[The Allies and the Axis Powers - The French during WW2]

I was told by a few people where I live (not far from Bordeaux) that the men around here were sent to fight in Greece. There is a monument for men who were shot for refusing to be sent there.

[The Allies and the Axis Powers - The French during WW2]

"More French soldiers died fighting with the Axis powers than for the Allies during World War Two", a journalist told me last week.   Does anyone know if this is true or not?

[I have tried to research this on the Internet without success.]

[Gite keyholder/problem solver - How much €?]

Clair

I would suggest that 30 euros is not enough for greeting. The reason is that you will have to wait in until they arrive. Frequently, they arrive late and, believe me, hanging around is a real nuisance.

Being on call is not easy thing either.  The problem is that when issues arrive, you have to deal with them immediately, which can be quite stressful.

[Right, guys, without heated debate, let's have the reasons for UK leaving.]

[quote user="richard51"]4. Unlike the USA the United States of Europe (USE) would not even be able to agree a common language.[/quote]

The European Union has not been able to agree a common standard for the electric plug.....  [8-)]

[Naming a house]

Good evening Mrs T

This subject has been discussed several times before. Here are some threads for you to browse:

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/2846507/ShowPost.aspx

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/2627612/ShowPost.aspx

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/2304171/ShowPost.aspx 

I am pretty sure that there are others but I have only searched back to 2010.

Happy reading - and choosing...

[Lost carte grise]

Thank you for your replies.  This morning, my husband found the carte grise in a pile of papers on his horizontal filing cabinet (a.k.a. the table).  What a relief.

[What do you make of this? (Mammograms)]

My breast cancer was found as a result of a routine mammogram.  So do go for the test when you get the opportunity.

I have to submit to mammograms every year and now that I am used to the procedure, they don't seem that bad.

[Lost carte grise]

Help, please.  I can't find my original carte grise - it could have been lost or stolen from our car.  I do have a photocopy.  Do I go to the gendarmes or the prefecture?

I haved searched on the Forum and see from a thread that Quillan went first to the gendarmes to get a temporary one and then to the prefecture for a permanent one but then someone else posted that this was incorrect.  So I am confused.

[spirit of salts for filthy lav]

I had a similar probem with heavily stained loos in a house that we bought and tried everything.  Someone suggested Coca Cola.  It was a disaster.  It just made the stains a darker brown, Yuk.

It was elbow grease that cleaned them up in the end.

[Dog blind in one eye]

A close friend had a King Charles spaniel with one eye for at least five years as a result of a car accident.  It did not impair her at all.  So your dog collapsing is likely to be general weakness.

One advantage of a one-eyed dog is that you will not be able to walk down the street without starting up a conversation with a fellow dog owner.

[Help with television - young (ish) hands have sabotaged it]

Ca y est!  Son home from boarding school to sort out the television (he is learning fast what men are for...)..  I read out the thread and he checked everything.  It was the cable connections.

The stagiaire will be able to watch Loose Women on Monday.  I am sure that she will be thrilled.  [Www]

Thank you, Danny and others, for your help.

[Slow Cooker at Aldi]

[quote user="Patf"]It's possible to overcook any meat that you use in a slow cooker so that it dries out ... Also mine dries out completely after about 6 hours so I never leave it on overnight. [/quote]

I have never had a dried out casserole in mine (yet...) and I use it all the time, sometimes overnight.  I suppose that I fill it with liquid.

But how can the liquid evaporate if the lid is down?

P.S. Good tip, Patf, about having the lid upside down to keep other dishes warm.  I'll try that.

[Help with television - young (ish) hands have sabotaged it]

Thank you both so much for replying.

I did find the input button (after looking under a strong light [:D]) and when I pressed it and went through the motions, I only got a grey fuzzy screen.

My son is home from boarding school tomorrow evening and I'm printing out your suggestions so that he can do it.  He'll be the one who wants to watch Top Gear and so there will be an incentive...

Anyone want my stagiaire to come to your house to mess up your television.  There is no such thing as a free stagiaire.  [Www]

[Help with television - young (ish) hands have sabotaged it]

Crickey - it really is not my day, technology wise.  I have no idea why my post has a load of nonsense with it.  I just cut and pasted the accent on the e for "programm-ay" and up came all the garbage about Style Definitions.  Hey ho.

[Help with television - young (ish) hands have sabotaged it]

I have one television in my house that has UK programmes through some sort of freeview black box.

A young stagiaire in my house today (long story for another time) decided to try the television while I was out and she has done something to it.

She was obviously looking for French programmes but this particular television is British TV only.

I now get a message "La liste des chaines est vide. Voulez-vous lancer la recherche automatique?".

After a while, this changes to the LD logo with "Non programmé" underneath.

Please, is there someone out there that can tell me what I can do (apart from not watch television until my son comes home from boarding school...) ???

[Slow Cooker at Aldi]

Like RH, I also use my slow cooker for Christmas pudding.  I pour in hot water and place the pudding (in a basin) in the slow cooker on Christmas morning.  I then leave it in there until after the main course and hey presto, it is steamed.  Perfect.

[Books in simple French]

In a bookshop, look for books published by 'Folio Junior Edition Speciale'.  These books are aimed at younger readers but many of the stories are gripping,  My favourite was the true story of Helen Keller, an Amercian deaf-mute.

In the back of each edition, there is a summary of the story (so you can decide whether you would be interested), an analysis of the chapters and the characters, quizzes, questions to answer etc.

I look out for these books at brocantes because they are really good for reading in French.

[Due Diligence on Tradesmen?]

Be careful about paying a sum of money in advance, as many French artisans expect.  I had my fingers severely burnt this way.  I paid the deposit to a builder, who had done work for me previously, and then he became ill with depression.  I have still not seen the builder or my money.  Never again.

Also when you sign, you have to use the artisan and cannot use another one without their permission.  A friend had signed her contract for a new roof, paid the deposit that they wanted and then they didn't turn up for weeks.  She ended up having to pay them to release the contract so that she could use someone else - and they kept the deposit.

[On my way to Bugarach tomorrow... Info required pls]

I'm coming if we can have::

* a sewing machine with plenty of fabrics and threads - after all a girl can't have too many patchwork projects on the go

* a piano with several musical scores - my aim is that when we come back to Earth, I'll be able earn money as a concert pianist

* a decade's supply of Cadbury Daily Milk chocolate

* a bottle or three of Baileys

* no men on the space ship, other than WB, Renauld, JJ and a few others - apply here and us girls will decide whether to let you in

[Re: A funny thing happened to me.....]

Let us out of the agony, Betty.  Who is he?  You gave a clue about him appearing in 5 Harry Potter films.  Not having seen even one HP film (or read any of the books), I googled "who died in HP's fifth film" and up came Sirius Black.  But then it said that Sirius had been played by more than actor.  So I am none the wiser.  Aagghh...

Can you give us another clue?

I met someone on the roof of an Athens Youth Hostel in the late 70s.  I was staying on the roof (with a fellow traveller) because beds were cheaper there than in the hostel bedrooms. He was strolling around, taking in the sights. I asked "don't I know you from somewhere?". He groaned and replied "probably", to which I tried to guess where our paths had crossed - for a long time. Turned out he was on "That's Life", a popular weekly television programme at the time, but hadn't wanted to let on and played along with my guessing.  I then was grafted into programme he was making but that is another story for another day...

[OK I give in.......re Little England]

I think that the programme is unrealistic about life in France.  "I can't believe that I am now living my dream" said one contributor and that seems to be the general theme.

The programme makes it look oh so easy to live in France with none of the problems of tax and health costs and paperwork etc.  It suggests that it is easy to run a business and make sufficient money from it to live.  Children are shown integrating into school without any of the parental angst that is mentioned time and again on this Forum.  No filming takes place in the long hard winter, just the hot summer.  So life is one long sultry day.

Mmmm.  Worrying for those Brits watching in Blighty and thinking "I can do that".  Yes, they can, but they need to know that it isn't as easy as the programme protrays it.

By the way, in the advert break, there were no adverts for commercial products and only trailers for forthcoming programmes - a sign that advertisers have stayed away?

[Inquisitor of the Year]

Thanks, JJ, for the link to the awards.  I enjoyed reading the article.  I wonder if winning any of the awards is a bit of a double edged sword.

[Things the French do better than us]

Having Presidents of the Republic with such newsworthy side stories (if that is what you can call their wives, partners, mistresses etc [Www])...

[Where to find small plastic bags online]

Once the bags arrive, I shall let you know what they are like and provide the link.  I had to take a gamble on the size and so bought two sizes.

[Where to find small plastic bags online]

Thank you so much Betty.  I have ordered the bags through Amazon.fr

Over the years, I have bought a whole load of buttons (I do a lot of sewing) and my daughter has been sorting them out and matching them up.