Richard51

RH - I believe that at the time the issue of perjury charges against the parents was raised but the possibility was dismissed.  I am trying to recall the article -but it referred to a number of other high profile cases where next of kin had lied under oath to protect the defendant but no charges had ever been pressed.   The interviewee seemed to suggest that testimonies of next of kin were taken 'with a pinch of salt'. Mrs R51

Rather inconsistent with other recent cases:  viz the parents of Gary Dobson and David Norris (the two recently convicted of killing Stephen Lawrence) both committed perjury in circumstances that were far more serious but no charges are to be brought....

Tesco have consistently been flagged as the worst offender.  If more of us looked at our ethics and morals when shopping the world might be a better place.  Many people who move to France cite the local markets, local shops, the less 'corporate and greedy ethos' as a factor - yet we created that environment in the UK by the need for 'quick, cheap and easy' - regardless of the price paid by others for our convenience.

Use of child labour, selling goods produced by illegal settlements in the West Bank, mis-labelling produce, aggressive tactics and bribery re planning consents..  http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=21&query=Tesco

Personally, I would never shop at Tesco as they are one of the most unethical supermarkets. Mrs R51

Sorry, can't keep out of this "discussion", even though can't get to the link. I'm very unhappy to say that I'm retiring this year (i.e 3 weeks)  from the public sector and can say "I'm alright Jack! - as far as pensions are concerned anyway". Given my obvious age I can remember the old adage - "if you can - do - otherwise teach!" I think that this was right  at the time but times do change and its not now appropriate. Teaching is now a sought after profession and well rewarded in comparison to equivalent professions/levels in the private sector. This was not the case when the adage was first used but certainly is now. Norman - I think that you are really venting your feeling for the lower paid in the public service. I would think that the higher paid in the public sector, at the level of teachers and above, haven't a leg to stand on now in terms of comparison with the private sector. However, I think the same argument now applies to the lower paid. Even the lower paid are better off than the equivalent private sector employees - for example care assistants in the NHS are infinitely better off than those in the private sector who are on zero hours contracts and at the whim of the care home "managers". Keeping excessively higher rewards for public sector employees is not acceptable - in my opinion. This applies throughout the whole spectrum of  work types. I base my comments on personal experience at the "higher" end, but with observations with colleagues, who are colleagues, at the "lower" end.  I'm not particularly having a go at the teaching profession - I was one once! In conclusion - this strike on Wednesday is totally indefensible and unacceptable and should be seen for what its worth - keeping highly paid union officials in a job!!. Mr R51

You mean you aren't all referred to to as 'les anglais'?!?

I find the poster with the swastika very offensive for obvious reasons. I'm aware that Germany and France are just looking after themselves, but it does mean that they (and others) will be paying for the past ridiculous salaries of Greek government employees!

Rose - you are only just out of the crib!

2,587,777,515 - just hit 60 but I'm the youngster so far! The ramifications of this explosion in population is far from amusing however. I fear for my 3 kids in 20 to 30 years time. I (sorry we) wanted them and felt that we could afford  to bring them up without recourse to the state. Unfortunately this doesn't apply to all families!

Don't read your notes - use bullet-points.

[quote user="sweet 17"]So, does anyone know what the rate of inflation has been, for the last 5 years?[/quote] Inflation - on houses?  About minus 15%...[Www]

Bump

Well said Chris. Mrs R51

Good grief, Frenchie, you don't honestly admire a pi11ock like DSK do you?   At least other women are forewarned.....  Mrs R51

I wonder if anyone can help out?  We have a 5 bed property in NE Dordogne (near Cubjac) and are looking for someone to look after the cleaning and hand overs for us.  We currently have someone who does this but we have had a series of complaints about the standard of cleaning.  Having visited the house unexpectedly ourselves we can attest that the complaints are well founded. If anyone can recommend someone to us - we would be grateful.  As an aside most of our renters are French so someone with reasonable spoken French would be preferred. Mrs R51

The rates offered by CurrencyFair are better than, say, Hifx (which is listed as offering the best rates by moneysavingexpert) - certainly for amounts up to £5,000.  There are also no fees on smaller transfers which (with Hifx for example) can make a big hole in your transfer.  The only disadvantage for me is that you have to transfer funds into your CurrencyFair account before you can buy.  This transfer into your CF account can take from several hours to a few days during which time the rate could move against you.  Mrs R51

The recommended rate of pay for gardening (according to urssaf's cesu rates) is ~ €10 per hour (+ the 47% cotisations, of course).  This is the amount we pay our gardener (a neighbour) to cut the lawns for us (we pay him via cesu and provide all equipment).  The €10 is labour only so if you're using a self employed gardening contractor you would have to pay more to cover the cost of their equipment travel etc.  Labour is extremely expensive in France; the minimum wage is high and the cotisations etc are the highest in Europe.  (This is why we always advise businesses not to locate in France unless there is no alternative.)

[quote user="The Riff-Raff Element"] But I wouldn't disagree with anything else you've got to say. Sarko & Merkel are well aware, I imagine, of how precarious the banks are in their respective domains and are just trying to brazen it out by being all statesmenlike while hoping desperately that improvements in the economic landscape (particularly in PIIGS) appear in time to save their bacon. The three card trick is all very well at dog tracks, but I'm not sure it can be reliably applied to national economies. Guess we'll find out  [:D] [/quote] Riff-Raff & breizh - I completely agree with you and have been saying this on here for a while (as Mrs R51, Scooby and Hastobe)

There has, of course, to be a gain before CGT / PV is of any consequence....  For us, we envisage it may (possibly) be relevant in circa 2020.... Mrs R51

The maximum sentence in Norway is 21 years - with release usually after 14.  The aim in Norwegian prisons is for rehabilitation and release back into the community.  The reason that he gave himself up rather than killed himself is that, as the defendant, he is entitled to his 'time' in court to defend / explain himself.  He wants this platform.  This is why there has been a request from Norwegians for the media not to add oxygen to his fire and to not report on anything he says. Btw - what's with the obsession with Freemasons - this was all about neo-fascist extremist views - hence the killler's choice of 'venue'. Mrs R51

You're not thinking of Duffy are you RH?  (She's Welsh though, not Irish) Mrs R51

Our (Canon) printer in France ran out of ink cartridges - priced them up in Carrefour etc €60 for a full set.  Bought them on-line from a UK supplier when back in the UK for less than a tenner (Canon branded).

My information came from my Norwegian friend who lives in Oslo and whose children had attended the same camp in previous years.  She knew the parents of the killer and lost people she knew in the massacre. Mrs R51

Not bought in France at all but upgraded our home here in the UK. Mrs R51