Harley

Found safe and well - thanks[:D]

Posting for a friend.  Gone missing this evening - Fox Terrier female - Just been clipped so minus her collar - immediate identification therefore not possible.  Very friendly little girl - much loved.  Please keep an eye open if you are in the area, ask your neighbours and check barns and sheds etc.  Thanks.

For us the costs made the decision.  We bought a small old house (about 100yrs) when we first came over but  with growing children it was just too small for the long term  The type of house we would have been able to buy with our budget would have needed an awful lot more work to make it a comfortable home although I would have loved an older house.  With a young family and the need to work, taking on a renovation project was not an option, but neither was buying a completed new build.  We have looked around at the going rate for a new build which has been lived in and the price difference is quite large.  We have bought our own land and are going through a regional building company and will hopefully be in our new home by Christmas (this year). 

Thanks.[:)]

Home made Lemon Curd with warm croissants...........................Yum[:)]

If you only have a company name, is there any way of finding out if they are registered to trade in France?

Gave some fresh prawns with Hellmans Mayonaise to our neighbour, the Maire the other day - he loved them.  Got hubby to pick him up a jar in the UK.  Well, it doesn't hurt to keep on the right side of the Maire now, does it![;-)]

Mine![:D]

[quote user="TWINKLE"] I was half listening to a radio programme the other day and a bloke was on saying that loads of dandilions is a great indicator of a healthy garden.  Don't ask me why - it's a bit like the butterfly thing, lots of different varieties means that the environment is doing ok. St Amour - don't sell them.  Keep them for next year and me and the other girls on the forum who are up for it could come round your place and help you scatter them.  We could do it at midnight and make a real ceromony out of it.  I can see us all now dressed in white floaty dresses with flowers in our hair.  We'll have loads of wine[:)] [/quote] Dancing round the fire, chanting.  Don't the ones in white dresses end up offered in sacrifice?  They do on the telly.  Don't fancy that bit much! - Should get us a paragraph in Le Manche Libre though, don't you think![:P]

[quote user="St Amour"] [quote user="Harley"]I noticed the lack of poppies too.  Can you buy wild Poppy seed anywhere?  I would love to start some off in the garden ( meadow area).  Poppies amongst the ripening corn.............beautiful sight![:)][/quote] Now Harley, I know you're in Normandy, so it's way too early for them around here - at least another month. We've got miwwions of poppy seeds in two old film roll cannister that we brought from the UK - keep forgetting to throw them round the garden every year.  I suppose after 4 years they'll still be OK?  Anybody want to make a serious bid for them?  Shall we start at say 200 euros?  You did all say you were really missing them [;-)] [/quote] Sorry, meant to say that I noticed the lack of them last year (summer) - but didn't like to brag[;-)]

I noticed the lack of poppies too.  Can you buy wild Poppy seed anywhere?  I would love to start some off in the garden ( meadow area).  Poppies amongst the ripening corn.............beautiful sight![:)]

[quote user="vervialle"]I am running a cake stall at our local fete in July with my english neighbour, the chairman is very pleased that we are getting involved but my neighbour has been called to the marie to report  what type of cakes we are making and how many we are proposing to make we are unsure whether or not to give our english cakes french names or not. what seemed like a nice idea is being taken very seriously and starting to worry us.Should we do english cakes or should we not, when in France !!!!!!![/quote] Lovely idea.  Why not bake French and English cakes allowing for some to be cut into small bite size pieces to "try before you buy" for those French who normally would not touch English food and to allow any English visitors to try out the French recipes.[:)]

Ooh help! I thought this kind of place only existed in the UK.....and Spain[;-)]

The thing I love about this programme is seeing the older style of teaching and how well the children are responding to it, particularly the Sciences, which are just not being taken up as much now.  They also seem to be realising that a level of behaviour is expected in and out of class and when they achieve it they are treated with respect and this then helps the lessons run more smoothly.  They are beginning to learn the subject during the lesson time but also, it seems, they are learning that they want to learn.  Is this down to what they are being taught, the way it is being taught or both  do you think?  Apart from one child, who has been expelled, I have only seen a positive response.  Perhaps I have missed something.  I don't agree with caning or the slipper, but these teachers are acheiving the discipline without it.  Some of these children are predicted to acheive the highest grades in their GCSE's but they can't spell words like bachelor.  Do you think that when we use the word discipline nowadays that people automatically assume this means physical punishment?  Discipline can be acheived without it.  I think children crave this kind of guidance.  It makes them feel secure.  They learn where the boundaries are and can be more confident because of it.  Surely if they are not given boundaries when they are young,  they will grow up thinking that there are no restrictions in life and they can do and say what they want, when they want and behave the way they want with no risk of punishment.  Then they come up against the Law and they realise that there are consequences to unsocial behaviour.  By this time it's too late![:(]

[quote user="TWINKLE"][quote user="Harley"] Bet Tinkle has something to say about that!! [/quote] Do you mean TWINKLE?  Why on earth would I have something to say on this subject?  I know I'm not the brightest light-bulb on the forum (although I like to think I'm the shiniest[:)])    Please enlighten me Harley. [/quote] Sorry Twinkle, I just thought you of all people would find something funny to say about a Mod called Miss Whiplash![:D]  You have such a great sense of humour.

[quote user="Benjamin"]Harley, have you ever thought of applying for a Moderator's job? Your posting seems to have immaculate credetials!!!!!!!!!!!! Benjamin please don't ban me ; it was only a joke. [/quote] Absolutely Benjamin - I'd help you with your spelling first though, you naughty boy[:P] Seriously though, I'm not sure I'd want to be a Mod.  It would mean changing my user name to something like Miss Whiplash ( I'm not into a verbal caning[:$]) just healthy debate.[;-)] Bet Tinkle has something to say about that!!

Anyone been watching this programme - great viewing - reminded me of my school days - but it wasn't as far back as the fifties.[:P]  It has been great to see the effect of discipline on todays youngsters and also the way they have responded to it.  Hope the Government have been watching - they might learn a thing or two...................then again,  maybe not!![:(]

Hi Retread, Sorry to hear about your problems.  We signed our contract last September and were told time and time again that our house would be finished by October this year (by the salesman).  When we got to the begining of March and they still hadn't started, we knew it wasn't going to happen.  We are also with a reputable regional building company.  Your insurance apparently dictates the date of the opening of the works.  On the date this is issued the building company may start, but our builders had written into the contract a two month delay after this date had been set.  The insurance company, it seems, also dictate the length of time the company may take to complete the build.  We were furious when we were told delivery would be end of April next year.  I kicked up one hell of a stink.  The salesman is now no longer talking to us but we have had a meeting with the MD of the company.  He was very apologetic and assures us that all the stops will be pulled out to get our house finished before Christmas (this year).  It's easier for us to keep an eye on things as we are living just around the corner from our build.  They have now started - we have the foundations and the beginings of the ground floor - but I wouldn't say as yet that they are "pulling out all the stops".  I am currently witholding any payment until I see some real work being done.  I have informed them also that I am covering their progress ( for the benefit of others) on an Internet Forum about living in France - see Harleys Blog.  Will be updating that later today.  Best of luck with yours - try not to get too stressed with it all - if you fancy a good old moan about it - stick another post on here - good for stress relief[Www]

There now, I knew you could do it - Any more out there?   I'm off to bye byes shortly - I wish pink and fluffy dreams to you all - Bon nuit!  Wake up smiling[blink]

[quote user="TWINKLE"] Oh there are, there are...we're just more poetic after 10 pm.   Wait 'til to-night[;-)] [/quote] Can't wait - I wonder what else you all do better after 10pm........................................................................[;-)]

Obviously not that many poets out there.................................[:P]

Thanks for that Sunshine.  My advice is limited at the moment as we are relative newcomers to France. But it's a good feeling,  to know you have helped someone, even if the information is minimal, as it could set them off in the right direction. Harley

Have been away a while - Flu bug! Yuk! Still coughing! How are you all?  Looks like we need a dose of Pink and Fluffy on here.  Goodness me what a to do! I can just see Miki in those fluffy boots now - not sure about the bunny outfit though!  How about a bit of poetry...........................?  Your own of course! Something light and humerous, cheeky perhaps ( but not rude).  Lets see what you can come up with.  Smile everyone[:D] Here is my contribution.......................... Hen Night.   I once went to a hen  night, Where the girls had booked a stripper, But, when he arrived, to our surprise, He was wearing tartan slippers. We would have been suspicious, If we hadn’t been  too drunk, And  we couldn’t see him properly, He was dressed up like a monk, Just then the music started, Boy, he really knew this game, But I wondered why all through the dance, He used a Zimmer frame. Then his robes were flung off, To reveal a mass of wrinkly skin, It’s amazing how quick you sober up, When reality sets in. All he wore was a fig leaf, When he finally dropped his cape, Which was carefully positioned, And held on by sticky tape. By now we should have been prepared, For when he dropped the wilting fern, ‘Cos they’d only got the number wrong, And booked at Age Concern!

I love to feed the wild birds but was concerned about encouraging them into the garden because of the Flu Virus.  I wanted to continue to feed them as it has been so cold, so I contacted the RSPB.  They said: The form of flu that is currently spreading is not contagious in humans and there has been no case of this being passed by wild birds to humans. Therefore, normal hygiene precautions at bird tables and feeders will certainly be adequate at the present time. Wearing gloves is an obvious first step but cleaning feeders outside is an excellent extra tip. This is equally true where birds are nesting in the vicinity such a house martins and swallows although it is by no means clear whether certain species carry or been exposed to the disease. Indeed, these are all things that perhaps, we should be doing already given If the situation does change, please keep checking back at the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/ So I am still feeding the birds and they are looking very well on it![:)]  PS. I have been grroming the dog outside because he has started to moult everywhere and the Yellow Wagtails? (only way to describe them) have been flitting around picking up all the hair this week.  Wish they would come inside and do it!![:'(]

[quote user="Dicksmith"]My first taste of Merguez was at the 24 heures du Mans some years back. I really shouldn't have eaten 4... [/quote] Strange how your dog looks like a Merguez........with teeth!!![&]