Gardian

Well, the price has dropped dramatically since last week. €4 / botte (500 gms) today for really nice quality ‘fines vertes’. I thought that I’d posted our preferred method of cooking it, but it went missing ! So, I’ll repeat it. Using the steamer, 9-10 mins, then butter, rock salt and shavings of (good quality) Parmesan. Bread to mop up. Extra bonus today - Gariguette strawberries. Only available for about a month in the Spring. To our taste, 10x better than most other strawberries, which often don’t taste of much. These are both sweet and sharp, if that makes sense. It will do if you try them.

I bought our first asparagus of the season on the local market this morning. Not cheap, but reasonably priced - €6 for 500gms, which will give the two us 3 lunch portions. Lovely it was too!

I’ve obviously led a sheltered life, but what’s ‘mudlarking’?

Well, I’m sorry but I can’t offer any suggestions or advice re your condition or that specific medication. However, perhaps the manufacturer of Glucerna might be able to offer some advice or help re its availability in France? The problem then is whether it is marketed under that name over here and whether you can obtain a supply from the local pharmacy quickly? The other possibility might be a ‘Diabetes Association’ here in France - they might well be able to help. To me, there are too many question marks though for the supply of a medication (or something similar) that’s clearly important or even vital for you. Taking it with you in powder form just seems the safest route .......... but, get hold of something from your doctor which confirms the nature of the powder and your need for it. Declare it ‘up front’ to the security people - better that, than having to make excuses etc.

Rather than talk about the absurdity of ‘the real Ken’ or ‘the fake Ken’ (both fill me with horror), I though that it might be better to return to the original point of the thread. A very high percentage of French citizens when asked if they’re in favour of the pension reforms being forced through by Macron say ......... “No”. Not terribly surprising. If I was asked the same question and I was (for example) a 50yo, I’d say the same thing. Then ask ........ “Do you perhaps accept that the current circumstances are unaffordable on an ongoing basis?” I just think that you’d get a different answer from the majority of people ............ if they replied honestly to the question. I can only speak for what I hear and witness around here in (very) rural France. Many, if not most, feel that the State will provide from taxes gained from ‘the rich’. They don’t feel that it’s for them to contribute in any way, mostly to the point of evading taxation. Deluded, frankly. Don’t get me wrong - lived here for nearly 20 yrs and wouldn’t move back to the UK unless we absolutely had to. But the French are really quite blinkered.

I’ve viewed this thread for several days and (understandably), most of it has seemed to revolve around whether GL is a good bloke or a bad bloke. The issue, which few of us can disagree with you’d think, is that uncontrolled immigration in to the UK is unsustainable. You could argue forever the reasons for people wanting to make the the UK their ‘final destination’. Soft touch? Personally, I’m inclined to think so. However ............ you’d think, wouldn’t you, that the combined strength and intelligence gathering capability of the French & UK Security Services would be able to identify and shut down the people traffickers? They have the powers to act - just let them loose. Yes, I appreciate that the ‘bad guys’ are multi-national, across several continents, but this is a nettle that has to be grasped. Take them out and you’re some way towards solving the problem.

Ditto to all of the above. I exchanged pm’s with her a couple of times over the years, usually over some comment or behaviour that I’d taken exception to. Her ‘line’ was never wishy washy, but generally firm & conciliatory. A loss to the Forum, but more importantly to her family.

My new passport was delivered yesterday - that’s precisely a 3 week turn round from my online application. I reckon that’s excellent. I would imagine that at other times of the year, it mightn’t be as quick as that, but they’re clearly ‘on the case’. Mrs G’s application is running about a week behind mine, seemingly because her ‘old passport’ took that much longer to get to the UK, but no problem.

Mint, Menthe, SW17 .............. this is someone who has masqueraded under a number of different aliases over the years. That banana bloke is the same.

I stand corrected Mint. Still, no harm in telling folk that it’s not as bad as the Press would have you believe. I rather suspect that there’s a ‘specialist unit’ at Durham for expats (that’s where you have to send your ‘old’ passport back to) and the turnaround is a lot faster than for UK-based applicants. Anyway, doesn’t matter really, as long as we get ours back in a reasonable period of time.

Well, for once, a quite positive bit of news. Our passports expire in 6 months time, so the renewal process needed to be started. Our younger son who lives elsewhere in the EU was faced with the same situation and kicked off the online renewal in mid-December. It was really totally painless. We had our pics taken at a local professional photographer (for just €8 each, it just seemed better than the uncertainty of a photo booth) and she emailed them to us. The online application was really straightforward and our ‘old’ passports were mailed back to the UK today. Our son’s new passport arrived by courier this morning, so a 5 or 6 week turnround, but that includes Christmas / NY. It all seems to work pretty well ! Forgive me if none of this is ‘news’ to all of you, but I rather thought that the online application process is quite new.

Just a little update. Our ‘ligne fixe’ still broken - many, many conversations with SFR to try to get a technicien to come and repair things. Loads of promises, zero delivery. Had a more promising conversation with somebody from their ‘service technique’ last week - he wanted to know my name & prenom. “Well, its on the screen in front of you, is it not?”. I give up really. Went to our Repas des Aines last Saturday. Really nice ‘do’, as always. Problem is that Mrs G & I, plus our very good British friends have all gone down since then with the dreaded Covid ! Now, none of us is seriously ill. Happily, just feeling really rotten, but will get better sooner rather than later. None of this is anybody’s fault - somebody brought the lurge with them & unknowingly passed it on to more than a few. Already hearing of others who’ve got it. The message is .......... be careful, folks.

Thanks everybody for the replies.

I’ve received a message relating to our (former) district nurse, which said that she was working “en binome”. Would somebody help me with what means?

I’ve received a message relating to our (former) district nurse, which said that she was working “en binome”. Would somebody help me with what means?