droopsnout's Qype profile

Poupas is a small village in the Lomagne, just inside the Tarn-et-Garonne county of SW France.

St Christopher's is its parish church.

The church dates from the second half of the 15th century, but has been modified on numerous occasions, notably in the 18th century. Its architect and builder remain unknown.

The south chapel, the present sacristy, was built in the 18th century. The north chapel was demolished in the 19th century.

It is built of local stone, known as "moellon", or rubble stone, and has been rendered. Some of this render is peeling off, revealing the much more beautiful original stone. Apparently, the authorities plan to chip away all the render, which will certainly improve the look of the building.

It has a bell-wall typical of this region, with three bells. The bells ring on the hour and half-hour, and this is programmed and operated automatically. There are special rings in advance of a mass or funeral. The angelus is rung at noon and 7pm.

The building has not been classified a "Monument Historique".

Following section added 4 October 2010 ...

As I write, the bell-wall of the church has been stripped of its concrete render, revealing a very attractive original construction in stone and Toulouse brick. The use of brick is unusual in the bell-walls of this area.

The masons are now pointing the stonework. When finished, it should look very good!

Great value grub for the working man, but suitable for everyone who likes decent food.

That's what Le Petit Robinson offers those who find its unassuming front door.

Take the road to Lauzerte and Cahors out of Valence d'Agen, and when you come to the village of Lalande, this unprepossessing establishment will appear on your left. Just after it on the left is a small car park, but feel free to park French-style on the opposite verge.

Once inside, a bustling standard of service will quickly ask if you'd like soup. The waitress (always been a female so far!) will give you a spoken list of choices for each course, and you make your choice.

You'll notice a wide range of customers, from groups of workmen chatting earnestly about the political situation of the latest rugby results, to couples and families calling in for a good-value and filling meal.

The cuisine is "traditionelle" - hearty home cooking - and for your 11,75€ you'll get soup, a buffet starter, a main course, an extensive cheese board (we counted eight cheeses last time) and a dessert. Oh, and your wine's included too. Of course.

You will have to pay a little extra for your coffee, though.

You won't begrudge it!

August 2010: Edited to add the following.

Some time ago, ownership of this restaurant changed, and I have been back twice since then. Sadly, the food is no longer of the same standard. We do not go there any more.

A few days ago I used Norfolk Line for the third time. My previous crossing was with LD Lines, but we are frequent and long-time users of cross-Channel ferries.

We have come to use Norfolk Line as our first-choice operator, because they have excellent ships, good facilities and very helpful and polite staff.

Their prices are excellent- I paid £19 for our single crossing, for car and passengers. The last time we used them, we paid about £22, and were so pleased with the good deal that we opted to eat in the resturant rather than the cafeteria.

We hope to do so again this last time, but the restaurant was closed for refurbishment - a common event during the winter when the ships are less busy.

So we ate in the cafeteria, and to our surprise the meal was both generous in quantity and good in quality. My wife asked for chicken and was given two full legs. Portions of vegetables were very large. Service was attentive and prompt.

We will certainly use this company again, as they are the only thing that comes close to SpeedFerries - except the relaxing journey and the facilities make the crossing even more enjoyable.

I visited this restaurant as one of a group of four friends. We decided very quickly to have the "banquet" offered at £16.50 per person (drinks extra).

I have rarely, if ever, enjoyed such great value for money. There was more food than we could eat, and it was cooked and presented to an extremely high standard.

Whilst we waited for our soup, prawn crackers and a dip were brought to the table. After the soup, a wide selection of starter dishes was served, all mouth-watering in appearance and totally delicious. This was followed by four main course dishes to which we all helped ourselves. Again, these were truly excellent.

Desserts were less exciting, but in truth we had little room left. All four of us ordered small ice creams, and we were asked what coffees we would like, from a rather limited selection.

Sadly, the coffees were served at the same time as the desserts, and this detracted slightly from the enjoyment of the meal. The espressos were like treacle - poor; two of us had "floater" coffees (a name surely badly chosen!) and these were very good.

One other criticism is that we felt that the meal was served too fast, but we acknowledge that we are more used to eating out in France, where the customer prefers to be far less rushed, perhaps because of the two-hour lunch break and the time regularly taken over evening meals by families. But we felt rather too hurried, and wished for more time between courses just to chat and let our groaning stomachs recover somewhat before the next assault.

Had the timing and coffee/dessert issues been more to our taste, I would have awarded five stars. I can't wait to go back, but next time will ask the staff to slow down the delivery of the meal.

This pub has changed hands since the previous reviews, after the last tenants appear to have emptied the place and done a flit!

I haven't been there since the new tenants took over, but their advertising by the roadside shows that they are looking to promote the place to a wide public.

The Radcliffe is a seaside guest house which offers comfortable accommodation and excellent meals just 200 yards from the beach at Bridlington, and 100 yards from the town centre.

Ideally placed for both north and south beaches, and the harbour, the hotel offers en-suite facilities in some rooms, and basic facilities for others. There are five guest rooms, newly double-glazed, and each with colour TV and tea and coffee making facilities.

There is a residents' lounge bar, with a good selection of drinks, and games such as Scrabble, dominoes and cards, should the heavens open.

Prices range from £20 to £30 person per night, including full English breakfast.

Edited to add that the owners work hard to make stays enjoyable, for instance by offering parking permits, and in their hospitality. I have very much enjoyed my stays here!

Excellent country pub in fairly urban outskirts of Doncaster.

Friendly, warm atmosphere, with a mainly middle-aged to older clientèle. Excellent good-value meals, though the sweet and sours didn't match the standard of other dishes.

Fairly traditional pub style meals, though always something a little different. Check the blackboard for daily specials.

Good, honest, reliable cooking at affordable prices.

As we were leaving this hotel, there was a chap going round taking photos. I hope he was connected to the hotel owners (Louvre Hotel group) and that it presages a much-needed refurbishment.

Lovely big bed, which was comfortable. Very big bathroom. But oh, so tired in appearance, and I felt not altogether hygienic. The same group own Première Classe hotels, which are supposedly more down-market, but all the PC hotels I have stayed in have been better than this Campanile.

My advice is to stay clear and find an alternative. The hotel is conveniently situated, but so are others.

I can find little to recommend it, to be honest.

I will preface this review by saying that I was lucky enough to benefit from a special Campanile deal offering a night's accommodation for just £1.

At that price, I can hardly be too critical, but the fact is that this hotel was tired and in need of refurbishment.

A question arises about why Campanile made this special offer. Presumably, it is to encourage new clients to try them out with a view to encouraging them to stay again with the chain. But my experience here was off-putting, and a poor ad for the company.

The bedding was clean, and the bed itself large and comfortable. But I didn't like entering the room from the car park, nor the fact that wet shoes were inevitably trailed all over the floor.

Tea and coffee were provided for making drinks, but just two tea bags and two coffee sachets per day. A bit miserly, I thought. Of course, there was a packet of two biscuits each (two persons).

The bathroom door wouldn't shut properly, which could be a touch embarrassing. And, speaking of loos, why do Campanile never provide a loo brush? And why skimp on grotty loo roll?

Campanile belongs to the same group as the French Première Classe chain, but in truth, this hotel was worse than some of the Première Classe hotels I have stayed in. Yet PC is in theory more downmarket than Campanile, charging from 35 to 45 euros a night, compared to around £50 for the Basildon Campanile (though you can find it cheaper if you're lucky or flexible about your dates).

Oh, and don't arrive at a festive time of year without your mobile. There's no-one at Reception, but a small notice on the door asking you to ring a number "in emergency". I eventually decided that my sleep was indeed an emergency, and fortunately had my mobile with me, so rang the number.

Would I go back?

Only if there was a very good deal!