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As I have explained, she said all this herself. So, if what she herself said, are not "facts", I take it then that they are lies? Though even I wouldn't go so far as accusing any politician of deliberately lying...ha! ha! By the way, you are probably right in calling the Forum social media. Certainly it didn't feel like that back in 2006 when I joined but the new format with its LIKE button particularly might be put in the same category as what I understand "social media" to mean. I am not a great user. Have my computer for reading news and similar stuff and emails and buying things that I can't get where I live. Famously, to the dispair of friends and family I do not ap or chat or skype or zoom and do not have a smartphone to do all these wondrous things.

Do these comparisons between France and the UK never end? Not much point comparing unless you are thinking of ditching one country for the other?

Sorry, I don't do social media so cannot check. However, I have also read it in an interview she gave at the time of the leadership contest. The champagne episode was also recounted by her; it was when she heard that she had won. If you are an instagram fan, why not check up and enlighten us?

As far as I can remember (mind, I haven't done a factual check!) Lidl does this every year; always the first. Not yet in the other stores near me. We don't celebrate much, so we just go about doing our normal shopping.

And start her day listening to Bruce Springsteen and (perhaps not) drink champagne with her teenage daughters. It's all true because ALLEDGEDLY this is all faithfully recorded in her social media account😂

Not so long ago, when I posted a throwawy comment regarding liz Truss's performance as British PM, I was castigated, mocked, my very character and personality called into question. Well, you will know who you are so no need for me to name names😜 Schadenfreude? Well, perhaps on this occasion, I will allow myself just a little!

Gardian, you were not wrong to call it an agave because the yucca does belong to the agave family. These plants do not flower until they reach maturity. How long maturity takes, I do not, alas, know. Also, from observing my neighbour's yuccas, they seem to flower in a haphazard manner. Some years they do not flower at all. This year, however, all the yuccas I have seen have abundant flowers. Even though I don't like yuccas, I have to admit they are very beautiful around here. Does this unusually plentiful flowering have something to do with the drought we have had?

I too thought it was a yucca. My neighbour had one and I remember going there for lunch and sitting on a chair next to her yucca. Ouch.....I guess she didn't much care for me...😏

Would the notaire not know the answer to your question?

I have brought this topic back because Annie Ernaux has just won the Nobel prize for Literature. Very well deserved, I think, and has been coming for quite a while. She is very readable but, should your French not be up to reading books, her works have been translated into English for a good number of years now. So, if you are interested in accessing a slice of "real" French life (yes, dig at ALBF), this author is known for giving unvarnished insights into family and social life as she experienced it. Happy reading!

Thank you, ssomon. Actually, I don't think OH allows anything to hatch as he renews the bowls of water each day. I was so fixated on those mozzies breeding in our garden that I didn't stop to think of that.....😳

That might indeed explain it. OH has been filling shallow bowls with water for the birds and the stray cats that come to visit us in droves. It's lovely to see the birds splashing themselves in the water but I am not sure it's worth being eaten alive by mozzie?

Sounds like a real find, Lori. Just enjoy it. No doubt it won't be absolutely perfect but perfection is not and never has been the most important thing, if you can even find it. If you feel it's right, then it is for you...😄

Thanks, Lori. I find it very soothing for bites. It gives a nice, cooling effect and takes the worse of the itch off. Up to now, I have been using a steroid cream but that does need a prescription.

Betise, where do you buy Apaisyl? Someone left a gel of this in the gîte I was in and I took the liberty of appropriating it!! Confession time...gulp. I am thinking of taking the now flattened tube to the pharmacien to ask him but, if I could get it elsewhere, then I can compare prices? Thanks Betise.

Well done, Lori! Blimey, you sure don't let the grass grow under your feet do you? As for Judith's comment about the Dordogne being wet, I can't say I agree. We have had la grande secheresse like eveyone else. When I moved here back in 2010, a neighbour informed me that the Dordogne would not be "good" for me on account of my asthma. Actually I now have asthma as well as emphysema and I can say that I have not noticed any deterioration in my condition. I carry on with nordic walking, gym twice a week, pilates (though not since the heat), etc etc. I LOVE living here. We have magnificent views and fantastic neighbours and a kindly maire and my medical care through all my difficulties have been efficient and exemplary. You have come to, in my opinion, one of the nicest areas of France😄

Lori, I spoke with a French neighbour on your behalf yesterday. She has a VMC (must be double flux from the conversation) and she tells me a man comes and services it every year to ensure good functioning. She is however disable and so perhaps it is something you can do yourself as Lehaut has suggested.

Yes, maybe ants and mozzies and hornets.

Ken, that was a touching story about how you came by jake and her siblings. I have now decided that underneath all your truculent exterior, you must actually be a real softie at heart? Am I right in this assessment? IMO, anyone who is kind and considerate to cats cannot be entirely bad. Anyone who is kind to dogs also and birds and all manner of living things..... Live and let live. OK MOST of the time...!!!

My comment does not relate directly to a VMC but I hope it might be useful for Lori in her house hunt. I always look for windows to the outside in bathrooms and toilets. It's so much nicer, as both Harnser and Wooly have said, to be able to open windows for ventilation. Some modern houses seem to "squeeze" in bathrooms or toilets between other rooms (particularly "en suite" bathrooms) and I so dislike having ventilation mechanically rather than the easy opening of windows. Also these "interior" bathrooms necessarily have to have artificial lighting and there's nothing worse than having to put on your make-up in artificial light. How do you know what colour you will be when you go out into the true light of day???👾

Lehaut, I don't know how you ride these long distances. I can see you have a hugely impressive bike but didn't the vibrations get to your wrists? What I most remember from riding a (tiny engine) bike when I was young was how tough it was on the wrists!

Lehaut, thank you for describing your trip and your wonderfully interesting photos. Our travelling days are more or less totally over. So it's great "see" Brest. Did you go for a walk on the canal banks?

This is nothing new. For years, there have been manufacturers claiming the Laguiole mark and even put a bee on the blade. The name Laguiole has become used as a generic name for this type of knife with the special slip lock and does not necessarily refer to its origin. Even a Nontron knife (also with it's distinctive mark on the handle) is now very expensive to buy. Last time I looked, a bog standard pocket knife with a 6 cm blade was over 60 euros. I'd love a Laguiole so, if you do buy one, would you leave it to me in your will? Failing the knife, the cheese is also wonderful though I have been unable to find any for years now. It's all getting too popular and aimed at the tourist market.

Being one of those so-called dinosaurs who is not in possession of a smartphone, I normally use viamichelin to plot out my journeys. Even more dinosaur-like, I regularly have to drive to places in order to then take part in the very untechnical pursuit of walking. Tried to find an itinerary today and found from the viamichelin site that it is now necessary to open an account to access information. Happily, lots of other sites that will obligingly provide itineraries. Are there no organisations out there anymore who will provide a service without collecting personal data and targetting you with unwanted ads and trying to sell you stuff?

Thank you, Wools. I can, apparently, carry on drinking....er...the water!