You must be out there somewhere?!! 2 great gals.........looking for 2 great guys, enjoy laughter, dinners out and in, exploring what France and the world has to offer are like minded and sociable, not looking for George Clooney (unfortunately he is taken!!!) who are independent and lived some life. 58 plus, and think the best is yet to come!!! Only genuine gents need apply.
I just scanned this thread and find it quite funny.
Brian, How do you know any of the photos are actually the person? Do we now need not only photos but a certified photo? If so maybe you’ve in France too long 
Vic, I think you should remove your Rayban’s. Only Bono is allowed to wear sunglasses all the time.
Maybe Lynne is a black square and you’re being black squarist.
Try to drive Vic insane! Many have tried, sadly none survived the attempts ;-)
Tried again it just says uploading and a wheel thing goes round and never stops..........given up for now.......cleaning house as have been out for whole week-end try again later.
How come you have got a picture of me Vic!!!!!!!!!???????????? Just tried and it says if this keeps occurring trying another photo.......?
Just go to "Settings" on the right hand side of your page Lynne and contact one of our friendly helpful admins if you get stuck! x
I am quite enjoying this, I had better stop looking at all the messages as I will never get anything done!! I think you are what you are in your mind. I am 61 and not over the hill I can tell you!! I don't intend to be EVER over the hill!! I climb on my sit on like John Wayne and mow the lawns, prune trees and drag em over into the woods, it takes me a day to clean the house, do that, work, shop, wash car, iron, garden (with a little help of my dear Patrick my French surrogate son, as I call him, who is an angel, who trims for me on a Monday through the summer and helps me do bits I can't, like empty the gutters etc another reason for having man!!), I walk the dogs daily, feed 'em and my 3 gorgeous tabby cats, have dinner parties, meet my friends, swim etc cook daily for my animal family and me, dogs eat what I eat mixed with their biscuits, and still find time to talk to English pals till 4 plus in the a.m. when a problem occurs. They have very probably had their ears bent already! Paint my toes and my hand nails, and look in the mirror and pretend I can't see the wrinkles, but, am beginning to get quite attached to those as well.........character!! Which remind sme of something I read in a readers digest once, 2 pals having lunch, the one woman says to the other, "darling you are getting rather a lot of wrinkles you know" " oh they are not wrinkles" the friend said "they are laughter lines", the friend looked at her and said "darling nothing is THAT funny"!!! On that note I will leave you....hope you are smiling!
I loathe photo's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never looks anything like you unless you are Kate Moss.
OH GOD if it will shut you all up how do it do it!!
@ Lynne - Well done Lynne - sounds like a great start. And go on, DO put a photo up - SFN is all the better for the photos AND it will shut Vic up (always a bonus) :)
@Vic - yes, I think a Dear Vic thread is a brilliant idea. Go for it!
Shirley don't get me wrong, I am very lucky and have met lots of great people here, but, mostly with families and partners, that is the only thing missing for me. I too have in my hamlet various French families who are so lovely I can't tell you. They pop in as they did yesterday 2 of the ladies to show me a doll they had bought at an antique market, and, as I know a little about antiques was able to give them an idea of what the doll would fetch, so 100 Euros made!! They invite me Christmas eve if my son or others not here, I go occasionally to Church with one of them, and, they too all have grand children which are lovely to hear squealing and playing in the summer sun, who come over and say hello to my dogs, or ride up the lane on their bikes and have a chat. One of my closest friends is French, we are hoping my son and her daughter might over time get it together!! Mothers eh!! She and I go shopping on a Saturday and have lunch afterwards etc. Other friends dotted here and there, some I met the first week here, who I am very found of, and others who have just sold their restaurant who are just the sweetest of couples........others I have girlie evenings with, like you I am a social animal. Got back from our lunch today and my neighbour who has just become a Marie who is charming popped in as his land borders mine and had a coffee, so no I am not in the slightest bit lonely just missing someone to "do" for and love is poss and laugh with. I do realise you have to first be friends, which to me is the most important bit and a real foundation for relationships so looking to start there. Maybe I worded the whole thing wrongly in the first place......but still think it will happen as you say when you least expect it, so although may sound otherwise, quite laid back about it really, but if you don't go out, they won't come and knock on your door as they say....so although work Mon - Fri 9 - 5 now trying to drag myself out and about. I was told off by my son for not going out enough, and, when I told my pals here they agreed, so now not taking no for an answer!! As I say to my pal and to you Meg, (you do sound so sweet by the way), cheer up, it will happen, it is just round the corner so chin up and just enjoy the moments right now......don't panic Mr Mannering!!! xx
Meg Hi Lynne here.......today my pal and I went out for lunch, after that we went just up the road to the golf club, to our delight loads of people, tournament just about to start. French, Dutch but mostly UK ex-pats, who instantly welcomed us, which was really kind. I am looking to re-kindle my long ago started relationship with golf, so, advice of start with a few lessons and go from there was given. Within moments of our arrival after ordering our after lunch coffee, we were "taken in" by wives, husbands and singles telephone numbers exchanged with wives etc etc. Tonight they have a barbeque and live music going on...and apparently have lots of social events all year round we did leave after about an hour there as, frankly, we were a little tired due to heat, and, eating and, my pal has a little way to drive home (about half an hour from me), so we journeyed home. My point being is there a golf club near you, you can just go to the events if you prefer? You just might be pleasantly surprised as we were today!! Happy hunting!!
Véro, your 'one sauce for the goose and another for the gander' comment hits the nail exactly on the head. Nobody is being accused of anything. If there are sensitivities it may be because comments are being taken personally and nobody, myself included, has accused anybody of anything. To repeat myself, these are opinions and also mentioning 'possibilities'. It is hardly something people in the admin group will advertise from the rooftops, but there are some things we have to think about and whilst they are dealt with as discretely as possible it would be beyond anybody's wildest imagination that everything happens in a perfect world. Using that kind of experience over nearly 66 years including on this network, to acknowledge that there are things other than perfect in the world is all that is intended. I think, Meg, you are now getting a number of excellent suggestions back for you. That does not stop me not feeling less than comfortable with the original post by Lynne and the lengthy response back to others' responses now reread disturbs me somewhat.
I found these in Carquefou - but I expect you know all about them. You may of course not need IT lessons but it would be a way of meeting people & you could help them which might in turn make you feel better about life. I do think that as Vic says getting out & meeting French people would help even if it seems daunting at first.
Cyber Seniors
Le club cyber seniors accueille les personnes âgées de Carquefou pour des cours d’informatique. Ces cours proposent deux niveaux. Le 1er niveau se compose de 8 cours, les lundis de 14h à 16h30 et le
2ème niveau en 9 cours, les lundis de 9h30 à 12h30. Les inscriptions se font au CCAS de Carquefou.
18, rue Jules Verne – 44470 Carquefou
Tél. : 02 28 22 20 10
Horaire d’ouverture de 9h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h
Espace d’écoute et d’échanges pour seniors
L’Espace d’écoute et d’échange pour seniors est un lieu de rencontres convivial, pour les personnes âgées de Carquefou, qui vous accueille autour d’un petit-déjeuner tous les mardis matins entre 10h et 12h et le vendredi une fois sur deux de 15h à 17h.
Se renseigner auprès du CCAS de Carquefou
18, rue Jules Verne – 44470 Carquefou
Horaire d’ouverture de 9h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h
Tél : 02 28 22 20 00
Gym Bien être – Qi Gong – pour entretenir le corps et l’esprit des seniors
Le Qi gong est une gymnastique douce d’origine chinoise qui est adaptée aux personnes âgées. Elle comporte des séries de mouvements lents pratiqués debout. Elle présente de nombreux bienfaits pour la santé et donc pour stimuler l’autonomie des seniors.
Association Esprit de Corps
Espace Jules Verne - 8, rue Jules Verne – 44470 Carquefou
Le vendredi de 14h15 à 15h15
Ah. Well I'm afraid all I can suggest is a look at those sites I put links to and using a filter to find people who speak English. You could ask at the Mairie & neighbouring communes' mairies if there are English people your age around and get in touch with them... I don't know, bridge or something. I'm sure lots of people play bridge, I love it myself, the chatty sort not the looking daggers because you bid 2 spades and made 3 sort.
I do think that if you are looking for close friendship the way is to start with acquaintances who become friends then close friends, bearing in mind some will never be more than acquaintances - I'd run a mile if someone just met me & said "Let's be close friends" straight away because I'd feel it's a bit invasive & OTT, I think friendship grows organically, but that of course is just me.
I've got my admin hat on now because I think people are being a bit sensitive, I have looked carefully at the whole of this thread to find who called whom distasteful and I think there is a bit of getting the wrong end of the stick going on: Brian mentioned 'outmoded and distasteful pursuits' which I took to mean a sexist 'one sauce for the goose and another for the gander' attitude; NOT anyone here and certainly not any sort of accusation concerning anyone here or their personal habits.
Oh, sorry. I didn't realise you had family close by as you'd said you were alone. How about swimming or something like that? Does your daughter not have friends who have parents? Lots of older people here seem to do all sorts of stuff that I (as a still-working person with a family) can only dream of! You are a year older than my mother but I can't ask her for advice because she's been in a coma for the past 6 years and before that hasn't known who I am since she was about 55 because of Pick's disease.
This debate has become acrimonious and difficult - all from a post asking to meet people and have a few outings together.
Photo/no photo doesn't worry too much on SFN, but I believe internet dating sites do suggest strongly that profiles with photos are more likely to get responses.
I thought Lynne's initiative was brave, honest and forthright - good for her.
Many of us live alone, have long passed their 40s and 50s or are divorced - many others have various problems with the language and want an English speaking partner.
Fortunately my French is better than good after living here for 20+ years and I have an extended family so my social life is fairly wide with my daughters' in-laws and other French friends. However meeting people and developing deeper relationships can be difficult when we arrive at a 'certain age'.
La Mayenne is unknown to more than half the population of France, although many people drive through on their way to La Bretagne or to destinations further South.
Aand it's a long way from the popular places that Brits pick when they try to establish a new home in La Belle France.
Could I ask that people acknowledge Lynne's initiative and avoid arguements.
I seem to recall an attempt to organise a "dating" system for singles on SFN, but it doesn't seem to have been very active or successful.
I know. It's a difficult one.