I' agree Miki. How long did that agent claim to have been working in France? His accent was even worse than mine.>> I'm glad you said that Will.  I hesitate to comment on language, for fear of being called pretentious (Qui, moi?), but I saw this programme and was amazed that the agent said he'd been working in France for 15 years - not just the accent, but he made some very basic mistakes when speaking French. But, as I said to my husband, if those people could make a successful move to France, I'm d*** sure we can!  One day....maybe....

Will <<I' agree Miki. How long did that agent claim to have been working in France? His accent was even worse than mine.>> I'm glad you said that Will.  I hesitate to comment on language, for fear of being called pretentious (Qui, moi?), but I saw this programme and was amazed that the agent said he'd been working in France for 15 years - not just the accent, but he made some very basic mistakes when speaking French. But, as I said to my husband, if those people could make a successful move to France, I'm d*** sure we can!

<<one thing is sure i wouldnt have liked to be someone who booked the ferry aspect of their July holiday say in January, as the price they paid then can quit easily be halved by waiting till a couple of weeks before. i guess we are all becoming a little bit last minute these dates and are no longer dictated to on price, its great to have choice but how many companies will survive waiting for us to make our minds up. thats when we go back to square one. >>   ...this works in reverse.  Tried to book for mid-September  crossing with P&O (shareholder brochure) on Monday but the computer connection was cut off before we completed.  Tried again yesterday and the price had risen by over 60pounds!  The quote now bears no relation to the brochure price.  We're considering trying Speedferries, though the journey to Dover from the NW is twice the hassle.

I haven't looked at the whole site, but La Vie Claire might have a list of outlets, or at least a contact address to enquire. www.lavieclaire.com

Tesco's Value nappy bags (for disposables)sound exactly the same, and only cost around 80p for 100. Perhaps you could get someone to send/bring you a supply of those? (I used to use them when walking the dog - a fraction of the price of poop bags and just as solid and efficient).

Has anyone ever brought back from France shallots for planting? And if so, did they thrive? I'm fed up of only growing round shallots that are more like picking onions, and would like to try some real chalottes longues de Bretagne, but I'm not sure they'd succeed up here. Elizabeth (Lancs)

Today's 'Daily Telegraph' (31/7, sorry, I but don't have a link) ran an interview with a French surgeon, who lives and works in London. Better pay, better conditions, quality of life, etc. He lambasted the French health system. With the exception of the better pay, he sounded just like a British person talking about their move to France :>)

Report from Europe 1 radio news today - a call (from Parlement (= Parliament) to remove all vending machines selling drinks and sweets/chocolates from schools. This is to fight the growing trend towards obesity amongst children. They said that within five years obesity would be at 20% (but I'm not sure whether that just related to France, or to populations in general in the developed world.)

Which one are you?

An interesting item on the "tronons noirs" on French roads: http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3228,36-372147,0.html I would have expected the real blackspots to be around the Channel ports, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all.

Radio news today says that she's apparently a known "mythomane", so they're now treating her story with a large pinch of salt. Unlike the policeman in the place whose name I didn't catch, who's now under fire for using undue force with a man who was illegally parked. But after just looking for a parking space, and seeing the last 2 parking spaces taken up by one huge 4-wheel drive, I think I'm on his side (if it's true, of course).

We're in NW England, and can't pick up French stations on our home radio. Car radio reception is excellent though for France Inter (163 LW) and Europe 1 (184 LW). The franceinter.com website works fine, but you need good speakers.

We bought the preference shares back in 1982, when I was travelling regularly back and forth (working near Lille), and they have saved us a lot of money over the years. I agree though, that fares have now got to ridiculous levels, even with the discount. We only cross the Channel once or twice a year now, and always use Portsmouth/Cherbourg or Le Havre, because the drive is easier from oop north - only about 5 hours to Portsmouth instead of 7-8+ if we go to Dover. That's why we haven't tried Speedferries yet, but if they ever open up the western channel route, we'll be trying it. Elizabeth (Lancs)

I still haven't been able to access MB's site, despite trying for a week. I don't know much about computers, but is it possible that my server can't get through, but other people's can? (I'm in Lancashire).

Fresh figs go really well with Roquefort. Well, we think they do.