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odile

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Everything posted by odile

  1. babbles - just want to say well done for taking them in and doing your very best to re-home them. I wish you the very best of luck. It is so sad that they were abandoned - like so many others. Our 2 mum cats were found in a taped cardboard box with 10 kittens by the M69 - kittens all found good homes and and mums came to live with us. Bonne chance.
  2. Where you are going, it doesn't matter, does it?
  3. wellyboot = bottes en caoutchouc (kaootchou). How about  'bottle kicking' as in Hallaton Leics!
  4. I am so so sorry Maude and hoping you can resolve the issues. sorry I can't help on a practical level. You are not alone and many other posters have had similar problems. Hope they can help. Please try not to let it affect your health. Bonne chance.
  5. good friends can always agree to disagree xxx It would be great if we could have a system which takes the best of both! Too good to be true. I think perhaps that we had very bad science/maths teachers in the 60s - lots of 'bourrage' de crane, but never an explanation. Our science teachers were excellent scientists - but absolutely dreadful teachers. They had no empathy for anybody who found scientific concepts difficult- and just couldn't or wouldn't try to explain. I learnt enough to pass the exam by regurgitating- then quickly forgot all about it. a total waste of time, mine and theirs. I do feel that the French system relies too much on learning by rote and not analysing. Look at the English exam for the Bac- the oral has practically no value- when in the UK speaking/debating skills equal written performance, and so do aural/listening skills, both for the Bac and Uni. I had a student from Rouen uni who had failed her first year oral exam. The only oral proficiency test done was to read a text written in phonetics.
  6. [quote user="Frenchie"]Please, JR, read your PMs .. ! [:)] School in the UK encourages more creativity maybe, but I think on the whole, the French education system is better.   [/quote]  Coucou Frenchie - I think it is very hard to generalise, as mentioned above - good and bad everywhere - and it also so depends on the child. For me a UK education would have been fantastic - so I wouldn't have had to spend 3 years at Lycee studying physics, chemistry and maths- a total waste. I couldn't remember a thing about either. But I would have loved, and thrived on, learning other languages and have more time for history and other topics. Perhaps G. would enjoy the UK system too. So depends on the child. I taught for 20+ years in 4 different schools, 4 different stages, in the UK - and for the first time - I'll disagree with you. xxxOdile
  7. You are not a skilled plumber by any chance???
  8. poisons which will instantly kill small rodents will cause very slow and painful death for larger animals, by causing internal bleeding. Be they cats, dogs, foxes or badgers, etc.
  9. never seen one before - thank you.  Good idea to leave it in cellar or get it out?
  10. Bonne chance - a religious order hey!  For me it seems like a very very strange choice - but each to their own- and I very sincerely wish you all the best. xx
  11. Dog - I know you have a great sense of humour - but IS THAT TRUE? This is so NOT funny!          
  12. sorry P2 - I just don't get this. You can't cross the channel until the 24hrs are up- as you have to go and get all the documents, chip, etc, checked in the port. We once arrived 5 mintes early and they asked us to wait. We used to stay at the Kyriad plage hotel which is dog friendly = ask for a room on ground floor at the back - so you can park your car just by your room and here is a field to exercise the dog/s (WE PICK UP - BUT SADLY NOT ALL DO). The vet is just around the corner Dr Petrie. Lately we have avoided this by getting the dog to our local vet late pm - then got up at 4 and done the Calais journey in one go - then stopped for the night in Calais and left early.
  13. Thanks. Strange that it is taking so long.
  14. The article makes interesting reading- re all Brits going back after a few years??
  15. could you please put us up to date with findings from the Technical team, re Scooby's unfortunate, and worrying, experience. Please.
  16. Just can't bring myself to what the video. I so agree that every attempt should be made to re-home strays, unwanted animals. But there are still - even here- people who insist on breeding animals, buying bred animals and who do not neuter animals. A serious question I have asked before and never got a reply to. do most people here who are animal lovers agree with the Dogs Trust never to put a healthy animal down? I personally do not agree - keeping a cat or dog for years in a cage, very limited environment- is no life. Where one puts the 'cut off' point I couldn't decide - I have to admit. But there are dogs and cats who live their whole life- 10+ years behind bars- and for me it is not on. There is a small municipal zoo (was private then given to town) near me where they have had a polar bear for about 10 years - he just walks up and down, up and down, up and down - his concrete pen - all day long. I cannot bear it - they say he is too old to rehabilitate - and I say, then put i down. And their reply is 'oh couldn't do that, locals will be upset'.
  17. Bless you Karen and Keith - hope they are very happy. I hope you find happiness too Mooky.
  18. I think Sweet is eating Tartiflette in the big mountains!
  19. Good for you BigWalker - hope you enjoy it and that the weather is kind to you. Is there anybody here who could offer accom + meal for BW on the way? Wouldn't that be great. I would love to, but I live a LONG way from the route. I think it is a great idea BW. Bravo et bonne chance.  Odile in the Jura
  20. I remember the wallabies in the Peak district - are any still there? And a friend of mine found a racoon in his garden in East Leicester a few years back, feeding on peanuts with the badgers and a fox.
  21. Hi Tessa, lots of good advice here. I agree with jane though - you have to be realistic about the situation. From the Maire's/local council's point of view - I am afraid they are really fed up with houses being bought up by foreigners, some being Brits - and then left empty and not maintained. This has a strong influence on the local economy and market. I have recently met an English couple who have bought a house near me in a small ski resort. They have just had a letter from the Maire with a proposal of a cheap loan to help with any renovation/improvement- both to help provide employment for local builders, etc, AND to insure the housing stock is kept in good condition= good impression for immob. In their case, this was not needed as their property is recent and in very good nick. Remember that although qualified to teach TESOL in UK, you will not be able to get a job in any school in France. I do so hope you find a way out. Would there be anyway of swapping your property for a smaller one in a better shape?  Perhaps with a Brit with building skills who originally bought small and has finished renovation, and would like to tackle a bigger project? Anybody can advise on this? Or anybody actually interested- if Tessa would be prepared to consider this option?
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