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Tancrède

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Everything posted by Tancrède

  1. [quote user="idun"]Do any of you keep an eye on your blood pressure?[/quote] Yes, or at least I do always ask the doctor to take mine on the extremely rare occasions when I see him  -  about once in five years  -  and he seems to quite enjoy it.  But the modern machine is rather disappointing, and not nearly as much fun as pumping up the column of mercury. And the reading is always depressingly normal, and never provides a suitable peg upon which he might justifiably hang a speech upon the evils of smoking.  But I do walk 10 - 20 km each day, so perhaps that helps…
  2. [quote user="Frecossais"]If I come down on my own I avoid Paris and take the autoroute via Reims and Dijon. [/quote] I absolutely agree with you.  I have always used this route, even before the Reims-Dijon section was finished.  I am very intrigued that the Francilienne should be considered a remotely attractive alternative. 
  3. I was rather surprised and pleased to take in 12 kilos of cèpes as early as 25th July this year.  They should be be very definitely domed, even when quite large.  They do flatten out eventually, but that is only when they are huge and too old to be useful.  No gills, but a mousse-like appearance underneath, pale to begin with but which ages with a faintly greenish tint.  The stems are characteristically thick, strong, and bulbous  -  they are not narrow, or spindly, or parallel sided.  The whole thing should feel stout, 'woody' and solid, and not remotely spindly or flabby.  They are not at all slimey.  There should be no kind of 'sac' around the base.  They look characteristically like the 'Penny Bun' of its English name  -  a pleasing mattish, slightly overcooked dinner roll colour.  No part of it should be red.   And finally they are, of course, Perfectly Delicious  -  and much better dried than fresh. PS.  Whoops, I omitted an important indicator :   They do not bruise or discolour in response to mechanical damage or cutting.
  4. [quote user="sweet 17"]I don't like wallpaper, so I don't have that on walls OR doors.  Perhaps, that makes me only HALF integrated?[/quote] The decisive issue  -  at least in my neighbourhood  -  is whether you have wallpaper on your ceiling.  Floral is vital, flock is preferred.
  5. Strangely enough I found myself in the same perplexity a couple of hours ago, not having used internet facilities for over a year, and having forgotten the procedures.  I came to the conclusion that they wanted a caption to identify the operation which might appear, say, on a statement.  At all events I put in my own initials (since it was a self-to-self transfer), pressed the button, and bingo it worked. If you have worked it out, do tell…
  6. Lack of iodine will cause frog tadpoles to fail to transform into frogs.  They will grow into very large tadpoles, and are capable of living for several years, I believe.  But lack of iodine seems an improbable state of affairs in a natural pond in Gascony. You could try giving them a nice piece of meat to nibble…
  7. [quote user="Hoddy"]Sunny your post comes over as rather patronising. I think your remark "really mix with another group" tells us something about you.[/quote]But what exactly does Sunny's remark [cue sinister music] 'tell us' about her (or him) ? Presumably it must be something essentially similar to that conveyed by your own [obviously not patronizing] claim: [quote user="Hoddy"]I spent the majority of my working life among a rich mix which included moslems of many ethnicities…[/quote]
  8. [quote user="martyng"]No luck at our local market…[/quote] I am surprised at that.  The tiny market that I visit on Thursdays had two stalls selling them this morning  -  both raw and cooked.  Suffice it to say that the uncooked ones had not overwintered well, and were singularly flabby and unnattractive. Even if you buy fresh ones in season, you will find that the French cannot resist topping and tailing them, which renders them virtually useless for boiling.
  9. [quote user="John Brown"]…the phone rings before I get the chance to enter anything.[/quote] As Jay suggests, the phone-call is to tell you the one-off code that you are required to enter.  Unlike Jay, mine comes as a voice message.  The four digits will be spoken twice:  slowly, very distinctly, and one at a time.  Just make sure that your telephone is in the vicinity of the keyboard, et voilà.   
  10. [quote user="sweet 17"]but I do not remember a time when I'd worked harder in my life…  Definitely worse than school and FAR worse than university.[/quote]I could not agree more with your assessment.  I am amazed at your stamina in commuting to it daily. [quote user="Richard51"]I fear that in this day and age it will not be as easy to get such  jobs as it was in the past…[/quote]Indeed.  These events were in 2007.
  11. [quote user="sweet 17"]…but, don't you think that, as you get older, you develop many coping strategies and can get many things done in much less time than when you were younger?[:D][/quote] You put me in a difficult position S16, and I must admit I can't answer answer your question with complete candour because I haven't actually got older yet.  I am still in my prime, and I was even younger at the time referred to.  So my full battery of coping strategies remains as yet undetermined.  I cannot tell how old the OP might be.  She must be quite young because she can still remember how many GCEs she has  -  so she is probably younger than I am. But  -  age notwithstanding  -  I must admit quite shamelessly that I took up this challenge precisely because it was mad, ludicrous and unexpected.  I would not have done it had the proposition seemed remotely sensible.  It was the middle of the night and I found myself careering across Ireland (right across) towards Galway with a totally unknown francophone Roumanian archbishop.  My coping strategies must at least been partially in place because the U-turn across a motorway verge did not disconcert me at all  -  the manœuvre was anyway very much of a piece with the style of Irish driving in general.  But my inability to convince the Roumanian driver that priorité à droite did not hold good in the Republic did give me cause for unease. We stopped at a filling station and ate chocolate buns under the awning in the pouring rain.  Given the general absurdity of the circumstances, oui seemed the obvious response.  I never regretted it.
  12. [quote user="sweet 17"]Plus you need to get through the interview, probably conducted in FRENCH, in order to get the job?[/quote] When I was unexpectedly asked if I would be prepared to undertake a project to teach English to Roumanians I simply said 'Yes'  -  in French, as it happened.  Can you start next week ?  Err…  no  -  I have a cat, a life and an aged parent to consider.  I will start in January.  I devised and administered a suitable placement test, marked it, arranged the classes, planned the lessons, networked at a dinner party to get someone to donate a very large whiteboard, and began teaching the initial sixty candidates (of all levels from débutant to advanced) the following Monday.  This was done single-handed, and was one of the happiest, most demanding, and rewarding periods of my life. The only Roumanian I know is Happy Christmas.  I did once know the Roumanian for artichoke  -  but that has now vanished. In addition to the classes, I was instantly approached by people wanting individual lessons.  Less entertaining  -  but more lucrative.  Ching ching. If the OP has the guts and a bit of nous, there are great possibilities.  My only caveat is that she should remember that France is an absolutist, dirigiste, 'socialist' and interventionist State which is essentially opposed to enterprise.  Why not live in France and work somewhere where effort is appreciated ?
  13. [quote user="bixy"]Don't be put off by all this negative twaddle…[/quote]Hear hear. [quote user="bixy"]Not speaking much French is not a problem since all your teaching should be done in English.[/quote]Quite. I would only wish to add my opinion that it is worth going for your CELTA course at the best and most reputable establishment that you can afford.  Not only will this will improve your chances of getting supportive career advice and making good contacts, but the perceived quality of your training will enhance your qualification.
  14. [quote user="tizzylizzy"]I realised my vocabulary was sadly lacking on the pregnancy front.[/quote]I find myself very much in the same boat.  The lady in the barber's shop is about to give birth, which I feel will unassailably trump any other conversational subject matter at the time of my next visit. But I found great assistance on this site  -  which has been recommended on the forum many times before :   http://www.wordreference.com/ You only need to punch in the required word, and it turns up the translation/s, gives the grammar, and generally supplies a wealth of ready-to-use phrases for various contexts and with profuse illustrations.  I find that it tells me quite as much as I desire about dilations, contractions, going into labour, breech delivery, and the breaking of waters. [quote user="tizzylizzy"]Could anyone please give me translation for the following:- Her waters broke early in the morning.[/quote]http://www.wordreference.com/  will instantly give you :  Elle a perdu les eaux à minuit.  ('Midnight' makes for a more interesting narrative than 'early morning', doesn't it ?) The only thing that I cannot find there is the French for 'bearing down'.  But it does have 'bearing up', which can obviously be given a useful conversational rôle in the post-natal context.
  15. [quote user="sweet 17"]Well, just that a recent guest (family member) mentioned that a wash handbasin would be nice…[/quote] But guests have to make an effort.   It makes it more fun and more genuinely experiential if they have to rough it a bit.  You aren't running the Hôtel Spendid.  And you have told us in several previous heart-rending posts how horrifying and obtrusive some of your guests have been.  (The ones who cannot find the way to the front door, entertain themselves, or go out without a prostrating degree of encouragement and supervision  -  and, as you know, I am entirely on your side in this matter.)  Why encourage them ?  Going up stairs is very good for the heart, so the status quo is effectively an act of kindness on your part.  And if they are absolutely bone-idle, and don't volunteer to prick walnuts etc., then it is very improbable that their hands will need significant or frequent cleansing;  and certainly not enough to justify any increase in your ratable value. PS Note  ***  has been censored.  It stands for pr1ck or 'puncture with a needle'  -  it appears that transatlantic types find this rude.
  16. [quote user="Pierre ZFP"]what she meant was that these trees need sex to produce fruit and I would need 2 trees as a minimum… I'm not sure this is so and if I bought 2 trees there would not be 1 male and 1 female surely, and how could I tell?[/quote] Yes, the question of fertilization always needs to be addressed when planting fruit trees  -  but I think that your colleague has slightly misled you as to what the question actually is. Nearly all our familiar trees fruits are both male and female (monœcious).  That is, each tree produces both pollen and ova. The problem which arises is not one of boy tree + girl tree;  it is rather the problem of 'incest'  -  that is, that there are many fruit trees (designated 'self-sterile') which are extremely or entirely reluctant to be fertilized by pollen of the same variety, and which require the presence of some other compatible pollinator.  There are other fruit trees which tolerate, at least to some extent, pollination from the same variety ('self-fertile').  Mirabelle, happily, is considered at least to some extent self-fertile. So, the issue of having two Mirabelles is not in itself relevant.  Each tree should be to some extent capable of producing fruit, with their own and each other's assistance.  Their productivity will almost certainly be enhanced, however, by the presence in the general vicinity of other plum-type trees, including wild ones, which may provide other and more efficacious pollination. Since the bees have a flying range of several miles, the 'vicinity' in which other pollinators might be found is quite a large one.  If, on the other hand, you wish to play it safe and buy a variety of plum which is reputed to be a good pollinator for Mirabelle, then a good nurseryman's cataogue will provide that information.  (I find this one helpful :   http://www.keepers-nursery.co.uk). PS  I should perhaps have added that I have just planted a single Mirabelle myself, and have made no particular provision for pollination.  There is a neighbouring 'Dittisham' plum, and a damson, and a few nearby sloes and bullaces in the hedges, which I hope will be adequate.
  17. would....... the....... paris....... school....... of punctuation.......  be....... worth....... a....... try ?
  18. [quote user="EuroTrash"]…we kept declaring that we had no TV and we continued to receive a neverending stream of threatening and offensive letters which more or less said that they did not believe us and the only way to escape prosecution was, buy a licence…  Basically they are bullies.[/quote] Quite.  This is an extremely unpleasant and harassing situation to be in, and I have been there myself.  After receiving the third such letter in one month  -  the previous ones having been correctly replied to  -  and finding myself in the position of seeing red and having a couple of hours to spare, I decided to make contact directly with the persons responsible, in order to acquaint them personally with my feelings.  It can be done;  but required a certain amount of rat-like cunning and persistency.  The results were entirely satisfactory. The abusive and decidedly threatening letter was, naturally, only signed with a consumer-friendly 'call-me-Doris' christian name.  No address, no office, no 'job title', no contact details whatever.  Armed with this decidedly thin information I phoned the Joe-Public call centre, and insisted that I had to speak with Doris.  It took quite a while to penetrate beyond this first line of defence, but my persistence was ultimately rewarded. I doggedly stuck to the following points (which I had to repeat again and again ad nauseam) : a)  That it was 'Doris' who had made first step in contacting me. b)  That it concerned something that 'Doris' was asking me to do (for her). c)  That owing to some unimaginable oversight the letter did not contain 'Doris's full contact details. d)  That it was a serious and legal matter the content of which I was quite certain 'Doris' would not wish to have discussed with anyone in a subordinate position.  (This raised a few hackles on the way up.) In the course of the next couple of hours I was passed to some dozen or so different offices, and spent a great deal of time listening to the William Tell overture played on an instrument resembling an egg slicer.  At every stage, as a precaution against being ditched, I took their names, contact details, direct phone numbers, etc. etc. Finally (and I can assure you that it took blood, sweat and tears) I got through to the office which was responsible for issuing these letters.  'Doris' herself was by this time out to lunch.  This gave me an admirable opportunity to ask for the names and full contact details of those responsible without arousing too much suspicion. At last I found myself in the position where I could reveal the true nature of my communication.  They were (to put it mildly) extremely surprised to be faced by a member of the public, and appeared to be a little perturbed when I explained that the seriousness of the subject matter made it necessary for me to record to conversation.  I then politely, but I hope unpleasantly, asked a variety of questions.  Did they think it was sensible and good practice to send out letters which did not give proper details of the sender, or any means of contacting her ? Before sending out such threatening letters, did they refer to 'The File', and if not why not ? Did they think it was sensible and good practice to send out such letters several times in one month to the same recipient, when replies had been duly returned ?  And if not, why did they do it ? And so on and so on.  I asked the same unanswerable questions again and again and again.  After some fifteen uncomfortable minutes my interlocutor had the grace to admit that he understood that I was extremely dissatisfied and displeased with their service.  I proposed that the whole matter could readily be forgiven and forgotten it if this abusive torrent was stopped instantly and permanently.  I indicated that were I to receive even one more such letter I would take advice as to how I might take legal action against them personally for activities which were both harassing and defamatory.  I had the gracelessness to explain that the success of any such legal action would be a matter of indifference to me :  merely to disrupt their lives and careers, and to inflict stress upon them would in itself be a sufficient gratification.  I am happy to say that for the following ten years (until, that is, I departed for France) I did not receive one single further communication from the Television Licensing Authority.     
  19. [quote user="Dodger253"]I would expect them to go soft or sprout? That being the case how does one get shallot sets for autumn planting?[/quote] Once you have grown your own crop you can save your own sets for the following season, planting them in autumn or spring as you prefer.  They will not sprout or go soft if kept dry and cool.
  20. [quote user="micahmccauley"]gonna[/quote]
  21. Tancrède

    Manure

    Cow. Horses have fire in their arses  -  as we used to say in Devon.  Well rotted cow dung is far superior.
  22. [quote user="sweet 17"]What only a few recommendations?  Yes, yes, boring....but most people must have one and must have an opinion?[/quote] Well, you have stipulated that you don't want a cylinder, and that you don't want a Dyson…    Thereby ruling out all of those who are aching to propose the most evident solution to your problems :   Get a Dyson cylinder.
  23. [quote user="sweet 17"]Well, I don't know the answer.  Do you? [/quote] Yes  -  but I don't claim any credit for this;  it is merely a blind but successful following of the omniscient practices of the Great Aunts. Naturally wash them gently, and in water which is not too hot.  But the crucial detail is in the drying.  Do not dry stockings, pullovers, woollens, or anything that is inclined to shrink by hanging them on a line.  This is an almost infallible way of causing them to shrink.  Dry them by laying them out flat, and they will not shrink.
  24. [quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"]Mauvais montant saisi What's all that about? Two different bidders retracted within an hour of one another.[/quote] I noticed this rubric in 'Ebay Help' the other day : To cancel a bid, fill in the Bid Retraction form. You’ll be asked to provide a reason why you'd like to cancel your bid. The available reasons are: Entered wrong amount Seller changed item description Cannot contact the seller
  25. [quote user="idun"]Gengulphus did you actually invite the Maire and his wife to dinner before you knew them? [/quote] No, the process was not quite that precipitate. The maire immediately invited us to take an apéro with him the following evening.  This, as it turned out, was an event which required rather more stamina that I was expecting. [quote user="NormanH"]…those are the circles you seem to move in. [/quote] I haven't often been accused of moving in circles  -  but felt that I was in decided danger of doing precisely this by the time we left the maire's house that evening.  But I think I gave a passable impression of being entirely steady, at least until I got around the corner. The request for their company at dinner  -  so as not to put these hospitable people on the sharp end of a perhaps un-wished-for verbal invitation  -  was included in a written note of thanks the following day, and accepted immediately. The dinner itself presented some entertaining challenges because there was no electricity or water at that stage, and even windows were at a bit of a premium.  But we did manage to find a few sticks of furniture with almost the right number of legs, and then we were away.  The evening was extremely memorable and full of laughter, and the visit of the irrepressible 84 year old parish priest the following week was even more entertaining (it lasted over twelve hours)  -  but I am wandering away from the topic…
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