NormanH

This is why I was being given 3 x 30. It is easier for the pharmacist just to stock one size ( in this case  a box of 30). What I wanted to flag  up is that sometimes bigger sizes do exist, and can be asked for. In my case it is an ongoing prescription, so they are pretty sure of having a turnover of the larger size. In any case a move to larger packing was mentioned recently as a way of saving costs.

OK OK...this is a Daily Mail article, and it's about the UK., but it started me thinking.  With a lot of people feeling the pinch I wondered what is the experience of those of us living in France and able to get to reasonable sized supermarkets? Is Lidl cheaper than using Auchan's special offers etc? What about Super U or Monoprix's own brands? Where do you find good value shopping?

I take 3 medicines a month. One tablet a day of one, two a day of another, and three of another. I was being given 1 box of 30 of the first, 2 boxes of 30 of the second, and 3 boxes of 30 of the third. The problem is that that makes 6 boxes, and the 'franchise' of 50 centimes is per box, not by medicine, so I was having 3 euros a month retained from my reinbursments. I asked the Pharmacist if there were larger size boxes available, and I now get the second and third in 'conditionnement ' of 60 and 90, so I save 1 euro 50 a month. Only a little thing , but 'Desparate times need desparate remedies'

Thanks again. I am forwarding these useful tips to her.

Perhaps a bit brighter...this article suggests it won't go much lower...but what does he know?

Of course the root of the problem is that New labour followed the policies of the  Thatcher / Reagan school of Economics How ironic that David Cameron criticises that 

If that doesn't work send me a pm

On the square near my flat today I looked at 6 restaurants. All are of reasonable quality. 1)  (a Café) Plat de jour 'Daube de boeuf ' 11 euros...without wine coffee or desert or starter. Un quart de vin 3 euros, coffee 1,50 2) Eastern European menu 12,50 stuffed cabbage leaves, glass of wine coffee. (Serbian cooking) 3) Very good standard ' nouvelle cuisine' restaurant : menu 22 euros no coffee or wine included. Plat de jour alone 12 euros 4) More 'branché'  that is to say aimed at a young set: choice of menu at 26 euros or 'assiette de jour' at 14 euros. No wine or coffee. 5) Café that specialises in local traditional recipes ( and sells ready made versions) 'Formule' at 14 euros either starter + main or main + pudding . No coffee or wine 6) Gay resto: no menu, all 'à la carte'. This is possibly the best  value for money area. There are other 'Michelin' places, or   some places that offer a menu between 12 and 15 euros but they are as I described previously . Even a couscous is between 11 and 16 euros. I remember places such as described by others, but that was in the 70s. Now the most popular are Buffalo Grill, Flunch, and Quick..or the drive in McDo[:)]

[quote user="chessfou"][quote]You were lucky, but it's a rare case.[/quote][NormanH] Which part of the country are you in? [/quote] Near Montpellier....tourist prices.

That's in the East Midlands I take it ...[:)]

This article in the Guardian makes grim reading

[quote user="chessfou"]PS. I recently ate in a small restaurant near here. Not gourmet food but very good and enormous portions. The place was packed - not surprising really - a spinach and chèvre tarte followed by roast quail on a toast and foie gras canapé with delicious veg (mix of potatoes and carrots prepared as a special dish), pear tart, unlimited wine (perfectly drinkable) and coffee ... € 11 (eleven) - il faut en profiter. [/quote] You were lucky, but it's a rare case. At that price the usual offering is something like  a limp 'salad' perhaps with a couple of bits of goat's cheese on toast, ... tough steak and chips ...( or bought in the bag 'plat de jour' )and a bought-in  tarte or crême caramel ...and pay through the nose ( a coefficient of 3-4)  for a bottle of wine if you can't stomach the battery acid from a 'cubi' that masquerades as wine. Coffee is 1,80-2 euros if you take it in a restaurant, so that bumps up the price too. "Cheap" French food has become boring often industrial  'malbouffe', at least in the towns... Of course if you can afford to pay around 25 euros you begin to see a difference, but it's not guaranteed.

cerise ..have sent you a pm

It's just a question of the cultural insensitivity of New Brits There are many days in the year in which to wish to raise money for one's  own pet charity, but when one  is  the guest of a host country one tries to abide by the customs, that is to say you follow the French calender rather than picking the date that suits you. This is not a question of Norman being ' the official charity contribution police' The weekend in question has been marked our for several years as dedicated to the Téléton. This year I worked for it throughout the weekend and we raised over 500 euros. In the past 15year I have been involved in fund-raising for Unicef,  Rétina France, les Restos du chœur, and also raised money for people left homeless after flooding. In the last year alone the group I am with has raised over 1500 euros. Why then the comments about hoping that I never need a charity? If  ever I do it won't be one that raises money for cats instead of medical research.

If you are really stuck I would be glad to help.. All the computer bods I know in Montpellier are pretty good in English..that's why I wrote that

[quote user="Cat"]I've split some posts out of this thread, and moved them into a mobility/wheelchair hire thread http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1490021/ShowPost.aspx If anyone would like to start a new thread on a particular topic, or add to the new one, feel free [:)]  Info will be easier to find if it is "filed" under a specific post heading. [/quote] What you have done is admirable.

On changing Dentists I was sent to have a complete X ray of the jaw and teeth, and we then discussed the plan needed to get my mouth back into shape. She also worked very systematically though all my problems, and gave me estimates for the things not covered completely by the Sécu and my Mutuelle

Thanks for your helpful reply I have forwarded it to her, and will be in contact later this week to see what she has decided to do

Except that the Téléton has had this weekend for many years, and that there are another 51 weekends in the year to organise other events. Hopefully les Amis Des Chats will recieve almost nothing and will understand that it would have been better to have done this at another date.

I believe that to date I am the only person who has posted useful links instead of the usual female 'emoting' Wouldn't it be better if future postings concentrated on being helpful?

Aren't you ashamed to be doing this in competition with the Téléton which helps medical charities each year? With a a little sensitivity you could have found another weekend.

A friend of mine has just bought a new Poêle à Bois and had it fitted by the shop. It is a Supra Vosges Ordered in October it was delivered last week. She has already had to ask the fitters to come back because they fitted the joint  between the flue and the Poêle incorrectly. She had had a new chimney and flue built for it, but is having several problems. 1) A build -up of tarry deposit on the out side of the flue 2) Inadequate 'play' in the regulator 3) High wood consumptuion 4) It will not stay in at nght... This is not her first experience with a wood burner. She had one previously in Scotland. Can anyone offer any practical advice, and does anyone know if she can get her money back if it continues to be unsatisfactory?

[quote user="Quillan"][quote user="Hoddy"]While we're setting things straight, and at risk of going off at another tangent, I would like to say that my pupils were not swine. Hoddy[/quote] Not one, not ever, you never wanted to give one a smack ever? Must have been an outstanding school, I mean that really, not lightheartedly which my comment was. [/quote] 'Education is casting fake pearls before real swine'

I dont have a wife but I do have  several  women in my life 1) to clean my flat 2) to cook 3) to accommodate my urges (never the same as the above, and often changing) 4) to accompany me to social functions 5) to advise on my clothes/appearance/haircut etc 6) to talk to I pay all but number 6, who gladly does it for free, because she thinks somebody is taking notice of her.

k