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Yes Pads I agree with you on National Service as the armed forces are desperately short now of recruits and a lot are leaving the services. I know this is correct as my youngest son is a Royal Marine Commando. Going back to the student issue, two of my grandaughtrs are studying as well, one is doing a degree and works three full days a week to try to keep her loans down and the other one is at college and works in a cafe when she is not stidying  so why should  this relatives son not do the same and get a job when he is not at the course. Surely, just handing out cash is not the way to make kids realize that one has to work for what we get. He could so easily think...wow, this is good, I do not have to work as I will get cash anyway.

Oh good...not gremlins after all

I agree totally that he should receive additional training. My point is why should he be paid to do it when  students have to stack shelves to get cash.

Yes I have just seen my post there but loads of others before me were not listed  perhaps it is my PC gremlins.

On the "other topic " section the date of the last post is shown as 07/09/2007 and the topic is Portugese Police. Need to upgrade it somewhat.

One of our grandsons' is at music college and hopes to eventually join the Roayal Marine Bands,  so to enable him to have some money in his pocket he works all hours when not at college for a large supermarket stacking shelves. I have just found out that a relatives son who hardly ever went to school and left with hardly any GCSEs and cannot find employment is now on a three month course for no hopers and he gets £50 per week for the privilage and his parents have had the child benefit reinstated. He is seventeen years of age, the same age as our grandson, and it must be so demoralizing for kids who work hard at school and college to hear of the country giving cash to those who are not interested in a  future of any kind. 

I am glad I started this debate and it has been so interesting to read all the comments so far. It would be nice to hear more ....for or against. Our friends do deny any crime in their area but I still wonder why they HAVE to keep the bars on the windows for the insurance. One thing that surprised us when we drove the were the unfinished buildings eveywhere and obviously just left deserted.  The amount of urbanisation that is still going up everywhere and yet hundreds and hundreds of properties unsold as we were told the property market is very bad there.   Keep them coming  !!!!

I used to live in a small cornish village and so did Edward Woodward and his wife Michele Dotrice and their daughter. Their dughter is with one of my sons friends and has been since she was in her very early teens.

What a good idea pip24 but still p*****g down so cleaned the house instead today. At least we do not have the weather that they have in UK at present.

You obviously do not know me very well, raindog. If it is not forbidden then not worth doing.  

Thank you to all who replied and I cannot wait to get started. Warmer today but P*****g down with rain so I will have to do baking for freezer instead as no Asda or Tesco close by.  

Hello Tony   I live in a very cold Deux Sevres  dept. 79  Not usually this cold I may add.

I am a novice at growing veg and I was wondering if it is still too cold to put seeds into the ground.  I have Carrots and Parsnip seeds that I bought in UK and it states that from February onwards is fine but I do not want to lose them if not the right time. 

Aldi have apparently stopped selling the jars of "almost English " baked beans......any suggestions as to where I can find some apart from the English sections in supermarkets. Not for me as I am not a great lover of them ...for  OH.  He loves them and is getting withdrawl symptoms. I live near Melle so somewhere within easy distance of there would be a help.

I agree Woody, we live in a hamlet a few miles from Melle and we are the only brits living there. A few in surrounding villages but nothing like areas further south from us. What is wrong with having some brits close by especially if they can speak better french than we can and it is entirely up to the individual person how much contact with brits is made. It definately does not flood where we live and it is a pretty hamlet with friendly french people living there.

Let me know what day you will be there and I will come along to give you moral support

I think I am a distant relative three hundred times removed..so how much do I get ?

All these replies are iteresting so keep them coming. We did visit our friends last year and we were pleasantly surprised as they live in the mountains about an hour inland from Alicante and their nearest town was extremely nice and everyone was very friendly. We did ask why they had bars on the windows of their property and although they are on their own in a lot of land the insurance on the property and contents is invalid if no bars are used. Here in our little hamlet we really do feel safe and secure and when we are away our French neighbours offer to keep an eye out for us. It would be nice to hear from someone who has moved from Spain to France for their reasons for the move. I must admit from what our friends have told us it is definately cheaper to live in Spain.

I just thought it would be an interesting debate...why did you chose to live in France and not Spain.  We have friends who chose Spain and everytime we meet up they tell us why Spain is best and we obviously do the same about France. Are thre any folk out there that wished they had chosen Spain instead.....I am just cuious.

WE STARTED WATCHING THE PROGRAMME BUT SWITCHED IT OFF EARLY.  HOW THE OSBORNES CAN BE IN THE LIMELIGHT IS A MYSTERY TO US....HE HAS BEEN A  DRUNKEN, DRUG TAKING WIFE BEATER, SHE IS A FOUL MOUTHED, UTTERLY FALSE WOMAN AND THEIR CHILDREN NEED TO FIND THEIR OWN WAY IN LIFE INSTEAD OF RIDING ON THEIR EXTREMELY RICH PARENTS BACKS.  THEY LOOKED LIKE THE MUNTERS ON THE STAGE AND TOTALLY RUINED IT FOR US.  WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO WARRANT SO MUCH MEDIA ATTENTION ALL OF A SUDDEN AS ONE OR ANOTHER OF THEM ARE ALWAYS PRESENTING THIS OR THAT.  THE ONLY NORMAL ONE IN THAT FAMILY IS THE VERY PRETTY ELDEST DAUGHTER WHO KEEPS HERSELF TO HERSELF AND IS RARELY IN THE LIMELIGHT BUT THEN WITH A FAMILY LIKE THEM I THINK I WOULD KEEP A LOW PROFILE AS WELL

Mossies do bite me but the things which really have a field day with me are the little ba*****s that appear around August time and "eat" me until the really cold weather comes. We have had two flies in the house over the last couple of days so they are waking up now.....stand by !!!!!!!!

    Why are people not queing up for this little angel, I am making my husband's life a misery continously asking if we can have her but no luck so far. We already have two dogs and one is a French rescue Labrador  and he is still dreadful with cats and other dogs although he took to our very old female cocker spaniel immediately and adores her. He is a nightmare to take out and also in the car if he sees another dog walk past so I think OH beleives that we could be in for trouble if we bring yet another dog into the house....who knows.  I think Nana is adorable so come on what are you all waiting for !!!!!!! 

WOW   there will be no stopping me now...thank you.

Thank you so much for this site, very good and I am sure I will be able to make use of some of the recipes.

Morning Dick   Unfortunaley  I live a lot further down in dept. 79 but thank you for replying.