Beryl

I have seen 'own brand' Mascapone in l'eclerc and the 'table du monde' variety. Its quite widely available in Brittany as I use it a lot in tiramisu.

Yes it was on November 1st, obviously someone didn't want these poor souls to go unremembered. It made me feel very humble that some unknown French person ( presumably) has taken the time and effort to do this for long deceased servicemen and I shall go again tomorrow.    

I was really touched to see that in a graveyard near me, the few Commonwealth war graves there had had fresh flowers put on them on All Saint's Day. Lest we forget.

Fortunately I am not a gite owner so don't have to worry about these scams, but is it that simple? eg they can drain your account that easily? It has just made me think that every time I write a cheque ( and I do that a lot in France) the cashier, waiter or whatever is being handed my account name, number and sort code.  Could these people drain my account too?  [8-)] Yours naively [:$]

I know that you aren't cheating[:D] I couldn't see THE cheat on the leaderboard although he/ she had left his comment using the signature 'cheat'. Don't apologise, just keep on beating the cheat[:D]

It must be the cold!

[quote user="Russethouse"]As they actually call themselves 'cheat' and are often top of the leaderboard I guess that could be the case![/quote]   Sorry, you have lost me now as the leader is JJ who certainly wouldn't cheat. I don't think its worth getting het up about though, if this person gets a buzz out of cheating, they would probably get an even bigger buzz being discussed on here!

I haven't done your quiz for ages [:$] but how is it possible to cheat? I thought the questions were fairly random. I don't want to cast aspersions, but does that mean that the person at the top of the leaderboard is cheating somehow?

I would think the use of technology as a means of gathering information on the UK public is more extensive than in Russia. I am not saying that all this information is for evil purposes btw.  

I have posted the link here as it doesn't work on your post. http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd[347]=x-347-545269 I'm  going to go and have another look at it before I comment as I haven't heard of them before either.[:)]

With the greatest of respect, I think that learning French could be an additional difficulty that he doesn't need. If he has learning difficulties then it will be harder for him to learn French. Moreover, if you do not have a good knowledge of French, the bureaucratic side of things will be a nightmare. If you want what's best for you son, for the time being at least, I would stay in the UK .[:)]

Me too, I love boiled potatoes with the skin on as long as the skin is not too thick. Apparently most of the goodness in potatoes is just under the skin and if you peel them, you lose that. I managed to find some fairly decent sized potatoes suitable for baking last week too and I forgot how good they tasted with loads of butter.

If they broke in through the caravan door, then the windows being made of plastic seems to be immaterial . I am not a caravan owner, but are plastic windows normal or has the caravan been modified? If its the latter, I suppose they could try and use that as an excuse not to pay you. Have a good look at the terms and conditions ( which I expect you have already) and see if there is any clause that you might have missed. Were there any un caravanny type things you were storing in there that may have aroused their suspicions?

It is apparently far easier to learn a language the younger you are and as I found out, learning French at nightschool from a English woman did little to prepare me for life in France, the accents and speed of native French speakers really deflated my confidence. I think it is really impressive that you want to do this. Personally, I think the au pair route would be good as living (cost free) in someone else's house is a major advantage and you don't have the worry of finding money for bills etc. If you did this for 12 months , I think it would be the best grounding for you to then branch out on your own. There are organisations on the web that will find families for you. Best of luck! Edit A quick search and I found this one http://www.afj-aupair.org/ Ps I think UK employers would be impressed as well, if you later returned to the UK having done this under your own steam.

I don't know about the legal aspects, but without a good command of the French language you will find it hard. What type of work do you want? Have you thought about being an au pair? You would get accomodation, a small wage and the means to improve your France that most of us would give our eye teeth for.

Thanks for those suggestions. I have a fondue too [:$] and use it, though I don't wear an Abigail's Party kaftan! I quite like anything that doesn't tie me to the kitchen all night. I don't mind doing preparation before hand as long as I can speak to my friends without having to dash back to the kitchen or get hot and bothered. 

I wouldn't have thought that the IR would care less as they are going to tax your pension regardless. However, I  understand you could get fined if you don't fill in a French taxform if you are supposed to. As your pension is taxed in the UK, you only have to declare it on the French tax forms, you won't get taxed twice.

I bought one today, having had a raclette meal at a friends house and liked the concept. What do you do on your raclette please as I am looking for inspiration.

This cheered me up this morning, the whole beach to myself !

[quote user="Deimos"]I thought a GIF was somebody who laid railways track (or supervised the laying of railway track). Ian[/quote]   I thought it was the new name for jif ( bath cleaner not lemon juice).

No, its just this time delay thing! Just pop yourself in a hotdog roll with mustard and I'll see you later!

That may be so, I don't know. It would certainly appear that a lot of French people seem to have reservations about Turkey joining the EU. However, Holocaust Denial is an offence in France so what is wrong in broadening the scope to include the Armenian one? Again, the French Armenian population are pleased that France has taken this action if TV reports are to be believed. Certainly Turkey has been reluctant to admit a great deal of culpability and the Original Poster is in denial too. I wasn't attempting to hijack the thread. The thread is about France, the Armenian holocaust and Turkey , Politics have got to form part of the debate!

I am sorry Cassis but I find that quite offensive. It was terrible atrocity that is making current news in France . You can always avoid the subject if it sends you to sleep[:(]

It appears as though it will become French law although the EU commission would rather it didn't. In my opinion until Turkey can admit some / all responsibility, EU membership should not be granted.    

So if a UK company is working from France and not registered , are they effectively working on the black? and more importantly could 'customers' be in trouble for using them?