sueyh

HSBC are open every day apart from saturday and Sunday (well Hesdin and St Pol our local ones are anyway). suey

This year for the first time (touch wood...!) I have not had a bad reaction to horse fly bites.  I have been taking centrum multivitamins performance (it has extra vitamin B) as recommended by a lovely nigerian chemist in the UK.  He said that the vitamin B puts the horse flies off.  I have to bring a good stock back when I visit the UK.  I have also been taking antihistamine tablets every night and I think because that is in my blood stream it is lessening the effect.  Last year I was not taking this medication and my legs blew up like tree trunks with weeping sores (NICE..!). Suey

Steady on now Sweet 17 - I think perhaps a bit too much sun.  Best bit of our day was that we drove past the petrol station yesterday at Hesdin Intermarche and the cost of diesel was 1.38......!  Now how sad is that - to get excited by the price of a litre of diesel. Suey

This was about five years ago - they may have modified their ingredients since then.  But it just goes to show the effect that even a small amount of a nut substance can have. Suey ps my husband went into anaphylactic shock through handling a plant - nothing to do with nuts and I would not want to go through that experience again.  Very very frightening.

Hi Katieb,  I too was totally shocked by the comments regarding this being a trendy illness.  As an ex school secretary we were taught by the local school nurses to take anaphylactic shock very very seriously.  All adults who worked with the children in question were given appropriate training and the child was never allowed to be without his epipen (carried by an adult assigned to him).  We even had a case of one child being kissed goodbye in the morning before school by his mother and the whole side of his face swelled up like a balloon (mum had just eaten a mars bar which of course contains nuts!!). As a school we also asked other parents to think very seriously about what they put in their children's lunch box - just in case the food came into contact.  On special occasions like school parties the parents of the affected child were asked to provide the child's own food. Good luck. Suey  

Well hubby cooked this divine dessert today - "Sex on a plate!" - DIVINE - I know I'm easily pleased. Suey

I know moles are a pest but recently there have been a lot of dead ones about and this morning when driving along a local road I saw one trying to scrabble across a piece of rough ground at the side of the road.  Is there any reason why things are bad for them this year - or is it just because of the dry weather? Suey ps I know I won't feel sorry for them when they are once again digging up my terrace (as they did last year)!

Wish I could say the same for my lavendar bushes - the bunnies keep eating them....!  Little fatherless fiends....! Suey

We bought our seeds in the UK in a long strip on a roll - you just unroll it and plant - well we seem to have success - lots of evidence of leaves. suey

Here in the Pas de Calais we have had brilliant sunshine since about 13:30, prior to that we had rain.  Glorious.  Pray for sunshine sunday - barbie planned!! Suey

Noticed yesterday in Lidl that they sell the same shaped can as red bull but call it "Stimulation Drink"!!  Not sure what ingredients it has though. Suey

Just to throw another spanner in the works.  We were advised to alternate between stronghold and advantix.  However, we have to use stronghold all the time on our Rhodesian Ridgeback as she has an on going battle with ear mites. Suey

Oh its so good to see you back on form Sunday Driver Suey  

Thank you Pierre ZFP.  Very useful. Suey

Can anyone recommend a heating engineer in the Hesdin area (Frevent particularly). Our heating went off in late April, engineer who does yearly service came out, blew a fuse in some electronic part of it, went away saying that he would order the part and has not been seen since.  We have telephoned but to no avail and also got a friend to phone for us.  So any suggestions please.  It is a "De Dietrich" oil fuelled boiler. Thanks in advance Suey

Oh dear did you get out of bed on the wrong side this morning "Nearly Retired"?  There are some of us who like to discuss things and get some moral support on this forum.  There are so many scams going on and we're not all financial wizards. Suey

Hello, someone on one of the previous forums I remember suggested putting pickled onions down the mole holes, never tried it but may be less barbaric than glass down the hole.  We actually had a mole under our gravel terrace, under the weed membrane, so could not get at them. Suey  

She may be like the woman from the Labour Exchange in the programme "BREAD" - what is the french equivalent of "NEXT"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Suey Sorry am I showing my age remembering that far back in the history of TV programmes?!?!

Let us know what happens Coops, just in case the rest of us get called in!! Suey

So very glad to see that you are back and on such good form.  Take care and best wishes for your and Mrs SD's recovery.  Keep taking the tablets. [;-)] Suey

Congratulations - you've done so well.  My hubby has been on mertazapine for nearly five years and I am dreading him coming off them, we've managed to cut down from three a day to two (with drs help) - so thats an improvement. Good luck Mooky - keep up the good work. Suey

Well we've just come back from a day spent at Arras Central Hospital - it is very very large but the service and care are exceptional.  We were in l'hopital de Jour (in a single room with ensuite loo) for a diabetes check up.  All the tests were carried out, he was taken by a porter to every one of them and returned to the day hospital.  It was an experience we were not particularly looking forward to but it turned out to be much easier than expected.  Superb and so clean. Suey

Very best wishes to Dave and his wife.  Many of us would be in total confusion without his support and sound down to earth advice. Get well soon both. Suey

Are there any craft type shops in the Pas de Calais - have tried issambourg but their stock of card making items is dwindling.  Seems to be less and less everytime I go. Suey

We visited the Cite Europe at Calais last night (I know we certainly know how to live it up!!) to meet friends over for the evening from Kent - the shopping centre was so quiet - we could not believe that it was UK half term - usually its heaving - I think the poor pound is certainly affecting the visitors - prices up in France as well as the UK and also poor rate of exchange. Suey