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Oh Lori, I am horrified and traumatised by what you have said. The couple changing their babiy's nappy would definitely have been the last straw for me.

Ha! ha! I'd like to see some of those! I used to have a cut out of a seagull but that was a souvenir for me rather than for the birds. You see, I lived along the heritage coast in South Wales.

Well, well, well, what a great deal we have in common. Firstly, Lori, thank you for that link. It is one of those places where I just long to get on that bridge and walk along those paths! We do have lots of these panoramic points in the Dordogne. As the French walkers always exclaim, it is so "vallonnée"......hills and views everywhere you look and a joy to go up and down all day long if you are walking! I am another one who loves driving on small country roads and don't care if I take a couple of days to go anywhere. We used to do this a lot, drove around and if a church tower was visible in the distance, we stopped at wherever it was, looked for a small hotel or chambre d'hôte and stayed the night. I also like to arrive somewhere the night before and spend time in a Novotel or some such and go onwards the following day. But, like Martin, I no longer fly and can't bear the thought of all the hanging around, the queues to pass security, the machines for getting your boarding pass, and la di da di da.....quelle horreur! Also I'd have nightmares about going on a long distance flight sitting next to a fat person who would overflow into my seat, monopolise my arm rest, and block my view of the aisle. Then I'd think about if we needed to evacuate the plane and this person got stuck and I couldn't get out and perished in the ensuing crash and I am not sure they'd know how to get my dental records from my dentist in order to identify my remains. I remember a delightful old chap telling me years ago that, when one got older, there was no more agreeable place than your own home. And now I myself am getting on, I wish he was still around so that I could say I have found out that he was right about that!

That's a nifty tip, Lehaut, thanks. I'm going to try my French on it and see if that's understood. I envisage hours of fun!

YES, Lori, you are a woman after my own heart! We are lucky to live in such a beautiful and large département. You are right, there is always a delightful corner to be discovered, even if you just go on foot. I managed a walk yesterday evening and I really enjoyed looking at the land and crops, the contours of green and brown plus the swifts, ducking and diving they way they do.

I remember Wooly advising me to string up Cliff Richard CDs on our veranda to stop birds commiting harikiri by flying into the glass. Not sure they worked that well BUT they weren't Cliff Richard's as specified by Wooly....I was simply not a CR fan and did not have his CDs. Eventually, I put up voile curtains which were a better deterrent though I appreciate that, in an open terrace, that might not be possible.

Martin, I could see you have very fond memories of your parents! I say "lucky you" because parents were people who mostly embarrassed you at school and stopped you doing things when you were young. It's strange how some things remain in the memory and some completely disappear into a dark hole. I have missed a flight once while on holiday in the far east and my flight was around midnight THEIR time. It was mega confusing, what with the heat and everything else. Cost me a bundle to pay for another flight and even then it was a 48 hour wait. Also missed the ferry once in Brittany and had to go all the way to Ouistreham to take another ferry home. While these things might seem funny in retrospect, at the time they were extremely distressing. Increasingly, I am not so keen to go too far from home, pityful object that I am.

It's the weirdest weather I have known in my umpteen years here. Planning to walk with friends this afternoon as it's been sunny and only a bit cold this morning but I made the mistake of looking at the météo. It says, orage and grêles this afternoon! So it will be lunch at home and perhaps I'll make some bread. I am no domestic goddess, moi, so this does not seem like an attractive alternative to a walk and perhaps taking some pictures on my new phone and see if they come up upside down like Noisette's.

Good tip, kingfisher, except that I'll probably mislay the stylus.......now you have reminded me that I am forgetful as well as clumsy, thanks!😜

dept71, you could be spot on. Still, we can at least let it go out with a bang and not fizzle out like a damp squib?

No, don't want to change keyboards. It's just that these on-screen keyboards do me no favours as my clumsy fingers keep tapping the wrong key. I could touch-type and OH says that's my problem right there and that I just need to type with one finger at a time. Yes, everything does get larger if you put the phone on its side or use two fingers to stretch the text. Anyway, I chose a pretty blue phone and my battery has died on my latest wrist watch so I tell OH I have bought the phone so that I could tell the time. A lot easier than trying to change the battery on the watch!

I think it's genuine too though I wasn't offered a choice. There was a code on my letter and, when I entered it, it took me straight to the offer.

And even if it goes west, we can at least let it go with a bang?

dept71, indeed you may well be spot on. But isn't that all the more reason to make the most of it while we still can?

Somebody please say what rate, before I convert everything to euros. I like just to check what other people are using....

Will pop into a post office at some time to check the authenticity of the offer. Why have one? Well, why not, if it's a cadeau? Thought I'd take it with me when I go away in June to walk in the Massif Central and use it to send emails to my husband and load it with the exercises I normally do at home. No, you don't want to know what exercises..ha! ha! There are the ones I do for my joints before getting up, the nitric acid dump ones I do 3 times a day, the Wim Hof ones I do for my asthma, the pilates ones for stretching (though not so much everyday anymore). Sometimes I do think I could be just a mite obssessed?

Judith, I saw a documentaire recently about that museum and it's supposed to be the last word, in museums that is. NOT the LAST word from any of us here on the forum, is it? DL even if you are not the miracle worker, you deserve tons of credit for keeping us informed and motivated. So come ON, eveybody, put your shoulder to the wheel or mettre la main à la pâte or simply just come and post in DROVES! The forum rules, OK?

At last, I have grasped the nettle and actually bought a Samsung Galaxy A25. Have been playing about with it today and find I keep typing in the wrong letters. Now I remember why I didn't want one of these phones. I just KNEW I'd have problems with the keyboard. Still, am forcing myself through the "getting to know you" process. At least I am trying my best to get to know the phone but I am not sure how hard, if at all, it is trying to get to know me. The reason I am posting this is to alert fittersmate to get in touch with me if she wants to know more. I shall send you a message fittersmate, if you are still about and have the same details.

DL my chap says the machine is "good enough" which should mean it'll work! So next I take the letter of offer into the bank and ask them if they sent it and the offer was genuine. If all kosher, I will choose the cheapest monthly magazine on offer so as not to expend too much dosh and hope the machine will at least be usable! As ever, thanks again for your help.

Thanks, DL. The nah-nah's certainly outnumber the aye-aye's. With some of the negative opinions though, I do wonder if the users were setting it up correctly. I think that because the 5-star opinions were very positive though there weren't many of those. Don't know if I'll bother but then it wouldn't be costing me anything and the magazine I have chosen le Point is one that I do read from time to time. I reflect that I probably pay more than the subscription for the magazine in the secondhand book shop I use frequently. I await the final opinion of my "nerd" (fond name for the chap who comes and sorts out our computers and TV when need arises) before I commit. Just don't want the hassle if it doesn't work and I have to find the special dump. to get rid of it

The gift horse is a "mini ordinateur portable DANEW". Apparently, I have been chosen to receive a present of one of these by la Banque Postale (of which I am a client) in exchange for my subscription of a magazine for a minimum of 10 months. I looked up this notebook on Amazon. It is a French product and retails for just under 250€ on the French site. If it works and it's not a Trojan horse, it would be good! BUT is it too good to be true? Has anyone banking with la Banque Postale also been "selected" for this cadeau? Everyone here who has an idea of my technological expertise will appreciate that I am in great need fo your advice/opinion. Thanks.

Yes, Lehaut, I did have a shock seeing the "vast" (ha!ha!) amounts we had inadvertantly accummulated! It's just mostly bank savings accounts that I was afraid to close as we can, of course, no longer open new accounts. I also have a couple of national savings accounts which pay useful amounts but by no means huge amounts! Didn't expect much and only check once a year when filling in the tax return. I don't know whether they are more diligent with us than with the French. I can only say that I have never been "controlled". I do trawl through everything and try not to forget anything but then I am sure I am perfectly capable of making the odd mistake, more through ignorance in the early years, than anything else.

Oops, sorry sir, please sir, I was only answerin' betise's question, honest!

Is David Lister your REAL name?

Yes, DL, of course I meant social charges though I have broadly use "tax" to mean anything we have to pay on the tax returns. OH has a couple of annuities so we were used to paying sc from those but certainly interest from savings wouldn't be enough to count for much.