Blanche Neige

Hopefully you have found somewhere now.[:)] Nothing left chez nous for July

accidents will always happen.....................................................[;-)]

"In Brittany - certainly the bit we are in anyway - wash machines are usually found in the garage"   When we bought our house (in 17) the only suitable place we had for the washing machine was in the garage. Now we have put in a shower room upstairs and improved the one downstairs we have been able to move the machine indoors. A great improvement because now we don't have to move the machine inside for the winter months. Also if the clean washing is dropped on the floor at least it falls onto clean tiles and not the dusty concrete.[:)]

Sober? Tag, there are still some bottles of wine left on the rack[;-)]

But I've got some crumpets... Dick Is that crumpets or crumpet ?[;-)] I guess either would be welcome on a dull afternoon.[Www]

If your are interested in this subject perhaps you should read TWO CARAVANS the recent novel by Marina Lewycka (author of A SHORT HISTORY IN THE UKRAINIAN). It gives a sometimes not too comfortable insight into the conditions met by these immigrant workers.

Opas you'd better be quick and book your priority boarding on Ryanair if you don't want to be boarded with the commoners!

You know the sort of thing....vol au vents with a range of fillings, finger rolls with egg and cress, perhaps a few little sandwich triangles with salmon paste and cucumber Betty, [blink] you're making me feel all nostalgic now, my mum used to make food like this for our birthday parties.

That's o.k. then Betty, first thing tomorow I shall telephone the babysitter pour les sept and the hairdresser to book a shampoo and set, must remember to ask for the hairdryer furthest away from the window, as I don't want the neighbours to see me with the curlers in.

I'm hoping that Prawn Cocktail, and Baked Alaska will be on the menu and I am sure you have something great in mind for the main course.[8-|] You've not forgotten the silk flower arrangements, have you?

"Good-oh! Let me know what time to expect you..................................."   Betty, [8-)] isn't it a bit late for dinner tonight? please make a decision, choose the right cloth and all the other tasteful bits and bobs, then let us know the time and date........................of course we will all R.S.V.P. [:)] p.s. please can you give me plenty of notice as my diary is pretty full and I have to arrange a babysitter for les sept nains

You don't say whether you are student age / middle age or any other but there are rebates to be had on rail travel so if you plan to use the train check out the sncf website.

Renaud said "It is all a question of balance. Anybody who finds that 50% of their hamlet / village / town bought by incomers are bound to feel uncomfortable especially if the incomers do not speak their language well. Part of the problem is that the young people have been migrating to the towns and cities for some time as the economy has changed away from the land. .......................................................................... ..........................Therefore the incomers are not exactly depriving the young of homes in the rural areas; they are helping halt the decline of those villages. "   I'll second that. Just to add to the discussion, the ""wealthy incomers" renovating old properties will spend money locally and employ the local artisans.[8-|]

"What comes out of this thread is that it is worth finding out how many incomers there are in an area before moving there.  " When house hunting you could always look through the local phone book and see how many foreign names are listed, of course there will always be some who are on the list Rouge[8-|] How to escape if there is an influx later is another matter. Quite simple really, ......................just move house![:)]

"People are still taking some huge bags on, and some look suspiciously heavy!"   Well they are supposed to fit inside those gadgets nr. check-in and I suppose they do but as you say, RG what about the weight? The problem is you need strong arms and a hefty set of  muscles to be able to lift up these bags and put them in the overhead lockers.[blink]

 Le Petomane wrote: Meg & Mog, do you (or your dog) have any of the following: (a) pelmets (b) valances (c) doilies (e) something such as a doll with a huge crinoline dress to hide the spare loo roll  (f) a special-shaped brush to dust behind radiators (g) those little things on your table to rest your cutlery on to stop the tablecloth getting dirty (h) a special-shaped thing for getting the first slice out of a pie (i) grape-scissors (j) one of those things you plug into the wall which discharges nice smells (k) an After-Eight mints coaster? Ummmmm no, to all of the above!! What is an After- Eights mints coaster, and grape scissors.........they exist??!! Does this all mean something...........is this what most tablecloth owners have?? NO (g) those little things on your table to rest your cutlery on to stop the tablecloth getting dirty I like those, we used to have them when I was an au-pair, if I had some I would use them and will look for some when I next go to a Vide grenier or Brocante.   BN

"I do use the paper ones on a roll when we have lots of us around the table." Pierre At Christmas (in England) we use the posher version of this, the paper cloths that the supermarkets sell. I find it save the washing and still looks presentable. Blanche neige Who certainly does not fall into the "tidy homes" category![:)] but sometimes likes to make the effort for visitors.  

1) To keep the table clean??.............why not just wipe the table afterwards instead of washing a cloth?? Well if you have a wooden table the cloth  helps to protect the surface and keep the polish looking good. 2) To look pretty??........ get a nicer table? Yes, it is a way of making the the table look presentable and can complement your china etc.. 3) Because the table is dirty??...ummmmm clean it? A  cloth will hide an old table and no one will notice the scratches. I don't think a cloth is for hiding the dirt...........well not in my house it isn't! So how many have you got? I use a "cut off the roll" cloth on my garden table in France (and also in U.K.). I have some checked table cloths for my big / old Fr. kitchen table. These were an excellent buy from a charity shop. I also have a length of clear plastic "cloth" (off the roll) and this can be used on top of a good cloth, saves any worries of red wine / tomato sauce etc. being spilt and spoiling a good cloth! Of course you could just buy yourself a nice table with a formica top and be done with it![;-)] The choice is yours![8-|]

[quote user="Blanche Neige"] "When my card has been replaced they require both the old and new cards (to move the points from the old to the new card - both are put in the machines, first old, then new). "   LOL ...............................................and don't they make a meal of it!!! I had about three attempts before they would give me the new card. "Madame you have to bring in your old card" So I took in my old card only to be told that I had to wait three weeks for new card to arrive! "No" I said, "the new card is in the drawer behind the counter because I saw it last week" the assistant finally produced new card but no apology.   That said, I have had some good "free" gifts from Super-U especially when they were giving things away for half the number of points.[:)] Update: I have just been informed by a very helpful assistant at Super-U that they are changing the design of their cards and because of this all cards ( including any cards that would have expired this year) are now valid until 2008. [:)] [/quote]

"The area north of Bordeaux has always been to my mine a nothing place.  However this is only based upon two visits of some short duration."   Perhaps you should visit more often[Www]

My car was there for 56 hours. The cost?? £133.50[:@]My return flight to Paris was just over half that. That's horrendous![:@]

I am also with Cooperlola, Monika and Renaud. Quite honestly if Forum Admin want to make an article out of this topic they have not got a lot to work with! Three pages of the majority saying they mostly like the old properties,  a few saying they like new builds and  one or two people who are looking to pick a fight with Admin.![Www]

I agree with Renaud and Cooperlola, give me an old house and lots of character.[:)]

So I can't really see the point of internal shutters. Pat.   Pat I have to agree although they would be good for security and keeping the room shaded in Summer or warm in Winter. I have seen the internal wooden shutters where we stay in Brittany but only useful with the windows are closed. Will have to study them next time we night-stop there.[;-)]

"It's a longere we are buying, and want to keep the place looking 'nice' rather than borded up when we are not there." If it was an insurance requirement, why are they not fitted already?  The house must be a good few years old "   We can all advise on here but really it is best to ask your Fr. insurance company to give you advice. I don't think it has anything to do with whether the house is a main residence or maison secondaire. Our Ins. company MAAF told us we would get a better insurance deal and they would be happier if we had shutters.   A local carpenter made ours and told us which sort he would be prepared to make according to local style etc.. Apart from the security issue, as many have already said the shutters are an excellent idea for shutting both out the bad weather and the heatwaves. Selon moi, money well spent.