Gardengirl
-
Posts
4,270 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Gardengirl
-
-
Ahhhhh, sweet young things!
-
Jo, that's an awful thing to happen, and he sounds so lovely. A very timely warning for all.
How very distressing for you,
GG
-
Hi Frenchie,
I'm so glad you're feeling better. What a pity you had to wake so early, but hope you've managed a few hours sleep.
I went up to bed 10-ish, woke up about 4; so probably had about 5 hours sleep - much better! After a terrible previous night and taking the Euphytose yesterday something seems to have worked. I didn't like taking the Euphytose while I was on so many painkillers, but I gave them up yesterday.
Good luck with the packing later oday, and hope the table tennis wnt off well.
GG
-
Interesting question, Richard. You really got me thinking about it! We both still spoke about 'home', meaning our parents' homes after we moved south. Our sons still speak of 'home' meaning our family home here in UK, even though they both have their own homes.
We now speak of 'home' meaning both our home in UK and our home in France. I have found myself speaking more often about 'in UK' and 'in France' rather than just 'home'. Both feel like 'home' when we're there.
I always thought home was where you felt your roots were put down; I must be a new sort of plant - double-rooted!
GG
-
I can understand that - you have a deadline to meet. Just try to take it slowly; moving house would be difficult if you were stuck in bed at the end of the week!
GG
-
[:)] Did it! Said I was a slow learner!
Thanks a lot, GG
-
Thanks Cat ; so much to learn! Some of us are very slow!
So, I've clicked on 'Insert Smiley' from the box above the reply, but nothing happened. The otherlot have to be dragged; those above won't.
GG
-
Cooperlola, you mentioned 'active boards' earlier, and I've just had a look. Magic! I've now read about roaming wild mink that I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. Thanks,
GG
![Smile [:)]](/cs/images/emotions/smile.gif)
-
That's nasty. I think you should be tucked up in bed; a nap would be good for you. Take care, hope you can sleep it off,
GG
-
What an interesting post! I get the feeling you'd like to fall in love with your next house, somehow. I think it's lovely when people do.
We fell for an old stone house a few years ago. It was beautiful, had been very sensitively renovated, but still had a few changes we would have made. Not at all what we wanted; a hamlet with few amenities, too big, only a couple of terraces, whereas we wanted at least a few trees. But it was close to places we liked, and not far from the nearest town, and with lovely walks around the house; we loved it.
We lost it, as we would have had to sell the UK house and downsize, and someone else came along who was ready to buy. Very sad.
But my husband saw new-build apartments in another area that we knew well, in a little town we loved, and hadn't thought we could afford. So we flew out a couple of days later and bought one off-plan. Compared with the stone house it's characterless, but we're so very pleased we bought it.
We face due south, have the sun all day throughout the year, and the apartment fills with light. One of the main reasons for buying abroad was to escape the grey of the Thames Valley in winter, so it's great to have blue skies and bright sunlight! We never intended to be there in the summer (my garden calls), which is just as well, as it's very hot in summer. We spend half the year there, and are so pleased with it. It's the ideal lock up and leave property, we have some lovely neighbours, French, English and Belgian mostly, and feel very much at home. We've joined various asociations and go out walking, on visits and to talks with them.
So, to fall in love or not, that is the question; I can't answer that, but I'm sure you'll know it if you see it! I wish you all the luck in the world in your search Sweet 17; I know you'll keep us up to date on how it goes! [:D]
GG
-
You're welcome, Sweet 17, and you know where to come if you need a hot drink in the night!
GG
-
Thanks Cat!
GG
-
That's crazy! We need medical staff, they should be cutting back on manager types; I don't understand what they do I'm afraid, but there seems to have been a huge proliferation of them. Surely when some leave they should not be replaced, or a more junior person appointed and trained up.
GG
-
I quite agree, Cooperlola. There is very little activity on the regional boards, and I would imagine part of the reason is that some of the areas are huge, so you can't really relate to them.
I recently put an event on the south east board, as it was one we would have loved to go to, but we were in UK. Reflecting on it, probably very few people had even heard of the place. Very little about events is to be found there; I feel there would be much more use made if people felt the sections were more relevant to them. For example the board for southeast covers a huge geographical area, and the same applies to others. Presumably it wouldn't take much to split the areas up as you suggest.
GG
-
Thanks for that, Pickles. You obviously have internet access to your account too; it sounds very similar to what we have, just better value. I'll look into that.
GG
Edit
Just thought, maybe you have money paid in monthly; I'm just about to have my pension paid in to the French account monthly, save me transferring from Nationwide via ATMs all the time. We get a better rate in UK for having regular payments into our acount. At least we did; recently had a letter saying the 'high interest account' is now to be called 'current account'; guess why!
-
I forgot it's also half term for you; so you can get some rest, forget the packing for now.
Just a bit of discomfort, and feel a bit wobbly; think my blood pressure is a bit low. Thanks.
-
Still no useful additions from me Sweet 17, but I'm really enjoying looking up all these places. We aren't looking to move, very happy where we are, but looking costs nothing.We are in the south, and as Frenchie says,it's too hot in summer (and this last summer was very hot, according to locals), but as we knew that already we had no intentions of spending summers there.
There seems to be a lot of music and lovely countryside around many of the suggested places - lovely.
GG
-
Sorry to hear rhat, Frenchie. Yes, you can say that. And no, you won't want milk, nothing worse than that for sickness. Plain boiled rice or baked potato when you do fancy something, maybe. Take it easy today if you can.
GG
-
Have you read Sweet's small nice town wanted at the top of the posts? I assume it's the same place.
I know nothing about it, never heard of it before that thread, but it sounds very nice. And there's a contact for you; he obviously likes it a lot!
GG
-
That sounds a good idea, I hope they'll install more. I imagine it would be a very good place to start rolling them out. We've only had a problem once with one not working, but they sometimes seem very slow. How soon we get used to not having to queue!
I've never thought of the battery giving up - nasty idea!
GG
-
I had an early night as I was falling asleep in the chair, and look where it got me! I lay for ages trying to get back to sleep, and finally gave up. So it's a warm milk and Euphytose for me; I haven't taken any regularly for a few days as I was on painkillers, and forgot them last night. Anyone else for a hot drink?
-
I would also be interested in knowing the name of your bank. We pay 6 euros each month at the moment, which is lower than it was. We have no cards at all with them, have a cheque book which isn't used a lot, pay bills by DD or online. We pay euros in when we are there, from an ATM; I'm thinking of having a UK pension paid in France to avoid that. 12 euros sounds like an amount to aim for! I'm thinking of investigating the Post Ofice and Caisse D'Epargne next month.
GG
-
We seem to be getting post as normal. Our son posted a card 1st class on Friday, and I was told today that it arrived yesterday. Both places are in the south of England, but as our post now has to be sent to Swindon for sorting, I thought it was pretty good. In fact, it seems a better delivery service than before the strike!
GG
-
That would be perfect.
GG
Is this the end of school French exchanges?
in French Culture
Posted
I was 13; the journey from the north-east to the south coast of England took a whole day, the crossing a whole night. And what a night - rough seas all the way! We 40 teenagers didn't even have chairs to sit on, so I mostly tried to wander the heaving deck between throwing up sessions; I knew I was going to die! Back on dry land, I still felt ill. There were 2 trains to catch and then a coach; I felt seasick throughout and couldn't walk straight.
We were met by our exchange partners; but what on earth were they saying? None of their words sounded anything like the small amount of French strangled by a strong north-eastern accent that I knew. And the noises she made came out so fast; but not as fast as those of the parents and grandparents who I met later. I couldn't understand a word; Renee's English was as bad as my French, and the rest of her family had none.
Walking round their 3-storey apartment was difficult; I remember having to cross their dining room, and them laughing, as I still couldn't manage A to B without going via Q. And then dinner - a nightmare! Probably the best thing would have been a bowl of soup and bed, but no. First oysters. Oysters? I'd never seen them before in my life; and they were straight from the shell, and using those knives! Yuk! A huge platter of fruits de mer; I had seen shrimps, also crabs and lobsters before; and I do mean seen- after all, I did live on the north-east coast. But eat them? No, never, not in a family like ours. They ate with relish, I managed bread.
Course after course kept coming, as they did throughout my stay. I'd never met most of the fruits and vegetables they served, and the huge plates of meats were a revelation. We had meat at home, but they were small pieces; these were huge stews, steaks - almost unbelievable to me then. And I never did get used to the waste from artichokes!
Things improved; I felt better, ate most of the food, enjoyed the sunshine, visited markets, dolmens and little seaside villages; I even managed to understand a little and make myself understood, too. The 3 weeks sped by, and I didn't want to leave, ever.
They were a kind family, but their luxurious home, huge amounts of food and inability to communicate with me had left me homesick. What must they have thought of this strange-sounding teenager who felt ill, couldn't walk straight for a couple of days, and who only seemed to eat pureed potato at first!
I still can't manage oysters or a platter of fruits de mer. My almost life-long love affair with France and the French continues. We spend half the year in our apartment in France, and I love our life there. Thank goodness my parents managed to send me on the French exchange; I've gained from it ever since.