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Wendy

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Everything posted by Wendy

  1. Try CitiBank. Just reread - you want a French bank account. Try La Poste but you can get a non-resident account so long as you can provide all the documentation.
  2. Down to both I'd say - I was told to expect severe cramping and duly experienced it, but it was worse about 20 mins after taking the drug each time. The things we girls go through...
  3. Cathy I am of the opinion that the big places like LeClerc, Auchan etc are just job creation schemes here. They don't care if you buy anything and the floor staff are uncharming, unhelpful and actually a hinderance - being surly must be the main requirement to work in these stores I reckon.  
  4. Alan we actually saw a big downturn in British guests this year and a huge rise in guests from Scandinavia - loads of Danes and Norwegians. I can understand to a degree why the Brits haven't travelled so much this year but was wondering about why the Scandinavians are out in force...
  5. I would say the weekend lie-in is the best thing about the end of the season [:)], during the week, guests or not, I still have to get up for school.
  6. Who cares about the green-eye'd/blue-eye'd one...if anyone see's a Bay City Roller twirling his furry sporran in public here please let me know...[:-))] Yep, I was a BCR fan...tartan strides and all - tried to faint (it was the thing to do) at their Sydney concert in '76 but got caught and carried out by a hunky security guard too soon [;-)] I liked Eric...[:$] Aahhh, the 70's...
  7. Norlevo - I was prescribed that by the local hospital last year to 'hurry on' a miscarriage already in progress. To 'get things over and done with' in other words. This is not a drug to be tampered with believe me - I had to stay in bed for three days and was in a lot of pain. And it messes you up in other ways too. Not a nice 'alternative' at all.
  8. Well he ain't out picking grapes in our vicinity right now.
  9. So another busy summer season is drawing to a close - anyone got any stories to tell...? I'll start the ball rolling then. We had a family - Mum, Nan and two boys in their late teens. Mum and Nan had one room, the 'boys' had another. Mum and Nan's room was a joy to service - the boys...? [+o(] Think 'over an inch of water all over the bathroom floor each day running out through the carpet and into the bedroom'. Think 'floor towel never used' - left hanging dry as a bone each day on the towel rack. Think 'note left for boys on third day to use floor towel and close bathroom door when showering due to carpet damage' - think 'note completely ignored'. Think 'boy's underpants left under pillow each day'...[8-)] Very nice family mind you - but those boys...[:-))]  
  10. Well, we were listed with several agents down south here - I can recommend Jacwood Estates highly though as Margaret stayed in frequent contact with us letting us know about interest and enquiries, in fact, the only viewings we had pre-internet listing came from them and they are UK based. If forum guidelines permit I will name-drop some free online listing sites - but I need a nod from the Mod first [;-)]  
  11. Hi Emmarc, we listed our hotel and house here with various Immobilier over 18 months back and, with the exception of one UK-based estate agency, have found them all disappointing. Very often our listing would disappear from their sites after a month. What we have since done in the last couple of months is list ourselves on some online property websites which enable you to place a good sized ad with photos for absolutely free. We now have the result we were waiting for after a steady stream of enquiries - the immobilier brought no results at all. We will be saving ourselves between 30-50K euros commission. I'd say more people are searching online now rather than walking into estate agents offices. I suggest you do this asap - it's free and you've nothing to lose. Its worked for us!
  12. I washed and ironed all our bed linen here when we first arrived but had to look for an alternative when, in my pregnant state, my middle got too big to sit at the ironing table. Why not use a blanchisserie...? they pick up and deliver - it sure transformed my life!
  13. Well, to be honest Callie I have broken those rules; three years ago we had an English couple check in around 11pm with two kids after arriving late on a RyanAir flight - one (about 8 years old) had a temperature and headache. Mum and Dad had considered both Stansted airport food and Ryanair onboard food too dear to buy so the poor kids had arrived here very late not having eaten since before midday that day - they were both overtired and starving. Mum was complaining she would not get any sleep if the child kept 'whinging' so I gave the little girl a teaspoon of Calpol and both the kids some toast and hot chocolate - which settled both of them. But I never gave any thought to any possible reactions... The last couple here, the Germans, really annoyed me. They are both working solicitors and the baby spends most of her time 'in care'. I got the gist that Mum, or for that fact, neither are used to caring for the child fulltime. Maybe though the child would not have gotten sick had they not run the room airconditioning 24 hours a day at 17C - taking the baby constantly from hot weather outside (32C) into a freezing cold room (even the room door handle was cold to touch!)  would not have done it any good and they did this for three days running. I was worried the child was coming down with measles due to the runny nose, red cheeks and fever and tried to impress upon the father to take her to the hospital. Mum handed her over to Dad about 9am and went back to bed. Dad sat with the child until after midday waiting for 'worn out Mum' to get up. They then took the child out to a family lunch where, they told me afterwards, it threw up everywhere and over everyone... Dad and Mum both spoke good enough English to understand me but I suspect they are just clueless - they have an au pair back home...given the child's distress I suggested the hospital as the local has an excellent paediatric emergency section. They were just too lazy and unmotivated to do anything. Like I said, poor little kid.    
  14. [quote user="Callie"]I would ditto what Clair says.  You would be well-advised not to supply any medication, even paracetamol as in France, only a doctor is allowed to administer such things !  I am a Secouriste-Equipier ie I have the same diplôme as the Pompiers, and we are only allowed to give medication if there is a doctor present. Sorry, that all sounded a bit heavy as you probably wouldn't have done that anyway !!  I don't believe that there is any obligation whatsoever to supply a first aid kit.  People arriving by car should have their own !  Plus if you supply sticky plasters and someone reacts to it...... But it's a nice gesture, and not likely to be used very often.  Anyway, if they swipe the thermometer, you can deduct it from their deposit ! [/quote] Callie - considering how the French like to use a thermometer they could definitely keep it.! But you are correct. We keep a first-aid kit however last week we had a German couple here for a week to attend a wedding and family reunion. During the night the baby developed earache and Mum begged me next morning for some paracetamol - we stock Calpol. The OH refused to let me give her some for the reasons you have quoted - if the kid reacted to the medication what would have happened? We directed them to the local hospital as it was on a Sunday morning yet the Dad sat around in the foyer with the baby until midday while Mum slept. The child was feverish, cranky and obviously unwell yet he made no attempt to get the child to the hospital. I told him several times to get her off to the hospital, only 25 minutes away, but he wanted to wait for Mum to wake up... They never went to the hospital but checked out that afternoon instead - three days early - stating they would take the child to their doctor back home. Poor kid with clueless parents like that.  
  15. Listen, a gite owner is not running a charity. Why should the guests of the guests use your facilities for nothing! Maybe it would pay for next season to include a clause - very well highlighted - that... a) guests may have visitors but limited to 'X' number of visitors - you decide the number ( with me it would be zero personally - they can meet up somewhere else ) b) no overnight visitors. Period. c) guests' visitors may NOT use property facilities, i.e pool, play area etc. Also state that if these conditions are breached their contract will be terminated on the spot and they will be asked to leave. It is YOUR property! Don't take any abuse - and it if it gets too much call the Gendarmes, remind them that they are in France, not the UK where such behaviour is everywhere these days. Give some thought too to the situation should one of those unofficial, freebie visitors injure themselves on your property...where would you stand legally? not too well. Cover yourself for the future. Bloody yobs!
  16. [quote user="Clair"][quote user="Thebiga"]I just don't know what people want for the money....  [/quote] They want the illusion that their money can afford them to behave as they wish... Problem is, they don't want to pay for it! Some people seem to confuse a self-catering holiday property with a hotel. They forget about the "self" bit. They want everything thrown in and whatever they get is never quite enough... Thank goodness they are a minority. [/quote] Clair, we get the opposite here. We have one gite and the hotel - those who rent the apartment rarely cook, preferring to go out and eat. I had one woman, a hotel room guest, demand to use my own kitchen each night to cook her fussy (sullen-faced) teenage sons a meal each night as they 'didn't like the foreign food here'. I said 'no' to that. Two Irish sisters and their two kids once set up one of those small portable electric cookers in their room - when we discovered where the cooking smells were coming from we told them it was against fire regs to cook in the rooms so they left in a huff leaving a collection of food cans, opened and unopened, and dirty cutlery and plates from our dining room under the beds. I could go on...but it's been a loooong summer.  
  17. [quote user="gosub"] "Opas, Mr O has one hell of a compo claim to make - wrongful arrest and unlawful detainment for a start! it dosen't matter whether you live in France, or the UK, or anywhere in Europe, a valid European issued insurance policy is all he needs. So long as it has been issued in Europe it is valid throughout Europe including the UK. Just the same as his drivers license is valid throughout Europe. And why were they looking for a green card ? - he can work anywhere in Europe, the green card was declared a 'barrier to free movement' ages back! This has all been a major breach of European law and you should go for as much as you can get. Those police should know the law before they lock people up." And if it's as easy as they say on the quote here, why did the problem arise in the first place? MIB "The Motor Insurance Database (MID) was set up by the insurance industry to help combat this crime, and the police are now the MID's biggest customer, making over 3.8 million enquiries per month.  The DVLA, with over 1 million enquiry transactions a month in support of their Electronic Vehicle Licensing operation, is the second largest user of the MID.  The MID also helps the UK comply with the 4th EU Motor Insurance Directive, which requires that insurance details of all vehicles in member states can be easily accessed by a national information centre.  In the UK, this role is carried out by the MIB via the UK Information Centre." [/quote] The problem arose because the police did not accept Mr O's perfectly legal documents at the off. They should have done. If they were unsure they should have checked up before they started arresting and locking him up for the night and impounding his car. It is not up to European citizens to explain the law to police - it is up to the police to know the laws, and EU laws at that. Mr O was acting in a lawful manner, not breaking any laws and yet he was unlawfully arrested and detained. He was not unregistered, not uninsured. He was not required to be a UK resident if he was already living in an EU country - France.
  18. Frenchie I have always found that it is other women who do most of the staring...for some reason they find it threatening, especially when accompanied by husbands/partners - who normally couldn't give a toss! Breastfeeding at the off certainly is painful, very much so, but until you have learned how to get the baby latched on properly you just grit your teeth until you get used to it. No one ever tells you about the pain barrier which has to be worked through first! In Australia we have the wonderful 'Nursing Mothers Association' - they run a 24 hour helpline and it does not matter what time of the day or night you pick the phone up there is someone there to answer your call and help you.
  19. My son will be travelling from Perpignan via TGV to Gare de Lyon Paris in September - he needs to get to Versailles after that. Can anyone tell me where he needs to go to get the train to Versailles from the Gare de Lyon...? He needs to get to Versailles Rive Gauche RER C station. Thanks in advance.
  20. dave, your darling doggie obviously has doberman in her and, personally, I am very wary with Dobies now as I was attacked by one as a child and sustained serious injuries to my arms. Any dog with doberman in it needs to be treated with respect in my opinion. She looks lovely but she has been hurt in the past and, as you say, she is nervy around kids. If I were you I would inform those parents at the off to tell their kids to leave the dog alone. You don't, or shouldn't, need to say any more than that. Tell them the dog likes to be left alone. If I was a guest at your place I would fully respect that - actually my littlie's are wary of dogs anyway and would not approach one willingly. Too many kids, adults too, think all pets - dogs and cats -  are there for their amusement. They are YOUR guests, not your dog's...    
  21. dave21478, I would like to know how the dog is holding up so far. Can you teach her to bare her teeth now and then to those annoying humans or is she just too polite and consigned to her fate...? Sometimes I'd like to just lie on the doorstep too but I have no chance... My advice...? slap the darn spoilt kid anyway - go out with a smile on your face[:)] I wonder if the parents of such brats realise just how many people want to lay one on their 'little darling'...[Www]
  22. Personally Odile, I think all those people who object to the sight of a woman breastfeeding her baby need to get their minds out of the gutter - which is, lets face it,  where their minds are at. They associate a baby suckling with sexual connotations...that much is clear. You hear this argument time and again - "feed the baby in the toilet if you want privacy". I know for myself that most public toilets, in my opinion, are never in a fit state for the purpose they are intended let alone for sitting and feeding a beautiful baby!! secondly; a feeding Mum would have no problem with privacy anywhere if people did not stare so much! I visited the loo at Burger King in Barcelona (recently) - on La Rambla to be precise - and immediately left due to the stink and mess coming out of the badly neglected toilet cubicle...and yet we expect Mums to feed their babies in such an environment!! I have eaten in restaurants, from highway cafe-class to 3 star Michelin - and have seen adults with appalling table manners and disgusting personal habits, and yet a baby feeding discreetly from it's mother breast is a social 'no-no'...? One thing I have also noticed...those who object the most also stare the most[8-)] You are so correct; Mums and babies deserve far more respect than they currently get.  
  23. Interesting and well done to La Leche. One thing I notice though is that the French do not get so worked up about Mums breastfeeding in public as the British do...and if you take a look at British society in general 'boobs' play a huge part in advertising, comedy shows and selling newspapers and magazines. Yet the Brit's balk at a woman breastfeeding in McDonalds...!! What on earth is wrong with them? It is as if they have the attitude of: big boobies are funny (thanks Benny Hill); boobs are 'sexy' so long as they belong to Jordan...but put a baby anywhere near a nipple anywhere and everyone jumps up and down in rage! Why[8-)]  
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