Gardengirl

Another late-comer to the news of Cooperlola's accident. Please add my best wishes for her speedy recovery. Jo

Books, bedding in John Lewis sales, plants - and bars of fruit and nut chocolate on a bad day! Jo

We got ours from a branch of Norauto, but they can be bought online, as with Sanef ones. We don't stick ours on the windscreen, just hold it up near the screen at the autoroute barriers; I think it could be mistaken for a satnav and I'd hate to have the car broken into ! Jo

Like ErnieY, ours costs €2 per month when used, so no monetary advantage; but as already stated, lots of time saved when there are long queues!                                                                                                                                                                                              Another bonus arises in bad weather - no more getting my arm soaked when trying to put the credit card in the machine, which can be very awkward, and no need for OH to try to steer close up to the pay machine and sometimes failing, meaningI undo seat belt and wriggle close enough to pop credit card in machine! We find it sooo useful, Jo

As already mentioned, the soil does need to be poor, otherwise the plants will not be what you want - they do seem to need to fight their way to flourishing! I haven't tried it, but I've read about actually planting out the plants you want - hard work in a meadow, but if you plant them around now, they should grow if the soil is suitable, plus the seeds may also be available for new plants. Good luck! Jo

I find that if I don't cut back the brambles they tend to become a bit octopussy and pluck my clothes when passing or working nearby. I'm not sure whether that makes them better or worse croppers, but it seems to work OK. Good luck with the jam! Jo

I always soak blackberries in lightly-salted water, for about 15-20 minutes, then rinse we, but gently in case the berries are damaged. Nasties come floating out. Then it's on to making le crumble etc - yum! Jo

Hope this is allowed; I mentioned a B & B recently and apparently shouldn't have. Maybe there's a 'Curves' group near you. I'm not at all into diets etc, but seem to have put on a little weight recently. I have arthritis and osteoporosis, so am wary about gyms etc - plus I've never been one for much more than good long walks and lots of gardening. However, I've recently joined the above mentioned, which is fairly gentle stuff, and takes 1/2 hour. I feel I'm benefitting from it, and find it fits in my life OK. Lots of the other ladies are carrying a lot of weight, and they all say they are losing it and getting fit as well. It's also friendly and very chatty. Jo

Hi Rico, We have a similar-sounding problem with our apple trees some years. They are quite old, but bear very good fruit and give wonderful shade when it's hot. We get a thick white deposit, which looks a bit fluffy - maybe this is like you've got. This has occurred for a good number of years, and doesn't affect the fruit at all. We garden organically, and have done nothing about it apart from cutting off any small branches affected that don't have fruit on them (so, in summer). Some years it can be really bad, this year there is virtually none. I heard on 'Gardeners' Question Time' on R4 this week that this is a good thing to do - they called it 'summer pruning', which I often do with short whippy pieces as well as the white stuff. They also mentioned that thinning out generally helps. We had a lot of branches cut earlier this year by our son, so maybe that thinning out has helped. We seem to have done the right thing by default. Sorry I can't help with suggestions about sprays etc, but maybe if you summer prune and thin out later, it might help. I would also mention that any white branches I cut are not left lying around for insects etc to go into as I normally would; they are put straight into bags and taken to the tip - I've always been worried about spreading it. Hope this helps, Jo    

UK time 20.29; problem still there! Jo

Hoverfrog, Thanks for your message; I guess I'll have to ring them and see what's what. Info received here will help. I've tried wordreference, and it's really good; now added to my favourites. Jo

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Hi BJSLIV, Thanks for your reply; that certainly helps. We did change an appointment, but gave more than 48 hours notice, and were told there would be no charge. However, you have certainly pointed me in the right direction. We have come back to UK as M-I-L is ill, but when we go back I'll get on to it. Thanks a lot, Jo.

We finally moved in to our apartment a few weeks ago, the developers have at last put right all the problems found so far, and we are enjoying living in France apart from the heat - but not complaining! We had the 2 level electricity tariff, which we changed as we won't be using w machine etc at night - they back on to our bedroom, and I'm a v light sleeper; also, our neighbour has been in longer than us, and had a bill about half ours on the single tariff.  A bill has arrived dated the day the man came to switch us on to single tariff, which we don't understand; the electricity cost 34.24 euros 'frais de dedit' was 12.83 deplacement sans intervention was 22.53 Intervent 1 appareil part was 26.91. We assume some of it was to do with the man's visit, but with twiddly bits the extras came to 78.38, which seems high. Can anyone help with the wording please. Many thanks, Jo

Welcome back, and we're so very pleased to hear you both got off relatively lightly, thank goodness. It's so good to hear you're both home. You have so many friends who've been thinking of you. Love, Jo

Message for Patf, Thanks for call and chat; can't get through on PM. Found the receipt - the postage was only 5.30 euros, not nearly as much as you guessed! Happy breadmaking, Jo

We know the surrounding area fairly well - we've visited for about 12 years - only in the summer/early autumn, & know nothing about prices.  We are keen walkers, and the area all around is a delight. There is a lot going on in summer, but come the end of August a lot closes down until the ski season starts up. Depending on how close the town is, there may or may not be shops etc available to you.Would you plan to live there all year, or perhaps rent out? There are many summer visitors, so renting out could be on. Best wishes, Jo

Thanks for the helpful replies. We will try the suggestion of asking at the local building supplies place, and also the idea of wetting the walls - it certainly sounds easier and cleaner. It's not quite the way we saw us moving in to a brand new place! Jo

We got an ASF doofer 2 weeks ago from Norauto, & didn't pay the upfront charge. The monthly charges will be on direct debit from our bank account, & there will be no charge in any month we don't use it.We like it a lot, especially as I didn't have to open my window on the way north - dreadful rain for hours on end! I used to use my credit card, so delays weren't too bad out of season, but queues certainly built up at peak times. Jo

Thanks for replies. If it is either 'crepi' or 'brownings', do you think it would sand down & take a coat of emulsion ok? It's newly done by the developers, & we think it was sprayed on. The little bit I lightly sanded inside the wardrobe was a very dense dust as it fell - didn't hang in the air like our 'normal' plaster at our UK house, which seems to penetrate everywhere. Jo

I asked this question with the brand name (Baagar) a few days ago; lots read it, but no-one could help. So, does anyone know anything about a rough plaster, a bit like artex, (very rough in this case, grazing hands & elbows, & would catch on clothes when walking through the rooms), which also seems very soft. I've tried sanding with the finest sandpaper inside a cupboard, and it very quickly smoothed down; still textured, but acceptable. We are planning to go over next week & sand down the whole apartment, then put a coat of paint on top. The question is, has anyone come across anything like this before, & can give any advice? We stayed in an apartment block near ours for the handover last week with walls covered with something similar, but much smoother & more acceptable to live with. Thanks, Jo

Hi Benjamin, Yes, you're quite right - that was my take on it, but my OH says the same as you. Sorry for mis-info, Vinci car-parking does have to be paid for, just  no fiddling with change! Jo

Hi Pat,  I've tried replying, emailiing & PMing, but seem to have failed. Received your message, & will get in touch when we get to France - mid-May-ish. Jo

We bought an ASF doofer last week while in France, but used our French bank account, via direct debit. This was at a branch of Norauto (similar to Halfords, it seems), & it started immediately for our return trip. However, those from Sanef say you can use a card. Ours didn't cost anything upfront; we expected to pay 30 euros, as on the adverts, so that was a bonus. It will cost 2 euros per month, but there will be no charge for any month we don't use it. As far as we are aware, they can be used on all autoroutes, and don't become inactive. We haven't seen any queues for using them, which makes it very nice to sail through. I suppose, rather like Ryanair's priority boarding, as they become more popular, there may be queues - or perhaps they will open more doofer lanes. Another bonus is that it can be used for free parking in Vinci carparks, one of which we have used a few times; plus there were other benefits, which I can't remember just now. We certainly found it useful last week, & we're not into the holiday queue season yet, so can only get better! Jo

Hi Pat, I've PM'd you. Jo