Gine

Yep - it was a Soup Dragon. yeasr ago I used to understand what the clangers were saying (or at least I used to think I did ) - watch it now and its complete gobbledegook.   What happened ?[:(]

Wasn't Dragonora in The Clangers ?  Or was that the Soup Dragon ? Or am I just going mad with the boredom of August ???

Thanks cooperlola - every girl in the office is howling.  Happy Friday !

I can't give you an adequate explanation - at least not one thats ever been accepted in my bit of France ! I reckon its because the UK a)does not have enough sun , b) does not get cold enough to need them. I have always thought that that is what they are for ie heat out and cold out. However, it seems they are valued for the "light-keeping-out-ability" as you mention above but above all its security.  How cananyone possibly leave a shuterless house is beyond them as naturally the burglers are waiting to pounce the instant the place is empty...... I havn't got shutters in Andorra either - but thats fine with the French as there is no crime in Andorra.........Not sure what we do about the sun and cold though

You best warn them about the lack of shutters in the UK. This has put my friends off the UK for ever - they just can't understand how people can live without shutters.  They find it very very strange.  Odder than driving on the wrong side of the road even.

But how could she cut the skin off the magret before grilling ? My local friends that saw this will be talking about that for years........

It is the only book I have ever found about SW Wines. Its not a nice glossy thats for sure but it has so much detail on unheard of vineyards that it's a must for me. We love Cahors wine and its well worth it just for directions on how to get to certain Chateaux. As for figs, I reckon 2 weeks time for 47 . Now, what am I going to do with them all ?

I agree, fabulous book. I assume its her husband Paul Strang who wrote the book about SW Wine ?

Its always best to buy in summer Zeb. I filled up last week (2800 litres !) and will top up in February if necessary. We burn lots of wood in winter too but it comes for free from our land (well, except labour of course). As you said before, its obvious to know what moves the oil prices. In the absence of any significant deaths etc its pure supply and demand. People want Heating Oil in winter so its more expensive then. Same goes for logs.

Most of the people I know that are going back find the rural life boring. To be honest, I am not really sure of the wisdom of moving to a rural way of life when you only have experience of a city. I suspect they would be bored in rural England too. Funnily, none of them move back to rural England....

There is an article in the Economist today regarding the French Wealth Tax (ISF). Interesting to note a rise in payers of 87% in the last 8 years. de Villepin says it will be reviewed by the end of the year, but no guarantee of reform. Still, it seems they are beginning to realise that it has become an economically dangerous tax.

Apero free voisins would do my liver a power of good ! You will never change some of the rose tinted brigade. Dare I say that some of them will never admit to France having faults as surely one of the reasons for living here is to make the not so fortunate English friends and relatives a little jealous ? I like to compare like for like. I work in Paris and London and see bad and good in both. I live in rural England and rural France and see roughly the same there. Difference is price (when earnings come from UK) and weather. I will retire to France for those 2 reasons, not because France is "better".

Not sure if there has been hail this year. We havn't had any round here (about 45mins south). A friend of mine should visit sometime this week (and I hope bring me back some of her blanc sec which I have never tried...)so I am sure to have all the details at some stage. regards Daytona

I have seen some interest in Patricia Atkinson on various threads so I thought I'd let you know her new book is being launched at the end of July. Launch party to be held at L'Imparfait (sp?) in Bergerac if anyone knows it. Looking forward to a good read.

In Lot et garonne it is common to take champagne as a gift too. This will usually be drunk after the meal but before digestifs. Yet more alcohol to cope with......

Thanks for that Lottie. When the AirFrance service stopped last year that was due to the UK end. The flight was operated by Flybe who decided to sell their Heathrow slot to Virgin. I heard that Airbus were not happy about this at all. Makes sense as they were one of the major buisness users of this flight. Now you can only go to Gatwick and although the winter flight times (BA and Easyjet) will get you into central London at a reasonable hour and allow you to leave after a full day in the office, its not the case in the summer. I too would love to see an Agen alternative but its not likely to be at good business timings. Even the Agen-paris service stops and starts and chenges operators from time to time. Lets hope any increased Airbus activity means they just have to provide more Toulouse routes !

It's not always necessary to have good French (or indeed any at all)to be employed in France. Its highly dependent on the nature of the job and the company. The French company I work for employs many non French speakers in France. The business language is English and we employ many people around the globe who do not speak the native language. Indeed, the only exceptions to this are the English speaking countries. You cannot work in an English speaking country unless you have very good English (company rules, not mine). I think you may find that other large multi nationals have a similar kind of attitude.

SB, please don't mention the Paris tourist tat ....I have only just recovered form my lunchtime trip to Lafayette and Printemps. Do people really but this stuff ? As far as French presents go I find the girls are quite easy. Lampe Berger are always a hit as they don't exist in England (but then you must be prepared to send the refills as you can't get those either)or anything from Caudalie as they only have a limited range in UK. Don't have a clue what to get for boys. Maybe those little Tour Eiffel are attractive after all ......

Sorry but I can't agree that buying a chateau will definitely make you bankrupt ! The only thing that concerned me was the roof. A new roof will definitely cost a small fortune and can ruin other parts of the house in the process. Everything else is the same as any property, just on a bigger scale. The main problem is furnishing it. You can't just nip to Ikea and buy a load of stuff (well, you could but it would look pretty naff ). So you need to plan what you want to do and how you want to furnish it. Its impossible to move in and have everything done at once, even if there is no renovation to do. Yes, it is expensive but expense is relative isn't it ? In the end its a privilege to live in an historic building. And we bought the first one we saw.......