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vickybear

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  1. Anyway..............we had Cumberland sausage and mustard mash tonight with onion gravy, the weather was 22 degrees today and the beach was surprisingly empty so lots of room for bat and ball with the dogs. Got a job interview tomorrow so, if successful, the extended holiday is over but hey, ho....it's a part-time job [:D] 
  2. Rag pudding.......mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ( this is Mr VB now!!  )
  3. You can't win 'em all, but it got the majority going!!!!!   [:P]
  4. Mmmmm mushy peas!!       How about black peas with salt and vinegar on Bonfire Night.......and treacle toffee..........and parkin.......
  5. Grandma Pollards in Todmorden which is Lancashire or Yorkshire depending on which side of the argument you are on. They're opposite the railway station, make their own pies and fry the chips in beef dripping!!   Truly the best I have ever tasted and one for the Northerners over the Southerners, let alone the Brits over the French. On the subject of chips, has anyone else noticed the standard of crockery at most local French eateries???  It seems to be something to be proud of .........more chips equals a better meal?  AND, do they EVER warm the plates?
  6. Mmmmm, they were sooooooo nice!!!! I can see I'm going to have some fun winding you all up with the occasional reminder of the UK's finer points!! Husband had some chips on a slice of Warburtons medium white, so hot they melted the butter which ran out a little on his fingers........................ (ps the fish batter was crispy!!) [;-)]  
  7. [quote user="Bugbear"] Andy, your last post 'has hit the nail on the head' completely. With the trauma I have both had and seen in life I am still an optimistic type. On this thread the only point I was trying to make was simply 'if you fancy doing something, then just do it', if it all goes 'pearshaped' so what, at least you've had a go. There is no nirvana, no magic place where problems don't exist. Its just that france, for us, is currently a nice place to live. If that changes then so will we. That's all I was trying to say. Someone once said (I forget who) "That in life, you only regret things that you don't do" [/quote]   ...........Anyway, just got back from the beach. It's sunny today in Devon. I sat on a bench and watched the boats sailing in and out of Brixman Harbour and pondered on my current big issue............will I ever get used to flushing anything I like down the loo again???!!! I've also pondered the above statement. Is it true? If you look hard enough at any situation you can make the statement fit. For me, I don't regret my move to France as it has made me appreciate the UK more. If I feel more settled here for the forseeable future then the two years I could otherwise have regretted weren't wasted. Right, just off t'chippie for a bit of Torbay Cod n Chips!
  8. [quote user="Deimos"] [quote user="LanguedocGal"] ... the state of the French economy and the often ‘closed’ employment market (specialist sectors in particular) often proves the undoing of many. [/quote] Totally "off-topic" but there was a recent Royal Bank of Scotland economic report as to the reasons behind Germany's recent economic strength. It almost read like a critique of how things were organised in France. Sort of "Germany seems to have managed to weaken xxx practices..." where xxx practices are something France is trying to strengthen !! Ian [/quote]   [8-)]
  9. [quote user="Bugbear"][quote user="vickybear"][quote user="Bugbear"] That is all part of the fun, just enjoy the challenge, don't listen to the whingers and get on with it. You're dead for a very long time............................................................[:D] [/quote] Bugbear........that's not fair.   I've just returned to the UK after 2 years in France and I don't consider myself a 'whinger'. I have been asked my views and expressed them. I have been positive about some aspects of both France and the UK. It's a forum, I don't call you delusional because you love France, nor should you refer to the people it hasn't worked out for as whingers. Bugbear....you're right, we are dead a very long time, but we're also alive a very long time too and being miserable with the life you are living can make it feel a lot, lot longer!!!!!!![Www] [/quote]     Oh dear Vickybear.............Where exactly did I in any way refer to you? Absolutely nowhere and any comments you have made were in no way being referred to by me. My reference was a general one about people who always see the negatives and from what I've seen from your posts, you don't fit that picture. I will accept your apology, of course. [/quote]   SORRY [kiss][kiss]    ( but not all whingers are whingeing.....they might just not be putting it very well. I didn't think you were directing it at me personally, just defending t'others! )
  10. Prasutagus - if you don't know what CPAM is you need to do a lot more work before the move. And before anyone jumps on me for that comment, believe me, I know of a number of Brits don't know what CPAM is before they move nor how the taxation worked, planning etc etc. An example. We met a couple who moved out last May. She had a serious medical condition which required monthly visits to her UK doctor. She also gets Disability Living Allowance.She thought she could transfer the treatments over to France and continue to pay absolutely nothing, as she is doing in the UK. I'm not an expert on this but it appears she was wrong. As a result, although living permanently in France, she is lying to the DSS, has given her permanent address as a UK family memberrs address and has to deive back to the UK every month for her doctors visit and prescriptions. She intends to continue doing this for the future. Having bought a house in France and using up all their funds they are stuck.  I'm not sure how they're going to get round doing their tax returns but one things for sure, they'll be telling porkies. An extreme case, and I may have got some information wrong, but it demonstrates what CAN happen if you've not done enough research. The point of this post, in a conversation regarding a variety of health issues after they had relocated to France she said 'what's CPAM?'
  11. [quote user="Bugbear"] That is all part of the fun, just enjoy the challenge, don't listen to the whingers and get on with it. You're dead for a very long time............................................................[:D] [/quote] Bugbear........that's not fair.   I've just returned to the UK after 2 years in France and I don't consider myself a 'whinger'. I have been asked my views and expressed them. I have been positive about some aspects of both France and the UK. It's a forum, I don't call you delusional because you love France, nor should you refer to the people it hasn't worked out for as whingers. If I had read more posts from the people it hadn't worked out for then I may seriously have re-considered, just like this poster appears to be doing. Being pre-retirement age and having insufficient grasp of the language to find work in France ( despite all the glorious ideas we had ) has left us over £50,000 worse off than when we started out. Luckily we got back on the UK housing ladder and we're settling in well back in the UK. It's been an experience I will look back on with mixed emotions. It's marvellous for some and a nightmare for others, and somewhere in between for some of the time for another bunch. You won't know until you get there, but you CANNOT have enough information before you make the move and moving because a lot of people say 'it's just great' is just as bad a reason not to move because of  those who say 'we hated it' If I had the time again the big thing I would do differently, if I could, would be to rent the UK house out and rent a French house until I was sure it was right for me.......particularly the location. We moved into the French countryside and the culture shock was immense. If you have been used to having an active social life and enjoy simple and silly things like shopping, cinema, nattering in your native tongue, and need to work, the French countryside is not for you. The men seem to settle better for some reason. ( and before anyone jumps on this, it's NOT because women are simple and silly!!!! ) I wish you luck, but those of us still looking at this forum who have moved back have a moral obligation to share our experiences with those thinking of making the move to help them with the full facts we may not have been aware of before our move. Bugbear....you're right, we are dead a very long time, but we're also alive a very long time too and being miserable with the life you are living can make it feel a lot, lot longer!!!!!!![Www]
  12. Sweet 17, I wish you every happiness with your move. I hope it's everything you wish for and more and you're absolutely right, if you don't try you won't know. Logan - you sound like the Grim Reaper...only joking ( actually, I'm not!! ). You're also absolutely right and I know that some of the reasons we wanted to move away will rear their ugly heads again but we have the advantage now of living at the coast, close enough to see the sea from the house and 2 minutes from the coastal path in Torbay. We were previously living in the North West and, with absolutely no disrespect intended towards my fellow Northerners, we realised one of the reasons we moved to France was to get away from things which hopefully won't affect us here. It's too easy to get into the habit of complaining about this and that because it's been on the news or in the paper, and lose sight of the good stuff ( like carpets for example!! ) So, we're determined to enjoy what we've got here. As far as having the advantage of balancing the two experiences, I can already do that can't I? I had 43 years here and 2 years in France so am well able to compare the two and I'm back in the UK so I think that probably demonstrates which one suits me best. We made sure we left ourselves in a financial situation which enabled us to return too. Another year and we'd not have had enough left. I feel for the people who want to move back and just can't, due to finances. Believe it or not as we pulled into our new road on 1st March there was a car parked up with a department 16 ( Charente ) registration. I thought someone was 'having a larf'. It will still there 2 days later so I knocked on the house door. Briefly, couple in their 60's ( in Devon visiting her sister ) been living in St Claud, Roumazieres for 4 years, she hates it, house on market over a year with no interest. If they come back they can't afford to buy what they were living in before they left. She said the experience had aged her ten years and she had such a sad expression my heart went out to her and I realised how lucky I had been. If you love it it's a wonderful life, if you don't and can't get home how lost you must feel.
  13. Just found this thread and read it......all 10 pages! Phew! Couldn't read it before as I was too busy unpacking..............yep, we've moved back to the UK after 2 years and I can honestly say I've felt more comfortable back here in the last 3 weeks than I've felt in the last 2 years. Why? Hard to define.  We're 45 with no children but UK based parents. Brothers in Spain. If I look at what I've done in the last 3 weeks the answer may be hidden amongst it: I've............... Walked to the corner shop, applied for jobs I've got a chance of getting, gone to the cinema, talked to the utilities and understood the answers, visited my parents in under 4 hours, got a good Indian Takeaway, stopped for a natter with my new neighbours ( who, incidentally within the first 2 days had sent 3 welcome cards and a bunch of flowers ), gone to my friends sons wedding,bought all the foods I'd forgotten I was missing, walked on the beach with my dogs, stopped worrying about what I'll do with my 22 year old cat when she eventually goes ( pet cemetery close by ), bought a paper for 40p on the day it's printed...........silly things really but all things that mean home to me. Why did I move to France..............I don't remember, two winters in SW France have addled my brain [:D]
  14. [quote user="sweet 17"] vickybear may i pm you for his number and/or address, please? [/quote]   Hi there, I've sent you an email but just in case you don't get it his number is 0545 65 00 45 and I think he actually is M Vanden-Bulcke Dufour. He's the boss man anyway. You can go without appointment in the morning for innoculations but the afternoon is appointment only ( actually that may be the other way round so you'd best check ). They're all lovely and all try to speak English so with a smattering of French you get there, although M Dufour and another young male vet speak perfect English. Best vets I've ever been to ( despite pet passport confusion which I blame the husband for anyway!! )   Good luck.    
  15. Our vet did all of the above and only charged one consultation fee. Amazingly the whole charge for 2 cats and 2 dogs was less than 70 euros. I'd gone in fully prepared for around 150 euros so it was a very pleasant surprise. He'd completed all 3 sections on the passport, ticks, worms and health check and he did carry out a good health check on all 4. This vet is M. Vanden Bulcke-Dufour based in Montemboeuf, Charente dept 16 ( just inside 16, not far from Dordogne!! )
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