Swissie
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Posts posted by Swissie
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Iceni I never for 1 minute imagined I was included, despite living in England for the majority of my adult life. What proportion is 'nearly all' in your view? 90%? I have met some pretty nasty people in the UK, but the great majority of those I met, in many parts of England and from an extremely wide social and cultural background - have been great people in their own way. What difference does it make to say 'I hate most of the people who live in Iceland' or 'the majority of those who live in Iceland'? (I've never been to Iceland and don't know any Icelanders).
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Careful, we know where you are! Is your method totally 'kosher'? Is the taxman stupid - half of -30% = incredible bargain, no?
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Agreed. Sadly many who buy very cheap also waste a lot. My sil buys a free-range chicken for his little family, but he makes sure every bit is used. Always enough for a fricassée with veg the next day - then boil carcass and bones for stock for a rissoto and freezes it. 10000s of 2 for 1 chickens get thrown away.
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Where abouts are you moving to? A friend of mine is moving from your area to Haute Savoie - and she might well be interested in a part load, perhaps.
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It seems to be very common for purchasers to say they are a 'cash' buyer, and therefore ask for a substantial drop in price for a quick and hassle free sale. We actually got our solicitor to check his credentials. We had several interested buyers haggling, claiming they were 'cash' buyers with nothing to sell- which turned out to be nothing but lies. We did eventually sell to a 'cash' buyer, who turned out to be totally genuine. We feared right to the end that she would ask for a reduction at the last minute (having already bought for 23% of original price) - but she was absolutely true to her word. Our house is now a Kindergarten run by a wonderful Persian woman.
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No sense of humour, those French.Of course, most of those who often have problems with the Poulets - eat factory farmed, halal poulets!
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Yes - and it cost us hugely both financially and emotionally. Our guy agreed to the price and told us he could move very quickly as he was a cash buyer and had sold his property and had planning permission for the building of 5 houses on his land. Our Estate Agent checked that this was indeed the case with his solicitor. He then dragged his feet with excuses which sounded perfectly reasonable (as a builder was going to demolish his property and build on it, they were awaiting for soil testing and other bits and pieces. He came to see us to explain, shook our hand, agreed to buy most of our furniture and white goods. He was extatic, blablabla. A couple of weeks later he knocked at the door to say everything was absolutely fine (he lived up the road) - and I told him I was struggling with my parents who were very elderly (we were moving to Switzerland very close to them) and that they were so looking to us being there for Christmas - and I made the huge mistake of shedding a tear. We went to our solicitor to exchange contracts a couple of weeks later (about 8 weeks after he first agreed to buy the house) - and as we were having a celebratory lunch afterwards - our solicitor (a good friend) phoned on OH's mobile to say the guy was at his solicitors ready to sign, but wanted 15% off the price. We were so shocked and angry, we told him to 'go away' (polite version!). By then it was November 2008 and ... you all know what happened to the market. We finally sold in February- and we were in Switzerland burying my mum when we got confirmation- with a 23% drop on original price. We moved in late March and buried dad a few weeks later. C'est la vie. No regrets though. Iceni - I am not English, but your comments were gratuitous and totally unfair and yes, the right word is 'racist'.
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lol - all in jest - got to have a giggle sometimes. Hope the tape works.
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lol (thank dog I'd misread the title!)
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Can you really 'empower' someone by 'criminalising' them? Let's imagine - a woman is stopped by a Policeman in a French town and asked to remove her burkah and pay a fine. She replies that it is her personal choice and that she does not wish to do so. What happens next? Another fine? Court? Prison?What will ensue? Will Muslim womena/ stay at home and be practically imprisoned (will that empower and liberate them?)b/ keep fighting for their right to choose and fill courts and prisons- Will other Muslim women defy the new rulings in large numbers- and actually motivate other Muslim and non- Muslim women to wear a burka in sympathy, to defy the courts? Will that really help relations with an already very alienated section of the French populationc/ take off their burkas and forget they ever existed, and become 'perfect' French citizens (!!)?For better, or for worse?
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Wonderful - very happy to hear all is well. Meilleures salutations
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Quelle horreur 'beaucoup des piscines'!! et personne ne m'a corrigée. C'est bien sur invariable 'beaucoup DE piscines'. Mon amie virtuelle de TFF est partie hier - très très sympa et nous avons bien rigolé et parlé, 'refait le monde' - comme de vraies soixante-huitardes! Comme elle va bientot s'installer en Haute Savoie, nous pourrons rester en contact. C'est marrant ce monde virtuel - comme on peut 'sentir' d'avance si on va s'entendre et se comprendre ou non - rien qu'en papotant sur un Forum... Depuis son départ, le soleil est parti aussi - mais il est vrai que le jardin et la nature avait bien besoin d'eau. Où est notre Sweet - elle semble bien silencieuse ces jours-ci? xx
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Has yours fallen off then?!
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Pheew - I'd misread the title and thought your 'doodah' had fallen off!
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What do these limitations mean for people with swimming pools?Here many wine growers have just scuppered this year's harvest to save the plants - just before the rain arrived - we had quite a bit of rain today and a bit yesterday.
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As I am no chemist wizzard- I would certainly get advice from a professional should I ever choose to have a pool- the thought of bathing in bleach just does not appeal I have to say. I used to work very closely with a club with a private pool in the UK and it proved to be incredibly difficult to get members to shower properly (if at all) and not wear large bermudas (especially those which had been worn for other activities before using the pool). This is also obvious in holiday resorts with a lot of British clients. Any idea why so many British people do not understand that suntanlotion + sweat should not mix with pool water?
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Thanks Théière - very interesting. In your experience, what do you think is the approx proportion of pool owners who truly use chemicals properly and really know what they are doing? Mentioned those 3 methods as they were highlighted in the TV programme.
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Just don't know how to say this -as it might well upset some - but the British are famous for having very poor pool hygiene = using lots of suntan lotion, sweat out in the sun then wash it all out by jumping in- whereas in most northern European countries, showering properly before swimming in a pool is normal pool netiquette, as well as not wearing the same long bermuda style short used for the walk, cycle or day before a swim. Sorry, but it is the sad truth.
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Just seen this - they looked so beautiful and enticing - but then it seems they can be hugely expensive and turn out to be a total disaster. I person would not like to have a pool with chemicals, the smell is awful and it burns your eyes. I'd rather not have one at all - but very lucky to have fabulous public pools and lakes near here. If I built a pool now I'd go for one of the following options UV, salt or ozone? What would be the relative costs and difficulties of those 3 systems + the environmental impact, please?
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Just received a very similar one by e-mail - a French woman writing to me in Italian! Reported her as spam to my provider. Eeek.[email protected]
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Better for you to come and see GI. How is your back?
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The bottom of our garden is on a slope, with the pond below. Got loads of limestone rocks of different sizes, and half a broken limestone sink - and intend to make a waterfall which will drop onto the sink then go down in stages to the pond (approx distance 3m), with a liner- covered with pebbles and with the rocks hiding the edges and making sloping rock garden. Any bright ideas and tips please. Merci Swissie
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So glad to hear you've got back safely - and that the pool seems to be fine. Having spent 2 decades running back and forth from one country to 'tother to deal with family emergencies - I know only too well how stressful it can be. Hope you can relax a bit now and enjoy the Summer. Best regards Swissie
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I never use a translator, I'm afraid as they are invariably bad! Why don't you have a go and send it to me by pm, and post it after any minor adjustments (IF necessary).
Just a general rant :-p
in Finding/Owning French Property
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