menthe

Yes, the forum is nothing if not a bit prissy! Recently I mentioned walking on the Offa's D.y.k.e and blow me, if it didn't "disallow" the second word!!

Haven't done Hadrian's wall but I did the Offa's ****. Started on the sea front in Rhyl then to Conway and so on all the way down to end up in the mud flats under the motorway bridge at Newport!

Oh rowland, you have reminded me of something and I absolutely HAVE to tell you this. Loiseau might be interested too and it's completely off topic for the thread so mods, PLEASE let me ramble on and tell rowland? Well your post brought memories of that incredible experience of the compostelle even though that was nearly 13 years ago. As you have said, I was posting and building up my courage to go and a member of the forum gave me a virtual introduction to a friend of his. This friend then sent me a poem to get me going on my way. I took the poem with me, it has such wise words and so here it is:

I love magnolias but it is a very big tree so I have never had my own.

Good heavens, you two make me feel positively young in forum terms!

!Wow! 80 grand? I am in total awe. Yes, Galicia is known for rainy, misty and cold weather. But, as you say, it is a great experience and you and your friends must have worked very hard for that money. Bravo! Don't worry about hijacking any thread. You could say that October was your favourite time of 2023!

rowland, I have learned something from you. I have just looked up bergenias and I am going to clear a patch of ground for them next year.

Spring is here, even officially. Today is the first really warm day with the sun shining bright and a cool light breeze. I love the first days of spring when the lizards are coming out and the birds are singing their hearts out. It's one of those days when the garden is irrisistible and I just have to step out into it, even in the midst of cooking lunch. I stroll around looking at all the signs of life in the greenery underfoot as well as overhead. Every year, after the murrier has been trimmed back, OH says I hope they haven't killed the tree. And I answer irritably why would the tree have been killed, it's never been killed so far has it? Oh well, that was just a blip and even glorious days of unreasonable hope need to have one small irritant or you'd think something's missing, wouldn't you?

Harder than ever to support their strikes. Yesterday, I was walking with a large group of mainly French walkers (maybe excusively French as nobody else ever seems interested) including a couple of hundred primary school children in a part of the Dordogne I have never visited. This was part of the Grande Randonnée vers Paris as part of the JO. I mentioned the possible strikes to some people I didn't know but were on the same walk. There was a lot of anger (including mine) that the strikers should even consider action to disrupt the JO. How could they have the heart to do this with the whole world's eyes on Paris and France? This is their country that they profess to love? On the plus side, you should have seen little kids some no older than 5 years old, turning up to walk their own little bit of the randonnée and the elderly people coming out in their salles des fête and mairies and leisure centres, dispensing drinks, refreshments, friendship and encouragement to the walkers.

Officaldom gone mad. It's as I suspected, the loss of commonsense is spreading....BEWARE!

Good show, Edel! And don't worry about the bureaucracy too much. It's one of those things, if you say France people think bureacracy! In fact, it's no worse and often even better than in the UK. I say this rather sourly because I have been dealing with UK bureacracy for months now;

Ref Lori's post. It may be the seller paying the fees (on paper), as many adverts proclaim but in effect it's always the BUYER who pays. This is because only one party is paying in money and that would be the buyer. It's also the case that sometimes the agent agrees with the seller to take a lower fee in order to have the sale go ahead. While the agent would like the full fee, it's also reality that when a property sticks on the market, they get nothing. In times of buyers' market, the agent often agrees a lower fee to enable the sale to go ahead. The seller still gets the price they want, the agent gets their fee (albeit a bit less than they'd like) and the buyer gets the property because after all it is always the buyer who coughs ALL of the money;

I can just imagine your daughter's face.....and I am laughing already at the thought!

Edel, is there an agent? Could you not ask them to informally sound the seller out about price? Can't you just say, you'd like a rough guide as to acceptability before going ahead engaging a notaire and all the rest of it? Personally, I don't think it's a lot to ask of an agent, considering the level of their fees.

Lori, I was only thinking of a joke that used to do the rounds. Question: what is the difference between true love and AW? AW is forever.... Perhaps this joke doesn't translate well.....!

Lori, it's good to have your recent experience described. I suppose it could depend on the agent's input. The ones I met seemed to be able to negotiate with both parties and agree a mutually acceptable price and then get the compromis done. You were able to say that there would be clauses suspensives and then these were written down in the compromis. As you say, practices do vary and local conditions are always going to have to be met. I sold our last house myself and I had agreed everything informally with the buyers and then I made an appointment for us both with the notaire nearest to where we lived (which wasn't near the house being sold). I see now that the procedure is somewhat different which is no bad thing. Stops timewasters and makes people reflect carefully before commitment.

Jusy want you to know that my post wasn't anything "rude". The stars are only for a. n .a .l.!!

Hectorsdad, manners ain't what they used to be🤢

Trust the French to have a euphemism for that one! Er...sorry to lower the tone but do they have one for **** warts???

In my day, the agent could get your offer accepted or rejected by the buyer. And only then is the notaire involved in drawing up the compromis. Don't know the present rules and whether that is changed but hang on in there, someone will be in the know and hopefully will read your post.

Not just for pot holes, for other holes in the ground too. For example, when I am walking with my French friends and someone wants to warn of holes in the ground, they say attention, y a des nids de poule.

Yes, always be polite, which doesn't mean to say you couldn't put a bit of bite into your message. Merci de ne pas retarder la réponse. That sort of urges things along a bit. Or in English, I would greatly appreciate your rapid response.

Difficult watch yesterday's match as both Wales and France are my adopted countries. Would still have liked more competition in the second half. Wales was 22-20 ahead at half time so the final score line was shameful for Wales. However, they did have the best national anthems, no?😆 I mean both teams....

Safe, yes, but more or less confined to the house most days for months on end now. Only venturing out for shopping for food! And then only after consulting la météo. Same with washing clothes and house linen. Très mal fringué et mal nourri! No comparison of course with dying or being flooded out but very depressing all the same. Can't even walk much on rare respite from rain because all roads, never mind forest paths, are saturated, dirty and some are impassable.

I take back EVERYTHING I have said. What a wonderful afternoon of rugby we have had! Two matches providing superb excitement and huge entertainment. Bravo, tous les gars!