Beryl

Is that what Camp Coffee is made of ? I don't like the taste of that stuff at all [+o(]

These posts do serve a purpose though. This is something that I have no direct experience so I may be talking through my hat, but I am sure there have been lots of people that love France but have been driven back because they did not do their research properly.  I wonder how many people have bought wrecks in the middle of France and thought 'we can turn these into gites' and yet can't get any guests because there is nothing there to attract any guests... you know, the places where even the French can't wait to get out of ! I am not joining the ' there's not much that is right in France camp [:P]' but if these kind of posts can make people really do their homework and make a SUCCESS of their lives in France, that has got to be emotionally and financially better for them.  

I can hear Dick groaning from here ![:)][:)][:)]

You can find one here http://www.notaires.fr/notaires/annuaire.nsf/F_RN_RECH_PUB?OpenForm&comLangue=FR But I would test the water with an email written in English to try and get an idea just how good their English is.

That is a lovely blue . I would have to knock whatever they have tried to cover those lovely stones with. What on earth were they thinking of ? I bet they have stuck nylon carpet over parquet too.[:P]

[quote user="Dick Smith"][quote user="Sprogster"] If I recall correctly from another forum where the owner of the 'no going back' fishing lake business is a member, the house, lake and business was put up for sale last year and the family are returning to the UK.     [/quote] That's a shame - it seemed to be working out OK. [/quote]   I agree. I thought that that episode was by far the most memorable that I had seen.  When he was in the UK, I thought he seemed a bit of a Walter Mitty type but my goodness, he proved me wrong. He certainly could work hard and he knew his line of business very well. 

I would never dream of going direct to the owner if  the agent had shown me round the property. All I was trying to do was clarify roughly when and where the line would be crossed that would legally ( whether verbally or in writing)oblige a buyer to deal exclusively with that agent.

[quote user="Teamedup"]I always use and italian cafetiere. They go on the gas or electric and personally I find that they make the best coffee. Easy to use too.[/quote]   I have one of those and love them but I haven't used it in France partly  because I have forgotten about it [:$] and secondly because I have a ceramic hob and I am not quite sure if I can use it on that. I am not certain what the metal is.

It was good and didn't stay around long .[:)]   I have been instructed to try and make it in my mini bar mould for individual smaller cakes too.

I will stick my neck out and suggest that poor choice of location could have a lot to do with it. If a person is seduced by cheap housing away from everything, I imagine that the isolation can become less attractive as time goes on, also even if they speak fluent French, what common ground are they going to have with people that lead simple, country lives ? I am not saying that this applies to your friends at all.[:D]

I can see the attraction of zipping around on your own land on a quad bike, but not in public places. I think that people who use these machines are inherently selfish. I love the peace and tranquility of the countryside and don't like to have it disturbed by some loon gadding about on a quad bike.  I have the same dislike of jet skis too. We can always tell when the Parisiens have arrived because people with more money than sense and no thought for any one elses safety ( they ride them far too close to the shore ) start whizzing about and the noise that just one of these things can make is frankly atrocious. I may appear a grumpy old woman but I think they are antisocial and personally I think that they should not be allowed in public places without a very good reason.   EDIT sorry if this has come across as a personal attack on the OP, I haven't meant it that way.... I just hate the bl**dy things [:$]

That is a nice colour, is it Farrow and Ball ? I detest painting woodwork.  I have only ever painted woodwork inside a house and even then I find  microscopic bits of fluff,  float and land on the wet paint... I dread to think what wildlife and other debris I would end up with stuck to my shutters if I had them !

That's lovely Ernie. If I had seen that shade of green in a Bricorama I would never have thought it would have worked and yet it looks really, really  nice. 

The cake recipe is actually similar in ingredients to that of Brownies . I don't think you can make a chocolate cake with anything other than real chocolate, I find that any chocolate taste in cocoa gets lost in the mix unless it's for icing. Thanks Clair, that will be tea time tomorrow sorted.[:D]  

I opened Outlook express and all this mornings emails were there unopened. When I opened them there, they disappeared from my wanadoo in box. I will try and figure out how to keep them in the wanadoo inbox .

There are certainly a heck of a lot of women that take regular exercise in my village, cycling, jogging, walking. Particularly noticeable on Sunday morning's and at 2.30 all the world descends on the beach for their promenade. So I go at mid-day and have it all to myself.[:D]

Usually from the wanadoo website but I do use the outlook one sometimes. I will have a fiddle and see if I can find out how not to automatically have messages deleted after X days and see what happens when I use Outlook to read already received messages. Thanks all

It is wanadoo.fr and it is just me using it at the moment.

This is puzzling me  I read my messages in my inbox and sometimes they stay there for days other times they vanish by themselves. I haven't deleted them or done anything other than open and read them, where do they go and why does this happen? I can't even find them by doing a keyword search.[8-)]  

Thank you; more more more please. I love that quincallerie shot. Maybe it's my rosy coloured glasses but what looks charming in France would look run down in England.... it has just got a certain je ne sais quoi I love your shutters Cooperlola , got any internal shots that you are prepared to share with the world ?[:D]  

I love wooden shutters. They epitomise France for me, especially when painted in lovely colours but I don't mind plain wooden ones either. But I haven't got any.[:(] Any one got any shots to make my day?

Sorry, reading through this I felt as though I had pulled at fast one and had something I shouldn't have had. But when my E106 expired that ( CMU) was all that was offered to me so I assumed it was what everyone else had and we do have to pay, so I am at a loss to see what the problem is.[8-)]

But don't people do that with the CMU ?

All the rabbit I have seen in France comes skinned and wrapped ( with the head hiding under the liver ! just to make me jump) and is obviously farmed. Is it possible to get wild rabbit with the bits of lead still in it as seen hanging outside traditional butchers in the UK or are they not allowed to sell it that way?

Can someone please explain what healthcare Brits get in France if they are not working but have too much money to get the CMU ?