Jump to content

5-element

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,626

  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

 Content Type 

Posts posted by 5-element

    British women top the Obesity league

    in Other Topics

    Posted

    Oh lovely! A thread with 3 of my favorite programmes: "Un diner presque parfait", "Come dine with me" and "100% Mag" [:P] One of the advantages having both French and British TV, is to be able to jump back and forth between the first two - and conclude that they really have very little to do with each other, the French one being focussed on food and style, the second on grossness and bitchiness, lingering on candidates' inability to cook anything decent or balanced...

    And here is my idea of what to do with one's extra wobble:  

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVcOGzh4unc&feature=related

    French Old Age Pension

    in French Finance

    Posted

    I agree with what was said above about seeing the assistante sociale: ASPA would seem the way to go. I am also puzzled and wonder about the holes in the story - it is odd that someone (especially a houseowner) would suddenly find themselves with only 65 centimes to their name, without any idea as to how it got to that point, or as to where the previous payments were coming from, and how long they would last.

    bimbeloteries

    in French Language

    Posted

    Well Sweet17, thank you for teaching me a new French word! As I knew the word "bibelot", I was convinced that it should be "bibeloterie" - fortunately I looked it up before making a fool of myself - sure enough, it is "bimbeloterie"! I am flummaxed! [:D]

    Tips on how to survive France when you find yourself on your own.

    in The Complete France Post Bag

    Posted

    Babbles, it all rather depends on what you like to do, and what your WOULD like to do - there is plenty of choice! If you would like to "meet someone" try MEETIC, a big dating site and look in your area http://www.meetic.fr/signup/smart_landing.php?tpl=20110920landing_searchbox_layer_ml&gclid=CNn48faEwqwCFbQntAodJWjzqg- I know several people who have met various soulmates via this dating site. If you would like to meet other people just for outings and friendships, how about http://beziers.onvasortir.com/ If you like swimming, join the swimming club in Pezenas. If you like dancing, you can do salsa, flamenco, line-dancing, etc... in Beziers. If you like walking, there are some great randonnées groups - same with cycling. In all the above, you are more likely to meet French people, but there are also others. You could also join a reading group (in English), a choir or two if you like singing, you could do volunteer work for Restos du Coeur or Secours Populaire or the Red Cross. If you like gardening, you could join the Mediterranean Gardeners association. And this goes on...There are so many activities you can pick from, which involve joining an association, and meeting other people. By the way, I am older than yourself, living in your area too. I have never played either golf or bridge, do not go to aperos as I drink no alcohol, and yet I am involved in a plethora of activities, meeting up with a variety of people (French, British and others) and having to pick carefully what I will do and not do as it could easily be too much! Good luck anyway, if you have interests or even passions, you should be able to find quite easily some ways of enjoying them, there is plenty to do in the area!

    Should I say no thank you?

    in French Artisans

    Posted

    We had had 3 devis when we got our double-glazing. It took a while for us to decide who was going to do the job, but then we decided and went ahead. Meanwhile, the boss of one of the other two companies rang up my husband, and blew his stack at him. He demanded to know WHY we hadn't picked him, WHY we had not let him know, and this went on for half an hour - during which my husband was trying to pacify him and remained extremely polite and apologetic. OK, the man was, and is, a bully, and we also realised since that he is a bit of a crook and preys particularly on foreigners (I went to see him and gave him a piece of my mind on a subsequent occasion).

    But nevertheless, I do think that it is courteous and thoughtful to tell someone who has taken the trouble to come and give you an estimate, that you have given the work to someone else. Putting myself in the shoes of the artisan, I can see that I would like to know, so that I can organise my planning accordingly - especially in these days of uncertainty. Now, I would always get back to the artisan and tell them, and thank them for their trouble.

    And they turn their noses up at my offerings!!!

    in French Food and Wine

    Posted

    That tuna kek sounds dégueulasse, Chancer. As Idun says, it shouldn't be sweet!! There has been a recent fashion for cakes salés, usually cut up and presented at apéritifs, dinatoires or not.

    The term cake used to be reserved for fruitcake, and I think it had to be made in a rectangular tin. Then everything that was made in such a tin, like a breadloaf, became called a cake.

    I have eaten quite disgusting savoury cakes made by people and brought to share - the sort of thing I would never have dared to present to anyone!

    I also agree that if I made carrot cake, I wouldn't say what it is, I would make them taste it first. Something else that some people don't like at all is ginger, or any spices. Yet I find that the French people who do like spicy food, really gobble it down as they are quite deprived most of the time, except for the harissa that comes with couscous.

    Perhaps a good tip is to make something that is not British - if it is exotic - Indian, Thai, Chinese, Moroccan, South American, even the humble houmos etc... people are less likely to turn their nose up. It is such a shame that British food should still have such poor reputation that people don't even want to try it!

    Baby hedgehogs

    in Animal Welfare, Rescue & Protection

    Posted

    I did rescue two young hedgehogs a few years ago - no idea how they'd lost the mother, but they were wandering around the garden during the day which is never a good sign, and I tried to read all about them so explored most of the links above. They had found relative shelter under a pile of leaves and wood outside, but eventually I took them in - it was a little earlier in the year than now though - they weighed respectively 220g and 290g, so, much too young to be left fending for themselves with the approaching winter.

    I put them in the garage, in a large cardboard box which I lined thickly with newspapers, and moss, logs, twigs, leaves etc.... making a little environment for them [geek] and then proceeded to feed them according to what I had read they needed (avoiding bread and cow's milk, very important!). I went and bought some special goat's milk from the health shop [:-))] as well as little bowl with constant water. After a while it turned out that what they loved best was scrambled egg! I also gave them wet catfood, and cat biscuits. They seem perpetually starving, and twitchy when they were hungry, so I kept feeding them. Then the problem was at the other end, it always seemed that if they ate or drank, they immediately needed to defecate and urinate as well. So the worst of it became the cleaning of the box, which had to be done daily. And yes, they do smell. But they are great fun to watch, get up to all sorts of antics. Don't expect to cuddle them though - although I am sure some people might!

    These two did recover and strive, though, and when both of them reached the magic 600gr, I ceremoniously took them to a friend with a very large plot of wild land, and released them there. Altogether it took 6 or 7 weeks, as they grew fat really quickly.

    My cat left them well alone, although she is usually incredibly curious with all things and all creatures, so that was never a problem. I think perhaps their smell was not to her liking. I don't have dogs, so no idea how that would work.

    However, I think it is illegal to "capture" hedgehogs, even if it is to rescue them as I did, as they are a protected species? But I felt they were my responsibility and I would probably do it again... Mind you, in some cultures, hedgehog is considered a delicacy and eaten with great relish  - I have come across people who had eaten them...

    France - How do you go about claiming the estate of a deceased (intestate) relative please?

    in French Legal Issues

    Posted

    In my experience, notaires go to great lengths to track down the beneficiaries of any inheritance. So, even if you do nothing, in good time they will eventually find you...sorry if that is not very helpful either, but at least you can be reassured that you will not be overlooked, unless there are other relatives, closer to the deceased than you, in the pecking order determined by French laws.

    What do you say when there is no hope?

    in Other Topics

    Posted

    I would like to echo much of what Cendrillon said.

    I tracked down a very old friend (from 40 years ago) last year, and we got back in touch. Within a few months, one of his sons sent me a note to say his father was terminally ill. I sent a card to my friend to say how sad I was that we hadn't had time to meet again, and expressing all that made him a special person in the days when we knew each other.  We were both very young then, just two friends in a group of others. He died very shortly after, and I received another note from the son (I never met any of my friends' children). It said that he was keen to tell me he had read my card out to his father (who was too ill by then, to read it himself), and how much they had appreciated receiving it. I was then kept informed of all the funeral arrangements, and felt as if some contact had been made, albeit posthumously.

    It really felt that was the right thing to do, to speak from the heart,  as it is not a time for platitudes.

    Take a deep breath, Rose, and let your heart speak, you will find the right words, and your friend will know that.

×
×
  • Create New...