Fantine<br><br><br><br>Susie

I'm sans CV at the moment as CPAM is in the process of opening a dossier for me and transferring OH and kids to my new dossier and so has taken both our CVs. As yet I haven't received an Attestation. I've got an appt for a scan this afternoon and they have asked me to bring my CV. The lady at CPAM said that it's not a problem, just take along the Attestation from OH's dossier.

I know her as Ermintrude...but what is she called in Pollux, the French version?

My eight year old daughter has latched on to this lovely phrase. Particularly useful when arguing with older brother.

Thanks Paul. When I went to the doctors, I was given a prescription to hire one via the Pharmacie. I've just had a call to say it will be ready to collect tomorrow. One weeks hire is 16€. So my FIL can get out his medals now and start polishing!

Well, is it happening?! As the riots head towards the second week, it i being said it has less and less to do with the two dead teenagers.

"Greta [in my area] had only a very few courses within a small range of activities. To qualify though you would need to have adequate written and spoken French. They send you first to the local APP, if there is one in your region. (atelier pedagogique personalise). They are mostly only in the bigger towns and cities. This improves your written french but is of limited help with spoken french" The APP at GRETA run both spoken and written french courses. I go to the spoken one but last year also went on the written course.

Thanks for replying. I'm going to the doctors myself today and was going to ask.

"Been back a while now..." Is there anything that you miss about La Belle France now that you're back in the homeland?

Part of the problem with this situation must be the fact that the french eat their steak hache very rare, so there is no chance of any bugs being killed by the cooking process - I've read quite a few of the news articles, yet this doesn't appear to have been mentioned.

There is a Lebanese resto in Perigueux just off the 'mosaic/fish' roundabout. I haven't been there, but maybe I should going by Mrs O's recommendation. Happy Birthday BTW.

Hi, Does anyone have a wheelchair that I could borrow for my elderly father in law so that he can go to the Armistice service in the village? I have asked at our Mairie and the Adjoint is making enquiries. We are in the NW corner of the Dordogne in between Riberac and Brantome, anywhere with-in a reasonable distance, we'll come and collect and return.

From today's SudOuest: Statement from Leclerc: "Hier, à la suite de la grave intoxication alimentaire, Leclerc attirait l'attention des consommateurs de quinze départements susceptibles d'avoir acheté dans ses magasins des steaks hachés surgelés de la marque Chantegrill portant les numéros de lots L231, L234, date limite au 22-08-2006, et L206, date limite du 25-07-2006. Les départements concernés sont les suivants : l'Ariège, l'Aude, l'Aveyron, le Cantal, la Haute-Garonne, le Gers, l'Hérault, les Landes, le Lot, le Lot-et-Garonne, les Pyrénées-Atlantiques, les Hautes-Pyrénées, les Pyrénées-Orientales, le Tarn et le Tarn-et-Garonne. Les consommateurs sont priés de ne pas consommer ces produits et de les rapporter au magasin dans les meilleurs délais. « Pour l'instant, nous poursuivons notre enquête pour en connaître l'origine », déclarait hier le service de presse de Leclerc, mis en alerte depuis vendredi. La firme a procédé au retrait des marchandises en cause. Les personnes qui auraient consommé le produit et présenteraient les symptômes de nausées, vomissements ou diarrhées, doivent consulter immédiatement un médecin."

Coco wrote "I have never felt able to say that I am even good but my French neighbours say I'm fluent. Oh no I'm not!! It seems to me, the longer I live here and the more French I learn, the more I realise I don't know. But SB is right. You only need to know the vocabulary that is pertinent to you. There are lots of words in the English language that I don't understand." I feel exactly the same. My French tutor (GRETA) seems to think I'm advanced, and I'm Vice-President of the Amicale Laique, and sat through a 3 and a half hour meeting last week, of which I understood almost everything that was being said and put in my 2 penneth worth on a few occasions. Although I know my vocabulary is still lacking and I know a lot of the technical stuff, I still get tongue tied when in conversation with friends or neighbours. It's like my brain can't compute quickly enough, yet after I've walked away from the situation, my head is spinning with 'I could have said this, or that'! Maybe it the age thing. It's so frustrating, but enjoyable at the same time - I only wish I had got into languages earlier as the more I learn the more I love them.

Said in an Aussi accent: What's the difference between a buffalo and a bison? You can't wash your hands in a buffalo!

That sounds delicious, I love dishes like that especially during winter. I was flicking through a recipe book last night and came by a lovely game pie recipe, really rich with juniper berries in the marinade. Must go and source some game now from the local farmers and hunters!!

[quote]Oh b****r, nowhere near us again. Perhaps 2007 ? John not[/quote] Nor us. But I've realised I can tie up a camping trip to Arcachon and catch the Bordeaux to Dax section as mes gamins will be on school hols by then - 11th July.

I quite like the French one 'Boue' as if someone is just about to jump out of the bushes to scare you!

As long as it's just once in a while it's fine.

Acide Chlorohydrique (Hydrochloric Acid). Available in supermarkets and hardware stores. Wear rubber gloves and drizzle over, leave for a few hours before flushing.

It's not only the Grues that are passing through France at the moment. Today I saw my first flock of Palombes (wood pidgeons) flying through from Russia to Spain. http://www.palombe.com/a/a_mig02b.php Edit: having read through the site a little more, it seems that Les Chasseurs sit in wait for them from the darkness of early morning, particularly in the last two weeks of October!

[quote]It's a great shop and you can get coriander seed but she doesn't sell fresh herbs. I've been growing my own all summer - just keep on sowing every 3 weeks or so because it goes to seed very quickly w...[/quote] As I mentioned in an earlier post, I planted out a variety called Slobolt, just 2 packets at the same time. It has been going since early August, I have been harvesting it regularly and it still hasn't gone to seed. I would thoroughly recommend getting this particular one. http://homegardenseeds.co.uk/acatalog/Coriander.html

[quote]The good news from Le Figaro yesterday is that France is in no danger from the birdie flu, because we're not under the flight path of the infected migratory birds. What an amazing country - no bird f...[/quote] But if you look at the BBC's online coverage of ABF, they have a map clearly showing that southern France is on the flight path - take a look at this map (you'll have to cut and paste the link) http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40912000/gif/_40912688_birdflu_latest.gif

The other replies have reminded me of a letter I received from England that arrived via Australia with a perfectly written address!

Generally the postal service is excellent but I have had a parcel of books go missing. Also a friend was expecting a parcel from her parents in the UK for her son's birthday that took four weeks to arrive despite parcels from other relatives, posted on the same day, arriving promptly.

In the first flight that went over there were 60-80 in v formation. The second and third about 100 each then the fourth flight was much smaller, probably about 30 or so.