Sfgraveston

I'm in the Aude also - where are these Michelin starred restaurants in our departement? PLease tell Stuart

I've enjoyed the tutorials but I'm not sure how much you can accomplish in a group of 12 in 2 hours once a month despite often working in pairs or threes. I'm particularly looking forward to the summer school in Caen which will be 6 gdays of nothing but French.

You're doing the course - so you translate it! This is typical of the cheating that is endemic in education today whther this be at GCSE, A level or degree standard. I assume the text has been given to you so that YOU can benefit from the experience of working on it, making mistakes and therby learning. Get on with it you cheat.

I'm enjoying the course very much and have learnt a great deal. The oral element of the course comes in three parts - half of the assignments are recorded on tape by the student, there are monthly tutorials held entirely in French. and there is a one week summer school at Caen which is also totally in French. They reckon the course takes 12-14 hours per week but I've not always felt the need to do quite that much. Richard - have you a house in the Aude near Mirepoix and Fanjeaux? If yes we could meet up when we are both in the area. Stuart

How are we all getting on with the course? I'm quite enjoying it and am learning a lot. Would however like to have more written work marked. Doing the written assignments I could (and probably am) making loads of errors. Which summer school are you all attending at Caen? I'm going to the firts one on the 9th July. If anyone wants a lft there (but not back) I'm going early on that Saturday morning - ferry at 7.45am. Let me know if you want to share costs - I'm based in Cambridge. Stuart

I have just started this course and wondered if there is anyone else out there who has also started. How is it going?   Stuart

I've just paid 170 euros for 3 cubic metres in the Aude.   stuart

Should it be written as Adalaïs (with 2 dots on the i?) - in which case it is a girl's name and is pronounced Ad a lay ees If you type this into google you'll find lots of references to the name Stuart

What a bitter and twisted lot some of you are. It is typical of so much that is wrong with Britain - the politics of envy. Why is it that some people like to get their knives into others who may have worked a little harder or had a little more luck in  life? I thought these people did indeed have a lot of money and made a superb job of the renovation. The alternative I suppose was to keep their money in the bank and allow a perfectly good building to continue to rot. I say well done to them. The kitchen was wonderful though not totally to my taste. We have a kitchen at home full of Miele appliances and I can vouch that the extra (not substantial amounts) is well worth the cost. I suppose if they'd installed a cheap and nasty kitchen then taht wouldn't have been good enough for the carping ones. Instead of being envious of their language skills make an effort to equal them - such skills do not come about by chance but by hard work and practice. Some people seem to think that merely living in France will ensure that you pick up the language by some osmotic process - it doesn't happen like that. Stuart

I've enrolled for the Vouvel Envol L211 course - anyoneelse out there doen the same? Course starts in February. Stuart

Most of the car number plates in France are of the same colour/design. However from time to time I see two other varieties Red with silver(??)/metallic(?) numbers on (2) Very dark green with orange numbers on Why are there these variants and what do they signify? Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir

I am working my way through Pagnol's Chateau de ma mere and cannot find the meaning of SAYRE. From the context I believe it to be a sort of bird. Anyone know better? Thanks Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir

Dear All Has anyone had any experience with buying at the Souillac Country Club. We are considering buying there and would welcome any thoughts. Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir

Try also the french for kettle == bouilloire Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir

Use Character Map which comes with windows. You can copy from it and also find the appropriate key strokes e.g Alt 0232 for On my machine running Win 2000 it's to be found under Accessories/System Tools Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir

We have a house deep in the south in Aude (11) and our neighbours have very strong local accents. We've figured out that tu'a is really 'tu vois' (you see/understand) and this is confirmed by our neighbour. What we are still struggling with is the occasional expression which sounds like ca est or essayer (which it isn't) Locally in the restaurants 'ca tait' is also used to ask how a particular dish was. Can anyone help with ca est? Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir

Try Castorama at Carcassonne - they also hire out vans. They do white/electrical goods as well as kitchens, bathrooms and furniture. Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir

We bought all our white goods at Conforama, ZI Salvaza, Carcassonne and they delivered, as promised, within 4 days to a small hamlet down the end of a narrow deadend in the Razs. They were very good and I gave them a map of where our house is situated. Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir

We are looking to refit our kitchen in our house in the Limoux, Carcassonne, Fanjeau, Mirepoix region. Can anyone suggest a firm which sells and fits kitchens in this area of the Aude(11). Thanks for your help Stuart Doucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir