mint

[quote user="NickP"]In the UK boats and ships are always referred to as feminine. Probably the only case of gender in the English language.[/quote] And cars!

Just had ours delivered FOC from the mairie.  In 2 colour ways so we know which belongs to whom.  Plus instructions for care and washing and drying. I think I will always iron them so that I could burn the little b's to death!

[quote user="Cathar Tours"]It's cheque, unless Johnson has sold the UK to Trump and nobody told me.[/quote] Oops, getting mixed up with the English cheque and the French chèque......I am doing this mixing up of languages more often than I'd like.  Sometimes whatever word it is that I need (in either language) completely eludes me. As for Boris, I am hoping that now he has had his life saved by the NHS, he will no longer sell it to Trump[:)]

Today determined to do something to mark this auspicious occasion, I have made phone calls!  If you have phonephobie as I do, you will appreciate the immensity of this[:D] So far, have managed to arrange a hair appointment, for next Wednesday.  Was told must have mask, be as lightly dressed as possible and to carry just un tout petit sac.  But, oh, the joy of having my hair cut!  It feels like having won the lottery[:D]  No success yet at getting through to the ophthalmologue but I shall live to try again another day[:D] Off now for the FIRST walk of the day!  May not walk far but I shall go out at least TWICE, just because I can......!

As it's such a small amount, get a friend to write a check.

I have a scary memory of driving up to Doncaster from South Wales on the first of May and the forecast said "unseasonal weather". I had my little MG Midget (with the fold-down hood) and that wire across the middle of the windscreen with tiny one-speed only wipers and I well remember having to stop and get the snow out of the exhaust as the floor of the car was scooping up the snow. When I eventually arrived at my friends' just outside Doncaster, I had no feeling whatsoever in my wrists.

On a lighter note, I learned early on in the lockdown that phishing is called hameçonnage!  Either the bank or one of our insurance companies sent me an email with that word and a helpful explanation[:)]

Yes, Happy House-Moving, Lori.  THAT will be an effective cure for LE and you won't need to consult any doctors, by video otherwise[:)]

That stands for Lockdown Exhaustion, BTW.  And yes, I am convinced that it is a condition that is completely debilitating and can leave you tired, grumpy and out of sorts for weeks on end. Perhaps lockdown easing will be the best cure BUT there is no guarantee the cure would work. The condition can lead to loss of memory, leaving you unable to remember the date or even the day of the week.  It saps your physical form and energy and you feel unable to attempt even the little bit of housework that you normally manage. It disrupts appetite and digestion, making you eat unsuitable foods such as chocolate and drink wine and other unhealthy beverages. It disturbs sleep and you find yourself going to bed either very late or sometimes very early because you feel too tired to do anything else. Paradoxically, it could also lead you to have frenetic bouts of activity.  You might have to force yourself to go the supermarkets but, once there, you buzz around the aisles like a clockwork rabbit with a charged up battery.  You scuttle here and there, coaxing your trolley round corners and other equally afflicted people, picking up stuff that you don't really need but think you'd better have "just in case".  I don't know in case of what; it's like the French au cas ou, you can't begin to specify the horror that you might encounter. At the check out, you feel grumpy and impatient if the queue does not move as quickly as you think it should.  That's because you have boxes of Magnum in your trolley and you worry that they might melt  before you get them home. Once home, you feel compelled to wash the packages of goods and make decisions about which packets could go in cupboards and fridges and which to leave for 3 days before storing. Then, oddly, despite your weariness, you might feel the urge to make cakes and biscuits and all manner of fattening foods, especially if you have managed to beat everyone to the flour rayon.  Alternatively, you might have been so astute with your time in the supermarkets that you can now sit down with a cup of tea and scoff petit buerres and chocolate sablés.  I can't begin to make an exhaustive list of all the various signs and symptoms but please feel free to add your own.  After all, like the cornona virus, it is a very individual thing and people might have it to a greater or lesser degree.  But I myself am fully convinced that LE is one of those insidious conditions that even the cleverest doctor would be unable to treat.    

As you have said so many times on here, id, sometimes you just have to learn "on the hoof", make some mistakes and try to remember and not make the same ones again. I agree with plus and plus de.  Sometimes, with plus and you do want more, you pronounce the "s".  But that does depend on whether sounding the "s" is appropriate.  Sometimes, sounding it is obligatoire, sometimes it's as you wish and sometimes it's never![:-))] Un peu and peu de can also be tricky.  Un peu generally means a little and peu de means a few.  Vous parlez français?  Oui, un peu.  Mais, franchement, peu d'anglais parlent français.  Just an example, it is not a statement of fact so please don't go lining up to say how well you and all your friends can speak French![8-|]

There was a very brief report about this.  The returned clothes are kept aside for 2 days after which they are presumed to be "safe" to return to the rails.

Indeed, Weegie.  After all, it's a long road that has no turning?

Thanks Norman and Weegie.  Really nice to have it explained. So, one more ready-go-expression and I am just waiting for the chance to use it the first time I can meet up with my friends[:D]

[quote user="cajal"][quote user="mint"].............. and that bloody blonde Irish woman Polly somebody who does the sports[:'(] [/quote] Meow...meow...hiss. She is 'northern' Irish, her name is Holly, she holds a masters degree in French and she's all woman. [/quote] Whatever you say, cajal.  Still can't stand the woman mangling all her vowels and she spoils the sports news for me[:'(]

I read today that La crainte d'une seconde vague épidémie est elle bel et bien justifiée? Why bel when crainte, vague and épidémie are all feminine? BTW, I take that phrase of bel et bien to be roughly equivalent to our well and good. In a case of the masculine, could one say beau et bien?

Lori, I feel compelled to tell you the story of when we used to spend time in Sardinia, in a family home, and used to go to the small weekly market. There were always signs warning people not to touch any of the produce for sale. That always seemed bizarre to us, coming from France.  Which self-respecting housewife would not feel and squeeze and smell any of the stuff BEFORE actually getting out her porte de monnaie? Anyway, by the time we got the veg home, it was obvious why you weren't allowed to touch.  Amongst the good-looking tomatoes, courgettes, whatever, would always be a rotten one!

[quote user="PaulT"]Sorry Mint I thought you were getting excited about something else :)[/quote] Hélas, Paul, nothing as exciting as THAT, whatever it was that you thought I was thinking about![;-)] But here for you by special request, is a beautiful young lady serenading you with Rusalka, more commonly known as the song to the moon: [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us_F2xLJgKI[/url]

Don't watch QT but I too can't stand the woman.  Same goes for Naga Munchetty and that bloody blonde Irish woman Polly somebody who does the sports[:'(]

ALBF excepted, for everyone else, here are the details of what was unveiled this afternoon by Philippe and other ministers for all the areas such as school, commerce, health, etc. [url]https://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/coronavirus-ce-qu-il-faut-retenir-des-dernieres-annonces-d-edouard-philippe-avant-le-deconfinement-du-11-mai-20200507[/url]

will be your last chance to see the super moon (bigger and brighter than normal) this year. Our sky here has just gone cloudy.  Always seems to do that when there is something special to see[:@]  Still have seen it for a couple of nights and it was just so beautiful!

Oh, oh, Wooly, best get your tin hat ready?[:D]

Plus it doesn't have that caramelly taste.  As Idun might say, it is a bit fade!

Poor Wools, I sympathise.  But, you know, that Loiseau, she's a difficult woman....

Today at 16.00 hrs, Philippe, don't forget to put on your TV.

No, have never liked confiture de lait.  But love the caramel du buerre salé though it IS expensive if made by an artisan. I think maybe I should make it myself.