Dobsie

Accents (a not-for-profit organisation operating under Loi 1901) is looking for KS1 teachers to teach 2 hours per week in Poitou Charentes - please contact us for more information.

There's a good English speaking mobile hairdresser based in Civray - pm me if you would like her details.

I've answered this question elsewhere so won't bore you with the same answer again. A couple of points have been made which I think are important, one the need to read & write fluently in English before kids can be called bi-lingual, two the importance / advantagte of being bi-cultural and thirdly, are we expecting our children to stay in the same country as us parents? I know I have never stayed close geographically to my parents and my sister lives in the US - my expectation is that my children will fly the nest to somewhere which offers them what they are looking for career-wise. They may return here when they are searching for an improved quality of life with their kids by which time we will be old and living in the centre of a town with all the amenities on tap! BTW, my kids are 11, 9 and 6 and we moved to France via Switzerland 5 years ago.

Hi Christine Belle is doing extremely well - she has settled in beautifully and is great with kids and chickens! Our other dog is gradually settling down but it is fair to say she is not best pleased with her new Xmas friend (nor are the cats but they are slowly venturing back to the house) - I am sure that they will all settle down over the next few days / weeks! Belle is a little concerned about the horses and donkeys but we're guessing she's not seen them before so I am sure she will soon relax around them. We went out for the first time today and came back to a calm Belle and a complete kitchen - we were all very happy! She really has a lovely temperament and we have all fallen in love with her so she is definately one of the family already. She is very thin but has a healthy appetite and we are hoping that she will soon start to put some weight back on. Thanks for all your help in finding Belle - good luck for 2008!