Suze01

Expensive.  The inhaler I have to take every day to control my asthma costs 70 euros and lasts one month [blink].  I would expect that in the UK it would be covered the the standard prescription fee (whatever that is now).  Here it is covered by our Carte Vitale and the mutuelle. Even so it's damned expensive.

Here's another website giving details of concerts and other whats-ons in the area: http://www.valdedronne.com/fr/sommaire.php3

We have these - they don't 'arf run fast ! http://www.math.umd.edu/~schris/scutigera.shtml

That's odd.  I have a salt pool and when I checked my levels today after a violent storm in the early hours last night the chlore was showing zero (and the Ph a little high). I have to admit though that I haven't checked the levels for a while as it was all running very smoothly at 80% production.

My 12 year old is already asking for one (his just 14 year old friend has one).  The answer is no, no, NO. I did show him an article in the local rag about a 17 year old who was killed on his recently aquired bike - he's still asking, but he won't get.

Natural strawberry blonde.  Have had low lights in the past as I really do not like my colour sometimes. But at the moment it's just as it comes. I suppose at least I don't have an issue with grey hairs coming through [;-)]

Another wine name that makes me smile is Pissedru (surely there needs to be a question mark after!) - there's supposed to be an apostrophe somewhere but I can't remember where it goes just now, possibly after the e.

Yes!  The first year we were here we had to cut down a walnut tree in September when the fruits were nearly ready to drop. So as not to 'waste' any nuts [blink] I stupidly picked off all the green shells, opening them with my bare hands to get to the nut. Nothing but nothing would get rid of the black stains on my hands and I tried everything! It was weeks before my hands looked clean again.

[quote user="Lori"]Thanks Suze.  Do you get many or just a few?  This year, we seem to have literally dozens each afternoon.  I've been stung 3 times.  We actually check the pool for wasps before deciding whether to get in or not.  Certain hours it is just swarming with them.   [/quote] Just one or two at a time dipping in, though we have what seems like thousands in the vine on the side of the house at the moment feeding off the flowers.

[quote user="Lori"]My pool man has suggested putting salt in our pool to get rid of wasps.  He isn't sure if it will work, but wants to give it a try.  He says his salt pools don't have wasps around them.  He thinks the wasps won't drink the salt water. [/quote] Utter rubbish.  We get wasps drinking in our salt pool.

Here in the NW Dordogne, the fields are looking beautiful too. But, they don't last that long and in 2003 during the last canicule they turned black and dry  very quickly and then looked a real mess until they were harvested.

Further to the above response, the perfect tense uses the auxillary 'avoir' or 'etre' such as "I have been to the beach today" The imperfect doesn't "I was at the beach today"

[quote user="Dick Smith"]Toast.[/quote] ...very thick white bread, toasted on the embers of a log fire with fresh proper butter and old Oxford marmalade on a winters afternoon, and a bit of crumpet on the side too [;-)] fabulous! Actually my favourite meal would be Confit de Canard, frites, salad and a glass of red wine (after having some Champagne as an apero) [:)]

[quote user="Opas"]Chris , you know the chainsaw you use on a daily basis? well the noise of te drill is just like that! next time you carve you innocent piece of wood , make sure you talk to it first and tell it that you will be gentle.[img]http://bestsmileys.com/dental/1.gif[/img] [/quote] I thought it was Chris Head that does the chainsawing not Chris PP [8-)]

I'm not exactly sure where you are (the Auvergne? High-ish altitude?).  I grow  raspberries very successfully  in my part of the SW, but the SW is a very diverse region in climate and terrain.  On the basis that Scotland is famous as a raspberry productor then I don't think you will have any problems.

The Grand Frais chain of 'green grocers' usually have a very good selection of exotics, if you're going to find them anywhere it'll be there.

Sounds extremely painful Massimo.  How are you going to kneed the pizza dough now? I can sympathise with you. I had a very nasty cut requiring a hospital trip to Perigueux on Boxing day a couple of years ago from a tin of confit, but that was my fault leaving an open tin of it in the fridge and then plunging in my hand without looking to get something else out of the fridge. I've got a nice inch long scar now [:'(] Tip:  Turn the can of confit de canard over and open from the bottom.  I have never successfully opened it from the top, as was said - the lip is too high, but the bottom is easy.

They got a three month suspended sentence.  The Brit police couldn't catch them that side of the channel and alerted the French police.  They were on a race,  à la Jeremy Clarkson, from the UK to Italy. I don't understand why you were in 'disbelief', their speeds were a danger to themselves and other road users.  There was a story about it on TF1 online news page: http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/france/0,,3315720,00.html and the update was here: http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/france/0,,3316018,00.html

I've tried a few different recipes but this one is my favourite, Keith Floyds from the BBC food website:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/greentomatochutney_8201.shtml

Unless I'm making a green tomato chutney then I'll leave them to ripen on the vine. Had some tonight - they were delicious.

You're likely to get wrinkles if you do this but that's not too bad.  When a new liner is fitted there is a vaccum cleaner connected to extract all the air as the pool fills with water. So yes, you can probably repair it with patches/glue but you may and up with a wrinkled bottom!!

Have they actually started the work yet? If not, then I would just give up, ask for your deposit back and find a different company, and like the posts above, make sure that there are start and completion dates written into the new contract. Are there any locals who can personally recommend another company?

I agree, in any country you can have both bad and good care.  I will give you a very tragic example. My son in in Sixieme.  About 10 days ago a girl in cinqieme went into hospital for a fairly routine knee operation.  From what I can gather something went tragically wrong during the operation and she died very suddenly. She was thirteen. But, this could have happened anywhere, any country at the incompetence or inexperience of the surgeons. It is extremely tragic but it does happen very occasionally.

I would just like to say, in defense of the French healthcare system, as there have been some very negative comments made here, that my elderly father in law has just died after a six month battle against cancer plus 2 years treatment for other conditions beforehand, and we have had excellent treatment from the local GPs, district nurses, and the hospital, not to mention all the other services along the way. There are occasions when an illness is very baffling and unusual and difficult to diagnose, but please don't lambast any country's system just because you are in the unfortunate position of not yet getting a diagnosis and suitable treatment. In the UK I have had both excellent and poor treatment for some quite major traumas (ruptured disc with subsequent paralysis, to a two year old with a broken leg as just 2 examples). I do hope that your daughter is able to get a diagnosis and relief very soon.

Talking of signatures Miki, what is that written in Russian (?) in the second line of your sig?