Tancrède

[quote user="sweet 17"]what the hell is the "Stockholm Syndrome"?[/quote] In the good old days  -  before we started having 'syndromes'  -  we used to call it  Doing a Patty Hearst.

[quote user="Guile"]Has anyone else wondered why the new UK Border Agency ask such stupid questions at Eurotunnel check points? [/quote] One of the best I remember was disembarking from an overnight ferry at about 6.00 a.m. when, after an excruciatingly long wait, I was asked:  Can you tell me how far you have travelled today? I suggested:  About two hundred yards  -  which the officer seemed to find perfectly satisfactory.

I don't suppose Jeanne Calmont would ever have reached the magnificent age of 122 if she hadn't given up smoking at 118.

[quote]Some of what NormanH has written would appear to have merit [/quote] Yes.  Certainly his proposition that the present state of the the GB economy should be attributed to Mrs Thatcher has brought laughter into many homes.

[quote user="Chris"]At least in those days a Rectory had enough space for a lion. Ours is a nasty 1960's plaster board and block bungalow, with barely space for a stuffed cat.[/quote] Can this possibly be in the Diocese of Exeter ?  The architectural tradition to which you refer has such a familiar and evocative ring to it… 

[quote user="Chris"]At least in those days a Rectory had enough space for a lion. Ours is a nasty 1960's plaster board and block bungalow, with barely space for a stuffed cat. [/quote] I am delighted to say that this one  -  complete with stables, brewhouse, cellars, antlers (but without, alas, lion), not at all nasty and entirely innocent of plasterboard  -  survived bravely into the 3rd millennium, and continued to fulfil the rôle for which it was built until 2004.

[quote user="mattjazz"]For anyone who's interested, having contacted les douannes, there is no restriction on taking antlers to France. [/quote] It is good to have a definitive pronouncement on this matter.  I imported a set  -  of similar spendid dimensions  -  without considering that they might have provoked a border incident.  They were bagged by a lady big game hunter, the wife of a clergyman, in the '20s.  Sadly the stuffed lion which guarded the hall of the Rectory, and the leopard-skin coat with which she caused a sensation in the Sunday School had, with the passage of time, been lost sight of. 

[quote user="NormanH"]According to this article  in the Financial Times once UK rates fall close to zero, the UK authority’s only option to provide a monetary stimulus is to pump money into the financial system. Haven't we seen the effects of that elsewhere before?[/quote] Yes indeed.  Wilson and Macmillan.  But I thought from your comments elsewhere that you rather approved of the tactics of Old Labour.

[quote user="Martinwatkins"]Inflation at 27%.   £ falling 12 cents against the $ in one day.   IMF banging on the door. 1975-77.   Who was in charge?  Oh yes,  labour.    Long before Mrs T. [/quote] Haha, excellent.  And not to forget 1967 either when, with unemployment at a 27 year peak and industrial production in a state of utter stagnation, the excellent Wilson with characteristic and grandiose daring proclaimed himself our Economic Overlord.

[quote user="NormanH"]The roots of the problem lie in the Thatcher years.[/quote] And this being clearly the case, what an astonishing and convincing inditement you make upon the abilities of Tony, Cheri and their successors, that in the course of eighteen subsequent years they have been totally ineffectual in righting the previous misrule.

[quote user="allanb"]why did the French postilions decide to sit on the left-hand horse in the first place? [/quote] This isn't a matter of decision, or of nationality, or of 'rule of the road', but of 'handedness'.  Most right handed people find it natural and convenient to mount a horse from the left.  One cannot mount the right hand horse of pair in this way for the obvious reason that there is a horse in the way.  For which reason postillions of every country, including England, customarily rode on the left hand horse of a pair.  Hence the enormous protective boot that postillions universally wore was designed to protect the right leg from being crushed between the flanks of the two leading horses. Various considerations make the work of a postillion more effective if he is a) riding near the crown of the road rather than in the gutter, and b) is placed closer to passing vehicles.  Hence it was considered more sensible for the equipage to pass on the right hand side of the road.  In England, however, rules already in place for the convenience of mounted travellers seem to have taken precedence.

[quote user="woolybanana"]Looking at French forums on woodburning stoves, it seems that Jotul is about the best around. But has anyone here any experience of them please?[/quote] Yes, for some 25 years.  A huge one and various smaller ones.  I cannot speak highly enough of them, and wish that I had one now.

[quote user="Scottish Bill"]Can I ask how easy other single people found it to settle in France?[/quote] It is hard to envisage, without more information, what particular difficulties you foresee arising from being single in France.  I am single, and moving to France is the best thing I have ever done, and I have not regretted it in any way whatever. A serious disadvantage that many single people suffer in France is a post mortem one.  Namely, that inheritance tax is levied at a particularly punitive rate upon single people who have no close relations, and your estate will (in broad terms) be raided of 60% of its value in order to give further comfort to the massive and idle bureaucracy of an essentially absolutist state, and other unworthy causes. If it is not your wish that the efforts of your lifetime should evaporate in this way, then there exist certain steps can most effectively be taken before you become fiscally resident.

[quote user="Russethouse"]To my mind there is a very big diference in hunting in France and the UK - in the main the French eat what they hunt - I have yet to hear of fox being turned into a tasty dish ![/quote] But references to this (to my mind unattractive) possibility are commonplace  -  Peter Mayle, Jean Giono, etc… Samuel Chamberlain in his Epicurean Tour of the French Provinces gives some helpful information as to the culinary procedure: Not that all natives of Provence are gastronomically minded. Take, for example the exposed citizen who watches over the flocks of sheep grazing on the hills of Camargue and in the swampy lowlands of the Scamandre. It's a hard life, and the famished shepherd will eat about anything. Herons, gulls, or any available fowl, even though it gorges itself on fish and tastes accordingly, is acceptable. He will eat fox when he has to. He soaks the carcass of the fox in the Rhône to make it tender, then hands it in a strong wind for a few days until it loses some of its strong perfume. Finally, after soaking it in vinegar, he cooks it in wine.

they do not stay crisp for very long Yes, the brining is essential.  1oz to 1 pint is generally good for vegetables.  I must admit that I don't wash mine after brining  -  French salt looks dirtier than it really is.

There are no Jersey citizens, as Jersey is part of Great Britain and there are no immigration controls between the Islands and the UK. The Channel Islands are a Crown Dependency with a separate legislature.  They are not, and never have been part a part of Great Britain or the United Kingdom, neither are they full members of the EU.  Neither (despite its general and customary acceptability) is Channel Island currency legal tender in Britain.

[quote user="cooperlola"]I detest the use of the word lady unless the person has had that title confired upon them, or is married to a Lord.  I am a woman thanks very much, and the way I dress and disport myself is my business and mine alone.  If that means I am not a lady then hoorah for that - it just goes to reinforce my point.  The word has a great tendency to be used by men in a partronising way which seems to convey all that they believe to be true about a woman's appearance and manners, and absolutely nothing about her talents and intellectual abilities… [/quote]I am sorry to learn that intellectual abilities should be considered a more important criterion than manners. But glad to hear the hereditary principle being supported.

[quote user="Weedon"]but I am a great observer of local customs and have so far adopted these five… [/quote]Weedon, This is an excellent guide to inculturation. But No. 1: [quote user="Weedon"]When out walking I stare long and hard at every passing vehicle.[/quote]Surely you also turn around to stare again after the vehicle has passed by? And one omission.  When parking a car, it is essential to make a loud rasping noise, by drawing up the hand-brake with the ratchet still engaged.  My four year old godson was so enchanted with this after a visit to France that he incorporated the noise into his imaginary car-driving routine.

Climbing rose Mermaid? Excellent large attractive flowers (but not vulgar), scented, long flowering period, virtually evergreen, quite likes a north-facing position, robust, will do two storeys, does not require - or even like - much pruning. And the thorns are so aggressive that no one will ever dare an illicit entry through a window.

[quote user="sueyh"]is it just because of the dry weather?[/quote]Dry weather certainly does bring moles out onto the surface.  My cat has always characteristically caught the majority of his moles during droughts, and one certainly sees them more frequently under extremely dry conditions. But I don't know what the mechanism of this is.  My father's view (he was a very accomplished mole-catcher) was that very dry conditions made their shallow feeding-runs difficult to sustain  -  as a result of the surface of the soil being too friable.

This site provides a large but not exhaustive list: http://vide-greniers.org and your regional paper, consulted free at your local bar, will give others.

[quote user="sweet 17"]The Ice Saints, Gengulphus, are you sure?[/quote]Am I sure what, SW17?  I am sure, along with my neighbours, and Rabelais, that they must be treated with great caution.  Ces Saincts passent pour Saincts Gresleurs, Geleurs, et Gateurs du Bourgeon. These saints are known as bringers of hail, bearers of frost, and despoilers of the swelling bud. They were not kind here this year, and last year brought hail every day.  And a few years ago 4" of hailstones the size of sugar cubes, so that the vines were reduced to spinach.  [quote user="sweet 17"]I've started the Nebuly Coat that you mentioned elsewhere.  That's got all the ingredients I love, even if it doesn't mention mustard powder![/quote]I am so glad.  This neglected novel is one of the great.  It would not by amongst my Desert Island eight, but certainly amongst my fifty.  He really only had one novel in him, but it was a corker.  How on earth did you get it so quickly? Yes I do recommend (and read) hagiography, but one cannot read for laughs all the time  -  novels are the more important.

[quote user="woolybananasbrother"]Cheddar (old matured) with fruit cake… [/quote]Oh yes.  Or even very old Stilton with cold Christmas Pudding. [quote user="woolybananasbrother"]really ripe…  made from totally untouched milk… [/quote]This says it all, really.

[quote user="sweet 17"]What's the reason, does anyone have any theories?[/quote]I think that there are too many variables for there to be one unified theory to explain the occurrence of poor years for top-fruit  -  but the considerations include: The weather last year  -  affecting the production of fruit buds. The weather this year  -  affecting pollination. The presence or absence of pollinating insects at a suitable time. The adverse effect of Varroa jacobsoni on wild colonies of honeybees. The inclination of trees to drop immature fruit, for a variety of reasons. The tendency of many mature fruit trees to adopt a biennial pattern of bearing. The malign influence of the Ice Saints.

Let us not speak disparagingly of the makers of guillotines. One of the great benefits of the French Revolution was to allow the common people to share privileges  -  such as decapitation  -  previously enjoyed only by the aristocracy.