Friday Nights Down The Pub (Department 79)

[Dan Golding]

Hi all,

Time to be blunt but honest - no offence intended to anyone.

France is great if you are retired but for those under the age of 50 and want a bit more out of their social life other than apertifs with their neighbours or other retired ex-pats then there isn't a lot to offer.

I live near Parthenay (department 79) and although I've met some nice people, very few are of my generation (25-45 yr olds). In a nutshell, I'm wondering if there is anyone else out there who feels this way and fancies meeting down the pub on a frequent/infrequent basis. [B]

If you've taken offence to what I've said, then this proves my point about socialising with 50+ group. [:D]

Anyway, if you're interested, let me know.

[Tresco]

I'll come if there's a chance of a good punch up afterwards. That's what I miss about Friday nights in the pub [6]

Only kidding. I'm in the given age group, but too far away. [:)]

Do you really have a Pub in Parthenay?

The only time we went to a bar just for swifty, everyone stared at me, because I was a bit mucky. I mean after working in a field mucky. This bar was a dive, totally unmodernised etc, and everyone else in there was in working clothes.

Never did that again.

I hope you find some youthful people to get together with. I know how you feel [Www]

 

[Teamedup]

Us over 50 year olds can feel just the same!

 

I admit when the kids were young we hadn't much money, pretty normal I expect and we stayed in happily. As they grew we got out a bit more. Now they have gone and  the lack of  a proper regular social life which we can afford,  gets me down. Just a Friday... nah,  I need far more than that. I have needs that are not being catered for at the moment. 

Two things, any going out is expensive so we can't do it very often, also we have a long drive to anywhere interesting, so only one can drink as taxis are just too expensive and  that is from someone who is not a drinker.  Donc we don't go out often.

 Yes we see our friends, usually french friends, but as we don't live in one anothers pockets that is we eat together every few weeks, or apero or whatever. English friends, we have a few, we eat with about once sometimes twice a year, and rarely meet up with them apart from that, they live too far away anyway.

 

 

 

 

Incidentally 25-45 year olds can be of the expat brigade too.

[Opalienne]

[quote user="Tresco"]

The only time we went to a bar just for swifty, everyone stared at me, because I was a bit mucky. I mean after working in a field mucky. This bar was a dive, totally unmodernised etc, and everyone else in there was in working clothes.

Never did that again.

[/quote]

I quite understand what you mean about the first visit to the local bar (particularly if you are female).  But it honestly is worth perservering.   Once you are accepted there you will be really be part of the community, and it is a wonderful place to find help of almost any kind.   I know that if I turned up there saying there was a flood in the house, or the horse was sick, there would immediately be a rush of volunteers - and knowledgeable ones at that - who would come and help out, just out of the kindness of their hearts.  

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="Teamedup"]

Just a Friday... nah,  I need far more than that.

[/quote]

It would be a damn good start though! [:)]

[quote user="Teamedup"]I have needs that are not being catered for at the moment.[/quote] 

A few of us felt the same, TU, then we joined Miki's harem.  Only last Saturday night guess who turned up?  Only the famous Dick Smith!   Fantastic slide show of his personal collection of stuffed kittens.  We all just sat there with our mouths open.

[Teamedup]

Go into the village bars. They shut by around 7pm anyway, open very early though. And the local alcaholics and our only prostitute goes in. Holiday makers do, but they don't know any better. Could I, I wouldn't want to. And if I did, I can guarantee that I would have many comments and lectures about behaving respectably and not to go in.

So guess what we don't drink in our village bars. Hence a drive. Last bus leaves the village before we would want to go out and unless we stayed out all night, none back.

[Miki]

[quote user="SaligoBay"][quote user="Teamedup"]

Just a Friday... nah,  I need far more than that.

[/quote]

It would be a damn good start though! [:)]

[quote user="Teamedup"]I have needs that are not being catered for at the moment.[/quote] 

A few of us felt the same, TU, then we joined Miki's harem. 

Only last Saturday night guess who turned up?  Only the famous

Dick Smith!   Fantastic slide show of his personal collection

of stuffed kittens.  We all just sat there with our mouths open.

[/quote]

Sure did, all of us hoping that after the mesmerising slide show, Dick

would hand out the sossies. Don't know about you SB but I was flipping

starving, all that talk of stuffing got my juices flowing and I would

have killed for a nice spurting mergie.

[Miki]

Look at this, my original reply was sitting all alone over in Western

France, I have just put it on the TGV (we have it now in Saint Malo!!)

and it should be along soon  :

Phew that was quick......Here it is :

No offence taken  Dan but I would worry that you think that  in your generation

of 25 - 45 year olds, some lush gals of 25 would want to be in the

company of a 45 year year old moosh ! I reckon a 49 year old would

drink more easily with a 51 years old though !! What will you do when

you hit 45 ?  seek out your generation of 45 to 65's.[:)]

I think the problem lies with you and where you have dumped yourself,

nothing wrong (I guess !) with Parthenay but for a Brit (guessing here)

to land in an out of the way town like that, was bad planning eh (no

offence meant to you or any Parthenians). I quite enoyed my brief stay

there a while back but live there, well perhaps, perhaps not, it would

depend on what the moving was for, retirement, well ? for living a

25-45 life well perhaps not........

Why not move North or South, some other areas can often generally be

for, how can I put it................Mmmm I can't, just seek out the

Med and the north coast, I do think there is more of your Brit

generation requirements there. If you do actually need to stay where

you are, then good luck in your search.......

[Davehume]

Hi Dan - bloody good idea. After a long old winter, a damn good night out down the pub is just what I need

I live near Parthenay - I'll email you to organise something for this Friday

By the way - what the F*** is everyone else drivelling on about. I thought your posting was pretty obvious i.e. organise a night out down the pub in Parthenay, so what the hell that has to do with stuffed kittens god only knows!!!

Think you're right about old people not being all the ticket!

Anyway, see you down the pub Friday and we can put the world (and this forum) to rights

Cheers [B]

[Tresco]

[quote user="Davehume"]By the way - what the F*** is everyone else drivelling on about. I thought your posting was pretty obvious i.e. organise a night out down the pub in Parthenay, so what the hell that has to do with stuffed kittens god only knows!!!

Think you're right about old people not being all the ticket!

[/quote]

There is little in life that isn't improved by talk of a stuffed kitten, I find[;-)]

Have a great night out in the Metrolopis that is Parthenay[:D]

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="Davehume"]

Think you're right about old people not being all the ticket!

[/quote]

I am within the requested age group.

Be warned - this is what life in urban (or even rurban, in my case) France does to you. 

My village bar is like TU's.  Village population is almost 2000, bar population is almost 5.  No offence to any of them, but I'm not yet so desperate that I want to spend my time propping up a bar with an alcoholic drink in my hand at 9am.

I'd much rather watch Dick's stuffed kitties. [:D]

[SaligoBay]

Okay, I'm serious now, guys. [;-)]

You need to get into a real town and meet some young people.  It's a whole different ball game.  For one thing there's none of this tu/vous nonsense, it's all just tu straight away. 

Of course there are people aged 25-45, but if they work and have children, there's not a whole lot of time left for them to socialise. 

Bright lights, bars, pubs, clubs. Talking donkeys to 90-yr-olds has its place, but they'll still be there when you've reeled back home after a Good Night Out. 

Go for it. 

[Opalienne]

Our bar (village pop 700) was closed for two years and has just reopened as a cafe/restaurant.   It does open very early but always stays open in the evening until 2am if people are still there.   It's not at all the 'one lonely alcoholic and a prostitute' type.   I would say the average age of the customers is around 30 in the bar and maybe 45 in the restaurant.   So it's not impossible to have a village bar which is pleasant to visit.......   The one in the next village, which we used while ours was shut, has an older clientele (there's an old people's home in the village) but is equally friendly.

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="Opalienne"]So it's not impossible to have a village bar which is pleasant to visit.......   .[/quote]

I know.  It's a topic that reappears very often, that of frequenting the local bar in search of people to chat to.  I'm only trying to defend those of us that don't do it.   We don't do it for a very good reason! 

Our boulangerie changed hands recently though, and for the first time in over 20 years, we have edible bread!  They even do cakes and fougasse, and all sorts of wild things that the old one never bothered with.  Oh, and the new one is clean, and the staff are friendly!

Count yourself lucky.  We have 2000 people, and not one single place to drink or eat. 

I would really love for there to be a pub here, I really would!

[Opalienne]

Yes, but we don't have edible bread, so you win on that one!

[Miki]

[quote user="Davehume"]

By the way - what the F*** is everyone else

drivelling on about. I thought your posting was pretty obvious i.e.

organise a night out down the pub in Parthenay, so what the hell that

has to do with stuffed kittens god only knows!!!

Think you're right about old people not being all the ticket!

[/quote]

Whoops Mr Hume, you have drifted in to the next generation group

already, maybe Dan will decide to give you a swerve and stay in with

the stuffed kitties[:)]

A damned good night down the pub.....in

Parthenay..................whoheee yeh ha, ...Johnny full blast on the

mini stereo..way to go[;-)]

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="Opalienne"]Yes, but we don't have edible bread, so you win on that one![/quote]

Oh dear!  Another French myth down the drain! [:)]

[Davehume]

A night out in Parthenay might not be your cup of tea Miki but it will probably be better then sitting in with you & your pc all day making useless & unconstructive comments about a topic you have obviously no interest in. You obviously fall into the category Dan is trying not to entertain so why don't you find another topic to pull apart or perhaps start a relevant thread of your own.

Love

Dave

[Just Katie]

What is wrong with Parthenay?  Am I right in saying it has pretty little brooks running through it or have I got muddled up?

[Teamedup]

Dave Hume, what are we going on about. Well some of us have lived and know what a decent social life is and that the poster was right in the assessment of village social life in France. And asking on here, well, that rings of desparation to me. I know about that, that is how I feel at the moment.  Sad really living nulpart en France.

 

[Miki]

Now, now Dave old chap, calm down.....You will be putting Dan right off.

Why not take a trip to McDo's instead, they do a nice beer in there and some open late ! Some nights I'll have

a milkshake and the next, a beer. It just helps to put a variation on

life here.

Or, here's a tip, why not go to a nice PMU have a few bets, a few beers

and really live it up [B] Fingers crossed your trotters don't start

galloping or it's curtains for your bet !

Actually it is a topic I'm very interested in, that's why I said go North or

South for a good night out, I have studied nights out, all my life, I got an A+

for it,  in me GCE's. [;-)]

Best wishes but don't forget, most decent bars shut at 8-9 p.m so shove 'em down !!

[Davehume]

Can we just get one thing straight on here Miki i find it hard to believe you have a GCE but if you say so it must be true, I am not on here just to bump up my posting numbers like most of you who have replied to the original posting by Dan,I am also not desperate for other expats company, I am very happy in the place I chose to live in France I just thought that Dans idea of a get together once in a while with other young expats & there family's would be quiet nice,obviously this rather simple question has now turned into a mass debate by a lot mass debators about everything but the original question asked,I have only just joined this forum & from what I have seen so far this is a forum for people who want to increase there posting numbers rather than have any decent input into a conversation,so the question has to be asked who is the sad one? you sitting on  here all day long going up the ranks or people who want to meet other people & broaden there social life.so please if you haven't got anything decent to say don't say it, leave the space for someone who might.[:D]

[Renaud]

Dan, the thing I don't get from your post is how well you speak French.

If you don't speak the local language wherever you are in the world you won't have much of a social life. Unless you want to socialise with fellow English speakers. So good idea to ask the English speaking 25-45 year olds to join you in your local.

However if there are not enough English speakers in the right age group for you to drink with - then buy a very long book.

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="Davehume"]

the question has to be asked who is the sad one? you sitting on  here all day long going up the ranks or people who want to meet other people & broaden there social life.[/quote]

 

Maybe you're answering all your own questions here, Dave!  Why ARE these forums so active?  Why are all us intelligent, outgoing, social people sitting in front of our computers instead of out having a social life?

 

Could it be something to do with...... France?  I know that in the UK I just wouldn't have had the time to do all this internetting, because I had so much going on in my life, but in rural France there's just so much less to do.

 

Have a good evening out on Friday.  Mine's a pint of Export, please. [;-)] 

 

 

[Miki]

"....I am also not desperate for other expats company2

No fair enough but it just might strike some folk as slightly desperate when you replied and  said :

"....Hi Dan - bloody good idea. After a long old winter, a damn good night out down the pub is just what I need"

It kinda felt like it..................that's all eh !

Can we just get one thing straight on here Miki i find it hard to believe you have a GCE

Tut tut, ye of little faith, I also have a cycling proficiency badge.............

".....so the question has to be asked who is the sad one?"

Sad, who mentioned sad ? Slightly miffed perhaps, especially at what is generally on offer for night life [;-)]

Broadening ones social life, Mmmmmmm OK I'll settle for that, not alot but it's a start............ I guess !

Me, well can I just settle for Barcelona, Sitges, Benidorm and

Montpelliershire for a fair period each year and give French broadening

lifestyle in a local bar a swerve if I may [;-)]

Music week will be here soon, then all us live in France saddos can get out and twist the night away.......

Let me tell you 'bout a place

Somewhere up-a Saint Malo way

Where the people are so gay

Twistin' the night away-ay

Here they have a lot of fun

Puttin' trouble on the run

Man, you find the old and young

Twistin' the night away.......................