maude

Wooly Banana,  Methinks you are on the wrong track,  Maude may be depressed but doesn't drink, too many Brits seeing France through the bottom of a glass/bottle of cheap booze, well a little less cheap now with the pound so low!!!!!...     

I understand the dilemma.We are in the same position really but more from the psychologica side.in other words it is much easier knowing the system,in the eventuallity of one death, to be able to cope more satisfactorily etc.coupled with easy access to libraries,bus passes and in most case transport of some form-not available in rural France.Even the health service whilst not being comparabe,is at least free.a major illness or injury here will deplete already depleted income.I wouldnt even go into residential care scenarios.We are currently in this quandry ourselves.Qualityof life here is not what we expected unless drink is a major contribution or partaking of playing some form of games insomeone elses home.not what we came for.The peace and quiet expected is not even forthcoming due to the large numbers of mainly tethered dogs,chainsaws mutilating every tree to make them all look like lepers hands,and cockerells everywhere-why I cannot father as they are in the main non productive.Will hopefully return to Uk suberbia- much quieter,and more facilities.Even the uk council taxes are not all that far ahead of the ever increasing French local taxes,and here there are no facilities generally.just hope to get a reasonable offer onour house to allow an early return back.Not looking for profit just a swap for what we have wasted coming here 6 years ago. C,est la vie. Maude

If its a maison secondaire,no tax allowed back.Maude

Hi Folks .I have a couple of small patches of this efforescense on our kitchen walls.Anyone any ideas on the easy treatment?these are only small patches so dont want to buy at their enormous prices the Brico stores quantities-and they read to be somewhat anti human. Any suggestions welcome.Thanks Maude

We moved to the Vendee in 2003, we provided notes from our GP practice which were cast aside by the Medicin here without a glance. No questions were asked about past history, family history, allergies etc, all is based on blood tests. I posed my concern on websites here but no one else seemed to think this was odd. Our GP here is pleasant enough and speaks quite good English but only wants to know what the blood tests tell him. I think this is part of the French mind-set.

Can anyone with knowledge of a sympathetic dentist,(marathon man practitioners banned) in the Fontenay le Comte,La Chataigneraie area,preferably with a little English spoken, please email us details.direct advertizing-recommendations not allowed. Thanks Maude

Hi Folks just a general query re the above.We have just received our bill for dustbin emptying again.Our close friends live about 5 miles from us and come under a larger town for all taxes.They do not have any bills for this service, it is included in fonciere or habitation.As usual I dont understand why one commune in the same dept is different from another apart from being in France.Any ideas please Maude

Thanks folks for some good suggestions.Sheep and other livestock are out,so dogwoods,eucalyptus etc seem the way to go.Dont want hostas ,cos of the slug attraction.Meanwhile will fit flotation bags to the mower!!! Thanks for the responses Maude

Hi Folks.I have a very damp,always green area of grass,aprox100square metres.this is a pain as the grass grows at the speed of light,and always looks as though it needs cutting.has anyone any ideas what to plant in this area to drink up the excess water and reduce grass cutting.needs to be cheap and labour saving-no ponds,lakes or rice fields.constructive advice most welcome. Maude

Pretty obvious that the Frenchie was as mentioned ealier, up the exhaust of the Brit and also on the wrong side of the white lines!!!!! Some of the newer Renaults have a warning system fitted to warn of the proximity of the white central markings being crossed-we will all be deafenned by these alarms going off.They do seem to have a death wish.The French submarine had obviously turned theirs off.   ex submariner    Maude

We noticed that the French meteo did not warble anything about the expected storm forcast yesterday.Good job we saw it on the Alice website-although obviously couldnt do much about it!! Maude

On the same theme,the local Brico sheds here in Fontenay le Comte seem to be very quiet without the usual Brit east end twang normally heard hereabouts.Maude

hoping for some suggestions on the most successfull way to soundproof a 40mm waste pipe which will have to run thro 2 rooms from a sanibroyer.The pipework will have to be consealed behind a false wall in both rooms but the space is limited in depth to try and keep the dimensions to a minimum.No other way to connect the shower room to the fosse at the oposite end of the house.Thanks for any input,Maude

Not when you have to open a window to shut the stupid things! Should be internal! Maude

Why would the French want or need cats eyes in the road centre-they are always on the wrong side anyway,especially the 79 platers! Maude

 Whats wrong with this place that seems to enjoy firing cars especially at this time of year-and particularly to the East.Are the locals SO bored! Saw on the "Alice" web page, the news of the numbers set alight-a huge increase from the year before.Something seriously wrong between their ears I,m afraid.A sad,sad world.     Maude

Godin spare parts are like rocking horse droppings,and getting them is like abseiling up the Khyber.Suggest a local Metal works and have a piece of 6mm plate cut to dimension.Mine for our Godin cost 8 euros 40 x30cms .Maude

As a very rough guide,can someone please advise on the notaire fees payable by us if we manage to sell our house here in France after 6 years plus-without buying another.i.e either returning to uk or renting.As I said,decision time!  Thanks Maude

The qualifying age is 60,but have to be resident in UK legally at this age to receive the allowance.Thereafter the allowance is paid even if resident in France.I have tried to claim this,but was resident here before age 60 so no can do! Unfair for those who cant claim like us -but those receiving it -good luck!I have thought about puuting in a claim against my human rights but Im not a traveller,illegal immigrant!!!!Maude

Has anyone got a mobile phone with Leclercs sim card and coverage?Seems to be more use to us for emergency use as the credit is valid for 12 months unlike the usual french systems.Just interested at this stage as to suitability and the coverage.   Maude

Do they carry a spade in case of the need to do a number 2 ! Sums it up! Maude

To continue with this saga,it was very very aparent that basically the French do not want mains drainage anyway cos of the increased water bills for the sewage treatment!however they were at the public meeting only  interested in the possibility of compensation should their land be crossed or interfered with,should a drainage system be  instigated.At this very moment our elderly cross road neighbours have their twice a week friends visiting.I mention this cos the first thing the male does after exiting his car is to pee against the garage wall in view of any or all.The same thing happens when leaving!!! Shows the very French mentality and or culture!At least it saves the householder at least a minute percentage of centimes in a couple of wasted flushes of the bog.   Maude

yes Tigwini.here in the SE corner of the Vendee the whole commune has about95% "condemnation"of the existing fosses.However none of the French habitants seem to be the slightest bit interested,nor are they complying with even the routine emptying of the fosses!We have been told on the grapevine not to do anything as there "may" be some form of financial assistance,and also this being France-things could change.Even the agents we are trying to sell our house with ,to move area, have advised us not to do anything whatsoever.It appears at the few public meetings that have been held in the area,that not many French have the money or inclination to upgrade their systems with the usual shrug and  many -Alors,donc.mais oui,etc etc.Methinks another revolution may be coming!!!!!Maude.   With all this in mind,another query has arisen in my pea size brain.We have a small douche and wc in the end we do not use except for the very occasional visitor.This currently discharges via sanibroyer into the street storm drains.The only way to divert this, to the fosse at the opposite end of what was 2 houses,is to trench out and bury the discharge hose on the road side.What are the normes regarding external soil pipes on the facade?There is no other way.as our house only has one external wall for us,the other wall is adjoining our voisins.Dont think they would welcome a soil pipe running through their kitchen and bathroom.

Second fix Ernie-thanks.However I am getting a flash up message on desktop-Error-this service is not available at this time!I just cancel it and carry on-but puzzling.Maude

Thanks ErnieY I now have device manager!!!!maude