idun

As you are in Paris isn't there a chinese supermarket? Because I used to use Rice Wine to replace sherry and I bought mine in France from a fantastic chinese supermarket in a local city. Had a quite a long drive, but worth it.

I hadn't realised that the family was not aware. But are you sure, don't they talk to him? You can hear a lot in a conversation apart from just the words they are using. They need to know, xmas/mid winter festival whatever, it doesn't matter. will pm you later, have to go out now.

Good for you. If they are being careful now and will be after, why not.

 Well a man being 'all hands' made me smile and slightly revolted me at the same time........ as it would depend 'who' wouldn't it[Www] And yes, coquin, not coquine! OR is it me being a little bit 'coquine'[blink]

Vent away. My thought is that you will end up having to report him to the police/gendarmes whichever you have locally. Contact his Dr and his consultant. Both should be kept up to date about his behaviour. About your fire. If you have lots of wood, well, firstly get your chimney swept. If I wasn't managing to carry the wood in say a basket, I would stick a few logs in a shopping trolley or something I had with wheels and if I hadn't would buy something. Then take them to the fireside a few at a time. As it sounds like the wood would be dry then you shouldn't need that many logs each day. You mention smoke coming into the room, don't you have something on your fire to regulate air intake? Before opening the door, I always open the air intake and it stops smoke coming into the room, then once I have put more wood on, close it down again as soon as the new log is going. As was suggested on here, I light an upside down fire. A couple of big logs parallel, then two smaller in the other direction. Then I put some sticks on that and I also use a fire lighter block, and put a couple of little sticks on that.  I light the fire lighting the fire lighter. I have the air intake fully open and ours has a slightly open catch on the door and I leave that open for a few minutes until there is a blaze. I know this sounds counter intuitive, but look it up and it does work, whether in a home or forest. And go to the SNCF site, you can catch a train from Agen to St Pancras via Paris. You would need somewhere to go and 14 days isolation.  Seven hours and you are away. I suppose that we can all look at wedding vows in different ways, but nothing is said that any of us have to live worrying about verbal and perhaps eventually physical abuse. And for all he is ill, well, you also have a right to life chessie. And that is how I feel about it. AND there are flights, I have just looked at LHR and there  are plenty of arrivals. There are flights from France to the UK. You would need this (live link) if you are going to have a break, and perhaps need. https://www.gov.uk/provide-journey-contact-details-before-travel-uk Whatever you do, do for you, if you have somewhere to go to. And good luck and FEEL FREE TO RANT AND RAVE IF YOU WANT!

I have never heard hommes toutes mains before. I live and learn but it sounds rather 'coquine'.[Www]

I have spent many a christmas day and revillon on my own. Husband worked shifts and in all those years in France we only went to see the family two or three times. OK not alone when the kids were young and growing up, but lots of christmases (sp) and new years. And my kids were used to 'just' me there when they were young. Feels like a lot of fuss about little.  Don't get me wrong, I love company and entertain a lot. But I don't need a 'day' for these things. This whole confinement thing has not been a problem for me really.  I don't think I could have lived abroad so long if I was not at peace with my own company.  My time of reflection was about those close to me who I had lost and not to covid either. I suppose that I am at that age when we lose friends, but these were not 'old'.

Ah Weegie, I nearly wet myself reading that comment. Thanks for the laugh! I agree 'petit travaux divers' I would probably add  'a la maison' which covers it. And neighbours, or the butcher or baker should know of someone, even the postie.

I am not worried. It'll all get sorted in the end.

Sid, you will have to hang on in there, it'll be free if you get to 91[Www]

 You will have to renew if you live in France, especially post brexit. You will need it for paperwork in France. I am so glad that they came down in price. They were at one point 35% more when applying from abroad. For a family of four that was A LOT MORE! Please check all the details are correct on your new passports, they messed up one of ours completely.

  You just make it as you have mint, if it works do not change it. My problem is that my american friend sent this to me and I used my 'cups' to measure and so wrote it down as I found it. I have just looked an it is written down as 6oz and on another sheet it's 8oz when I look at my recipe box, Ofcourse, in the US there is a specific cup measurement. (and there will be a reason for this, I am a very disorganised person, and probably couldn't find the first conversion list I had done, so did another. There are now three sheets of paper in my recipe box. Which is as I said is very disorganised and when I say sheet of paper, I mean the back of a used envelope.[Www]) So to catalpa, you can try it with 6 or 8ozs. I haven't made any since last December, so I cannot remember what I do. Sorry catalapa for the confusion.

mascapone pastry 8ozs of SR Flour 225 grs, 3 ozs of Butter softened 90grs 4 ozs of Mascarpone cheese well in fact cut the cheese in the tub in half and use half pinch of salt Rub the softened butter into the flour with a pinch of salt Knead in the mascarpone until you have a rollable pastry Or if you make sure that the butter is very soft, bang the lot in a robot and let it do the mixing. Once you have got the mixture out, make it into a ball and leave it for ten minutes before rolling out. Roll out to normal pastry thickness and cut into 2inch squares Garnish them with whatever you fancy. I usually damp all the edges with milk before nipping all the corners up and into parcels. pre heat  and Bake at 400°f until golden 200°c As long as you use softened butter, this will always work, don't put any other liquid into it, kneading it all together with the mascapone, will make the dough. I believe 'mint' uses this recipe all the time for pastry.  I say cut squares as I make parcels with the squares of pastry, I put all sorts in them, prune compote, sweet mincemeat, creme pat with chopped peaches, lemon curd, and so the list goes on. Last year though I did make traditional mince pies with this pastry. good luck. p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }

[quote user="NormanH"]"NH, I wish you had not said that about people being misled about their vote. It would be like saying that in 'general' that if people do not vote as we agree with, that someone or other has led them down the garden path." I am not criticising the voters, and not even suggesting that they should have voted in the way that I think (although I would have liked it if they did) By the word 'mislead' I was thinking of many of the claims of the leave campaign: a few links: https://www.shoutoutuk.org/2019/11/01/top-8-brexit-lies-debunked/ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2018/mar/28/11-brexit-promises-leavers-quietly-dropped If you bought a car on the basis of false information I wouldn't say that you were a fool to buy it just because I hadn't done the same thing. I would say that the people who sold it to you had 'mislead' you... [/quote] I have read part of the shoutout link. And some of it is not imo correct, what with Hungary on it's very right wing path, and Poland's judiciary becoming state run and new abortion laws, it feels like democracy has too quietly been nudged into touch. I know that in Poland there are manifs, but really, since when should we be at this point in democratic EU. that a governments take these paths? Beyond me. edit: I did not read any information at all about brexit prior to voting, I just went by my knowledge of living in both the EU and the UK.  And it seemed simple to me, that becoming independent was just that. Over the years, I would return to England on holiday and be told XYandZ that had to happen as these were EU rules and yet, not a whisper in France and I was met with gallic shrugs if I asked. Since I have returned to the UK I was talking to an  old school friend who was working in France, a joint venture between the UK, France and Germany. My friend said at the first meeting they had organised that certain things had to be introduced into the project. Mefiance from the germans and french. The germans said, well, yes, eventually this will be introduced, but we don't need to do this now, and the french inferred that it would not be a problem as it might eventually be french law, but who knew when.   My friend had to run this project, under these conditions, but there you go. They complained bitterly about this uneven playing field. Uniformed EU with it's laws for all, not really. I ended up believing that the only country that adhered to EU rules was the UK, EU laws were fast tracked and put into law pretty much immediately, even if they were 'stupid'. Re security information, who will be losing out? We have GHQ and that shares information, or at least we have been told that it did and they are rather good at getting said information.......... have we been mislead about that? Not sharing security information is what I would consider wickedness beyond belief.

NH, I wish you had not said that about people being misled about their vote. It would be like saying that in 'general' that if people do not vote as we agree with, that someone or other has led them down the garden path. I have friends who are highly educated and they vary between being for and against the EU. There is no reason why people like me, who are not  'highly' educated should not have a point of view either and perfectly capable of making a decision and voting. Barnier, well Juncker probably thought he chose well. I would think that his choice of Barnier was 'expres'. And well, these eurocrats, still have a nationality and Barnier is french, I would rather it had been a negotiator from another country. And maybe Juncker / Barnier thought that they could do as they pleased with May in charge, but ofcourse we don't have May anymore.  I wouldn't even be saying this if we had not experience the last four years of the USA debacle. These most recent US elections have been a real eye opener about 'misleading', and Mr Malfaisant, the exiting president has been bad mouthing the press for years, leading to complete distrust by nearly half the population. So that is something quite different and terrible.  I never trust everything I read in the press, I understand that not all of their reporting is true, no blind faith from me..........so I get as much information as I can from all sources, and some things I take with a pinch of salt, but in the UK, it is probably as good as it can be in a democracy. We will weather all this eventually, Brexit and Covid. And both will continue to affect people on the european mainland  as well as us on these little islands, for sadly some time to come. I keep thinking of my Dad, WW11 started when he was 15, and he was badly injured by the first bomb that hit the town where he lived when he was 17. At least bombs are not falling on us, donc, I am sure that we will get over all this.

I tried all sorts of mixes for the cream for my cakes and I only found that elle et vire creme with some icing sugar in it and a bit of creme fixe worked the best. It thickens as it should to fill a cake. I make most things myself and frankly am not interested in creme fixe being 'bad' for the bit I use, I'll risk it.[Www] And yet, all this talk of fresh cream  and I would never put such cream in a victoria sponge. I always put some jam in it and some butter icing and then a sprinkle of icing on the top. Personally I never find that the richer cake mix your get with a victoria sponge marries up with proper cream. Now it would marry up  with a genoise, which is what I would call a fatless sponge, even if it has a little melted butter in it. A lighter cake and marvellous with cream in it. When I make a victoria sponge, I swop around a bit, sometimes I weigh the eggs ( in their shells)  and use that weight as a base. Other times, I use the 222,444 etc, but only when I use margarine, or whatever you call it these days. With butter and I always add an extra two ounces of SR Flour, I find that if I don't the fat in butter makes the cake crumb, well not heavy, fatty, don't know how to describe it. All this talk of french cakes, well, there are so many cakes in France that I find horribly dry to eat. No wonder they dunk so much. I am pleased to read that  thick cream is available, that is a very good thing. I do have a problem with cream in England though, for all I have endless types of cream available, from single to jersey cream so thick a spoon stands up in it, I have had difficulty finding a cream that it good for my gratin dauphinois. Double cream is too fatty, single too thin and whipping, well, not quite there with that either. So french cream for a classic french dish works best........[:D]

Without NH answering various forms of government pensions, whether they be, military, some civil servants and teaching  and probably police too.........all have to pay taxes on their UK income via UK PAYE. AND the same applies if say a french french teacher with a french pension moved to the UK, or anywhere else for that matter, the paying state gets first dibs at the pension. Just the way it is. So I would imagine that NH would come under one of the above mentioned headings. Re Brexit, well, I was against the vote into the European Community, never mind 'this thing' we have now. Not one thing made me think better of it, so yes, I am pleased we are leaving, even if it is messy. AND my situation, well, we could end up moving back to France if they get awkward about paying the french pensions....... not catastrophic, but I would prefer not to.

 From the sound of it, it is different in each region of France. My son has now compiled a dossier with every last thing he can think of to have with him when he goes to work. Says it'll be easier to be prepared than have any hassle. I have been told that the police are checking number plates in NE England if people cross 'borders', and I have to this week, as I have to collect something that won't wait. Also it'll do the car good to have a good run out.

 Isn't it in one's nature to be 'political' or not. I always was, my eldest son is, the youngest not. My Dad was, and his brother who I did not meet until I was 40 and he in his 60's  as he had moved abroad at a young age and simply lost contact with the family,  he was VERY political. Some french folks I know are, some not, the only thing is that everyone seemed to 'know' that if what the government was doing really did not suit them, then they should take to the barracades, a republican right. [:)] And you could always tell the male soixante huiters in our village, never actually got over it, it was like 'their war' and they were easy to recognise,with their long locks which became lanky with age.

When we had our french house built the VMC was installed. Trickle vents, (french ones not silly down draft UK ones) in all the rooms apart from the kitchen, bathroom and toilet, where the suction outlets for the VMC were. The internal doors were special in order to allow the air to circulate without drafts. And it worked, excellent, highly recommended as long as it is on all the time. There is a down draft system in the UK now, some of it with a heater built in, so that in mid winter cold air from outside is not being thrown into the house, that also seems to work well. Never heard of the system you mention, but there are so many these days. I do know that you need to decide and eliminate the damp ASAP, but you probably knew that anyway.[:)] ps  heating is surely on, only hors gel?

Wondering if anyone on here has actually been to a HUGE manif in Paris? I have, years ago.Whisked up the capitol in a special train from the Alpes and fortunately a day without, as far as I was aware, 'incident'. Sadly my sons have been to manifs and at one of them, when no one in their 'area' was doing anything untoward other than marching, and waving banners....... and then the magnificent Compagnies républicaines de sécurité turned up in riot gear and then things turned. My sons' friend was arrested, like my kids a white lad, BUT as his grandfather was black had african features to go with his white skin and blonde hair.......one can but wonder the reason why 'he' was arrested, doing nothing, and mine were not, all marching together. Covid and winter? and people were covered, and that might be why they were up to no good, well, I would have been too, a hood and hat on and a mask. And I question if it is any worse than it ever was. France was a very violent country when I moved. Regular shootings in the city I lived in. Manifs galore, one tv reporting program pulled because it reported on student manifs, great program and then 'gone', and the head journalist not seen on tv for quite a few years. When I moved to France with five words of french, would you believe that 'manifestation' was one of the first words I learned! Funny how rarely the Compagnies républicaines de sécurité are mentioned, and I am far from saying that there are not very bad folk out there who are agitators/anarchists.  But there is one thing for sure, if you have a teen off to a manif, and you hear the CRS are there, believe me until they turn up safe and sound, it is a boat load of worry.

Have you thought about good quality cotton flannelle sheets Lori, sadly some, usually the cheap ones, go into little hard bobbles with washing and are very uncomfortable very quickly. Le Blanc sales will be on soon, maybe a good time to give some a try? I have some lovely ones, not on our bed, but for other beds as we have had  bedrooms that were quite cold inspite of the heating being on. I still put them on these beds, even though these bedroom walls have been insulated properly and new radiators fitted and they are fine now. And if you need it, well, an electric blanket will warm the bed, so it is a good job you have one.

Yes, I have just seen a post asking if there was news of me. NH, that was very nice of you, I had just needed a break from my usual activities on the computer. I suppose for many when life has become quieter with lockdowns, the internet is a good distraction, I just didn't feel the need. I know I have often found the board 'quiet' but actually there seems to be a lot of pages to go through now, how far back I will go, I don't know, it's good though that there are so many.

I suppose dipping my toes in after a break. Don't know where to start, there are a few posts that have drawn me to them. Sadly, I have lost yet another female friend in France, again younger than me. I know that some parts of the Alpes, yes, the alpes are not very healthy places to live, but would not have said that applied to where I lived and yet it would seem that for some reason it wasn't. take care everyone

Today, I am simply dipping my toe in. I have had a strange few weeks and have simply not been on my computer much, not even thought about it, although I have thought about many posters. I don't know how many times I have pleaded for people to post, that we had lurkers was evident by the number of views, that they were not posting was beyond me. The thing I never got was, and you are not the first person to say it auxadrets that you don't 'do' conflict. And that notion over the years has led me to reflect about it a lot and just not understand. So back again to me finding this board and I had been in France for about twenty years then. What with its joyous talk of all the happy smiling helpful neighbours and talk of ingratiating oneself with the maire with a good bottle.  Not my France, never was.  'Conflict' that was how I initially considered those VERY heated debates whilst we would eat. Everyone would argue about anything on this earth for hours, and as there were french people from all over France in our region and I was friends with them as well as locals, I had no reason to believe other than heated debates was simply the french way, and I have no idea how one can live in France without such very animated meal times. If people have thought I am argumentative, well, you have not met the french I know, I am quite quiet in comparison. And now, I shall log off. Amazing I have posted really and I know I should, be as I said, I am in a very reflective period of my life as well as some not so good things going on that have taken my attention.  a bientot[:D]