chrisb

And of course it wouldn't do to make the assumption that "nasty" bacteria are somehow only to be found in meat. http://www.which.co.uk/news/2008/09/warning-over-food-bugs-in-packed-salad-155629.jsp We ingest large numbers of bacteria of various kinds all our lives and our bodies are quite capable of dealing with them. It's often said that the current obsession with destroying all such organisms has much to do with our developing lack of resistance to them.

Has anyone come across an official site with details of the 2009 events? I know there was one in 2004 but haven't found one so far this year.

I recently travelled from Birmingham to London in a supposed "silent" coach. The first half of the journey was taken up by mobile phones going off followed by loud complaints from other passengers to the recipients (who being British hadn't read any of the notices) who then proceeded to round off their calls with comments like "apparently I'm in a silent coach - I'll have to go". However - after a while it did seem that everyone had cottoned on and the only intrusive noises were from the PA system - but that's another story. ("Our next station stop will be Watford Junction" - WHAT?) Older members will recall the days of compartments on trains and the way that one could ensure peace and quiet by judicious spreading of overcoats, rolled up copies of the "Telegraph" and thermos flasks on the vacant seats. Things have never been the same on the railways since they started trying to make carriages like airliners.

Thanks Clair!

Are there any woodland or meadow burial sites in France? They are now in most areas of the UK and offer the best of both worlds, being more friendly to the environment than cremation but without having a "plot" that needs ongoing tending.

Must have been a mis-print. They really meant to put £1.50!

[quote user="ErnieY"]Assuming of course that they are or ever become gainfully employed [:'(] I don't suppose they gave one seconds thought to the danger they were placing those in planes currently heading for Stansted in. Personally I would have built an even bigger and stronger barricade around them from which they could not escape and left them there for a few days regularly spraying them with cold water [:P] [/quote] Let's not get carried away - a lot of people were greatly inconvenienced by the demo but there has been no suggestion that anyone was placed in danger. And would we really want to live in countries that inflicted such punishments?

[quote user="Jura"]Quillan; French TV sucks - enough said. We were in Northern Ireland in August and I had fish and chips at a cafe in Derry that made me feel like I had died and gone to heaven...not like the anorexic 'frites' you get here. And fish with REAL BATTER ! The food here is pathetic...duck, duck and more duck - pizza, veau milanese, pasta is all you get - and the local kebab shop closes at 8pm! We paid 60 euros for an 'Indian takeaway' for 4 people in Perpignan 2 years ago - it was all bones and obviously made with supermarket-shelf spices. The rice was the boil-in-the-bag type. And cassoulet is fine if you like lots of grease and want to fart for a week afterwards...[;-)] And steak...nice so long as it is not dangerously undercooked and served to you swimming in blood despite your plea of " tres, tres bien cuit!! " [+o(][/quote]  You may find that fresh fish is readily available from your local market or even from the supermarket. I believe that there are also potatoes, eggs and flour. So you can have your fish and chips quite easily. You complain that eating rare steak is dangerous but are happy enough with the products of the kebab shop. We had some great food when we visited Perpignan several years back - yes I do think that duck featured but not exclusively. Try and enjoy the marvellous produce that is available rather than hankering after the delights of the takeaway.

They certainly don't last a lifetime and need replacing regularly. I agree that it takes a lot of getting used to not having them in France and I often think that there would be a lot less dents in the safety barriers if lanes were marked in this way. On the other hand you have to take the cruelty aspects into account. You used to see advertising signs in Norfolk quite regularly "Cat's Eyes Removed"

Pants? Where we're going we don't need pants.

[quote user="Jonzjob"] I agree it could be in England, cold, wet and L   O   N   G !!... [/quote] But of course it's now ages since we had a "proper" cold winter  - though we still pretend that we do by cancelling/closing everything in sight on the couple of days a year when we do get a few flakes of snow. Personally I hope that we might get a lovely long spell of freezing weather to kill off some of the nasty garden bugs that have been building up and also (probably irrationally) as it gives the hope of a better Summer next year than the pathetic efforts of the past two years. The worst thing about changing the clocks is that it engenders the tired old debate about whether we should.

[quote user="woolybanana"]   Have you noticed how every packet is opened or torn? [/quote] That's just the security services checking up on you WB

[quote user="goose"]We are going out on the 15th October and had booked an 08:05 crosssing, they have put us back to 09:05 which now puts us an hour later for arrival in Charente Maritime!!! We have tried to contact them but can't get through, no reply to our emails either so we will have to make do I suppose and just arrive very late at destination![/quote] We too were booked on the 08.05 on the 13th and have been put forward half an hour. Means we have to get up that bit earlier - but on the other hand that's an extra 30 minutes in France!

Seeing the pictures of the extracted train it was striking that although the actual lorries were destroyed the structure of the train carriages was intact - so the fire couldn't have been so fierce as on the previous occasion. They were also still on the rails and capable of being towed out. The TV report I saw also mentioned that the lorry drivers who broke out of the passenger carriage before the staff opened the doors were jumping the gun as they should have waited for the tunnel's fan system to drive the smoke backwards. But I suppose in those circumstances you just want to get out asap. One thing that does concern me is that all the press talk is centred on the safety of the tunnel itself, when it seems that's what rather more alarming is the propensity for lorries to catch fire. It's frightening to think what would happen if such an occurrence took place in the Dartford tunnel, where traffic is regularly at a standstill. No escape routes there apart from running away to the tunnel mouth.

No - I think you'll be OK Fay. The Telegraph are just doing the usual media thing of regarding the sords Eurostar and Eurotunnel as interchangeable. All services are in fact returning to a "near normal" frequency.

After the previous lorry fire the service improved once they were able to get the train out of the tunnel and could then use the "crossover" places to enable twin tunnel running for part of the crossing. It sounds as if they are currently still running with a single tunnel and maybe are cautious about predicting when the service will improve for fear of not meeting a promised resumption date. (later) Just checked for our booking on Oct 12th and they're now showing 2 or 3 trains per hour (depending on time of day) so obviously improving!

What I do find odd is that some of the press reports are continuing to say that the lorry overturned whilst on the train. I would have thought that was impossible given the clearances on the wagon.   It was also noticeable when the spokesman for Eurostar was being interviewed that the jouranlists are still incapable of understanding the different roles played by his company and Eurotunnel. One radio report on the BBC this morning said that although cars and freight could not use the tunnel it was hoped that trains would be able to later today. I've no idea where you go for reliable reporting these days.

The unified attack on this fare paying passenger by the forum members is way over the top. What is it to you that he is a motivational speaker? What difference does it make? He was interviewed about his experience as a passenger. End of story. Leave the poor man alone - he had just had a very frightening experience.

Sorry - I can't see where he would conceal the gas grenades. Mind you I bet they could give you a nasty slap with those flippers.

The story was covered on CHannel4 news tonight. Someone from Bravofly was quoted as saying that they would continue to sell Ryanair tickets regardless of the ban. I would have thought that this amounted to fraud - surely you can't sell something to a person knowing that it won't be usable? (unless you're Microsoft of course)

[quote user="Benjamin"]I've just had a go with making bread by hand and for the first attempt I'm quite pleased. However, what a messy business ( a bit like childbirth I would imagine). [/quote] Good grief! Whatever ingredients did you use?

Hang on - you've completely lost me. You're all seriously suggesting that windows can be washed? Why do you think it rains?

[quote user="trees 2"][quote user="sheldonrobbo"]i bet most terrorists look innocent too.....better a slight delay than we let everybody come and go freely...therein lies disaster [/quote] Meanwhile, at the tunnel exit, cars stream off the shuttles and straight onto the motorway. ........[;-)] [/quote] Tunnel passengers have been through UK immigration control before they board the shuttle -and they can be just as strict. My wife got told off because she was engrossed in a book rather than looking at the officer.

It's reported that Ryanair are planning to cut 14% of Stansted flights during the winter period. story here

Can't help feeling that what you will be able to use it for will depend on what cut the joint is. For example a rolled rib will make some nice ribeye steaks, but something like topside is likely to be too dry - though if you cut it in thin slices you could try flash frying it as sandwich steaks? Or of course you could just roast it then slice it cold for a salad...