NFG

Make the rest... I like that, Im about to get my fermented plums which should distil to about 20litres of Eau de Vie soon, for an outrageous 3 euros a litre. Dont think it will taste anywhere near like a malt, but its great for preserving fruit & making Pineau by mixing 1:5 with white wine and adding fruit of choice.

Hello, I rather like Jura but not tried Superstition - must give it a go if I can find some here.

Hello mdt Your soil looks quite heavy, perhaps some horse manure may help break it down a bit - nice compact tractor btw, Iseki? Good luck with your plot, it looks very good size! N

Hi, Look no further than iSkysoft media converter, iSkysoft | Video Converter, Video Downloader, DVD Burner Im sure you'll find something that suits, Ive used it for a while & is excellent on a Mac Pro with 12Gb ram, but there are Windows versions for PCs as well. N

& some very nice veg too, well done! N

Couldn't agree more, unfortunately there is always going to be the argument that seeds can be engineered to be disease resistant & grow in drought areas, but they will almost certainly be engineered to produce seeds that dont grow. Its a big money spinner & I dare say that one day it will bite us in the arse.

The new ones are a crappy design in my opinion, despite checking they are secure I have twice emptied bar oil over my leg & once emptied petrol. If there was a way of getting rid of them & fitting proper screw tops they'd have been in the bin on day one. N

Hello, We have a fairly decent veg patch, we grow lettuce, leeks, parsnips, butternut squash, peas, broad beans, harricot vert & jaune, pomme de terre - potatoes & courgettes, tomatoes. We also have a lot of plum, some apple & pear trees. Our climate is well suited for growing it does get very hot and dry in summer but the soil seems to hold the water well. We dont buy much seed & try to avoid F1 hybids unless there is no alternative, I think preserving seed stock is a really good idea, GM & F1 would eventually kill it off. We allow plants to seed & dry them out then store for next year, some seed such as lettuce we just throw it on the ground, as opposed to fiddling around with compost & pots, then we prick out the strongest & plant them in rows. Its all a matter of experimenting to see what grows best, last year we tried peas for the first time which grew 2 metres high with thousands so were still on the pea soup (parp!) Tomatoes were better the previous year, but our neighbours let us help ourselves when they were away for a week because if you dont pick them they stop producing. So if you can swap your surplus with a friend or neighbour it helps when one crop fails. We also try and plant by the moon, because this affects the water table & hence the success of the plants, yes, I don't mind if you laugh, but it really works. We don't use chemicals apart from Bordeaux mix which is organic on the trees. So its a matter of experimenting, theres nothing like it for taste et bon chance et bon courage! N

Hello all, Thank you for all the replies so far, I appreciate your postings & although it may not get a huge amount of work a larger saw, 460 or 572 or similar will be very useful for bigger wood, reliability is important so Id rather have a larger saw and not use it to its limit. As we live near the Mervent forest at worst, it will have some kudos with our neighbours who seem to have collections of them! N

Agree entirely, it takes about 5 charge/discharge cycles before full capacity achieved dependant on battery and charger. if less than the design use is not achieved after that I would consult the manufacturer for support. N

Hello, i have an MS250 with an 18" bar mainly for firewood, we buy in 1 & 2 metre sticks between about 4" & 12" diameter 2 or 3 stere mixed hardwood & 8 stere oak per year. Firstly, I intend to fit a smaller bar to the 250, its a nice saw IMO, well balanced, powerful & cuts very well with a sharp chain, a 22" elm is the largest ive felled & it cut well through that. Whilst I'm an amateur here, Ive about 30 years experience & use the appropriate safety clothing, trousers, steel boots, gloves & arm protection. However, Im thinking a larger saw would handle large oak easier. Oak being fairly tough seems to blunt the .325 chain which stretches most when cutting oak - or so it appears to me. So would a 391 with 18 or 20 inch bar do the job for the larger rings? or should I save & get a 460 or have I been watching too many Utube videos? (ive also looked at similar posts) Your thoughts & comment appreciated, so thanks in advance N

hello, Hate to disappoint, but whisky ages in the cask, not the bottle. However it may go up in value with age as the stock diminishes & hence becomes scarce to acquire. N

Hello, The smell of TCP is distinctive of Islay whiskies, although some of the Island ones do carry the same aroma. I agree with the other posters that it may well have been Lagavullin, a very peaty, medicinal Islay which I really like. If you want to experiment, search for a whisky flavour map & see where your preferences lie. Other favourites of mine are Talisker (Isle of Skye) Jura - Island, Laphroiag & Ardbeg - Islay, & of the lighter more delicate ones; Glengoine, Dalwhinnie & Auchentoshan are worth a taste. Enjoy

Agreed, I try and avoid the commercialism of Christmas, I prefer the social side & enjoy a drink with friends & neighbours.

Our two, Leon et Tahlulah

Hi, We have got back a long way with our family history, Ancestory is very good but also use local parish records discovered our family name originates from the Vendee, so now know why I always get that home coming feeling crossing the Loire.

Watching slightly mad film, I now pronounce you Chuck & Larry. This morning went to a country fair at L'hermenault probably one of the best in the area, lots of small traders & displays (I know; throwing the dwarf with the pitch fork, taunting the village idiot & guessing the weight of the bearded lady - springs to mind) later picked masses of fruit for jam & Eau de Vie is bubbling away fine, cleaned out the chickens, went to our local bar to discuss plan for assisting some one in our village build his own house. Could really do with some rain none for about 6 weeks now & our well is quite low. Have had quite a lot of friends & family visiting over the summer - C'est tout.

32 too hot? Ill get my coat! its that by ten in the morning here.

Hello, Bonjour, Last year we cycled to St Juire Champgillon, to wait three hours in about 30 degrees, the atmosphere was brilliant, full of expectation, even the Gendarmes seemed happy to be on duty. First the parade of promotions & pretty girls threw promotional goodies to the spectators then support vehicles followed by the lead three, more support & then the pelaton in hot pursuit - Allez! Allez! it seemed all over in a few frenzied minutes but well worth it. C'est tout.

By tractor from the Mervent forest...

Hi, Is this why a 14 year old was rumbled for running a mank blog about school dinners? This takes the somewhat draconian state of affairs regarding interception & RIPA to a new level (IMO). George Orwells book was a warning not a manual, the Internet empowers the average person & Governments dont like that - they lost control if they ever had it and now its catch up time. But please dont give me that 'I have nothing to hide & thus nothing to fear' myth. However, there will always be someone somewhere that will bypass it. https://silentcircle.com/index.php for example N

Hi, Heres our 'outdoor cooker' well sort of, its an old bread oven, which used to supply the entire village with bread, We have re-tiled the oven part & the building is in the process of being restored so will be great once done. N

Hi Good post, watched the pageant this afternoon with our French neighbours - they & many other French are very fond of the Royal Family. We also enjoyed the program narrated by Charles. Also noticed Kate Middleton was wearing HM Submariners Dolphin badge - BZs all round!

Hi Respect for you guys keeping your heads above water in these tough times, Ive worked through quite a few recessions in the past (in a different trade) in 2001 my phone/e-mail in-box for contract work went quiet so I did anything to keep going. You have to work smarter - not harder as you're probably already doing that. I just thought through schemes that would bring me more business like £25 to a client who referred me to some one else for example. I also did some cheap local advertising which worked well & supported a couple of charities with a half page ad in their rag. But dont give up, the struggle may be long but stay focussed & eventually you will triumph. Bon chance N

Hello, We know someone who keeps Quail, I shall ask them for any tips, but theres probably a web site if you Google it N