Richard T

[quote user="figa nera"]They were pretty dozy and very easy to grab...[/quote] A bit of trivia - they get their name from the Latin word dormeus meaning sleepy one! Nothing to do with mice at all! Richard T

Might be useful if you give us the URL so we can see what you mean. Richard T

Or you could make one of these: [img]http://www.tagyerit.com/images/pumpkins/TiffsPmpkinGourd2.jpg[/img] Richard T

[quote user="figa nera"]On the other hand, are they really edible? Has anyone tried? Recipes please :-)[/quote] Edible Dormice Recipe: 4 dormice Flour Oil 2 potatoes Bouquet garni Salt Pepper Lemon peel Vinegar (Wine or Balsamic) Skin and gut the dormice and lay them flat. Gently flour them all over. Fry the dormice in a little oil until browned. Scald the potatoes unpeeled in water then peel and quarter them. Add potatoes to the dormouse pan and toss in the juices and oil. Transfer to a saucepan and de glaze the pan with water and a little wine if liked. You should have about ¾ pint of liquid. Pour the liquid over the mice and potatoes. Add some zested lemon peel and simmer slowly until the potatoes break up and the soup is thick. Just before serving sprinkle on some wine vinegar Let us know how you get on. Richard T

Sounds like a dormouse to me as well. We've had some in the attic - they make a lot of noise at night. Caught 14 of them in  a humane trap and took them off into the forest a few miles away but still they come! Still, they are quite cute and friendly - not like rats at all really. Richard T

[quote user="mooky"]Harrys back, but very grumpy and growling at my little cat. Thank you all for assistance and kind words.  Especially Tinkerbell. [/quote] So you don't need me to send the boys round then? Another time perhaps. Richard T [;-)]

'Sfunny because I wanted to buy a cooker last week and went to both Cora and Conforama and in both shops I was approached by assistants asking if I needed any information within a minute or two of standing in the cooker section. I had all my questions answered and did a deal at Conforama and was able to take the cooker away in the back of my car within 10 minutes. I've done a bit of mystery shopping in the UK in places like Currys and I have to say that mostly they score low marks for customer service both in terms of their product knowledge and their ability to spot a likely purchaser. Richard T

[quote user="Cat"]Is anyone still awake?  I'll shut up now [geek][/quote] Well, I did nod off for a moment but persevered and I see what you mean. So maybe my original example of "Circuit de Le Buis" is rather less common which makes it all the more odd. You can see it on the web site of  L'Aurence et Glane Développment  - scroll down to last item at the bottom right. Richard T

Cathy The search terms need to be enclosed in quotation marks to force a search on the whole phrase and not the individual words. Your other example of "you have ordered one books" returns no results but then google offers "Results for you have ordered one books (without quotes)" which searches for the individual words. I have to admit I've never seen that before. Richard T

I just googled "de Le Pen" and "du Pen". "De Le Pen" wins hands down so it seems pretty well established that for surnames that begin with "Le" the rule is "de Le" and not "du" nor "Du". So the confusion just seems to relate to place names. Still no definitive answer though. [:(] Richard T

[quote user="anniefromwales"]I realise that I am rather at odds with everyone else in saying this, but if he has a good home, couldn't you at least consider letting him stay there - and go get yourself another cat or even cats.[/quote] From what we've read on this thread there is no evidence that the cat has gone to a "good home". Indeed the woman seems to be deliberately not co-operating with Mooky by actively preventing the cat from leaving her house and by enticing it further through feeding. Whether or not cats can truly be owned is debatable but legally they can. This incident is one of theft and should be dealt with accordingly. Richard T

I can send the boys round if you like. Richard T [:)]

Using the example of Le Mans I have just googled the phrase "ville de le Mans" which returned 7,290 results whereas "ville du Mans" returned over 70,000 results. Also tried it with le Havre: "ville de le Havre" returned 22,000, "ville du Havre" 102,000. "Du" seems to win on popularity so is "de le" some pedantic piece of old-fashioned grammar which is falling from grace? Richard T

Not sure about flour in France (and doubt you'll find a small supermarket open on a Sunday anyway!) but you could try substituting 25% of the white flour with wholemeal. It'll come out whitish looking but will have a better taste. You might also slip in about a quarter teaspoon of aniseed to the bread mix - just enough to give it a slight hint of aniseed flavour. Trust me, it's delicious! Richard T

Of course. But my point was that I couldn't read into the article anything which would suggest that he had illusions or delusions. Richard T

In the Haute Vienne there is a village called Le Buis. Encircling the village is a cycling and walking route which meanders through woods, along footpaths and along some pretty roads. At various points along the route there are official looking signs (albeit in a rather rustic style) each of which says "Circuit de le Buis". Is this a rather obvious grammatical error or is there some other reason why "de" and "le" should be used instead of "du"? Richard T

Michel Thomas' advice for spoken French is to just lightly touch the le or la so that either becomes l' as in l'moule (masculine) or l'moule (feminine). Same applies to indefinite article: use 'n for un or une. It works if you use it with confidence. Richard T

[quote user="woolybanana"]He has illusions about his own usefulness and irreplacability within the organisation.[/quote] Nope, you got me there. I searched the article for any reference to his "illusions" (although maybe you meant "delusions") but couldn't find any. Perhaps you could help me out. Richard T

[quote user="woolybanana"]I reckon in this case it is a try on to get a nice extra wodge to retire on, and sheer wounded pride at not getting the top spot or what he wanted.[/quote] Just as a matter of interest, what is it about this particular case that leads to to "reckon" it's a "try on"? Richard T

It was in Carmina Burana by Carl Orff Richard T

[quote user="dave21478"]Following it  blindly will got you lost sooner or later.[/quote] On the contrary, in my experience following a Sat Nav blindly will get you to your destination sooner or later! Richard T

[quote user="Puzzled"]Christmas at my supermarket starts in November yet the Rentrée practically starts when they break up![/quote] November? You're lucky. In the UK I have already seen the first harbingers of Christmas. Only 120 shopping days, 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 3 seconds to go (at the time of writing) Richard T

Perhaps they were surprised that the grass had grown because normally it only grows when they're watching it. Richard T [8-)]

[quote user="Claire"]We don't put any thing in our arrivals letter about cleaning as we expect to do it ourselves.  However, we have been pleasantly surprised that most guest leave the gite in a very acceptable state.... [/quote] That's probably because they perceive a sense of mutual trust. Personally, if I was asked to sign a contract which required me to clean I'd do the barest minimum I could get away with. Although it's been many years since I regularly stayed in gites I can never recall ever being requested to clean, let alone sign a contract (perhaps because the owners were always French) but always left the place as clean as possible simply because it felt the right thing to do. Richard T

[quote user="Cerise"] Strangely gites always seem to work out expensive, especially if you are only two ...[/quote] If you're only two I'd get your mum and dad to pay if I were you - much cheaper! Richard T [:)]