5-element

It's not just down to Les Verts to make themselves heard though,  I would like to hear the 2 remaining candidates say SOMETHING about those issues. It's not as if those are problems that concern only a minority.

Pommier, your post might clinch it for me. After seeing the controversy around the upmarket toasters, I might just doing like you do: buy cheap ones, hope I strike lucky, and ditch them when they go wrong (although this goes so much against the grain of what I believe in, as I so loathe this notion of everything being disposable). Actually, my SEB toaster (now ex-toaster, since I completely demolished it when I tried to "fix" it)  came from a Secours Populaire braderie - so it was secondhand already![:D] - pity as it worked really well when it worked, but I don't know how long the previous owner might have had it for!

(responding to Norman's article): de Villepin has always had a certain je ne sais quoi, which could be slightly appealing. I will never forget the way he stated categorically that France was not going to be part of the forces invading Irak, that must have been his epiphany. Still, by the end of the article, it is not clear what he is advocating to do, or what he will do himself. This article seems to be mostly about his own absence from the scene, he is probably saying that if it had been HIM who'd been chosen, then France would have remained on course. He is right in saying that the whole of France is taken hostage now, by 6 million voters (the Front National voters) What does bother me though, in all those impassioned speeches, is the glaring absence of "the environment" as a big topic. This issue has been almost totally "escamotée" by most of the candidates, and de Villepin continues with that trend. It has been the last of everyone's worries for ALL campaigners. We will see if it ever become a burning issue, one day...

[quote user="Clair"]And he is one of the reasons I cannot bring myself to vote for Hollande next week. That alone is enough to make me spoil my vote. [/quote] But Clair, although I mostly agree with you, is it enough to let Sarkozy in AGAIN?

Just arrived, so glad Clair already did the job! I might beg to differ a bit on saltimbanques - although the meanings as above are correct, I have usually heard it to describe gypsies - which would make sense, when you look at the general feel of the list...

edit: double post (although I have no idea how it happened!)

[quote user="NormanH"]I think that Le Pen (I refuse to fall into her trap of calling her the cosy 'Martine') is trying out a strategy of becoming the replacement leader on the right in the event of Sarkozy losing, and his party the UMP imploding... [/quote]   LOL Norman, just as well you don't call her "Martine"!!!

"Not known at this address" = "Inconnu à l'adresse indiquée"

Core! Thanks for the update. I am not sure I follow it all (who would?), the advice of not using logic seems a good one, and then you mention church and candles. I think the One-Hundred Syllable Mantra, repeated 10,000 times, might be "de rigueur" here. Given the complexity and the absurdity of it all, perhaps the question of language hardly comes into it. I can see how some people might end up just packing their car and leaving for an unknown destination. It does sound as if there is a possibility of resolution though, even if it means that a bureaucrat, somewhere, starts crossing off some items on a list, or creates an entry somwehere, just plucked out of thin air. I have seen it happen, seems to be a favoured way to solve problems - a little bit of creative lateral thinking - some fonctionnaires are quite good at it.  

Ah but Gardian you are assuming that one does have a grill. Perhaps "GRILLS" could be the next thread??? We could even have a special category on the forum, which competes with "Que Choisir" and "Best buys" [:)] The only grills I have ever had, that seemed worth having, were the ones on my gas cookers in England, those lovely, no fluff, eye-level grills. I distrust electric grills, as I suspect they gobble electricity. Anyone cares to challenge that unfounded belief? COLD toast??? Now, what a funny idea - it would never have occurred to me, and yet it seems quite popular... To me it's a bit like cold soup, I've never been very fond of gazpacho or vichyssoise...

Chancer, my toaster problem is not with crumbs, which I have always managed to remove. (and I am afraid that your detailed description goes way over my head, even though it sounds so convincing!) Since I got the hint from Sweet 17, I  fiddled with the springy bit (turning the toaster upside down, forcing the spring this way and that way to work out how it should operate) and I thought I'd got it licked - I got it stuck permanently so that the bread would toast, but would have to be released manually. So after that I plugged it in, nothing happened, I must have b.gg...d the resistance - or perhaps it all cut by itself as I might have made the whole thing LIVE!!! Anyway, now it is probably beyond redemption, so I have less trouble chucking it...  I'd bought ahead a replacement (!!!!) not much good either, a Silver Crest (it seemed a good deal at LIDL but I should know better). It gives me time to really look around for the ultimate toaster, as named and described in all the excellent posts above. Thank you!!!

Thanks for all the replies, they are ALL useful! So it looks like the next one has to be a Dualit or a Morphy Richards... Sweet, I did look inside, and it is fixed at only one end, and I was unable to see the lever. I tried to do all sorts of clever things with it, but nothing doing. That was a SEB by the way, which at the time, seemed just a cut above the LIDL kinds... As for lightbulbs, I think there have been several threads on those, quite rightly so.  We have no end of lightsaver lightbulbs which have lasted less than the older types.  I will watch the movie, perhaps it will tell me something I could do about buying a stock of the old-type lightbulbs, both bayonet and screw on.[:'(]

I wonder if there is a secret to toaster-buying. The last 3 or 4 that I have bought, have all ended the same way: after a while, the mecanism that holds down the piece of bread while it is being toasted, fails, you just can't keep down the bread, unless you do this manually - which is ridiculous - Those toasters I buy are all different makes, so it seems a built-in fault. And so the toaster ends up in the little "recup" shop down the road, where someone might, or might not, know how to dismantle the toaster and repair it - I really have no idea if it is possible to fix it, or not. My question is: is this a common problem, is this how ALL toasters end up? And if so (particularly with gite owners) do you have a solution? Or is there one brand of toaster which doesn't have that in-built fault? It does grieve me to have to chuck out something which seems otherwise, in perfectly good condition, I really don't like to add to the huge heap of debris we humans are so good at creating (mobile phones, TVs, printers, etc... and now add toasters?)[:(]

My UK state pension gets paid into my Nationwide account. I leave it there until there is enough (it's only part of a pension), then I transfer a lump sum. Last time, as the exchange rate was about 1.20, I thought I was being very clever as I'd waited, but (big sigh) I used Nationwide Swift - thought it was OK to have to pay 25 pounds for that....until I realised that the exchange rate they'd used was just under 1.17... So, I feel justified not to use more than 1.17 for my tax return... even though it was my own fault to believe that Nationwide would give me a good enough deal.[:'(]

OK you watch experts and proud owners: if your watch is so state-of-the-art and so impregnable, then WHY keep it in a box, why not wear it all the time, since it is indestructible, then you won't/can't ever do anything damaging to it? I am at a loss with the logic...[:P] (Once I have one that looks a bit like one of the above in the big photos, looked so impressive, but naturally I had no idea how to use any of the functions - compass etc.. so it was utterly wasted, hence my preference for those cheap but effective black plastic 5-quid Casio.)

Salty Sam, thank you! I hadn't found them when I googled, only the G shock etc...

I do remember those very simple, 5-quid Casio watches???? Surely that's not the type you mean...I used to always buy that type, about...20 years ago??? Unfortunately, the strap used to break, and couldn't be replaced. For years now, I have been looking, and looking, and looking for replacement, wondering where they have gone, but they don't seem to exist anymore. Or perhaps they only exist in the G-shock upmarket version???

Any further developments Clair?? Something like, an official acknowledgement that an error was made??? I won't go as far as hoping that there might be an apology, as that just doesn't happen in my (limited) experience.

I believe that location doesn't come into it: kinésithérapeutes are conventionnés; they have to charge according to the scale of fees determined by the of the Sécu. What varies is the nature of the "acte(s)" and so the charge will be anything between 20 and 30 euros. Naturally, if you can get a medical prescription for "séances de kinésithérapie" - which most medecins traitants seem very liberal with - then it is all fully reimbursed (the usual 65% by the Sécu, the remaining 35% by your top-up health insurance if you have one. What does vary a lot though, is the area of expertise of individual kinés, and the approach they use. Some do favour older and more traditional methods which involve a fair amount of "hands-on" (massage and manipulation). Others will rely much more on TENS machines, ultrasound, hot and cold application, etc. I have personally found a huge variation of skills and techniques between the 4 different kinés I have been to over the past year, for a very, very painful frozen shoulder. The last two were supposed to be shoulder specialists. Of these, the first didn't do much good, as he seemed to follow the same protocol for any kind of shoulder problem. However, I struck gold with my current kiné,  who uses a much more individualised approach, with a lot of hands-on work - both massage and various manipulations of both shoulder and arm. He, too, had specialised shoulder training. He has (rarely) used ultrasound as a complementary part of the treatment, but I can't comment on the efficacy, since it was only a part of the session. I should add that the sessions were 3 times a week, until significant improvement. He also gave me some very specific exercises to do at home, which were graduated, depending on general progression. I have found that some kinés hardly do any massage at all.[:(] That is probably why it is better to have a personal recommendation whenever possible, rather than pick a name out of the yellow pages.

In our commune, (interesting as in same departement as NormanH), I was surprised to see 1) Hollande (954)   2) Mélenchon (778) (I had thought most people would vote MLP!)   3) Sarkozy 684  )  4) Le Pen 669   )  these last 2 very close. I obviously don't have my finger on the local pulse...

OK, that gives us some idea. I can't comment a lot on the rude or impolite gestures, as I tend to think they convey the more or less the same meaning in most cultures, one can certainly get the idea and feel the intention even if one doesn't fully understand the gesture. Bras d'honneur seems almost universal, and I would not attempt it in any company. Many of your questions will have to be answered with your own observations - if you are not sure about something, the golden rule is = do nothing!!! Wait until the other person takes the initiative... As for greetings, first, nobody kisses on lips - I think that would be very shocking for anyone [:D] Lip-kissing is reserved for your nearest and dearest. Hand shaking is the safest one, although if you want to be 100% sure of not making a mistake, just stand back and see if the other person offers their hand to shake first. It may be that even on first meeting, girls and women will kiss you on the cheek - but always let them take the initiative. You might see men who kiss each other when they meet, it is usually because they are relatives, although there might be a growing trend to for males to kiss their male friends too.  Overall in France it is uncommon to give a big, (full body) hug when you meet a friend - it often embarrasses the French (unlike British people with whom it is much more common in my experience). In fact, one of my personal campaigns has been to do away with the obligatory hello kiss (I just do not like it) and I tried to promote hugging instead. It didn't work very well, as an experiment I tried hugging some of the women (acquaintances or even friends, women my own age)  telling them "in England this is what we do...)  Most were embarrassed, even shocked and resisting!!! So I would not advise you to try it with anyone... I don't always understand the details of about specific gestures you have mentioned, so will leave you to work it out, or for someone else to comment. You must remember that there are also regional variations, social background variations, generational variations, etc... so if you just observe quietly and take your cues from other people around you, you shouldn't have any trouble. You might also find that there are very few differences with your own culture! Enjoy your trip.

If you could tell us how all the above are done in your own culture, then perhaps we can answer some of your questions. So: to enlighten us, could you give your own reply to every single one of the questions above? Thank you, Just Visitor. Signed: One of Them.

I just couldn't bear to watch it Christine, but I was very aware that it was on - and tried to spread the word around - , as this is something I have been very concerned about for many years. It is hard to know what it would take for things to change dramatically.[:(]

The tabacs here (at least THREE) have stopped selling stamps for at least a couple of years, they tell you to go to the post office these days.[:(]

I am so glad you said this, Coops. There should be a government health warning: "This programme can waste lives"