lorna

[quote user="cooperlola"]Do people really miss these things that much?  Hellman's Mayonnaise?  Crumble topping mix? Flour? What is that about?[/quote] I was a fan of Hellman's Mayonnaise. I like mayonnaise without mustard and that is difficult to find here. We have found one but it is not as nice as Hellman's. Hellman's mayonnaise had few additives and kept in the fridge for three months (if it lasted that long)

I must admit that that looks doable - even for me. I am tempted to have a go.

Windows does automatic updates from time to time and I find that I have to login again after these updates, but it's not a daily occurrence.

Thank-you for all the suggestions and recommendations. One of the reasons we tried Mackie's in the first place was that it had no artificial colour or flavouring (I could never understand the need for colour in vanilla ice cream). I wouldn't mind an ice-cream machine but we don't have room in our kitchen. I'm not sure about making it by hand - might give it a go sometime.

If it can be done I am sure it would work very well. After all the usual courses including dessert (and our crumble) at the local apéritif dinatoire there was a mad rush from our table - the ice cream had appeared! The French are definitely big fans of ice cream.

[quote user="woolybananasbrother"]Like finding the perfect wine.[6][/quote] More chance of that![;-)]

[quote user="sweet 17"]Lorna, I thought matching shoes and bag are now considered terribly passé?  Not that I pay any attention to what's in and what's not.  Nowadays, it's got to be a) comfortable and b) a size bigger![:@][/quote] You may well be right! I may be a bit out of touch and the wrong generation to give advice although I did think that weddings are one of the opportunites to dress up a bit if you want to.

What exactly is 'bolting'? You can see I'm not much of a gardener![:)]

[quote user="woolybananasbrother"]try Trial and Error, great stuff[6][/quote] we buy it so occasionally that that approach could take a long time!

[quote user="Frenchie"] Maybe you all can help me........ I'm going to a wedding in the UK in october , and I wonder what I should wear.. Apparently women wear hats for weddings in the UK.. Is it necessary to wear a dress? what about an elegant " tailleur pantalon" ?   [/quote] Hi Frenchie, As a general rule I would say that it is virtually mandatory for the mother of the bride and the mother of the bridegroom to wear hats. For all the other ladies I would say to dress prettily and smartly. If it were summer I would suggest a pretty cotton dress, possibly a lightweight jacket and matching shoes and bag. A hat if you like, it certainly sets off an outfit if hats suit you. Having said that, at the wedding of one of my nephews two years ago in the summer, his sister who was doing a reading at the wedding wore a white trouser suit. She is tall and she looked absolutely stunning. Ladies often treat weddings as an opportunity to buy a new outfit, but you don't have to do that. Of course, you are going in October so a lightweight dress is probably not practical. Perhaps an autumn outfit. I would say that most people try to dress up a bit but again it does depend on the type of wedding. If it is a big expensive white wedding with lots of guests I would say dress up. If the couple are doing a budget wedding then you can be a little more casual. As others have said, try to find out if there is a theme. Also if you know any other ladies who will be going, ask them what they will be wearing. Hope you find the right outfit and have a great time. Let us know how you get on when the time comes. [:)]

Our favourite ice cream in the UK was Mackie's ice cream. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good vanilla ice cream that we will be able to find in the supermarkets here?

We received our Carte Vitales last December and my photo was taken with my glasses on so this must be a new ruling!

And I've just seen that fromage frais is another name for fromage blanc - I hadn't realised that. Is fromage faiselle the same thing as well?

I had had a look at that link, it seemed to be talking more about cream cheese substitute. We do buy fromage blanc but that is normally in little pots for individual desserts - does it come loose in bulk (so to speak)?

We have a favourite baked cheesecake recipe which we would like to try here. It uses cottage cheese. If we can't get cottage cheese here what other sort of cheese is likely to work?

[quote user="Christine Animal"] They're going crumble mad ! Craquez pour les Crumbles   [/quote] Just came across your crumble post Christine whilst searching for something else. Yesterday we went to an 'Apéretif dinatoire' we had been invited to. Everyone had to contribute something and it was suggested that we bring an 'English dessert'. In the end we took a crumble and they loved it! Looking at your link I continue to be amazed at how inventive the French are with food, I'm not sure I would ever have thought of  making a ratatouille crumble or a crumble of endives and curry!

I hadn't actually read that bit until you said! Today the weather has been good, but it has rained almost every day for weeks. Our French friends are horrified by the weather as they say it never usually rains in June. This evening we are going to see/hear a choir in the ampitheatre, it will be my first visit there. I hope the weather holds out - fingers crossed!

And here's a link to some of the events in Lyon: http://www.nuitsdefourviere.fr/ 

Hi Sweet 17, I think you'd like our town - Vienne. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhône, 30 km south of Lyon. Population 30,000. It is a prosperous town full of Roman artefacts including an ampitheatre regularly used for concerts. There is an annual 2 week jazz festival when the whole town is buzzing and full of all types of music (not just jazz). Last year the town renamed some of the streets with the names of famous musicians but I don't know if they do that every year. The cafes and restaurants stay open late and the town is alive until the early hours. Here is the program for this year - http://www.jazzavienne.com/  - you're still in time for a visit! We live on the southern borders 1km from the town centre. We moved into our house just in time for last year's jazz festival and my husband walked down most evenings. It takes just 30mins on the train to be in the centre of Lyon where you would be bound to be able to top-up on any cultural or intellectual activities that you can't find locally. There are very few British people here and our local French community have been friendly and welcoming. Although some like to practise their English most encourage us to speak French. On the other side of the river there is the Pilat regional park which is also a centre for winter sports.

Talking of big bangs, here's a video my OH came across when he was looking for a new boiler: www.waterheaterblast.com/waterheaterblast.wmv

So sorry to see this news. Best wishes to both for a speedy recovery.

[quote user="Judith"] Whilst we are on the subject of bells ringing - does anyone know why (as in our village) we have two sets of "bongs", two and half minutes apart??? [/quote] Apparently this was so that workers in the field were able to know what time it was. When the first set was sounding they weren't quite tuned in but stopped work and listened for the second set. Not sure who told me this, might have been my French language teacher back in the UK who owned a house in France.

He phoned HMRC again on this one. Because he was in France when it was earned it is taxable in France. If he had been in the UK then it would be taxable in the UK. Therefore we are entering the amount in section I and transferring it to the box in section VIII. We realise from seeing other discussions on this subject that this arrangement could create other problems and he will not be paying himself any salary from the company in this way in the future. We will be looking into other arrangements that will fit in with the French regulations.

Hi figa nera, Just read through your post and I think my post of yesterday answers your question. An answer as given by HMRC anyway. However if you have apportioned the interest I'm not sure anyone would quibble. You would obviously also need to apportion the tax you claim back from the UK. Link to my post: http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1240240/ShowPost.aspx

This may be of interest to those in their first year here. My OH is filling in our forms and has been concerned about interest payments which have been paid since we moved but partially cover periods when we were in the UK. For example, we have current account interest paid monthly at the end of the month we moved. We also have savings account interest paid annually and received a payment in November. (we moved end June). He was concerned that if we declared the gross interest on our forms that the UK might not refund that part which was 'earned' during our UK residency. He was wondering if some apportionment should be made. He phoned the HMRC enquiries for non-UK residents line this morning with the query. The answer was that it is the date of payment which is important. If the payment was made during the period of French residency then it should be declared in France and the tax can be reclaimed from the UK.