[UK vs France]

8 hours ago, Gardian said:

Looking back on this thread, there’s two things that I’d like to expand on :

First (and as a UK positive), the range of ‘prepared meals’ which are available in the UK. We were visiting friends when we were over there and they’re hardly up to cooking for themselves, let alone for guests.  So we brought the food from M & S and excellent it was too. It took barely half an hour to cook and was voted a big hit, almost as if we’d cooked it from scratch.

Second (and as a UK negative), the roadside ‘debris’ that you see just about everywhere.  It’s not the first time that we’ve noticed it, but it just seemed worse than ever.  France may not be perfect, but certainly you don’t see what I’m alluding to around here.  In the UK, it seemed to be worse than ever.  How much of that can be blamed on the local authorities for not getting their people to deal with it, I simply don’t know.  More (much, much more) the ‘droppers’ I suspect.

Thanks for the clarification Gardian. Now I understand what you meant about the  range of  food in Supermarkets.

 

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

Turnip carrot cabbage and potato with  gherkins and horseradish sauce....last Wednesday

 

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

9 hours ago, ssomon said:

Returning to the topic, I think that veggies are sadly missing from most offerings, at least around here, apart from frites or pâte

The closest we've been given recently was a spoonful or so of pale green mush, presumably of vegetable origin, at a well-know restaurant on the main road near Castelnaudary.

 

[UK vs France]

I haven't been there for about 15 years so I can't comment on what you  saw, but in any case I I don't buy food in supermarkets, but in the excellent specialist shops in the indoor market where the stall holders  chat to you and give advice ; and as you can see from another thread  I have a choice of  really good restaurants.

Perhaps it depends on whether you are comparing similar places?  I suspect that  many here live in  small towns or villages where those thing  are not so easily available.

[Have you been shocked by the increase in price of your mutuelle?]

Back on topic:)

Mine went up by 16% but as I changed last year to the one offered by the town who can negotiate a better price the monthly cost is still lower than it was with the old one.

In figures the old one was 240€ a month before any increase, and the  town one AFTER  this year's rise is 150€

[Shortages of essential medecines]

There  has been a lot about this in the UK press recently. To know the situation in France one can consult this site:

https://ansm.sante.fr/disponibilites-des-produits-de-sante/medicaments

tension de stock = in short supply.... rupture= out of stock... remise à disposition = available again

[General Election]

Don't shoot the messenger. I was simpy giving a copy of the letter I received 😇

[General Election]

I have just received this from county council where I was last registered to vote:

 

Your vote matters. Don’t lose it.
I’m writing to let you know that your recent application to be added to the electoral register has
been successful. You are on the register as an overseas voter.

You will be added to the register on 01 March 2024 unless there is an election called before then,
in which case you will be added to the register in time to be able to vote at that election. Currently,
your vote method is registered as: in person. As you are an Overseas elector, we suggest that you
make arrangements to vote by post or proxy.
If you have supplied us with your previous address and informed us that you are no longer
resident there for electoral purposes, your entry on the electoral register for that address will be
removed.
Your registration as an Overseas Elector expires on the 28 February 2025.
Overseas declarations must be renewed every twelve months. You should let us know if you do
not intend to be resident at this address, or if you move house.
 

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

A screenshot of the photo shows better than the original.... No idea why!!

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

19 minutes ago, NormanH said:

no idea why that photo  looks so dark. It is bright and clear in the original

 

Experiment to see if this works  better

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

For those who have FaceBook this is a good group with  recipes that give an impression of French home cooking  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/283463419554192/?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=1054579545775905

 

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

no idea why that photo  looks so dark. It is bright and clear in the original

 

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

Here you go...

[time for new words to dislike ...]

And the American use of "momentarily" to mean 'IN  a moment' rather than "FOR a moment"... as is "your Firefox is updating and will be available momentarily"

I would have preferred that it stayed around for a while..

[No bell-ringing nonsense in France!]

I have always disliked this, since I have had one of my cancers return after two years, and then metastases on the liver 5 years later from the same one. The other cancer has remained in remission but one knows that nothing is certain, so this empty celebration is more wishful thinking than anything else.

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

1 hour ago, Riggers said:

I got a three course meal in a French Restaurant in Liverpool for£19.99 last week and it was excellent My three course Christmas lunch in an Italian was £25.99 still okay like everywhere there’s good and bad The prices are going up here though 

Here is the 19.50€ menu from one of my haunts..

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

"Not much on the menu for a 80% vegetarian like me. "

How about this then? Another place where I can watch the preparation through  the window into the kitchen

 

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

13 hours ago, DaveLister said:

Very nice Norman, and strikingly similar to the board outside a restaurant I know in a local town that has a reputation for serving 'real French food'. Fortunately few of it's clientele are up at 6:30 when the Brakes van delivers.

In that  Café  the kitchen is open to view and you can speak  to Sandrine as she is cooking. I am sure it is home cooked food.

Don't assume that Brakes and other suppliers delivering means that they are serving meals completely pre-prepared by those firms, although that  is a possibility. Sometimes the restaurateur is buying in ingredients or things such as Ice-cream https://www.krill.fr/trouver-votre-distributeur/sobraques-distribution/

D

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

12 hours ago, alittlebitfrench said:

Where are prices please ?

Not much on the menu for a 80% vegetarian like me.

 

 

12 hours ago, alittlebitfrench said:

Where are prices please ?

Not much on the menu for a 80% vegetarian like me.

 

15€... each day there is just the one dish.  My point is that it shows  Traditional French FOOD

 

[time for new words to dislike ...]

1) "Raft" to mean 'a range' as in "A raft of measures'

2) "Ramp up" to mean 'increase'  as in "Security will be ramped up"

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

This week's menu in a local café gives a pretty good idea of what I think of as French FOOD, as opposed  to the diet of what is largely NON-French muck described in a previous post..

[VPN on 2nd router]

That soiunds like quite an achievement, but I don't really understand the aim.

Why is a second router needed?  I  can switch my VPN off or on as required

[How highly do you rate French food ?]

Château Milhau - Petit Béret
Route de Cazedarnes
34620 PUISSERGUIER
Le Petit Béret
France

Just outside the town on the way to St Chinian

[General Election]

Will see  if I am refused too

[General Election]

I have been through the process of  registering to vote and received