plod

The garden is already full of uninvited guests; so as long as he stays there. Thinking about it, I suppose you could argue that we are the uninvited guests in the French countryside.

Blanquette de Limoux is a dish made with grapes and comes in liquid form!

No picture I'm afraid though I did get a glimpse of it. One night a few weeks ago we heard this strange noise coming from the garage; the only way I can describe it is that it was like somebody twanging a string, repeated every couple of seconds. The following night I got my torch and briefly saw a small face, rodentish, peering out from under a tile. Nothing more then until last night when I heard the noise again, this time coming from a hedge. I thought it might be a bat but the hedge rather belies that.

Just like Sid we have had two plumbers, two electricians, a builder, a plasterer and a stove-fitter - never did any of them ask for money in advance. 

I still think you are being naive about what it is like to live in France. I haven't long been gone from the UK and so it isn't as if I can't remember what life was like. A couple of points - France has introduced a smoking ban before England. Drink-drive laws are much tougher here. I expect immigrants/refugees do have rose-coloured specs on, but I suppose most of them are doing what you will be doing, and what I have done, which is to move to another country for an improved quality of life. In actual fact, I think I have moved for a different quality of life. You may feel that England changed greatly after Margaret Thatcher came to power - for better or worse, I'm not sure. I do think that French towns are quieter and more pleasant in the evening than some English towns. There isn't a "drink until you drop" culture. But there is plenty of crime and violence, and yes, MRSA as well. Why do you think that this doesn't happen elsewhere.?

Excuse my curiosity and feel free to tell me to mind my own but - have you got work lined up? I am sure you can find somewhere in SW France, it's a huge area with tremendous variety. Why narrow down your search by restricting yourself to English estate agents?

Doesn't accord with my understanding of citrus trees; and I mean the coastal areas where, by definition, the climate is milder than inland.

Be wary basing your decision on one winter; in the Tarn, where we are, we have had a mild winter, but the last few years have almost without exception had temperatures as low as minus ten. We are susceptible to the continental climate just as the Centre. Despite a previous posting to the contrary, I would say that if it's definitely France you want, then you have to go to the extreme south-east, or Corsica. The presence of olive trees and citrus indicate mild winters.

I've never considered myself a philistine but I have to confess that I had never heard of him.

Like Zeb I feel that Moya has got on very rosy specs. I live permanently in France and enjoy it here, but as has often been written on these forums, it is a warts and all life. You say that the French government ignores EU rules if it is against French culture - example please. There is an oft-expressed view that France now is somewhat like the UK was in the 70s. Powerful unions, high unemployment, disaffected inner-city youths and slow economic growth. Jobsworths and bureaucracy sound like much the same thing to me, and there is plenty of the latter over here. What is this ousting of French leaders by the people? Do you mean inner-city riots to protest about the democratically elected president, otherwise I wasn't aware there had been a revolution recently. I hope you settle well in France but many on this forum will agree with me that you move to another country to experience the life there, not to escape from perceived inadequacies of your present country.  

Personally, if you can avoid rush-hour, we have always found going via Paris very straightforward. The motorways are well-signposted and you can expect to be the other side of the capital in an hour. We go down the A1and when we hit the outskirts of Paris follow the signs for Bordeaux and Nantes. When you get south of Paris you need to have a list of cities to head for viz Orleans, Vierzon, Chateauroux, Limoges, Brive and eventually Toulouse. When you hit Toulouse you need to follow signs for Carcassonne and Toulouse. At Narbonne turn right. I'm sure you will have seem signs for Perpignan by then. I tried the other route suggested and found it slow by comparison; you pay greatly for the lack of fast roads around Dreux and Chartres. It is possible to go via Clermont-Ferrand and if you choose this route you'll  go over the Millau viaduct.

I'm wary rather than frightened of them, but I don't want one living in my house, and there are lots of nooks and crannies where it could insert itself. We have enough problems with the tree frogs which insist on coming into the house.

It was a slightly flippant remark, I have to agree, however, not without point. We cannot go back and people will always aspire to move forward, whether or not you call that "progress". Communist and similar systems seem unlikely to be successful because not everybody is equal, and not everybody contributes equally, even those who are capable of doing so. As for so-called globalisation, as somebody pointed out, even José Bové drives a John Deere tractor. Do you sell coffee in your restaurant? This must travel many thousands of miles before it gets to you. If you are serious about damage to the environment then you have to be prepared to refuse to serve foodstuffs and beverages that have travelled so far. This might, I suppose, seem like reductio ad absurdem, but I don't think you can profess the arguments that you do unless you are ready to adopt a total stance.

Didn't Pol Pot have some ideas around this theme?

Heavens! There are about 140 vineyards in the Gaillac Appellation area alone most of which supply decent wine. Perhaps you need to consider if there is a particular area in which you are interested - Rhône, Bordeaux, Loire etc and then narrow down your search. Bordeaux alone produces more wine than the whole of Australia so you certainly won't lack for choice!

I wish we had a lot of them; they could stuff themselves on our slug poulation.

I did think about that, having watched the herpetologists (is that the correct term?) on the TV but it's going to take much bravado before I can do this. One difficulty is that it backed itself into a corner for self-defence. I gave it room to escape but it was obviously hanging round for an aperitif!

I haven't, but according to recent forum conversation there is a glut of property about - nobody's buying.

I arrived home this afternoon, put the shopping on the kitchen table and heard a noise. I stepped back and there was this snake slithering across the floor. I vaguely recognised it, and was confident it wasn't poisonous - I think it was a Western Whip (couleuvre the neighbours call them) however, it "struck" at my broom as I tried to usher it outside and it did make me shiver. It didn't want to escape and ended up going behind some kitchen units. To cut a long story short, my neighbour and I moved one lot of units and located it in the back. We couldn't get it out, so we carried the unit outside so that the reptile could clear off in its own time. I have to say I was very happy to have it out of the house, and also pleased that we couldn't get it out as my neighbour had arrived with his 12 bore ready to blast it. The French (perhaps I should say some French) seem not to share the feelings of some contributors to this forum when it comes to snakes. I was really unsure about how to deal with it; I recognise that it was frightened but is there an effective way of dealing with these things?