The 1st of November , every year, is the day that Central Europeans pay their respects and thanks to departed members of their families and communities. It is called " All Saints Day " and is not restricted to one, or indeed to any particular religious belief or creed....... Ian W. Mitchell  -   Vauvert, France   -   November 2013   

 Just a little footnote in the later news yesterday from Germany http://www.abendblatt.de/wirtschaft/article2075782/Staatseigene-Bad-Bank-verbucht-55-5-Milliarden-zuviel.html    (In German) Basically, one of the Banks which were nationalised to save it, "Hypo Real Estate Bank" have found a little error in their bookkeeping, to the tune of 55.5 MILLIARDEN Euros! Just to recall what that represents.....  - One thousand million euros, a 1 with 9 "0's" behind it, multiplied by 55.5 times........! It seems that overstressed Accountants made the mistake...! Now - there are a couple of points which strike me.....I wonder how much bonus the Accountants got for the mistake.....and how come I've heard NOTHING at all on any UK news Site/Radio/TV.....? Surely, over the whole debt ridden World, it's not an enormous amount, but I think if the UK Government were suddenly to inherit such a windfall,they would either not tell us at all and spread it around between ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin More news about this little miracle drug/medication..... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8853310/Aspirin-cuts-bowel-cancer-risk-by-up-to-two-thirds.html My wife died of bowel cancer, and nobody knew about this at the time. I take the stuff in a weaker version to avoid coronary problems, most people take it 'cos they've got a headach, period pains and other things. It's turning out to be a real miracle worker.  This is the good news, on the other hand, "Bayer" and the others are still making billions and billions every year, maybe even every day producing and selling the stuff. It wouldn't surprise me if it were to disappear from "open sale" - there is more money to be made like that. It is, actually, already a "prescription medication" in the heart assistance format, which doesn't really make sense, unless you know this fact - my father died from a well known Aspirin side effect - st...

Changement d'heure Passage à l'heure d'hiver dimanche 30 octobre 2011

Image via Wikipedia Ah yes.....all these UK experts who know all about it........ Ah oui - ces experts Britannique ..... On 01 January 2000 GB£1 bought €1.60 On 24 October 2011 GB£1 bought €1.15 Go figger......... Vous avez compris.....?

What a week, oh what a week it was....it really was.... 24th October through to 31st October....every year...A week pre-determining life.  It's strange how certain very limited periods contain certain events which pre-determine the future....Here is mine: 1946.......26th October..... A birth......mine...... 1968........24th October.... A marriage......lasting 25 years to the decease of my wife Kathleen.... 2010........ 31st October..... A new start.....for hopefully a  L O N G  time.... Yes.....October 24th to October 31st is certainly an annual occurrence....! iwmpop(mrlemarquis)       -       Vauvert,France October 2011

  NOT one of my favourite subjects, so I try not to talk about them too much, but just now and then it has to be! I recently (just 7 weeks ago!) paid a cheque from an American world wide Insurance company into my French Bank Account in a vaguely hopeful attempt to have it cashed before next year! 7 weeks is a bit of a record, really speedy stuff, and considering that this cheque had already been taxed by American authorities under a vague title of "Foreign Tax" (no idea what that means) I had hoped that I may get to see the colour of $US in Euros without too much loss in charges. Well - "hope lies in the eternal breast" - but not with the Banks or Insurances. Here ya go....... FRAIS DE PRESENTATION DE CHEQUE.......       97.69 euros. FRAIS REMISE CHEQUE ETRANGER........ -9,50 Total:    107.19 All that money for the so, so speedy service of 7 weeks.....On top of that, American Tax on something that had already been taxed, annually, as "income"...

Have you noticed what a load of crap 90% of people are nowadays? And you ask why I spend so much time with my PC! Smiley from the sMirC -series. spent (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) My PC does, more or less, things in a correct way, with no ulterior motive, with no secondary thoughts, and without raving on , behind my back, when I have stopped. The latest beauty is something which has just come out (here in the area) about yours truly! My only motive, apparantly , in inviting people as I did (but absolutely no longer will do) was to be invited in my turn! Strangely enough, this came from somebody who I invited often, simply because I knew he/she COULD NOT invite others to his/her home, for many and varied reasons. Whether he/she would want to invite or not, never crossed my mind, for I knew he/she COULDN'T!! My simple thought, as so often, was "why were he/she obliged to miss out on social life because of their problems?" Now I know it's a lot deeper t...

 Well, I guess it has to happen, and I'm not too unhappy about it either, not really. Autumn has started, winter is on its way, so temperatures have dropped and I started with the heating, just to "take the chill" off the air. Now it never, or rarely, gets really cold down here, but it is all relative. When you're used to an average of 25C over the whole year, going up to 40C in high summer, and down to around 8C in winter, and you live here, then you really notice any changes! The heating is something I try not to turn on until at least the weekend of "time changing" - over here the last weekend in October, but that's late this year!    DST ends on Sunday 30 October 2011, 03:00 France daylight time Follow this link, and you can read all about it, and even download a "desktop clock"......... winter in "La Grande Motte" http://24timezones.com/current_local/france_time.php The locals (and I'm almost one of them now) do hav...

If you prefer reading this in French, just click on the button on the right: CAMARGUE-NEWS N°81 Midnight suppers for Christmas and of New Year's Eve in the  Camargue , in  Alpilles  and the South of the Cevennes   Free BOOKING   AT A BETTER RATE Hotels, B&B, holiday homes, camping ... November 2011 What’s on next month? December 2011 IN CAMARGUE AND PETITE CAMARGUE GARDOISE IN CAMARGUE AND PETITE CAMARGUE GARDOISE LES SAINTES-MARIES DE LA MER   Taù  Races Final On Wednesday 2 November.  Complete programme. A few events from the December calendar are given as a preview here. The Newsletter No 81 that you will receive on 24 November will provide more information about the events taking place in December and will give a preview of some of January events. LES SAINTES-MARIES DE LA MER   Festival of Abrivado on the Eastern Beach.  10 & 11 November.  Bulls are released and bro...