SO ... who have you met, then?

[Just Katie]

See?  You have made a list now and forgotten people.  How guilty will that make you feel, my little catholic friend?

Russethouse, how does it feel to be an afterthought?[:)]

[opas]

[quote user="KatieKopyKat"]

See?  You have made a list now and forgotten people.  How guilty will that make you feel, my little catholic friend?

Russethouse, how does it feel to be an afterthought?[:)]

[/quote]

Better than I feel probably[:(]

[TWINKLE]

Who else have I forgotten? [:$]

I will say two Hail Marys and an Our Father for forgetting Gay!

[Just Katie]

[quote user="Opas"][quote user="KatieKopyKat"]

See?  You have made a list now and forgotten people.  How guilty will that make you feel, my little catholic friend?

Russethouse, how does it feel to be an afterthought?[:)]

[/quote]

Better than I feel probably[:(]

[/quote]

There you go Twinks!  See what you have started? 

Saying that though with all the comments about us newbies who post alot there are probably more people who would rather not be on a list belonging to either of us.[:P]

So we should thank Opus for her concern.  (Even though I think it was said more flippantly than anything else)

[Fay]

I didn't know about Daisy and am very sad to hear the news.

I remember you all planning to meet up all those years ago at the VLF exhibition and being very disappointed that it was in the week of Simon's and my annual ski trip to Comboux.

At the time we were getting a lot of encouragement and advice from everyone in our dream of buying a house in France (now a lovely reality though sadly not the dream as I knew it).

But, through the forum, Pagnol was instrumental in us finding the 'dream home' and Mrs and Mr P are now near and very delightful neighbours!

[opas]

[quote user="KatieKopyKat"][quote user="Opas"][quote user="KatieKopyKat"]

See?  You have made a list now and forgotten people.  How guilty will that make you feel, my little catholic friend?

Russethouse, how does it feel to be an afterthought?[:)]

[/quote]

Better than I feel probably[:(]

[/quote]

There you go Twinks!  See what you have started? 

Saying that though with all the comments about us newbies who post alot there are probably more people who would rather not be on a list belonging to either of us.[:P]

So we should thank Opus for her concern.  (Even though I think it was said more flippantly than anything else)

[/quote]

Opas with an A actually , my concern was purely for myself!

[Just Katie]

[:)]Yes OpAs, I thought that was the case.

[Loiseau]

[quote user="St Amour"][quote user="Will "][quote user="Chris Head"]

I reckon Living France should select the venue and pay for all food and drink, it could be a good story for them.

[/quote]

A very, very long time ago (well, it was only four or five years, but that's an eternity in internet terms), some early forum members arranged to meet up at the Living France stand at one of the French exhibitions in England. Living France offered to provide the wine for the get-together. There were about nine or ten of us, and the only reason the bottle lasted as long as it did was that we had to find another exhibitor from whom we could blag a corkscrew.

[/quote]

... I've met Mr and Mrs Will, Deards and Daisy(long gone from this site, and sadly in Daisy's case, long gone from this earth [:(]) Camlan and Calva (also long gone but now very , VERY good friends of ours) Pixietoodstool, Catalpa, Annabell, MaggieM, Loupy Lou, Louiseau, Dodgey Dave, Nonpc and on the phone Miki and Quillan and at one time spent a while trying to find certain Disney toys in the UK for Paul Punch's kids for Christmas!!

[/quote]

Blimey, St A!  I didn't realise there was any wine to be had on that occasion!  No wonder the one bottle lasted so well for the rest of you.   [;-)]   But I well remember our meeting up, with MaggieM, and ?Elaine (then in charge of the forum), and maybe I remember Deards...  Good fun.

[EDIT  Just remembered it was Eleanor who ran the forum, wasn't it?]

Angela

[Rob Roy]

[quote user="Will "][quote user="Chris Head"]

I reckon Living France should select the venue and pay for all food and drink, it could be a good story for them.

Chris

[/quote]

A very, very long time ago (well, it was only four or five years, but that's an eternity in internet terms), some early forum members arranged to meet up at the Living France stand at one of the French exhibitions in England. Living France offered to provide the wine for the get-together. There were about nine or ten of us, and the only reason the bottle lasted as long as it did was that we had to find another exhibitor from whom we could blag a corkscrew. So I don't think the magazines have a big entertaining budget or much expertise in organising that sort of event.

Sorry Lucy about mentioning that, and I know the magazine's ownership has changed in the meantime. A few of those brave (but sober) people are still around on the forum, and we are in touch with most of the rest.

[/quote]

I remember that! Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend, but I can recall all the comments about it [B].

[Rob Roy]

"Blimey, St A!  I didn't realise there was any wine to be had on that occasion!  No wonder the one bottle lasted so well for the rest of you.      But I well remember our meeting up, with MaggieM, and ?Elaine (then in charge of the forum), and maybe I remember Deards...  Good fun.

[EDIT  Just remembered it was Eleanor who ran the forum, wasn't it?]

Angela"

 

This is getting more and more like Friends Reunited[;-)]

[Coco]

Yes Angela, Eleanor was just taking over from Lucy and they were both there...... but neither had a bottle opener!!!

[Hewitts]

Hewitts is excellent, and I have no words to express how much I enjoyed our morning at Bondi Beach!  (quote)

Well SB when are you coming back down under so we can do it again!  Hoping to do a trip in 2007, so moules et frites at your beach or fish and chips at Bondi which ever comes first.  Meanwhile email me how you and your lovely family are.

I have also met the lovely Elaine of "Grannys" in Provence and Peter of the Languedoc page.  So for a down under forum member I am not doing too bad!

 

 

  

[Tresco]

But Hewitts, nice as it is to see you, you are sadly out of touch!

SB got fed up (temporarily, she implied) and has left us here on LF

It's been weeks and weeks. I'm bereft.[:'(]

[Tresco]

Drat drat and double (post) drat.

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="Tresco"]

SB got fed up (temporarily, she implied) and has left us here on LF

It's been weeks and weeks. I'm bereft.[:'(]

[/quote]

Ah sure, you knew I couldn't leave you all for ever, my lovelies. 

Whenever I see a fluffy bunny playing drums, I think of you, my dear Tresco.

And Miki is there whenever I look at the cover of The Raggedy Trousered Flatrophists.  It's been my bedtime reading for a long time, you can discuss amongst yourselves whether that's a good thing.

And where is young Mr Dick Smith?

I don't have to worry about Peter Mpprh, I know where to find HIM. 

And Lori, and Viva, and Katie, and everyone else who........ who....... who........ oh no, the emotion is too much.   I think I'll have to go camping for a while in a courgette-coloured tent.   I may be gone a while.  Again.  [;-)]

xxx (c'est trois chez nous)

   

[Miki]

[quote]And where is young Mr Dick Smith?[/quote]

He now be in deepest Normandy and trapped without ADSL but with only

partial dial up to keep in contact wiv civalisashern. He assures me has

at least 4 days supplies of pizzas & cold McDos to keep his spirits up

and is determined to back wiv the kids by early September. Happily he

has run out of Fullers Pride......[:)]

I am not sure about bed time reading for Mr Tressell but is a book that

will stay with me forever (there's a statement). I think I read it first

in Spain in the late 60's and I just guess I could relate to what I

read. Mr Tressell and that there Mr 'Emingway were among my favourites in that

period but reading them in bed were not, cos it was them young damsels

oi be after..........oi did wish [;-)]

Mmmm who else said that  I may be gone a while. I think it was someone else quite famous. Is the courgette or the tent a hint ?

[Tresco]

[quote user="SaligoBay"][quote user="Tresco"]

SB got fed up (temporarily, she implied) and has left us here on LF

It's been weeks and weeks. I'm bereft.[:'(]

[/quote]

Ah sure, you knew I couldn't leave you all for ever, my lovelies. 

[/quote]

Oh, I haven't been so thrilled since Buffy The Vampire Slayer Came Back To Life![:-))]

[quote user="SaligoBay"] [

  I think I'll have to go camping for a while in a courgette-coloured tent.   I may be gone a while.  Again.  [;-)][/quote]

Have you been reading the weather forecasts SB? What are you thinking of?

I recently found a marble rolling around. It wasn't yours by any chance?[:P]

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="Tresco"][

I recently found a marble rolling around. It wasn't yours by any chance?[:P]

[/quote]

Probably.  I think I gave it away with the apostrophes by mistake.

Weather forecast?   Pah!  That's for weedy wets, that is.   I am at the mercy of guests who want to go diving in the Calanques (or "plunging in the raspberry creeks", as the online translator put it).

Have a lovely day, y'all!   And we'll get an extra portion of moules-frites for Eleanor.  [:)]

[Ron Avery]

If anyone saw a red London Transport bus last week being used for a tour of France by the Parisian architect and prospective 2007 Presidential candidate Roland Castro, you could have met me (and Roland[:)]).  The official launch of the Tour was at St Tropez (very rich) and it finishes next Friday at Sarcelles (very poor) near Paris.  The bus started from near Clermont-Ferrand (Tallende) on 4 August and went empty via Thiers, St Etienne, Orange, Aix and Toulon to St Tropez (Cogoland) to start the tour.  Then from St Tropez harbour, we went to or via Marseille, Pézenas, Beziers, Montpellier, Perpignan (Rivesaltes - Camp Joffre) Narbonne, Carcossonne, Toulouse and on Friday 11 August finished the first part at Carmaux.  If it was not a woman driving ( my co-driver for four days) and you waved or spoke to the driver, it was me, Ron!!  Great time, dodging trees and low bridges, I had to go all the way back to Narbonne from Perpignan en-route to Toulouse as the route via Quillan was full of low bridges.  I met lots of very nice and very helpful French people and many Brits and other Europeans who were amazed to see a London Transport double decker bus in their town/village. There were lots of great people always ready to help with directions, even to take you to the place you wanted to find, lots of happy moments and some very sad, particularly at Camp Joffre[:(], look it up for yourselves, not a time or place the French can be proud of. On the other hand the tour of Montpelier where M. Castro stood on the steps of l'Hotel de Regions and demanded the mayor resign and where the bus stopped in the traffic in the city centre which prompted  Roland to make a speech to all the drinkers and diners in the bars, to a great reception was the highlight so far.

The bus goes to Millau for the Pétanque championships  on Tuesday evening and then north towards Paris via the Loire, not with me though I need a rest after 1500kms and 10 days on the road with no power assisted steering[:D]  

[Cassis]

Sounds like quite an adventure, Ron - good for you!

I have visions of the bus entering one side of a bridge as a double-decker and emerging the other as an open-top.  How on earth did you manage to plan a route like that avoiding low bridges - or was it a matter of waiting till you came across one then trying to find a way around it?

[Christine Animal]

So now I see why you were looking for a double decker bus Ron !  Why did Roland Castro want an English bus, so it would attract attention I suppose...

Edit : http://utopiesconcretes.com/blog/index.php/  maybe that's you at the wheel on one of these photos Ron?

 

 

 

[Cassis]

There is one shot showing the bus apparently veering into the left hand side of the road by the seaside - so it could well be an English driver, Christine. [:)]

How did you track this down? Extraordinary!

[Ron Avery]

No Cassis, French driver at Marseille, none of me driving on the blog yet, I did all the getting to, not the town stuff. that is us turning into the parking at the start of the Corniche. Through Christine A,  I made contact with London Bus at Clermont-Ferrand months ago and now work for them on a voluntary basis doing maintenance in return for parts for the London bus I am restoring.  To cut a long story short, we had two jobs needing three drivers so I got a call to help out for the first part of the trip, so having not driven a bus for many years now  I was glad to help.

It was a very wise decision by M. Castro's team to use an ex London bus, the bus attracted a great deal of attention throughout the journey and at most stops there was a queue just to go upstairs and sit down, there has been nothing like it used outside of Paris ever.

 Most low bridges are marked on the road maps, but as lorries can do 4m there are some where care is necessary, leaving Toulouse past the station to Albi caused problems in Thursday night's rush hour as the bridge is only 4.2m the bus cannot do less than 4.3m but low bridges do have benefits,  I had to go along the coast road via Port Leucate to Rivesalte and return the same way, because of a low bridge on the N9, so it was a very nice detour to have to make.

[Dick Smith]

SB - it's good to see you back. I've been meaning to email you but I erm, umm, lost your address...

Ron - there was a London taxi in the carpark at Champion in Mortain this week. Weird.

It's a bit like having an interdimensional portal which only opens at certain times.