EmilyA

Yes 3916 for the accounts. It is a pain the first time but then they pop up ready completed the next year.

Just finished. There was a box to tick near the end where you could add a note for anything to draw to their attention (actual wording was something like anything you are doubtful about). It opened a text box where we added "titre de formulaire S1 etc". May be no longer necessary because of change of boxes on declaration for pension income but decided to be on the safe side...

We haven't got to the end of ours yet, but there should be a chance to add that as a note. On ours it will already be there and we click reporter to carry it forward.

You should never let worries about accuracy stop you on a forum Chancer - having something interesting to say is the important bit. ? Do have a look, out of interest, at the link to the grammar test for eleven-year-olds that I posted on the previous page - you will see that it is very different in schools now.

So, Nell, was there not a box to tick on 2047 for bank interest? Last year I wrote in my notes that we needed three ticks to open the correct boxes on 2047. We are fine with the two for pensions, but can't find the one for bank interest. ?

Absolutely Chancer. I have had a lot of students who say, "I was told not to say it unless I knew it was right". I tell them that the opposite is true and the important thing is to communicate, try things out and then correct the language if necessary. In the teaching of the English language we have far more things to worry about than an old-fashioned view of the use of the word "got". There are plenty of challenges around there / their / they're, your / you're / yore, bough /rough / cough to keep us occupied. ?

Oh I use got every time. I am a great supporter of the campaign for plain English. ?

I think mint will need to change her bottom line to "make the acquaintance of anyone who has a dog". ?

Anyone interested in how grammar is taught in English primary schools now might like to try this sample test. All eleven-year-olds in Year 6 will take the full tests this month. https://sats2017.uk/quiz-would-you-pass-sats-english-grammar/

I think the prohibition in primary schools (though I have never come across it myself) will be more to do with encouraging an extensive and varied vocabulary. "I got up, I got breakfast, I got dressed, I went to school", becoming "I arose from my bed, donned my garments, prepared my morning repast and departed". Ho hum.

Interestingly, sources such as the British Council say that "have got" is more common in British English and "have" in American English. I certainly think this is true in the interrogative form. "Gotten" is an interesting one. It was, of course, the original form for the past tense, crossed the Atlantic and remained in American usage, but declined in British usage. It is still used in Scotland. Of course we happily still use the form in "forgotten".

So just out of interest, do the "never use got" people extend the prohibition to the interrogative and negative forms? Would you say, "have you got many children?" or "do you have many children?". I think the answer to the latter could be, "never more than one a year". ?

Can somebody kindly remind me what box you tick on 2047 to open up the bit to declare bank interest? We have 4€ to declare!

We have declared on line for several years and have always put the (Sunday Driver) message in about the S1 form. It comes up automatically the next year with "reporter", so you click that and it carries forward.

On deck? ?

If you had heard "Laties and Gentlemen we will shortlee be arraiveeng in Portsmoot" as often as I have, you would know I am right. ? Actually my favourite BF announcement was when they had a Captain Bienvenue. "Le Capitaine Bienvenue vous souhaite le bienvenue à bord ...."

Has nobody mentioned Portsmoot yet? I have someone in the English class I teach who is a retired anaesthetist. That was challenging for her.

Reminds me of a child my son had in his class in Spain who cried because his English teacher in school had told him about the fruit called oranghé. On the news last week here they told the viewers that choux de bruxelles were called "sproots" in English.

We have no problem getting it in any organic shop. We can buy different grades from Type 55 through to 110. You can also get Petit Epeautre. We buy 5kg bags for bread making. It tends to need less liquid than normal flour.

Oh and I have an ancient plug in telephone, because the mobile signal seems to go when the power to the village is down.

We have a lot of power cuts, especially in high winds when trees fall on the lines. We had a twelve hour one a few weeks ago. We keep candles, have a big woodburner and the cooker hob runs off bottled gas. We keep a lot of food in stock and can always get milk from the neighbours. We also have a bread oven and have made bread for the hamlet before now. We used to get cut off in the snow but now have a village snow-blade that fits on a tractor. The farmers love using it so the roads get cleared quickly. We have thought about a generator for the freezer and the fosse septique pump, but never quite got round to it. We grow a lot of fruit and veg and it would be hard to lose it but it seems a lot of money to spend?

I would include wifi in my initial search for holiday properties so wouldn't even see those without. We went to Spain for the whole of January a few years ago and the owner told us that he would only give us 500mb a week as "you will only need emails and news". Er - no, that would go on one Facetime or Skype to our family, with whom we actually like to stay in touch. I think some property owners project their own needs on to their clients which is never a good way to do business. We have Satnav and find it invaluable for crossing cities and finding hotels. It doesn't replace using a map but it is a useful addition. I don't get the virtue signalling stuff about not using technology. You just have to engage your brain about when, why and how.

As far as the Suisse Normande is concerned, there is one in Caen, one in Flers and one in Falaise.

Ours is 95% French. No classes for English people at all, everything is in French. I like it because it pushes me to a higher level of French than everyday chat. I did find learning Spanish hard because of having three languages in my head though.

Our local one does all sorts of activities; languages, sport, walks, visits, lectures, history, philosophy, art, photography, sophrologie etc. All for the princely sum of 120€ a year.