Renaud

"jon's self- congratulatory posts on another thread said that anyone with talent" (see above). Pretty sloppy leaving a double word space between the words 'on' and 'another'. Kettle... black.

I think that the correct constitutional procedure is for the Labour PM designate to have lunch with Tony Blair in Islington.

Cerise - I am impressed by you all. I don't believe that the British can't make good food - it is just that it is much harder to make a success at it in chauvanist (sp?) France.

I am impressed by a British chef who makes a success of food in France. I also feel that this forum is full of 'glass half empty' posts.

"your lack of stringency has been exposed in the spelling mistakes" Now I know what is important in life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BYvoH2_XuA

I am with Wooly and Thibault, the press will not rest until the expenses of councilors and MERs are exposed. Plenty of requests under the freedom of information act have gone in.

I am reminded of the lady who on taking her dog to the vet was asked to return in a week with a urine sample from him. In the next few days she spent their walks trying to get one, flask in hand but the dog was increasingly embarrassed by it all and became secretive and furtive, she became more and more desperate as she stalked her dog's private moments. Eventually she returned to the vets with a small sample. A different vet saw her dog. She offered the sample to him. "Whats this" he asked. She explained and he threw the bottle in his waste bin commenting "How disgusting".

Desperatedan - A friend pointed me towards this forum when we were thinking of buying in France. I was taken aback by the weight of 'glass half empty' posts. We bought our maison secondaire anyway and have never regretted doing so. There was even one (quite witty) guy on the forum, now departed in a cloud of acrimony, who posted that he saw it as his mission to disillusion those with rose-tinted glasses. No doubt he meant well. Certainly France is no magical place where everything is wonderful - you have to smoke quite strong stuff to get to that place, so I hear. And certainly it is a better place to live if you don't have to work, but where isn't? Cathy gives sound advice which is to rent before you buy. My advice is to live near a large town or a city as the rural winter is very isolating. You will find, as I have, a ton of helpful advice on the forum - good luck!

The starting point in this scandal was that MPs thought that the electorate would not like them giving themselves another pay rise (why I wonder?) and agreed amongst themselves that they could use their ‘expenses’ as a replacement pay rise. How lacking in scruples was that? The scandal has a number of characteristics in common with other financial scandals whether in the public or private sector, which illustrate poor financial management and control. 1. An unclear policy Much has been made by many MPs trying to mitigate their disgraceful behaviour by claiming that the expenses policy and regime was unclear. Certainly by what has been reported in the press, the fees office seemed to have a high degree of discretion in how much for example of a £2,300 plasma TV would be reimbursed. They also had policies which weren't communicated eg. that they would normally pay no more than £750 for a TV. But if that was the case why didn't they write it in and communicate it? Why did the John Lewis list only eke out into the public domain by chance last year? This can only have increased confusion and inconsistency in the application of the policy, such as it was. 2. A weak finance function Most MPs are a pretty forthright lot. I suspect many of them can be fairly intimidating to administrative staff in the fees office. It does seem that the sarcastic and patronising correspondence from MPs to fees office staff that has come to light may have placed pressure on the fees office to pay claims which they might not otherwise have done. Apparently, there was also a fair bit of bullying going on. 3. Management override A powerful management team or CEO in any organisation can often get their own way (Fred Goodwin, Victor Blank etc. come to mind). In this case the fees office seem not to have been supported by anyone in the House of Commons. Indeed two of the three main political parties consistently voted against greater disclosure and even for their own exemption from the Freedom of Information Act 2000! 4. Unclear reporting lines On top of all this the reporting lines for the fees office were somewhat unclear and incestuous. If there's no one at the "board" level with accountability then those at the board level have greater leeway to abuse the system. In the Commons, the most important person is the Speaker and it is his responsibility to safeguard the reputation of the House. His failure to do so and his mocking of those seeking it would be a dismissible offence in most organisations. 5. A misunderstanding of the ethos Most people would understand clearly that expense claims are for costs incurred so that you aren't out of pocket in performing duties for your employer. Was it really beyond MPs to understand this? Or was it even stated anywhere? Or was it as a concept overridden by daily sloppy practice in the organisation? Who was the guardian of financial prudence in the House? When you get one of these issues arising it's a cause for concern, but when you get all five it's a disaster waiting to happen. So what next? Well, in most organisations an issue like this would be dealt with quickly to produce an effective solution which have broad support. The measure of the House, the Speaker and the party leaders will now be how quickly they can produce a solution which meets the publics expectation for common sense.

Chocolate and chocolates are most acceptable to all men. Even if they don't eat them themselves they are then given to their wives, which put the chaps back into credit.

Congratulations! Wonderful news.

I agree with Woolly that it would be better if MPs had second jobs so they had experience of the world outside Westminster. The sad thing about Nulab was the abysmal level of talent from which they had to choose ministers. Hence their lack of managerial abilities and dismal performance. Geoff Hoon is rumoured to soon be off to Europe as a commissioner - sadly that is the best Gordon can offer. Still as said above the EU gives far better scope for fiddlers. From now on MPs expenses are going to be open for checking so the immediate problem is over. I just wish that there had been more moral leadership.

I lost my wallet containing amongst other things my driving licence. I had to get a new one as well as getting new Oyster and credit cards. Then a few weeks later I got a call from a guy who had found my wallet. So now I have two copies of my driving licence. Maybe this is the way to have a duplicate when you send one off to Swansea.

London drivers - one thing I have never understood is that the standard of driving dips alarmingly when you cross the Thames going south.

If you open a B&B in Tours that accepts people traveling with their dog, then you will get bookings from us.

"there are a lot of cats about and I'm worried about a blow up one" ?

"There is no charge when Credit Agricole receive the funds in Euro." Maybe not from France but from other euroland countries? They charge a bucketload if they are from Ireland.

I wonder to what extent is the pacifist leanings of the pinkos who run the civil service (and their nominal masters) is to blame.

In their survey: 25% - €1 for toilet paper – with O’Leary’s face on it Will O'Leary bring this in?

I was reading a report about traffic lights being linked so that a car travelling at 30mph gets only green lights. Sounds a good idea, it has been thought of before (Slough in the 60s on the A4). But the idea was killed because the govenrment thought that if people were constantly having to slow down and start up again at traffic lights they would use more fuel and therefore contribute more to the government through petrol tax. S*d the carbon emissions then?

Stagecoach (tho' it is not available on a European DVD format) Seven Samuri Otherwise I am with Cooperlola.

It is good to know that praising French effeciency breaks the rules. Back to moaning chaps!

It has always puzzled me (not hard) that if you order a good bordeaux wine at a restaurant that as it needs time to breath (as any fule kno) that it is not really ready to drink until the cheese or dessert course. I have developed a way round this but would be interested to know how other diners fare.

We enjoyed our nights stay at l'Universe.