Adrian

Every Christmas I buy jars of expensive pickled walnuts from Tesco and every Christmas I think of the huge walnut tree in our French garden and wonder why I don't pickle my own - then I remember - it's because I don't know how to. Anyone got any suggestions / recipes?

[quote]Ive never seen the magazine mentioned, but this site shows the locations of speed cameras in france http://www.securiteroutiere.equipement.gouv.fr/infos-ref/regles/csa/csa.html[/quote] I'm confused - I've looked at the map on the web site but it doesn't show the camera near Hennibont (which Ouest France carried a feature about at the end of October) or the one I passed earlier that month near St Jouan l'isle. The latter may have been a portable but the former is certainly a fixed camera.

[quote]A reciprocal agreement is on the way.Also look out for old vans parked at the side of autoroutes with a small hole in the back door.[/quote] It is but they've got to harmonise EU Vehicle Regristration Documents first and that's not due to be completed in the UK until 2006. There then has to be some EU wide primary legislation changes....

"Does anyone know what happens in the case of UK registered cars getting caught on camera? Do they pass on the details to the DVLA, make a note to stop the car next time it's in France, or just forget it?  I can assure you that their is currently no reciprocal arrangement between the UK and France relating to Road Traffic law enforcement and details from the DVLA's computer are not passed to the French police. It's the same for French registered cars pinging cameras in the UK - we just ignore them. Further on from where I was flashed the limit is signed at 70km/h. If that was the limit at the camera (which would be surprising given the nature of the road) then I was more than 30km/h over the limit which would normally result in a licence confiscation. Do the French try to confiscate licences of foreign nationals?" No - they just apply an excessive fine and, if appropriate, imprison you! (but that's only in the case of 'manned' cameras) Best advice is to watch for the signs and adjust your speed accordingly.

Please can anyone tell me whether a sump gasket and a (sump) drain plug have specific technical terms in French or do I just translate them literally? Thanks 

Thanks Katie. Having read Jeff Martin's excellent discourse on cooking crabs (except for the amount of salt he uses) (which can be found at http://www.btinternet.com/~jeff.martin/Crabs.htm  I was trying to minimise the suffering; although he does make a valid point that in the wild they get eaten alive which is not exactly a pain free demise. Next time, however, I will kill them first as he recommends. I was fascinated by his view on Lobsters which I have pasted below. It appears that there are many different ideas on the way a Lobster should be dispatched, from drowning in fresh water to dropping them into boiling water. Many of the ideas have a certain merit since a Lobster is a cold blooded creature with no brain, except for its nervous system, and body fluids which are pumped around it's system by muscle movement. It is not possible to kill it, in the normal meaning of the word. I believe the RSPCA suggests two hours in the freezer, however since we have a cold room which operates at 0 C to -1 C we simply put them in there for 4 to 5 hours. This slows down their metabolism to such a low level that they peacefully sink into oblivion, then they are cooked without even knowing. He appear to be suggesting that while Crabs have feelings, Lobsters don't. I feel another Commons protest coming on! 

[quote]The really annoying thing about this "scam", is that, they only seem to be interested in young pert bums the kind that could crack a walnut. Because it's that time of year![/quote] Phew! Thanks for the confidence boost, boghound!!!  

[quote]I would like to answer, but no profile, so no answer.[/quote] Uh?  

I shipped mine in the back of my Espace - I assume you haven't got an estate or hatchback? The weight is not a problem as 83kg is less than many forum members weigh! As regards the flues, many UK suppliers buy their liners from France so you should be alright. If not, you can buy converters for connecting, for example, 180mm liners to 150mm stove pipes and they work fine (but make sure you get some fireclay to seal them). It's better to get your liner done in France by a French artisan and just connect the stove. If you ask the artisan to fit the liner you supply from the UK you may put your guarantee at risk if there is a problem later.  

Only room for one more post on this thread, then, before you're wasting your time replying!

[quote]You can get acceptable Court Bouillon in t-bag type things in the supermarket. I have found it does make a difference![/quote] And it certainly did, Battypuss, although all the claws and legs fell off so not only did we have a great crab dinner but we had a pre-dinner game of crustacean 'beetle' when we threw dice to see who could be first to make up a whole crab. Octaplegic crabs were not a problem in the past when we just wanted to dress them but it's not so good if you want a whole crab. Apparently this is a defence mechanism which only happens when they are alive so, to keep this from happening, you have to kill them first by stabbing them up the bum with a screwdriver  and letting the water drain out. I'll give that a try in October.  

I hate these hoax warnings, but this one is important!!! Please send this to everyone on your email list. If a man comes to your front door and says he is conducting a survey and asks you to show him your bum, do not show him your bum. This is a scam; he is not conducting a survey and only wants to see your bum. I wish I'd got this yesterday. I feel so stupid and cheap.

[quote]They taste good anyway - I'm just asking if the stock (or salted water) affects the flavour in any way. What did you do, Adrian, and was it good?[/quote] At the time I worked in a hotel 2 mile outside Cromer and all of the women who came in from the village to help out had husbands who owned crab boats. On my days off I would go out on the boats and then help cook and dress the crabs and pack them for shipping to posh restaurants in London. (Lets face it, there was naff-all else to do in Norfolk on a week day in the early 70's!) We definitely used stock because it enhanced the flavour - as I recall it was a court bouillon type but it's so long since I cooked one that I've forgotten - hence the post. I think that being dropped live into half a gallon of boiling water tends to render the waterproof shell somewhat useless, therefore the stock had an effect! Anyway, we're off to France for a spot of convalescence on Tuesday so I'll pick one up in Inter and try cooking it with court bouillon and let you know - I'm attracted to the sea water recipe but being 30km from the coast it would make it a bit expensive.

Anyone got a good recipe for crabs? I used to cook them when I was younger and worked at a hotel near Cromer but can't recall what we did to enhance the flavour - I think we used some sort of stock but can't remember what went in it - terrible thing, old age!  

[quote]Whatever you say, you're French neighbours will be thrilled. The French must surely be the world's biggest hypochondriacs and love nothing more than talking about your ailments and their own. Best w...[/quote] Too true! Not only did we have great detail about the veins last year, about 8 years earlier we were invited in for aperitifs and treated to 3 hours of his internal problems which we started off thinking was the result of a vasectomy gone wrong but was, in fact, some form of gastric problem! You can see why I'm keen to get the technical terms right this time! Thanks for the best wishes - fortunately, as a result of the operation I can no longer use a keyboard and mouse quickly enough to over-use the Forum because now the Olympics are over there's so little to do at home it's tempting to sit in front of the PC all day!

I have just had a "sub-acromial decompression" and will be going out to our house to for a week to recover. I want to tell my neighbour what has happened but haven't a clue what such an operation would be called in France. I could shorten it to a "shoulder athroscapy" if that is 'easier'?! Anyone know what I should say? "I've had an operation on my shoulder..." sounds a bit weak compared to the heaps of medical detail she went into when she had her veins done!

To put another side of the "are you being ripped off?" thread... Today I received my Taxe d'habitation demand - it has gone up by 1.5% or €4. Last year it went up by 2.5% (€6). In contrast, over the same period, my UK Council Tax has gone up by 6.2% and 17.6% respectively (£237 and £100). In neither country have I received any corresponding increase in services. £337 for nothing...now that's what I call a quality rip off!

I've never been either - but I do want to go next year. My previous involvement with the Corsica forum was to complain about the amount of space the names of the moderators took up on the last version of the LF site. This was on behalf of the Corsica forum readers who had to scroll for hours to reach their part of the site. Mind you, as the most southerly 'part' of France I suppose that was to be expected. On the subject of little used fora, why don't we have a 'French Dependencies' forum so those of us planning to buy holiday homes in, say, Martinique or Guadeloupe could feel included?!

[quote]Hope everyone is settling in OK and getting used to the new software. You can use the control panel to manage your personal information, change your password, add avatars, photos etc if you wish. Ce...[/quote] I think that in asking this question I may have answered it but just for clarity... How do you become a member of a forum/topic? I notice that now I have replied I get an option to subscribe - i.e. be notified of other posts but is that the only way?  I am getting several runtime errors when I access various parts of the control panel and wonder if there are some settings I am missing?   Found it - it's an option in the Forum header - sorry to have wasted anyone's time in reading this!   Interesting that the post no longer appears to show that it's been edited though - twice in this case

Praise must always be given where it's due - but never forget, one swallow doesn't make a summer!

While visiting some friends in a small village near Limoux last month they recounted a tale of woe concerning a man in their village who (for a host of reasons I won't bore you with) had sold his property to his wife for a knock down price. The people in the village had taken a dim view of this and had apparently invoked a law that states that the commune has the first right to buy any property put on the market. Thus the commune now owns the house and the man is substantially worse off than he had planned to be. I realise that there are tax evasion issues here but would have thought that these were best dealt with by the tax authorities rather than the mayor. I can also see how it may work in a small rural village but if it's a measure to combat fraud how would it apply in, say, Paris?! I have never heard of this 'law' and wonder if anyone knows whether it is a national law or a local regulation. I was not aware that anyone in our commune knew our house was for sale when we bought it - in fact our neighbours once stated that they would have made an offer on our house had they known it was for sale. Adrian

Off to Argeles for three weeks on Sunday. Does anyone know of anything interesting due to take place during that time? We've been there several times before so we know most of the 'touristy' bits but would be pleased to hear from anyone local about more 'normal' events we could plug into. Thanks in anticipation Adrian

Can anyone in the Pontivy / Baud area recommend a place that sells net curtaining off the roll? I need some with a drop of about 52cms - the 'sideways' stuff with the loops for the cafe rod down the side as it comes off the roll - (rather than the rolls of 'lengthways' stuff with the holes for the rod that repeat every 25cms or so across the roll). I'd be grateful for any answers by Wednesday midday - after that I'll be reduced to sitting on the Bretagne and making my own with lining paper and scissors! Hope this makes sense - if it doesn't it's because men generally don't do curtains (doesn't show though, does it?!!) Adrian

As the moderators of all the fora are the same people, i.e. Quillan, ForumAdmin, hoddy, will_the_conqueror, Russethouse and KazAnTon, would it be possible to just list them at the top of the contents page and do away with the Moderator column? This would collapse the contents screen considerably and therfore cut down on the amount of scrolling required. By the time I get to Corsica my right index finger is exhausted! Adrian

LAST EDITED ON 15-May-04 AT 07:10 PM (BST) Thanks for the responses - I forgot to say that as we arrive on the Sunday evening we also need there to be a restaurant neraby where we can get dinner - I'd love a long lunch but it just doesn't mix with a 500-mile drive! Pierre/Kevin, Is the restaurant of the Hotel de France in Montmorillon open dimanche soir? Adrian