Thursday, 28 February 2013

Cap on Bankers bonuses by the EU

The EU has struck an historic deal to cap bankers' bonuses. Critics say bonuses played a major role in feeding the financial crisis. New rules require banks to improve their financial stability. It does make sense, if you have a business yourself and you have had a bad year, do you give yourself a whacking bonus, I think not.
Malc's says it is not a done deal, Britain opposes it! Have checked again and I think it is a done deal even though Britain opposed it. David Cameron  and Malc both think that Banks would just hike their salaries. I think they should then cap salaries.
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Stephane Hessel dies age 95

Stephane Hessel writer, diplomat and member of the French  Resistance in World War 2, died yesterday age 95. Born in Germany but naturalised French he was captured and suffered water boarding by German Gestapo and just escaped being hanged in Buchenwald Concentration Camp by changing identities with a  prisoner who had died of typhus. He helped to draft after the war the UN declaration of human rights.
Many reports on his death in newspapers around the world but I have given a link to the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/27/stephane-hessel-fought-injustice-great-life
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Go get it, Brigitte Godfriaux of St. Antonin Noble Val

Brigitte Godfriaux has qualified for the competition " Championnats de France de Pompiers" in the category veteran  / feminine. This is the second year she has qualified and the competition is on the 23rd March. Good luck Brigitte from everyone in the area and thank you for your work with the Pompiers.
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Le Restaurant 1909 a Belcastel

Josie Couderc, (the part owner with her sister ) and chef at the Restaurant 1909 at Belcastel was on a winter break in Egypt with daughter Lea and they sadly lost their lives in the hot air balloon in which 19 others  also tragically died.
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Wednesday, 27 February 2013

French tourists in Luxor were from the Aveyron

The two dead French tourists in the accident with the " montgolfiere" balloon over Luxor were both from the Aveyron. Mme. Couderc and her daughter  Lea, were both from the pretty Aveyron village Belcastel.
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Perhaps a future prize winner.

Free to good home - a fine young lad!
One of the young hens we bought through Tag recently is showing every

sign of being a cockerel. He will no doubt be a fine specimen as he has
lovely colouring (black and red) but as we only want to keep our hens

or eggs we will not be keeping him. Is anyone looking for a cockerel or

know of anyone who is ?


Contact Sue Carter at sue@carter82.net or phone 0563679335
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I am going to be unblocked

Bonjour,
Cette IP avait été blacklistée sur nos serveurs suite à son utilisation
lors d'une campagne de phishing à l'encontre de nos abonnés.
Nous venons de procéder à la levée du blocage.
Cordialement,
Service Abuse Orange Internet
Val says, Thanks Nev for your advice.
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Has the tension gone from Top Chef ?

Revealed by error,  an advert for Auchan one of the sponsors lets us know that the three finalists in Top Chef are Florent, Jean Phillipe and, drum roll ... our own Quentin Bourdy from Villefranche de Rouergue. Malc sadly said, no girl finalist then.
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All seats booked for our penultimate Cinema night

The Magic Flute by Mozart showing at Mas del Sol on 12th March is now fully booked. After this we have Mamma Mia in April and then  the season is over. I keep counting how much we have taken for the children of Mali and getting excited ( I do that, get excited) and I think we will have taken over 1,000 euros by the finish. Taking  money and having pleasant evenings over winter as well thanks to you all.  I keep saying to Malc, whose idea was the home cinema then? He has stopped replying, "yours, darling."
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"Belle et bete" includes disclaimer

The book written by Marcela Laub, Belle et Bete, the lady who is probably as distasteful as DSK can be published but must have a disclaimer by Strauss - Kahn in it. The steamy book portrays  DSK as a sexually obsessed man, well that comes as a suprise! Expect to see  it sometime soon at the book swap, well we did see "50 Shades of Grey" which was exceptionally well thumbed.
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English Buff Orpington is the most beautiful

An English cock has been voted the most beautiful bird in its category at the Salon of Agriculture in Paris. He has been raised in France so only his bloodline is English.
Can you tell it is a slow news day?
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Tuesday, 26 February 2013

I've been blacklisted.( stop laughing )

Many thanks to a reader Neville who has come to my aid. I will let you know developments.

My conclusion is that the IP Address 85.233.160.25 of the sending mail server is blacklisted by Orange.   I have checked the reputational score of the IP Address 
Val85.233.160.25 and it comes back as good meaning it is not on any official blacklists so it looks like Orange has decided to block on an internal policy. 

It is probably worth calling the Orange support line they have French and UK speaking lines and they could investigate and let you know if in fact the IP is blacklisted by them and more important if they can lift the block.  I would also call the ISP who is hosting your email service namesco.co.uk and see if they can help or even test to an Orange account, they can use mine if you like but let me know as I do not regularly monitor it.

Regards

Neville
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Still having problems with my orange emails

Sorry Martin, you have replied with your orange email so my replies bounce back. I can confirm that the book swap is Monday 4th.
Charles maybe you received the circular email, do not know why that one goes but I cannot send others. I even looked you up in the phone book but you are not in. Hope to see you Thursday !
Everyone else who is expecting an email from me, if you are with orange forget it. I have an inbox full of returned emails and a husband who is scratching his head. Not lice, bemused.
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Mustard up their noses, cette fois, c'est la moutarde qui leur monterait au nez

 Bad smells at the Cinema at Gaillac are apparently caused by the small restaurant being too close to the  cinema rooms. A solution will have to be found.
We have a similar problem at Mas del Sol cinema evenings but with us we know it to be the dogs and they are kept well hidden for these evenings.
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Balloon crash described

Alaa Mahmoud, sales manager of Magic Horizon, a Luxor-based balloon company, said his nephew witnessed the crash from a neighbouring field. He told the Guardian the accident happened as the balloon tried to land and was about 5-10 metres above the ground.

Mahmoud said that as ground crews tried to anchor the balloon to the ground using ropes hanging from the basket, the ropes became entangled in the leads of the gas cylinders. The sharpness of the ropes, he claimed, caused the leads to be severed, which in turn sparked the fire.

At this low height, Mahmoud said, the pilot and one passenger jumped from the basket, causing it to lose balance.
"The flames were so strong that the pilot and one guy jumped," he said. "When they jumped, the balloon lost balance and the balloon went up again."
The revised number dead  is 18 wih the pilot and one other alive.

Val says Just seen pictures of the crash  on French TV and it seemed to happen much more in mid air than described.
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Credit  to   Patrick Kingsley  the Guardian's Egypt correspondent. 
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John Taylor wanted to be in TAG

Thank you Val, very kind.
Incidentally, is stripping to be included in the programme for the F&J night?
Jxxx
Val says
Well John, you kept saying would you get a mention at the Folk /Jazz evening, perhaps you need to consider ''the full Monty' 'on Thursday. That and Anna on her banjo, would get the crowds in!
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Snow - what snow? 150 metres higher what a difference.


This was Varen this morning,. People we met could not believe we still had  snow

This is Mas del Sol this morning, 5 mins by car from Varen. Below are Henny and Penny not enjoying the snow.

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Petrole, fioule, kerosene, gasoil, all very confusing

Hi Val

Another point to note is that French fioule for oil fired central heating boilers isn't kerosene, as we're used to in the UK,  but the heavier, untaxed (red) diesel oil; called gasoil in French.  
Someone saving money by importing a British boiler to have installed in their house in France would have to have the standard fuel jets changed for it to work properly.  
xx Chris 
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Book and DVD swap

Monday 4th March 10.30 am at the Gazpacho Bar at St. Antonin Noble Val will be one of the now very popular book swaps. As I know TAG has lots of new readers I will explain how it all works. For the book swap if you have books you do not mind saying goodbye to, take along and just dump on one of the tables. The masses will come and rifle through and pick books they would like to read and take away. When read they will be brought back to go through the same process. If you have not got books to take yet do not worry, you  can come and choose some anyway. There's always enough for everyone to read.
The DVD swap is hopefully rather more sedate with Martin Mackenzie being " the slim controller" rather than the fat controller from Thomas the tank engine. ( a lot of my analogies are from children's books) You can preorder from the section marked DVD  at the top of the TAG newspage, or you can just borrow on the day. Martin will need your name and contact details as the DVD is on loan and at some point will go back to its original owner. Also if you have DVDs to loan Martin will be happy to accept them into the library and they will be marked with your code. Only take ones that are not too special to you in case they get damaged.
And lastly on the day
For the first time a company called Spiced Cuisine will be coming with food ordered if you want to order "spicey" contact       spicedcuisine@orange.fr    
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Top Chef, Patron de Carre Rouge a Toulouse

Valentin Neraudeau of Toulouse has gained the right to move on to the 5th week of the competition. For the first time we watched last night and it is in quite a different format to our Masterchef. Malc enjoyed the way it was arranged with candidates having to go into a darkened room to taste and then copy a meal produced by the Programmes Top Chefs. I thought it was plain television / theatre and wanted to say '' just get on with cooking a dish for heavens sake''. There again Malc was quite taken with the young girl chef as she was so calm under pressure and ended up going through with the judges comment, ''You produced something special whilst the others produced home cooking.''    Hmm, They have not been to this home!
Quentin Bourdy of Villefranche is also through. Very interesting having two local  chefs in at this stage.
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Caussade Market Monday

The Market at Caussade on Monday was decimated, with few stalls and few customers . The snow, ice and generally arctic conditions threw gloom over the whole morning. A picture in the Depeche gives you an idea of the conditions. People on holiday in the summer could never imagine the difference in winter and the  change from the buzzing vibrant, colourful markets to this winter scene.
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Laguepie Pompiers carry on

Even in the bad weather training exercises take place each month with the Pompiers of Laguepie, who if you remember are all volunteers. They were out yesterday training in the snow and cold and take pride in their training for our benefit. Most of them have jobs in the village, the butcher, the electrician, the plumber, the Doctor are all there. Well done lads.
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Hot air balloon down over Luxor

 French, English and other nationalities killed when tourists in a hot air balloon where subjected to an explosion followed by a quick descent into a sugar cane field. It is thought 19 people have been killed. Breaking news at the moment.
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Monday, 25 February 2013

Norway, Rome, Spain, Florida, NZ, Laos, is there anyone left in T&G

Dear all.
From the winter of Norway, Yes we would like a cash machine.
See you all at Easter.
Roger & Eileen Burgess
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Visiting Jazz band from Toulouse, Thursday, Le Riols 


Reminder : Don't forget the folk club this Thursday (28th) at the
Salles de fetes in Le Riols.


We are promised a great evening of entertainment with new guests and a

visiting jazz band from Toulouse and all for free - can't be bad!


All you need to do is turn up in time for the 8pm start bringing a

bottle and glasses if you want refreshments (eat before you come). The

hall is warm and comfortable and a convivial evening of music and song

is just what we all need to banish the end of winter blues.


Sent by Sue Carter  (from Rome !)


Val adds As the weather is forecast to be very cold I would still wear your 
thermals and balaclavas. You can always strip!

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More language blunders

I wanted to try on some shoes, so asked Gavin to tell them (this was before we moved here), and he said "My wife would like to clean the shoes in your window". He used essuyer instead of essayer. They were quite surprised at this offer!

Another time, we were renting a gite and Gavin knocked over a flowerpot and it broke in two. We decided we would go and buy some superglue to put it together in the short-term. He went in to the quincaillerie to ask for it and didn't know the word, so did lots of miming. There was an old man and two nuns sitting in the shop for some reason. Eventually, the man couldn't stand it any more and said two words - "Le Superglue".
Sent by Doreen Porter

David Hatfield says
Some years ago Linda was trying to tell French friends about her soeur, but was pronouncing it suer.
Little wonder that they were bemused that she was trying to tell them about her sweating.
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Doreen wins a hamper.

Doreen Porter who writes our " Face to Face" column has sent a letter to Living France, had it published  in the March issue and won herself a " provencal hamper" The page the article is on is called " Over to you " Well done Doreen.
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Fed up Winter Blues

Well TAG can fend off those feelings and put sunshine in your life. Nothing more therapeutic than stroking a pet, especially one on your knee. Think of the heating bills saved by cuddling a furry friend, think of those arthritic fingers constantly moving, think of the joy of having a pet that loves you despite all your bad habits, and add a ray of sunshine all year round. Then once you have decided you need a pet, as he needs you, consider - OLD. Then if by chance you have not got long you do not have the worry of leaving a pet behind. My new campaign is a bit like ''gay pride'' only with pussies. ''Proud to adopt old''   and speaking of which Chats du Quercy have two such candidates for you to consider Mickey and Norman.  You need them and they need you. See earlier post for the two cats you could love.
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Chats du Quercy Association numéro W821001276  Siret 523 525 152 00014
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Najac fights to stay alive, all the year

A team including Suzanne Deleris and Laurent Lemouzy are researching projects to try and stop villages like Najac going into a spiral of decline in the winter. A list of houses to rent has been made in the hopes of encouraging families to move in full time. There is a very good high speed connection to broad band in the village which families want these days and means people could work from home. There is talk of changing  the salle omnisports and  for a " vocation artisanale" into a small workshop  and encouraging  a grower and seller  of aromatic plants along the banks of the river. Ideas welcomed to the team, if it is your village and you want it to stay alive in winter, try giving some input.
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Young, pretty, outgoing, is that you?

Caussade is still the town of hats. At the Salon des Tourisme at Nantes a stand of the hats made in Caussade was on show. Now the town is asking for young ladies who will model hats in the July Festival to come forward. Contact Patrick Cappoen on  tel 0677025832 if you want to be involved.
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Sunday, 24 February 2013

Good point, petrole never means petrol

French for kerosene is petrole and it is worth reminding Franglais users that petrole NEVER means petrol.....consequences could be dire! We thought of this while reading this page of a catalogue.

http://www.tompress.com/A-2447-lampe-a-petrole-en-laiton.aspx?tracking=Newsletter_S082013nei&utm_source=S082013&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=NLS082013nei
Sent by Sally
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All white, that's enough

All right, that's enough, the sixth snowfall this winter. Not so bad for those of you in towns or villages but for those of us stuck up winding roads out in the country it means another day at least stuck in. Shopping in Simply yesterday someone saw us at the check out and asked if we were stocking up for snow with a jolly laugh, well yes we were.
Bring that immobilier to me now who said " all you need is a sweater round your shoulders in winter  and I might throttle him "  Malc adds with his own sweater!
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The French must laugh at our mistakes.

Following on from Malc's debacle in the quincaillerie asking for a pique (spade in card games) when wanting a plastic shovel,  another reader Peter mentioned to Malc that he went into a quincaillerie and wanted wooden posts  (piquets) The shopkeeper started flapping his arms and asking if he wanted red or green as he had actually asked for some woodpeckers ( pics)
Also be careful when talking about puppies as I have made this error to French friends consternation. A chiot is a puppy, if you refer to a female puppy do not say chiotte which actually means " shit house" which is very rude. When I did it all the French in the group looked uncomfortable.
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Tax rebate and the apples are good.

Hi Val
Alongside this useful apple selling exercise, it might be worth mentioning on TAG that for every €50 donated separately to this charity, 66% is deductible from their income tax by French taxpayers, so the real cost is only €17.  The leaflet given out by the Lions Club apple sellers is from the Guide Dogs charity in Toulouse, so it's all very local to us here.  It explains how this tax reimbursement works, and says that the required tax receipt will be given to all donors.
xx Chris

PS  The apples are excellent, we, the dogs and horses are thoroughly enjoying them!   
Val says  This rebate does apply to any contribution to a registered charity.
Chris says  I meant to finish the note by saying that a French taxpayer able to donate €50 can actually send €150 and end up spending no more than he/she could afford.
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Stay in EU says Obama's administration

Britain should stay in European Union says the Obama administration. Countries holding "referendums have turned countries inwards'
Nick Clegg says uncertainty of EU will have a chilling effect on jobs.
Ed Miliband says Cameron  risks sleepwalking out of the EU.
Michael Heseltine says Cameron EU stategy is an unecessary gamble.
Jonathan Friedland says Britain cannot pick and choose on Europe, we are in or we are out.
Quotes taken from News 24
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Dogs for the Blind always need funds.

The operation  selling apples by The Lions of Caussade was difficult as the conditions were " glacial" terribly cold. But well done them,  in difficult conditions.  If you want to support the  Dogs for the Blind - l'association chiens guides d'aveugles de Toulouse Midi Pyrenees. the information is below.

Pour continuer cette action d'entraide, on peut contacter l'association chiens guides d'aveugles de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, 44 rue Louis-Plana, 31500 Toulouse ; tél. 05 61 80 68 01 ;

courriel : toulouse@chiensguides.fr ;
Internet : http ://www.toulouse.chiensguides.
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England beat France in an exciting, bruising game

The score 23 / 13 and an enjoyable match, giving England their chance of their first Grand Slam in a decade.  Wales better mention them, won their game against Italy.
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Saturday, 23 February 2013

What do farmed salmon eat?

This petition might need some explanation. You would be supporting trying to stop the use of animal parts like pork and hen, left over bits being fed to fish. These bits are ground into a flour and fed to  farmed fish being raised to sell, like salmon. The ban on using this has just been lifted but it brings the associated risks of buyers eating the fish and getting diseases like bse or who knows what else.

Chers amis,

Je viens de lire et signer une pétition en ligne: «Interdire les farines animales»

http://www.petitionpublique.fr/?pi=P2013N36196

Personnellement, je suis d’accord avec cette pétition et je crois que tvous pouvez l’être aussi.

Souscrivez à la pétition et divulguez-la auprès de vos contacts.

Merci,
m.b CURATO 
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Just had the topical hawfinch visiting the garden.

The hawfinch was eating the sunflower seeds on the ground, not the nuts in the containers, must be a seed eater or maybe there were too many chaffinches and blue tits  on the nuts for him to bother getting into a  skirmish. Just looked him up and he is a seed eater and apparently extremely wary flying off at the slightest sound. So the two readers with good photos did well. Malc will be at the window all day with his camera hoping he returns. In French he is called a " grosbec casse-noyaux."
In Dutch " appelvink"
Malcolm has just read this post and says it reads as if he is called a 'grosbec casse -noyaux.!' I am more grosbec,  he is more retrusse in the nose stakes.
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Mozart Magic Flute, 4 seats available

Tuesday 12th March at 6.30 pm we will be having our penultimate cinema evening, here at Mas del Sol, just outside Varen. ( directions given when booking ) Margo and Jelle of Arnac are preparing the " apero dinatoire" Well, I think Jelle will  be helping carry it in !
Due to  exceptional circumstances we have 4 seats available. If you would like to come we are taking donations of 10 euros per person, all going to feed street children in Mali. Our big screen and surround system ( which we bought second hand from an advert on TAG) has proved a very popular
winter activity. Please contact me  Val if you want a  lovely evening   mail@bromlea.com
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New President for the Office of Tourism at Najac

Remy Simon from the restaurant L'Oustal del Barry has taken over the Presidency of the Tourist Office in Najac.
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The countryside is beautiful, but some will dispoil.

Yet another story this week about poison in the countryside. In the Tarn dozens of stags and deer have been found dead recently.  The chasseurs of the Penne Federation have had bodies analysed and they were found to have ingested " carbofuran" a toxic product banned four years ago.  A product phytosanitaire  used in agriculture and made by a firm in the Haute Garonne has been found to be the cause of the death and I assume has carbufuran in. I think that is the fourth story in two weeks reported in the Depeche, not I might add tucked away in a corner of the newspaper.
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Friday, 22 February 2013

French nationality, not looking good for us.

A letter in the Connexion reads
I applied for French nationlity and was told I would qualify in every respect, bar one. I had no income from a French source. I am over 70 and my income is from a British pension.
The avocat replying says " case law is not in your favour. The Council D' Etat in April 1990 held that an applicant whose personal resources are of foreign source, is not a French person for legal purposes"
Not yet over 70 but getting there and our pensions come from England.
BUT I DO WANT TO BE EUROPEAN
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Trouble with orange friends

At the moment it seems anyone with an orange email address cannot get emails from me. Charles has  had numerous emails from me, as has Doreen, all have been returned, very frustrating, hope you are feeling better Charles and Doreen I have done the report on our most interesting  talk by Chris Barlas but it has been returned,ggrr!
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So unfair to pigs

A lurid kiss and tell book by ex girlfriend French lawyer Marcela Lacub,  has described Dominique Strauss- Kahn as half man,  half pig. On behalf of the lovely French pigs of this world I object.
Malc says That is a bit ironic, we are having pork chop for supper!
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Cash machine at Monestie

Alice Smee tells us that there is a cash machine at Monestie in the Post Office. Wish we had one in the Post Office at Laguepie.
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I do like a romantic story.

Quentin Bourdy the Villefranche de Rouergue chef is in the semi finals of Top Chef. He is also ( so the Depeche tells us ) in a relationship with a former Top Chef participant Noemie Honat. Quentin is now in charge of the Restaurant of his Grandparents which has been undergoing a face lift in the centre of Villefranche, and Noemie is a chef patissiere with Jean-Phillipe Darcis , Ambassadeurs du Choclat  Belge.
Could be a relationship made in chocolate heaven that one.
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Orange alert Saturday on the roads

Expect the roads to be busy Saturday if you are planning a trip to Toulouse  or the Pyrenees. It is the start of French holidays for Zone A and the second week for Zone B. More info on the roads from Bison Fute.
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You could never refuse Nadette Curato, especially when she likes my posts

Bonjour,
Nadette Curato vous prie de publier l'annonce de nos amis verfeillais.
J'en profite pour vous féliciter de la qualité de vos "posts", surtout quant-aux événements sociaux et politiques.
bien cordialement,
Nadette
Theatre en famile a Verfeil
Chaos in 5 rounds.
Samedie 16 Mars a 20h.30
Salles des Fetes
Soiree organisee par la comite des Fetes Verfeil / Seye
Avec la troupe Rouffiac - Theatre
Entree 7 euros, gratuit jusqu'a 10 ans
fouace et cafe offerts.
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We have had this once but why not again.


A British Government decision to withdraw from the EU would have devastating consequences for all UK ex-patriates in Europe, as outlined below.  If there is to be a referendum, we must have the right to vote. 
 If you are not an ex-pat I am sending this because I believe you may have family or friends who are, in the hope that you will forward it to them ; and please note that you do not have to be an ex-pat in order to sign.  
http: //epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43238
Sent by Rosie Jennings
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Something all the French know but I did not

The Salon D' Agriculture is held each year in Paris. Now when I did my post on Pesticides in Aquitaine I could not find out where the salon was being held and assumed it must be in that area. That misinformation ( only a tiny thing ) has been corrected, but you know for sure all the French knew where it was held. Just had a panic as I said it was held at the Elysee ( Malc said, what with the President?) when actually in the Depeche  it said a bull called Elysee was going to Paris! Malc says some would say there is an ass in the Elysee, why not a bull?  Beginning to think there is an ass at Mas del Sol, and this time it is not Malcolm l!
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Piggies go to Paris

"Les p'tits noirs sont en route pour Paris" So says the Depeche with a picture of two big black pigs and lots of little uns. Yesterday a local Farmer was loading up his " blondes" white pigs and they are all  off to the Salon D' Agriculture in Paris.  Malc saw cows arriving this  morning on the news. All these animals are going to compete in competitions to be " Champions of France" in their breeds. I have just heard it is the 50th Salon International and it was the first item on French news,
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2nd Anniversary of CHCH quake and loss of friends and home and gus the cat

 Ann writes from New Zealand
Hard day today.   To look to the future at times is quite frightening  but so many friends  lost their future so to go on is not only for yourself but for those who did not make it.    My proposed journey is also for Donna,Jo and Joanna and Murray  who were all Francophiles and perished in the Canterbury Television Building building.

Val you ask about me.

72 years old.
Born in Coventry on night of the blitz on Coventry Hospital 09.04.41.    Born under the table
at 2.10am.     Is there not a sycronicity that 70years later I spent a lot of time under a table during the hundreds of aftershocks from that the first massive quake of 4th Sept 2010 - it took me at least five seconds to realise that it was an earthquake.   I also thought that the initial quake was  it, nothing had prepared most of us for the fact that we would racked by 12,000 plus aftershocks, some of them major events in themselves.

I arrived in NZ with my parents and an older sister,Margaret and brother Christopher(the only survivor of triplets).   One of my fathers sisters had married a member of the RNZAF and arrived in NZ as a war bride.   Her glowing reports of life and opportunities in NZ fired my father, not so sure about Mum.     We arrived in 1947 and lived in Auckland but my mother was seriously ill and died at a relatively young age of 38 ( I was 12+).   I took over the role of homemaker and longed to train as a Psychiatrist but eventually trained as a Psychaiatric Nurse and then travelled to the UK and trained as a forensic Psychiatric Social Worker.     Since then I have spent roughly half my life in UK and half in NZ and have worked in people related work.   In my latter years I worked for an MP as his social worker and then with the Schizophrenia Fellowship supporting sufferers and their families and advocating for changes.    My last salaried position was with young adults with an intellectual disability training them to live as independently as possible with support in the community.   I also was chairperson of a voluntary organisation  'Your Studio Trust' working with Art to enable youngsters with an intellectual or mental health issue to express themselves with Art.

That is an abridged version of 50+ years and gives some idea of why I relate to and feel part of what you are doing with Tag on Lines and your work for the children in Mali and animals in the Tarn and all this in a part of France that I fell in  love with  - especially Ingres and Montauban.

I am so looking forward to meeting with you.

Take care and love

Ann

 Val says We will take you once again to the Ingres Musuem in Montauban and have a nice lunch out into the bargain.
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Thursday, 21 February 2013

Fred Flintstone was more intelligent than us, yabadabado Wilma.

Prehistoric man was more intelligent than us, according to research coming from Stanford University in America. PESTICIDES  and a sedentary lifestyle are to blame. In the Depeche is a picture of a lovely donkey with the headline "L'homme deviendrait de plus en plus bete"  Yet another story about PESTICIDES, I am not just trying to make my point, these stories are there in the news around the world.
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Do you know what would make my day?

Further down in TAG are two old, blokey cats, nothing special to look at, well in fact downright disreputable, the look we all get as we get older. If we could through TAG rehome these two I will then say TAG can perform miracles.Come on someone make my day, think about having Mickey or Norman.
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Elly Wright contributes a picture for Africa

http://www.ellywrightart.com
A Traveller's Dream

Profile Elly Wright
Paintings about Africa
These paintings are in acylic on canvas. The Traveller's Dream measures 90x90cm and Medina 72x61cm. They were both sold a few years ago. They formed part of a whole series of work inspired by travels through North Africa.
About my work
My work is a response to  my surroundings; travel  and both locations where I work, in Oaks Park on the outskirts of London and in a converted stable in rural South West France, offer ample opportunity to observe and experience flowers, seedheads, weeds and leaves, but also soak up the atmosphere and be immersed in the wider landscape.
Never truly representational, my paintings are both traces and re-interpretations of the impressions accumulated in my memory. I am moved by colour, shape and pattern, all elements which might kick-start a new piece of work, which is then allowed to follow its own direction. I find colour very seductive and I use it to introduce an emotional dimension, to express or emphasize a mood, but also purely for its sensual pleasure.
About myself
Born in Amsterdam, I was introduced at a very young age to museums and galleries by my grandfather. Early exposure to such artists as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Miro, van Gogh and Mondriaan developed my passion for painting. I have lived in Britain for many years and for more than 20 years also in South West France. I studied painting and drawing at the City Literature Institute, London and obtained a BA Honours in Visual Art from Chelsea college of Art and Design, London.
In addition to pursuing personal concerns in my paintings, I undertake commissions and have created work for private clients in UK, France and the Netherlands. I also have a special interest in making work in response to a particular location, such as the Brixton Lido, or Tentazione, a trendy restaurant in London's Docklands area. I regularly exhibit in UK and SW France and more recently in the USA and Norway.
Further infromation and examples of my work can be found on my website http://www.ellywrightart.com
and also on the site of Art en France http://www.art-en-france.eu/ellywright.html
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Spiced Cuisine are honoured!

Can you please post this on TAG on-line, as a response to Jacqui & Francis Suckling’s post:-
 “Spiced Cuisine are both honoured and delighted that for the third time we were asked, to provide the food for the Rotary Club Charity Function. We are extremely pleased to hear that the evening was a huge success and that such a worthy cause was so well attended.
 We hope that ‘TAG on-line’ readers will take the opportunity to order our food for delivery at the dvd/book exchange at St Antonin Noble Val on 4th March, for details see our website – www.smc-cuisine.com.”
 Thank you
 Sara & Sharon
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Ann Heeley on the Hawfinch

Yes! They do frequent the Tarn et Garonne area. We have had several in our garden at Marsac. Picture attached if you can spot him in the tree!  Val says click on the picture for a bigger image and the little blighter is there I promise, thanks Ann.
Sent by Ann Heeley
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Mickey and Norman from Chats de Quercy

Dear Val,
Your details have been passed to me from Jan Bentley-Cox in Septfonds, so please forgive my intrusion.
Jan mentioned that you have some kind of interent advertising board that we could perhaps use for the charity?
At present we are looking to place 2 older cats that are in good health, but it saddens us to see them in our enclosures (as with all of our adoption cats!) when all they wish for is a sunny spot to sleep, good food and a loving home, I have attached photos, both are neutered, FIV/FeLV negative, vaccinated and microchipped.  Norman is about 14 years old and Mickey about 10.
We are also looking for temporary dry and clean storage space to stock items given to the charity for resale.
Please email me if you need anymore information, and thank you in advance.
Lynn STONE


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