cafeman72<br><br><br>-- <br>Saintes (17) - nope I dont live in Sarthe, 72 is when I was born.

[quote]Just watched Fastrack on BBCnews 24 where there was an article about those moving back after trying France. Interesting article.[/quote] I've looked on the BBC website but can't find out about it... anymore info on it?

"WE are just being friendly. A smile and a happy face cost nothing and pleases the person looking at it even if just a glance!" You're all heart! OK, so you (French women) aren't eyeing us up, you're just being friendly. I on the other hand am being 'Victorian' and can't separate my 'what the butler saw' attitude from what was just a friendly gesture. Hmmm, nope, I think you are wrong - but I don't mind, you just carry on eyeing us up being friendly, because we don't mind the attention really

I don't know about being easy (being a faithful husband and all), but the first thing I noticed on arriving here was that if I perhaps took a sneaky glance at a woman passing by - unlike in the UK where they are probably looking at their feet - here they are often already blatantly eyeing me up! Very strange, and I'm not at all sure I like it (he said) But the question is, are they really easy or only up for the kind of full on flirting that would make a sailor blush? I'm guessing it's all to tease and affirm, nothing more.

Well it sure is a break from all the pr0n! Nah, it's hard not to agree with most of the above - or perhaps I should try harder? As a newbie poster (but long time lurker) I reckon that if you get some saying the moderation is too heavy and others wishing it was used more, and if you get some saying it's not got enough spirited opinions and others preferring fewer, etc. etc. then the balance might just be about right. Have you seen the plumbing sticky in 'House Renovations'? That thread alone makes this whole damn forum worth while in my opinion. Fabulous stuff! And there's a lot more like it if that's the only kind of thing you're looking for. Gawd bless the internet.

Fantastic information, including everything I needed to know (and more), thanks!

I echo what others have said. I'm on ADSL 640K (wanadoo.fr) and I surf t'internet at lightning speed (well, it's not dial-up!) UNTIL I come here, and then frustration kicks in. Time outs, 10-20 seconds between click to page load, and it just took me 10 seconds+ to preview this post. Please tell me LF isn't on a shared server?

Just a quickie really. I was wondering if:- a) the cellar under our house counts towards surface habitable (I'm guessing no but...) b) the space the stairs take up (themselves and above) counts towards surface habitable. I'm thinking yes, but at the same time I am not really using, or able to use the 'surface' above the stairs (obviously). Apart from that I'm assuming that you measure the internal dimensions of each room, add them up, et voilà the surface habitable? Thanks in advance for any light anyone can shed on this.

"I would love to be around when the bubble bursts!" Yes, that would be handy because they'd most likely need all the help they could get. Oh, hang on, perhaps that's not what you meant? My trumpy.

"This forum should keep Sheffield fans quiet for a while..." I remember when that first started, he went full-out on 'promoting' it far and wide. Looks like he's now doing well in Google with his Search Engine Friendly pages. "Penrhyn Road, mentioned earlier, is nothing compared to some of these" Ah, sorry about that *hands the thread back* - I thought I only mentioned Penrhyn Road in passing, as that's where I used to live. You're absolutely correct though, it's steep but it's not /that/ steep, especially if you live at the bottom of it. Give me an S... give me an H... give me an E... give me an F... No, seriously, we'd best get back to navel gazing about forum dynamics

"Do you remember which streets it were caf' ? I remember round about where you lived in S11 territory was v. hilly" Theres one that goes off perpendicular to Ecclesall road near the Hunters Bar roundabout end. Next time you go down Ecclesall road going towards that roundabout (from town), look right and you'll see it. I can't recall the name of the road. All I can say is, you can't miss it because it's the one that has the handrail down the side of it Ahhh, the good old days... See, I knew we'd get this thread back on track

Sounds like you had a really nice holiday Alfa, great stuff.

"people ... need ropes and grappling hooks to get to their front doors....... well maybe I am exaggerating a bit with that bit, but not much." There are some streets in Sheffield that are so steep they have handrails on the pavements - I kid you not! As you might imagine, coming from Norfolk this came as a bit of a shock to me

"Aaahhh, it's a Sheffield Love In." It seems that way. We both went to University there and just kind of ended up staying on and living in Sheffield. I believe it used to be famous for having a very high retention rate for students staying on and living there, just as we did. We kind of accidently lived there for 14 years, without ever having the intention of doing so. I suppose me carrying on to being a Post Doc at the Uni might have had /something/ to do with it though! Sheffield is a very nice place, and very friendly for a big city (though being spread out it feels smallish), along with the beautiful country-side just "t'other side uh'rode" - but I still don't miss it!

Hey you two, do you mind, I was talking to Tresco!? Yep, it's the local curry house in Hunters Bar, Sheffield. Can't say that I ever fancied popping to Mangla, not really my area.

Excuse me too Tresco wrote, "Cafeman, Same part of Sheffield too!!! 2 sisters live a stones throw from Hunters Bar - those hair raising drives up and down that stretch of Ecclesall Rd on Friday/Sat night with all the people staggering into the road drunk (that said I still like Sheffield very much)." Whenever someone asks me what I miss about the UK, I say, 1) Bilash and 2) 24 hour shopping. We had both of those things on our doorstep living at the bottom of Penrhyn Road as we did. I guess you can't have everything. Now, back on topic (kinda). MJW's post a page back describes perfectly a few young families that we know. They seem to be getting by somehow - I really don't know how though! When we came here I had an internet company to run, and still do. I knew I would need income here, because you need an income no matter where you are (no?). This is something that /some/ people seem to forget when they pack up and move to France, and I have no idea how they convinced themselves that it would be OK without it. Unless they really believed that they could live on the cherry tree, chickens, and the potential gite income they'd get once they've done out the old barn with nothing but elbow grease. I feel sorry for their children more often than not. *ahem* ... I'll get my coat.

"Cafeman, is that you or one of my most favourite actors?" The latter - from Mean Streets. Tres cool non? Sounds pretty scary... were people looking to 'duff you up'?

My goodness, nothing for years and now you can't shut me up Tresco, how about that. We lived in Sheffield for years before moving to 17. We have quite a bit in common location wise it seems. Hunters Bar, do I miss it? Do I ****! The question was to do with plumbing actually - boring I know, but pretty important to me at the moment. I want to get 3 radiators in to complete the set before winter comes. Top Tip: Copper pipes don't come preannealed here... nearly broke my pipe bender before I worked that one out. Sorry to be OT.

I can feel the lurve, thanks for the welcome There was something I forgot to add to the above, even though I was thinking it at the time, so it would be rude not to add it now wouldn't it? Of course, it's also the case that some people need to feel superior by actively putting others down in order to feel good about themselves. I can't say that I'm not immune to this myself (sometimes), which is shameful - but I'm working on it! OK, back to my handbook on "Self esteem: Yours and others'" hehe In truth I think this forum is great. Well, actually, I think the people on it are by and large very good people, from whom I have learned a lot. On the other hand, I think the forum software stinks! There, just putting the webmaster down to make myself feel a tinsey bit better ... works for me!

This new wave/range/class (whatever you call it) of people who have come to France in the past couple of years have done because the relative cost of housing has allowed them to. Were it not for that one simple fact then they would not have. That along with all the TV programs giving them the idea it's a piece of p***. I know a number of newbies (and we are among their number) and this is true for 100% of them. It's not that difficult to imagine... it's a simple truth - I believe As for the original question about the rose-tinted brigade. I see it like this. Some people need to justify their actions to themselves and others in order to feel good about themselves. Moving to another country is a biggy (for some) and so for them they need to believe that they've made the right decision. If that means wishy-washy thinking with a little bit of ignorance thrown in, then so be it. Live and let live. I don't go around telling people that yes, their bum does look big in that, and while you're at it you could do with losing a few pounds all over. Sometimes it's just down to being civil. A lot of things that are said on a forum would NOT be said in person (or bloody noses would no doubt ensue). I've been a long time lurker on here (I used to even lurk on the old board). However, I have been forced to register because I wanted to send a private message to someone asking for advice. I hope they don't treat me like an idiot because I'm a newbie who's still enjoying himself over here and has to be dragged kicking and screaming back to the UK whenever I have to go there!