odile

moving soon to the Jura mountains, alt. 950m - and wondered what would grow well there. Just returned, and so happy to see that roses and 'roses tremieres' really thrive in the harsh conditions and poor soil. So good luck- can;t wait to sow mine - but will beg local seeds from neighbours to make sure they are used to the climate.

OK, women first, as they say. I can;t find the thread where I made my 'time warp' comments- but I am almost sure I never said woment were not allowed to give their opinion, just that they seemed not to have any, so just stated their husband's! Conversation went something like this ' what do you think about 'x' Liz'   reply, 'David says that...'   My reply 'how interesting, what about you, what do you think?'   =  'oh well, David thinks xyz'  my reply 'oh great, but personally, yourself, Jane or whoever,  what is YOUR opinion? = reply 'oh me, I don;t know, never thought about it. Again and again - very middle class estate, bankers, accountants, managing directors, medics - they did me a huge favour as it encouraged me to go to Uni as a mature student and have a great career. And yes, after a couple of years in London, a few years in Stafforshire - arriving in suburbian Leics was a shock - a time warp as you say. At the first dinner party we went to, the hostess did indicate it was time for ladies to withdraw after coffee, so men could have time on their own for port, stilton and a cigar, and intelligent conversation. YES, it did happen, and YES, I just couldn't believe it, and had steam coming out of my ears. Since then, we moved away from a posh estate - and have made many many fantastic friends- and all our women friends HAVE opinions and ideas and can hold their own fantastically! We don;t do dinner parties, but have great suppers with lively conversation. but because of my OH's job, still know many who still go on as above! No, my friends are not hunt sabbers. One of them was, sadly he passed away recently. He was the gentlest of men and born and bred in the East Leics countryside, and amazingly knowledgeable. We all miss him dearly. My friends just live there, mostly where they were born and bred. Many of them, like me, have been fighting against badger baiting and illegal blocking of setts by hunts, and the illegal killing (gassing or slurrying, eg. filling live setts, often with cubs, with tons of slurry/manure, and the illegal lamping of badgers. Their tyres have been slashed, they cats or other pets torn to shreds, their lands invaded, their livestocks killed by wayward dogs. They have been pushed (even one of them is severely physically handicapped), insulted, sworn at, the list is endless. Being born and bred in the Swiss Jura, just over the French border, I have had many bad experiences since I was a small child walking or mushrooming with dad with hunters, often blind drunk and shooting at everything that moves. Where I lived (and will live again soon) - you never know which country you are in, and from September onwards, walking or mushrooming on French side is unpleasant at best, deadly at worst- and totally impossible with our dog. She was left by the roadside by her hunting owner, and she is absolutely terrified of gunshot. So- a townie moi! So yes, we chose option 3 - NOT living in the UK countryside because of hunting. Personally, being quiet about something I feel strongly about in order to enjoy what would otherwise be an iddylic (sp?) lifestyle would seem hypocritical- I just wouldn't feel comfortable about it. I couldn't live where there is child labour, or abuse of women .... or animals.

WOW!  i shall have to think hard before responding- so many points raised, both on hunting and women- time warp indeed, exactly how I felt (early 70s)- having just spent 2 wild years in London, including Hendrix at the Isle of Wight. You do make me laugh

what would we do with all the Belgian jokes then?

and 'un p'tit beurre des touyoux' to HIM too

She is absolutely fabulous - thanks for introducing her. I just don't understand the 'return' bit of the initial poster. I often think of one of the most difficult ice skating moves, the 'triple sarko' - let's hope that will never happen!

m e r d e ... not being rude, it just is the equivalent of 'break a leg'   

Thanks Jacqui - definitely not a townie - i was born and bred in the countryside, in the Swiss Jura mountains, where, than goodness, hunting is NOT ruling the countryside. i know YOU didn't mean any offence, but I get so cross when anybody who does not like hunting, or at least the vilest forms, like badger baiting or lamping- is derided as a townie. Many of my born and bred friends in East Leicestershire are constantly intimidated by the Hunts on their land- oops sorry about the cat, or shouted at, insulted, if they walk their dog and  try to drive to the next villag,etc. We wanted to go and live in the  countryside here in the Midlands, but didn't as we knew we wouldn't be able to integrate (it has happened to many I know) - if anything that is legal is acceptable - then what about badger baiting on your doorstep- perfectly legal in France - or seeing all your lapwings and small birds shot just for the sake of it. PERSONALLY I just couldn't live in a society where I couldn't give my sincere personal opinion without being derided or ostracized.

nope ... sorry. good try though

more fun than Gordon bashing!

how difficult is it to 'integrate' into rural France if you hate hunting? Anecdotes, advice, opinions

that would be telling! If you can describe the pictures/people on it - it may be yours!!! Bonne chance

the worst thing about France is DOG POO - I love dogs - Gatsby always travels with us, but we CLEAR UP.

I found an expensive Canon digital camera in a country lane recently- phoned the police immediately to report it - told the local newsagent and CoOp - and went to the local hairdresser to show them the pictures stored in. It seems that people who lose things don;t even bother to check with police as they take it for granted that nobody would be honest enough to hand it in. VERY SAD- anyway, it is now mine so I will have to start using it. Photography so far has been OH's hobby- competition is on!

tell you what, give me Gordon any time!

hi Betty - how are you getting on with San An? If you haven;t given up yet ' toutes mes ficelles de calecon'      salutations

Hi WB's bro - after 1 week boiling in Provence, and not sleeping a wink - I got to the Jura, closed the shutters, windows opened - and slept like a baby in the  gentle warmth - no light pollution, just the sound of cow bells. total bliss - and not a  Brit, american, Japanese, blablabla tourist in sight. Quite happy to keep our lovely Jura to 'ourselves' - rain and all!                    Salutations   Odile

I was hoping this thread was going to be about Sarkozi! Shame, would have been fun!

friend of mine in Switzerland actually converted to Catholicism in order to be able to be (later!) buried in the local cemetery- that's pushing it (them - daisies!) a bit, i feel!

on safari in Tanzania, i saw a really big bird from the jeep and knew straightaway what it was - although I'd never seen one. Other people on the jeep were really surprised when I shouted ' bustard, bustard' - must have been my accent

ooops Cathy - just a typing error! Just back from hos, Jura + Provence + back to Jura - bliss.  Thanks for keeping the thread going whilst I was away - fascinating. One of the reasons often quoted by French living here is that the UK system allows for enterprise without trillions of qualifications. The French system is so hierarchic (sp?) - nobody want to give you a job unless you have experience to lots of bits of paper - whereas in the UK if you've got b**ls you can do very well - and of course if you are French but Beur, nobody want to know in France- whereas in UK if you are bright and hard working, you can get on irrespective of name, colour or family origin. My friend Rashida, born and bred in F., with a degree, couldn't find a job, so ended up doing telesales - was requested to call herself Claire Martin!

admin is the same all over - apart that it's much worse in France!  Are you like my husband though - moan moan moan but doesn't actually DO something about it! Hope you have telephoned or written to said admin, quitetly and politely (yeah i know it's hard) to ask them to make signs re opening times more explicit in view of difficulty of access. It's good to vent off here - but ...     

thinking of it, if my geography is correct - Burgundy is in the Middle East!

Enjoy the Summer - hope it will be nickel for you. xxx

anything that vaguely slithers - or anything that moves!