foxyloxy25

Kim thank you so much for your reply, I am certainly honoured as this is your first posting especially as you have 17years of experience living in France.  I do agree that one learns more from one's mistakes, but I really do not want to make too many, so I am happy with the responses I have had.  I will let you know how it goes as it is my first 'big' affair!! Jeanne 

That sounds really good thanks so much I like the idea. Jeanne

I don't think she reads these threads! Now gardening.....

I'm a bit worried about Glaws v Leicester; it's a one-off game and we know how they can end up. We are better than them this season but I saw the job they did against Wasps in the EDF semis and they can raise their game. Mrs Plod doesn't know about this!

Advice Please! and thanks in advance. I would like to have an open house/bbq/picnic for my husbands adult French students, studying beginners and advanced English. What I don't want is everyone sat at one long table as there could be as many as 40 people.  So (1) how do I issue the invite? so that it will be clear that there will be no formal eating, would I call it a picnic? (2) would it be considered rude to ask them to bring a plate of salad/dessert etc (3) any suggestions as to the meat/veg I can bbq for that many people.  I appreciate this is a tall order, I have ideas, but I am looking for fonts of knowledge from more experienced folk, any do and dont's would be appreciated. Again many thanks for your time. Jeanne 

I'd probably be feeling bad if Glaws had suffered from a poor decision but I'm not sure what you can do about it save ensure that refs get training and feedback, and, if necessary, are demoted from top games. I still feel that somewhere along the line Munster will have benefitted from a bad decision. In the case you showed I didn't think it was that bad. The penalised player killed the ball and was "choking" the tackled player. It was a clear penalty but in most cases the ref would have reversed it for the retaliation. Probably would have been a sending-off as well, but he wouldn't be the first player to only get carded for a punch. (I'm plod by the way on my wife's log-in!)

It is very likely scale insect, have a look on the back of the leaf, and the stems, you might see some little brown patches which look very much like small scabs. I usually wipe mine off with warm water with a very little drop of surgical spirits dipped in cotton wool, you might need to do this a time a two before you will totally get rid off it, but it all comes back looking good. Jeanne  

I know what you mean about the vagaries of parsnips, but the folks on the Kitchen Garden site know what they are talking about, so I gave it a shot and it worked.  My soil (if you can call it that) is horrible pure clay, so I have to use a dipper as if planting a bulb, then fill it with compost and put in the germinated loo roll, this works like a dream.  So here's hoping we all get beautiful parsnips, swedes and cerleriac, all of which I have had trial and error with.  Now I need to learn how to grow the perfect cauliflower. Jeanne

Val I always keep the kitchen paper damp and keeping the lid on the plastic container helps to keep it moist until the seeds germinate, they don't take too long, check them regularly and as soon as you see they have sprouted, put them in a loo roll which has compost in, then when the root starts showing through the bottom, I use a dipper to get a nice deep hole in the soil, and put the whole lot loo roll and all, this gives you quite a nice long straight parsnip.  I do hope that is not too much information, if you already know all this I am sorry. Jeanne   

Try putting them on damp kitchen paper, then in a plastic container, watch carefully and remove seeds as soon as they start sprouting.  I tried that with some old seed last year and it worked, it also works with Parsnips. I am no expert, but picked the tip up from a very knowledgable gardener on the Kitchen Garden web site. Jeanne  

This reply may be more frustrating then helpful, but have a look on the cookery section, I remember printing a very helpful step by step guide which had been written by a knowledgable person, unfortunately I have not found the reference but a regular user might remember it. Jeanne 

Before we settled here permanently we had long term parking in Toulouse, we filled the forms in at the Enquiry desk on the ground floor and shortly after got sent a card which we used at the machine, in those days we used P2 but there have been a lot of changes at the airport since, so you will need to check as to which car park is now used for long term parking.  The whole process was painless, and quite reasonable as parking prices go.  

who are you kidding, you are really looking forward to it, while my husband is still thrilled about the rugby, I am going to arrange our trip, make sure he thinks it is his idea!! super time for gardening and planting all those gorgeous plants, we can buy.

Ab, thanks very much, you have saved me a lot of time, I am hoping that we can stop on the way there and the way back, preferably near a wine region, that my oh will enjoy, then he won't complain so much about 'what more b****y plants'!!  

I am English and if Scotland were playing as in fact they were against Argentina on Sunday I was supporting Scotland very vocally.  I find your attitude and others who share it a bit sad, not to say offensive. j

Oh how I wish I was, I read everything I need to do and what needs to be done from the RHS site and the folk at the Kitchen Garden site have been ever so helpful.  Good luck with your gardening. I read an article by Dan Pearson and he said spend £5.00 on your soil and 5p on your plant and you will never go wrong.  I am afraid I spend an awful lot more than that on plants, but believe very strongly that the soil needs looking after first. j 

If you can borrow a shredder, shred all your shrubs and hedge clippings, layer with other waste, if too dry water it, and better than my advice, watch Gardener's World on Friday, that man! is going to talk about it.  I shred all my shrub and tree prunings, it is also great for mulching borders in the Autumn.  If you have a lot of trees, now is the time to gather up your fallen leaves, put them in a black bag pour water into it, poke holes in the bag and throw them into a corner for a couple of years, you can then use if for planting.  I love the stuff it is like black gold.  To fertilise your soil and keep it working in the Autumn and Winter, you can plant broadbeans now, when they are over, cut them down, leave the roots in the soil and dig in.  May I also suggest that you long into the Kitchen Garden website, they give lots of good information, just adjust the dates according to your area. j  

Hi,  I know what you mean, I so miss trawling round Nurseries. I went to England for the Malvern Flower Show on the 29th, found that even there, there were more craft stalls now then plant stalls.  I believe there is a big plant show in the suburbs of Paris around the 20th October, but I have not looked it up as yet.  Like you I mostly miss chatting about all the plants and finding unusual plants, or sharing.  I do not know of any gardening clubs near me in Albi, but I occasionally come to Eymet to visit  friends. I would love the opportunity to share views, information, cuttings and seeds with like minded gardeners. j.

Hi, I am no gardening expert, but like you I am very fond of Sweet Potato, and had planned to plant some this year, but missed the planting time which according to various articles I have read is in May. For us in dept 81, I will probably sow the slips in the greenhouse in April.  The slips can be bought from Thompson & Morgan or  Graines Baumaux which has a really super catalogue (I have no connections to either Company and only a very amatuer gardener).  Have a look on the RHS website again a very helpful site, which will give you all the information.  Hope this helps you, next year we can compare growing experiences. j 

This could also be bacterial canker and needs spraying with bouillie bordelaise at certain times and pruning has to carried out during the dry months! have a look at the Rhs site, they will give you all the information.

Campsis does take a little while to get established, but you might be cutting out the flowering buds if you are being too servere, once your frame work has been established, prune back previous summer's growth to 2 - 3 buds from old wood in early spring.  It is a beautiful plant and grows well with full sun.

I have a veg garden in S/W France, I find that we are about two three weeks ahead of the English gardening season,  I tend to follow my neighbours who are farmers, if they plant so do I.  As mentioned, I grow my peppers, aubergines, melons outside, but this summer has been so awful I am sure that the peppers, chillies and aubergines would have preferred the green house, but that is another problem, all the fun of gardening.   

A friend of ours is a GP in Normandy, he has chosen to be a locum.  He says they do not receive a salary from the State, their income is the 21 euros they receive from the patient, and they have to pay all their outgoings from that money, and arrange their holiday cover etc.  As he is single he says he prefers to be a locum, so he does not have to pay any outgoings from his income or find holiday cover.  I was remarking on our GP not having a receptionist/telephonist but dealing with the adminstration herself, he said it was because it had to come out of their 21 euro per patient. 

Likewise Ron, my husband has just come back from CPAM and they no nothing about this. jeanne