In reply to David (Normandy) ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...
In reply to Janet Tweedy ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

In article , K
writes
Vaseline round the pot

Too many pots for that to be feasible

Soot from the fire
Slug pellets

Don't like using them outdoors. Prefer to be safe rather than sorry
with respect to birds and amphibians

Nematode worms
Hedgehogs

Only the occasional sighting around here :-(




Well that leaves the shotgun then Kay

My weapon of choice, but it upsets the neighbours


:-)

Does it fire 'slugs' ?

LOL

In article , Sacha
writes

Saw a lovely Philadelphus (I think) the other night at Field End
Nurseries. Called madrensis and smelled vaguely of bubble gum but much
better, much smaller than normal Philadelphus and so pretty whilst in
flower. Trouble was it had just been given to him so he was hanging on
to it and any cutting material for the moment!

Is this it? V. lovely, if so.
http://tinyurl.com/297oma


oh yes it might very well be, must remember maculatas not madrensis., he
seemed certain on the name but then I don't know who gave it to him.
I got the tiniest little bit of one of the shoots (about 2 inches worth)
as someone knocked it (not me!) However whether it will take is another
matter!. V. pretty and apparently really hardy.
If I ever get one watch this space for cuttings !

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 5/7/07 12:50, in article , "Janet Tweedy"
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes

Saw a lovely Philadelphus (I think) the other night at Field End
Nurseries. Called madrensis and smelled vaguely of bubble gum but much
better, much smaller than normal Philadelphus and so pretty whilst in
flower. Trouble was it had just been given to him so he was hanging on
to it and any cutting material for the moment!

Is this it? V. lovely, if so.
http://tinyurl.com/297oma


oh yes it might very well be, must remember maculatas not madrensis., he
seemed certain on the name but then I don't know who gave it to him.
I got the tiniest little bit of one of the shoots (about 2 inches worth)
as someone knocked it (not me!) However whether it will take is another
matter!. V. pretty and apparently really hardy.
If I ever get one watch this space for cuttings !

Certainly both are said to have that bubble gum scent, so if he said
madrensis he must be right. 'Manteau d'Hermine' is a P. madrensis according
to the Plant Finder, though I've seen it classified under P. xlemoinei and
is a very well known one. It's quite low growing to about 3' and v.
fragrant.
The straight P. madrensis is in the Plant Finder at Fillans Plants at Bere
in Devon www.fillan.com tel. 01822 840721


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)

On 1 Jul, 21:29, "David \(Normandy\)"
wrote:
beaurocrats.

I just love the way you've written bureaucrats. I've read that as
'Beau Ocrats' ;o)

5. Giving plants away may be considered to be starting a business or trying
to take trade away from registered garden centre businesses. There are very
strict protectionist laws regarding doing anything like that here.

I've rang my friend Viv in Tours because I remembered that she's been
swapping plants at her local school and been doing it for years, and
also use the market in Valencais to give away seedlings. She said
there's never been any questions asked?!? I've checked with my uncle
who sells mushrooms from his door step in Bergerac (and at the end of
the day give them away) and an aunt in Montmaurin gives surplus away
on her door steps too. Nobody has never had any problems. I think we
could also find similar laws in the english law books - it's only a
matter of looking. Though it's not really an interest of mine. There
could be a misunderstanding with needing a permit to obstruct public
place, like a pavement etc. In this case it's the world over. I myself
need a 'permission' in England to do anything in the streets -
recently we did a 5 days workshop in the middle of bradford and laid
turf and deckchairs there - the Highway dept. gave us a written
permission. That's all. We gave away plants too. It was lovely )

I would therefore really not worry, but perhaps ask the neighbours if
they'd mind you setting a table outside your gates/door. Also, a sign
from your gate saying plants to give away would be perfectly fine,
directing people into your drive (attach the dog nearby if you're
worried ;o). That's how I feed my tribe on our way home every year. We
follow signs along the roads offering us eggs and tomatoes and
strawberries etc. all the way to Bordeaux!

In the meantime there's hundreds of forum swapping seeds, seedlings,
plants etc. in France. Here are a few below.

Are you rural, urban, suburban?!

http://www.graines-et-plantes.com/
http://groups.google.fr/group/echange-graines-plantes
http://www.aujardin.info/services/bo...se_plantes.php

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

"Space" wrote in message
news

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...
Does anyone else get carried away planting seeds? I haven't the heart
to let the seedlings die.

Yes. I still have some tomato seedlings and no room for planting them -
after giving lots away.

Then there are the pine treeling grown from the seeds from a cone from
daughter's farm. I thought she might like some more but she said I must
be joking!

Mary


why not offer your seedlings on freecyle?

go to www.freecycle.org and choose your local group.

I haven't looked closely at this site, but I was under the impression that
it is UK based, the OP is in France.


as far as I know it operates in other countries.

"La Puce" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 1 Jul, 21:29, "David \(Normandy\)"
wrote:
beaurocrats.

I just love the way you've written bureaucrats. I've read that as
'Beau Ocrats' ;o)

5. Giving plants away may be considered to be starting a business or
trying
to take trade away from registered garden centre businesses. There are
very
strict protectionist laws regarding doing anything like that here.

I've rang my friend Viv in Tours because I remembered that she's been
swapping plants at her local school and been doing it for years, and
also use the market in Valencais to give away seedlings. She said
there's never been any questions asked?!? I've checked with my uncle
who sells mushrooms from his door step in Bergerac (and at the end of
the day give them away) and an aunt in Montmaurin gives surplus away
on her door steps too. Nobody has never had any problems. I think we
could also find similar laws in the english law books - it's only a
matter of looking. Though it's not really an interest of mine. There
could be a misunderstanding with needing a permit to obstruct public
place, like a pavement etc. In this case it's the world over. I myself
need a 'permission' in England to do anything in the streets -
recently we did a 5 days workshop in the middle of bradford and laid
turf and deckchairs there - the Highway dept. gave us a written
permission. That's all. We gave away plants too. It was lovely )

I would therefore really not worry, but perhaps ask the neighbours if
they'd mind you setting a table outside your gates/door. Also, a sign
from your gate saying plants to give away would be perfectly fine,
directing people into your drive (attach the dog nearby if you're
worried ;o). That's how I feed my tribe on our way home every year. We
follow signs along the roads offering us eggs and tomatoes and
strawberries etc. all the way to Bordeaux!

In the meantime there's hundreds of forum swapping seeds, seedlings,
plants etc. in France. Here are a few below.

Are you rural, urban, suburban?!

http://www.graines-et-plantes.com/
http://groups.google.fr/group/echange-graines-plantes
http://www.aujardin.info/services/bo...se_plantes.php


Hi La Puce,
I can never remember how to spell beaurocracy - it comes out different every
time and my spellchecker usually doesn't know what I'm trying to spell
either.

We are in very rural France in a small hamlet of half a dozen properties
scattered over a square mile in the middle of nowhere.

I've made a note of your links, thank you. I'm surprised the authorities
aren't hot on this - they seem to cover most angles where they can either
get any tax out of people or otherwise impose lots of 'nanny state'
restrictions - they are far worse than the UK in this respect.

Not complaining though. Life here is much better than it was in the UK
living in a jam jar with a postage stamp sized garden costing a fortune in
mortgage and driving (shuffling) along traffic jammed streets with impatient
and aggressive motorists, looking for none existent car parking spaces at
the crowded supermarkets with barely room to push a trolley down the aisles.
Life here is much more laid back. More space less people. Room to stretch
out and breath! Aaaaah! (Blissful sigh).

David.

On 5 Jul, 20:56, "David \(Normandy\)"
wrote:

Bonsoir David!

I can never remember how to spell beaurocracy - it comes out different every
time and my spellchecker usually doesn't know what I'm trying to spell
either.

Don't change it. It's so cute. It's already gone around a few
friends ;o)

We are in very rural France in a small hamlet of half a dozen properties
scattered over a square mile in the middle of nowhere.

Ah! Well then I wouldn't worry at all. Exchanging food stuff and help
is part of life in rural France. Just pop to your neighbours with a
tray of 100 seedlings and see what you get in return. (Careful you
don't get a life pheasant ... and then they ask you how it tasted ..).

I've made a note of your links, thank you. I'm surprised the authorities
aren't hot on this - they seem to cover most angles where they can either
get any tax out of people or otherwise impose lots of 'nanny state'
restrictions - they are far worse than the UK in this respect.
Not complaining though. Life here is much better than it was in the UK
living in a jam jar with a postage stamp sized garden costing a fortune in
mortgage and driving (shuffling) along traffic jammed streets with impatient
and aggressive motorists, looking for none existent car parking spaces at
the crowded supermarkets with barely room to push a trolley down the aisles.
Life here is much more laid back. More space less people. Room to stretch
out and breath! Aaaaah! (Blissful sigh).

How could you be so cruel. I've lost the major part of my onions
because of this interminable rain ... I'm even considering giving up
half of our allotment because frankly this year has been so difficult.
Also there's the police everywhere we look with huge machine guns
throughout the city because of threats (even in Crewe, the station was
full of them on Monday). We've heard sirens all day long. I've even
asked myself, when sheltering this afternoon under a shop porch, why a
white van was standing still in the middle of the road of a few
seconds. It's ridiculous. I'm quite ready to go back home, beleive me,
even if it rains ...!

"Space" wrote in
"Alan Holmes" wrote
"Space" wrote
"Mary Fisher" wrote
Does anyone else get carried away planting seeds? I haven't the heart
to let the seedlings die.

Yes. I still have some tomato seedlings and no room for planting them -
after giving lots away.

Then there are the pine treeling grown from the seeds from a cone from
daughter's farm. I thought she might like some more but she said I must
be joking!
Mary

why not offer your seedlings on freecyle?
go to www.freecycle.org and choose your local group.

I haven't looked closely at this site, but I was under the impression
that it is UK based, the OP is in France.

as far as I know it operates in other countries.

Here in Holland we have a sort of eBay type site "Martkplaats.nl" (=market
place) where you can either sell/buy stuff or advertise give aways.....
There's probably something similar in France - where David or Emery when you
need them :~)
Jenny

In reply to David (Normandy) ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

I can never remember how to spell beaurocracy - it comes out
different every time and my spellchecker usually doesn't know what
I'm trying to spell either.

Can you spell bureau?

From the French, bure, meaning well (as in hole in the ground) and eau,
meaning water. So a bureaucracy is a hole full of water. And, in my
experience, it might just as well be.

Actually, it's a bag of lies, but next time you need to spell bureaucracy
you'll be able to :-)

HTH

"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
...


... Life here is much better than it was in the UK living in a jam jar
with a postage stamp sized garden costing a fortune in mortgage and
driving (shuffling) along traffic jammed streets with impatient and
aggressive motorists, looking for none existent car parking spaces at the
crowded supermarkets with barely room to push a trolley down the aisles.
Life here is much more laid back. More space less people. Room to stretch
out and breath! Aaaaah! (Blissful sigh).

David.

I hope that non-UK readers of the above will get the impression that
everyone here lives like that. We don't even though we live in the inner
city.

You chose your house and presumably applied for the mortgage, there's always
adequate parking space at any supermarket I've been to and I choose to shop
at one which makes a feature of wide aisles. As for traffic-jammed streets -
well they're not all like that and you don't have to drive in any case.

Many of us have very laid back lives, the Fishers included.

A daughter lives in France, her daughter couldn't bear it so now lives in
Derby. Her son helped with the house while he was needed then came back to
England, he won't go to France again, he hates it.

Their experiences, like yours, are personal and not everyone's.

Mary

On 6/7/07 09:56, in article
, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
...


... Life here is much better than it was in the UK living in a jam jar
with a postage stamp sized garden costing a fortune in mortgage and
driving (shuffling) along traffic jammed streets with impatient and
aggressive motorists, looking for none existent car parking spaces at the
crowded supermarkets with barely room to push a trolley down the aisles.
Life here is much more laid back. More space less people. Room to stretch
out and breath! Aaaaah! (Blissful sigh).

David.

I hope that non-UK readers of the above will get the impression that
everyone here lives like that. We don't even though we live in the inner
city.

You chose your house and presumably applied for the mortgage, there's always
adequate parking space at any supermarket I've been to and I choose to shop
at one which makes a feature of wide aisles. As for traffic-jammed streets -
well they're not all like that and you don't have to drive in any case.

Many of us have very laid back lives, the Fishers included.

A daughter lives in France, her daughter couldn't bear it so now lives in
Derby. Her son helped with the house while he was needed then came back to
England, he won't go to France again, he hates it.

Their experiences, like yours, are personal and not everyone's.

Apparently a lot of people who have bought abroad are opting to return to
UK, only to find that house prices now make it impossible for them to get
back onto the ladder.
However, there is no doubt that the French have a very civilised way of life
- the lunch hour, for example! - and that there are far less people to the
square yard than there are in Britain.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)

Their experiences, like yours, are personal and not everyone's.

Mary

It's square pegs and round holes or round pegs and square holes, each needs
to be in the right place.
For us, living in the middle of nowhere is marvellous, we are happy with our
own company with barely another soul to talk to. Some city loving Brits come
here and foolishly buy a house in rural France and then long for the hustle
and bustle of city life. Each to their own :-)

I used to hate the morning / evening commutes to and from Nottingham city
centre, rush hour on the A52(?) and ring road. It only took one traffic
accident on the M1 and it could take two hours to drive in to work. Public
transport was too disjointed and always took two hours to get in to work
anyway with a 20 minute walk, train, then bus to get to work. It was
somewhat better when I got a motorbike and could drive down the middle of
the road through the stationery traffic :-)

The local supermarket used to be Asda and the car park full with people
shuffling round and round waiting for a space to appear. Tempers used to
flare and people got quite aggressive. The spaces were too narrow too - I
used to get irritated at the number of people who just flung their car doors
open straight into my car.

Sitting in traffic jams used to be a way of life for me in England. While
there are apparently traffic jams here, we've haven't been in one since
moving here two years ago. Probably because of our rural location. Oddly we
did have one minor mishap last year - I parked our van in the Intermarche
supermarket one quiet day leaving the space empty between mine and someone
else's vehicle. There were only around 10 cars in the entire car park
capable of holding 100's. We were just walking into the store and a driver
attempted to reverse into the space between mine and the other vehicle and
crashed straight into mine damaging the bumper. Why park there? The car park
was virtually empty - so why reverse into the only narrow space in the
entire car park?

David.

"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
...

Their experiences, like yours, are personal and not everyone's.

Mary

It's square pegs and round holes or round pegs and square holes, each
needs to be in the right place.
For us, living in the middle of nowhere is marvellous, we are happy with
our own company with barely another soul to talk to. Some city loving
Brits come here and foolishly buy a house in rural France and then long
for the hustle and bustle of city life. Each to their own :-)

Living in the middle of nowhere would be marvellous for us too - except that
we've both benefited from centres of medical excellence within walking
distance. If we'd been in the middle of nowhere I wouldn't now have a
husband.

I used to hate the morning / evening commutes to and from Nottingham city
centre, rush hour on the A52(?) and ring road. It only took one traffic
accident on the M1 and it could take two hours to drive in to work. Public
transport was too disjointed and always took two hours to get in to work
anyway with a 20 minute walk, train, then bus to get to work. It was
somewhat better when I got a motorbike and could drive down the middle of
the road through the stationery traffic :-)

You chose the job.

The local supermarket used to be Asda and the car park full with people
shuffling round and round waiting for a space to appear. Tempers used to
flare and people got quite aggressive. The spaces were too narrow too - I
used to get irritated at the number of people who just flung their car
doors open straight into my car.

I wouldn't shop in Asda for other reasons.

Sitting in traffic jams used to be a way of life for me in England. While
there are apparently traffic jams here, we've haven't been in one since
moving here two years ago. Probably because of our rural location. Oddly
we did have one minor mishap last year - I parked our van in the
Intermarche supermarket one quiet day leaving the space empty between mine
and someone else's vehicle. There were only around 10 cars in the entire
car park capable of holding 100's. We were just walking into the store and
a driver attempted to reverse into the space between mine and the other
vehicle and crashed straight into mine damaging the bumper. Why park
there? The car park was virtually empty - so why reverse into the only
narrow space in the entire car park?

Perhaps he knew you were English?

Not all Frenchfolk like us.

Mary

David.

Perhaps he knew you were English?

Not all Frenchfolk like us.

Mary

Depending upon the nature of one's work, "choice" of location of employer or
suitable affordable housing / schools etc in the proximity of that work may
be somewhat limited. Many professionals endure the daily commute because
their skills are often required by employers in busy city centres.

-

The driver was a young woman. She bore no malice, though the reason for her
trying to park there eluded me. Both she and her husband were very
apologetic and he personally bought and replaced the damaged part of my
bumper.
All very amicable.

There are a few "National Front" type people here who hate (and even attack)
'foreigners', but such small minded people exist all over the world. Most
French people we've met have been friendly and helpful despite our poor
French - but we are making the effort to learn the language and integrate
with the locals unlike some Brits whose only French is "Parlez-vous
Anglais?" and who try to make a "mini Britain" here.

David.

"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
...


Depending upon the nature of one's work, "choice" of location of employer
or suitable affordable housing / schools etc in the proximity of that work
may be somewhat limited.

Re-skilling is possible.

Many professionals endure the daily commute because their skills are often
required by employers in busy city centres.

And presumably because they are better paid than other jobs.

-

The driver was a young woman.

Yes, I apologise for that slip up, I realised afterwards that I was making
an assumption.

She bore no malice, though the reason for her trying to park there eluded
me. Both she and her husband were very apologetic and he personally bought
and replaced the damaged part of my bumper.
All very amicable.

Funnily enough I've had a very similar experience.

In England.

There are a few "National Front" type people here who hate (and even
attack) 'foreigners', but such small minded people exist all over the
world.

That's my point about where we live, nothing's perfect.

Most French people we've met have been friendly and helpful despite our
poor French - but we are making the effort to learn the language and
integrate with the locals unlike some Brits whose only French is
"Parlez-vous Anglais?" and who try to make a "mini Britain" here.

So it's not just our roads, our houses, our employment and our supermarkets
which you don't like ...

Mary

David.