cooperlola2

Well, this Forum has lost none of its warmth, I see! Lovely to read so many positive messages in only a few hours since my OP, so TVM for that, one and all! Deb rang at 0015, to say that the hospital (I think LM is the biggest non-teaching hospital in France) had concluded that this is an infection of some sort, and were conducting tests. She rang again at 10.45 today, and has been given food, which indicates they do not expect a surgical intervention. I'm not sure she could eat much, mind. She awaits further news, is breathless due to ongoing pressure on the diaphragm, but we had a giggle. Your warmth has been passed on - and will help, I'm sure!

Good afternoon. Those with a memory will recall I chipped in nearly 3 years ago re Cooperlola being un petit peu late back off her hols, courtesy a French lorry driver. Today it is my somewhat less sad task to inform you that she's back in hospital, hopefully not to stay too long this time. Since last Thursday Deb has been suffering with sudden unreasonable bloating of the lower abdomen. Our GP prescribed this and that, but by today there was no alternative to hospital, so she's gone to be explored! She hasn't eaten since Thurs, nor been able to drink much, either, so by today she had become quite disorientated - very unusual for a sensible-shoes girl! More info when I can.

Given that we are only 5 mins from the border with Normandie, we haven't had more than a few drops of rain in more than a fortnight! It hath been very threatening at times, temps above 30 after lunch etc, but no actual rain. Sleep has been in short supply at times due to overnight sweating! A good downpour would be welcome, but not this weekend please, as we have the LM Story meeting at Le Mans, a low-key revival event, full of French cars of all periods, padded out with the usual UK historics.

Not sure I'm adding much value to this thread, but when my Barclaycard was abused some months ago, the BC response was pretty impressive. I first got wind that things were wrong when BC rang me here in France to enquire about the several holidays in Japan I'd recently booked. I had? With cooperlola in hospital? Just the time to go, eh? The card was stopped from that moment.Total fraud, all in France, was about £4000 - at which point the card limit was exceeded, so that was that. BC got me a new card with new number quite quickly, and while the next statement inevitably threatened excommunication and burning-at-the-stake, the parallel intelligent correspondence took a more sensible tone, inviting me to tell all. In my case, the only time the card had left my possession, other than to be used in ATMs or Autoroute tolls, had been at a service station in Le Grand Luce, filling up in early October, where there is a manned caisse. It was several months later that the fraud was committed, so I have no idea whether the two are in any way linked. I assume the fraud was online, which of course made BC's questions about my safeguarding of my PIN rather irrelevant - but then we do know someone who writes the PIN on the back of each card for safe keeping! Anyway, BC were really very good, the event cost me nothing in charges, and I received apologetic letters from BC, as if they felt it was all their fault! At a time when banking sector popularity is less than mercurial, this was good service.

[quote user="Dog"] I got double sided tape dispensers for 60 cents each instead of over two euros each - I bought the entire stock.[/quote] I'm having difficulty envisaging a double-sided tape dispenser. All the double-sided tape I've ever used had a peel-off backing, revealing the second glue-face. Is this this year's must-have gadget? Pray enlighten soonest!

[quote user="Cathy"] [quote user="Thibault"] Mrs K always had a reputation for being shrewd as well as being a bit brighter than Mr K.[/quote] ... like most women ...  [Www] [/quote] So... does this mean most women are brighter than Neil K  - quite a sweeping statement, and sadly not borne out by a number of the women I've met - or that women in general are brighter than their spouse? Cooperlola would, of course, agree with the latter!

Using a card is much more straightforward - and if you're the careful type, there is the offer of a receipt by pressing the correct button. Far too many Brits still seem to think the card won't work - I see long queues of Brits in very affluent cars waiting to pay cash,while scruffy locals like me use a British card to sail through! My Barclaycard never failed me in all my Autumn runs to Rouen. Can't be certain about A16, but it's years since I encountered a problem with a British card here.

Certainly a popular win here, as the crowds after the race seemed much more willing to stay for the presentations etc. The collision in the pits was clownish indeed. This is the first time in 10 years an Audi has not won - the 2003 Bentley was an Audi under the skin, of course - and it was also the best race for some years, confounding the fears of those who thought recession would affect this most prestigious of endurance events. The Lola Astons do sound wonderful - it's been a while since a V12 engine screamed round Le Mans in the prototype class. They put up a great performance.

When my existing PC went flaky the other month, we nipped out and bought a replacement. In doing the inevitable updates IE8 arrived, and has been no problem whatever with Vista. The old PC, having found its feet again, is still running IE7 with XP. I did try Firefox a few years ago - but it objected to my ebay toolbar and threw it out! I resent that sort of thing, so Firefox went too!

We are drifting gently away from the OP's question, but I have certainly been delighted with the 1.9 TDi engine in the Skoda. With 100 bhp it has plenty of get up and go. I recall a few years back overtaking a tractor on a hill. We had to hang back until it was safe - then whammo! My companion was sure his car could not have done so well - he had a 2.8 litre Golf VR6 with 167 bhp!  The Skoda has consistently given 56 mpg or better, but recently, with warmer weather, has done much better with 62 mpg on successive tankfuls. Not bad at 70k miles. I would need some convincing before buying a petrol car these days.

I'm sure mode of use has an enormous impact on engine wear and tear.My 2001 Skoda handbook - so VW in all but name - definitely prescribes cambelt change for the TDi engine at 50k miles, 90k km. So I did. It also advises the cambelt be inspected at the annual oilchange/checkup service, though quite whether the "toutes marques" types get to this may be another story!

Chateau (more like chaumiere) Cooperlola is by no means a hotbed of royal sentiment - although my mum and Betty Windsor were both expecting their first sprog at the same time, so I'm two days older than Charlie Boy - and the Really Bad Years of royal news, when the princes were all dating, getting married and having the bambini etc made a horrendous bore of the media. Undoubtedly, though, UK plc benefits hugely from the residents of Buck House in terms of tourism and all the foreign exchange that brings. London would be a poorer city without all those gongoozlers, albeit the Tube would be emptier, too! The unpopularity of elected leaders in recent years has probably served to soften the resentment that arose after Dianagate, although that might reappear when Betty pops them, but the ice-cream sellers would love to see a coronation. However, even if there are all sorts of good environmental reasons to vote Green, perhaps - this ain't one of them.

Reminds me of a story we heard a couple of years ago. Couple had a Saab 9-3, with the low-pressure turbo. They had been camped near a stream in Belgium, and some of the hoses in the engine bay were gnawed through! No surprise to the dealer, who said that these are manufactured from recycled materials - and some rodents find them really tasty!

I'm slightly surprised by the high mileages being quoted between cambelt changes here. I think 50-60k miles, say 90-100k km, is sensible, because the alternative is unthinkable - a new engine. Perhaps the industry is examining old cambelts and becoming more relaxed about their condition?

Just as in the UK we all should pore over What Car? magazine to get the lowdown on every model in our list, so Quelle Voiture? provides the same service in France. Published quarterly, with a very comparable format, for every one of the "6,700 modeles du marche" it provides all the usual details of engine size and output, features, aircon etc, complete with a bonus/malus figure, although, oddly, the 350Z does not appear in its listings. We know they - or actually the new 370Z, I think - are on sale, because the Nissan dealer we patronised on Tuesday had a leaflet on his desk! Bonuses start at 700 euros, and the highest malus I've noticed is 2,600 euros, which is enough to make you think a bit, but hardly matters as a % of a car costing more than 50k euros, perhaps! Small change to those who can afford such items.....

[quote user="Anton Redman"] The simplest and in the short term cheapest solution is a electric French hotwater cylinder. [/quote] Be aware that these seem to my very inexpert eye to be a much better product than the hot-water tank/immersion heater found in British homes. You won't find immersion heater jackets in French DIY shops - the cylinder comes double-skinned, and is cold to the touch even when full of hot water! A fit-and-forget item in our experience - so far!

[quote user="Dog"] It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and say the opposite. Sam Levenson [/quote] Years ago I was advised that there are two ways to behave at a meeting. You can just sit there, and look a twit.* Or you can open your mouth - and prove it!   *Not the orginal 4-letter word, but this is a family site!

Try checking the Maplin catalogue online. They certainly sell RJ11/12/45 etc stuff, as I've bought plenty for the model railway. They are happy to send to France, and won't charge $50!

When black people - and women of any race - have REAL equality in the workplace and elsewhere, we white males may have something to grumble about. Until then, guys.....

Natch, it came with an Azerty board, but my existing 5-y-o Qwerty is in poor condition, so I splashed out on a Maplin replacement at £14.99, which arrived with the wireless dongle that actually works. In fact, the previous cheapo (found on the 'net) dongle may work well - but the supporting mini-CD ROM refused to be read. If you can't load the software, your item is junk! Googling produced the result that any number of people have had the same finding with this product, tho' most had bought it on e-bay. I did try hunting down the software on the 'net, but none of the items I found seemed to make any difference, and, frankly, life's too short. The dealer, blueunplugged.com, has failed to respond to my email request for assistance, and is thus unlikely to see more of my money! Yes, as you say, the 400 euro PC comes with the familiale version of Vista, so I'm stuck with ridiculous pop-up dialogue boxes in French when using English-language software. It's all so very American, frankly - people in Silicon Valley canot imagine why more than one language might be applicable to a particular country. Ironic that in an era when the 'net is breaking down trade barriers, and may ultimately do the same for political and national boundaries, the clever people at the heart of its development have no idea how the rest of the world lives! That said, the hardware one gets for one's money is now amazing, with 640 GB - sorry, GO! - hard drive and 4 GB memory. I also had a pleasant surprise the other week when I took an old PC (born 2004, died 2006) into a local PC hospital in Le Mans. While they found that the processor had turned up its toes, they happily removed the hard drive and stuck it in a smart USB casing designed for the purpose. Result -all my files back, and an extra 120GB external drive! All for just over 50 euros. Bargain!

Just bought a new PC at Auchan, as the old one was seeming flaky, although it is soldiering on. "Just" is a bit of a lie, really, as it's taken me several weeks to get a dongle to talk wirelessly to our Alice box, but the second one bought does the biz, so I'm currently online in two rooms - woo-hoo! So now have Vista and IE8 etc. I've just checked my calendar, and apparently this really is 2009 - so how come I still can't change my default language in IE8 or indeed Windows to English? Even the Office XP which I've just loaded, bought in the UK some years back, now thinks I want to use French in Word, and is thus busily putting spaces in front of exclamation marks, of which I tend to use more when PC frustrations surface! In all cases, I have apparently changed the defaults and then rebooted, but to no avail whatsoever. Since I've just succeeded in enlarging the Forum posting box in IE8 by following instructions on here, I'm sure some clever soul can let me off the hook here, too? [Must feed the horses, as they are noshing the lawn, and I want them back in the paddock, so I can get the gates open for an exhausted Cooperlola, currently driving back from Le Mans!]

So wot about things like Tamoxifen? World's best selling drug for recovery from breast cancer, with a huge success rate if the condition detected early enough. I think a lot of ladies - and their nearest & dearest - would say England did rather well there, too.......

[quote user="Bernice"] Do you live near Mamers? I know it well, we have friends who live in St Rigomer des Bois (between Alencon and Mamers) Bernice[/quote] Your friends must live near that lovely forest along that road - Perseigne, I think it's called. Yes, we're about 10 miles south of Mamers. Bonnetable is actually slightly closer in the other direction, but Mamers has better facilities, though is not as pretty. With Cooperlola's release from hospital now imminent, we may slowly begin to pick up a more normal life here again, although she'll still be at the day hospital several times a week for a while yet. Apart from a few very local socials, we haven't moved much out of the house on Deb's weekends at home - she needs the rest after a hard week's physio! Heard a very warming story about a lady patient being released from the day hospital yesterday. She'd arrived at the main hospital a long time ago - paralysed. Yesterday, she was able to walk out! Result!

Can't quite recall the model numbers, but is that a B17g?

[quote user="Bernice"]I had my eyes tested last week. No need to see the doctor I made the appointment with the ophtalmologiste direct. He gave me a thorough eye test and printed out a prescription - in and out in about 15 minutes. Very easy .... Bernice[/quote] That sounds very civilised, Bernice. I've always feared that my limited French will crash and burn during something as important as an eye-test, resulting in an imperfect prescription, although I suppose I can "mieux and pire" with the best of the French, perhaps! I had also been under the impression that appointments took forever to obtain. Elsewhere in this thread there was a comment about someone frightened to visit a dentist in France. We've had mixed experiences. The first guy, visited when my crown fell off (no, I'm not a Prince!) turned out to operate in his front room, with no nurse and limited hygiene in evidence, though we both survived and the crown is still in situ. The second is a big practice in Mamers (72) with very state-of-the-art equipment and technique, and hygiene at 101%. The only surprise came when we attempted to book 6-monthly appointments - their book didn't go that far ahead! When cooperlola gets out of jail shortly, we will be there for a renewal!