water rat
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Posts posted by water rat
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Yes definitely ragondin/coypu. Otters are v secretive and would live in the real wild,as far as i know there aren't any in most of France,particularly the north. We live in a v wet area where Ragondin are a pest as they ruin the banks and cause leaks. As in Blighty, were imported from S America for the fur trade,then escaped.
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Your daughter is just a southern softie!
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Thank you AnO. That sounds suitably simple for me.
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Bearing in mind I'm an idiot when it comes to this, after all, I am a "creative"!We have an orange livebox.What do I need to do to get wi fi?
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And don't forget to buy lashings of mosquito net for the canopies over the beds.
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I inherited a v kitsch Royal Albert "country roses" service which wasn't worth selling as nobody wants it anymore. I decided to use it for our B&B. It is absolutely adored by the french who think of English china as a cut above anything else, even though we live near Limoges,so it may be worth a punt on French EBay, with a high reserve you won't lose!
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Once you give up the battle ,it becomes easier to live with them .After all they've probably been living in our property for nigh on 2 hundred years. I never felt enthusiastic about trying to wipe them out in the first place.
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I think many B&B owners ,like ourselves , do not take credit cards and I believe it's illegal to take details if one doesn't accept them. Usually we ask for a deposit with the GdF booking form ,but this year it's been so last minute there hasn't been time. Touch wood no probs so far!
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Yes WB that's the only way. I buy locally produced charolais from a butcher which is expensive ,but nothing gets thrown away. I also buy it for mince and it smell good while it's cooking .Some of the supermarket mince makes me want to heave.
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What do they do with all their meat? I find the cuts v limited compared to the UK. I always used 'skirt ' for puddings etc so tender and made delicious gravy Where does it go here? I hate that gristly collier. At the moment I've found a decent butcher and the meat is v lean ,but it's still just called bourginon.
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Thought I was in another dimension then, Etoile.We had some fellow B&Bers stay with us during Aug who were escaping their enormous demand for Smartbox. They must have been doing well to disappear during Aug! However ,I think they take about 40%, which I wouldn't entertain. I was going to get in touch with GdF ,but were sounding the forum out first.
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Has anyone signed up with any? I think the Smartbox is rather costly, but the GdF wonderbox doesn't seem too bad or am I missing something?
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I didn't know I was poor until I went to college at 16 in the mid seventies and met people from different walks of life who were happy to point out how poor I was.I had always been kept warm and had enough to eat and was happy .I'll always remember that first time , I told someone where I lived " how awful for you!" they replied.In this region the elderly population generally live in one room, the bed in one corner ,the kitchen in another, the wood fueled cuisiniere on the go ,even in summer. No bathroom, no fosse. The potager ,the rabbits, the chickens.......That'll be me in a few years,but maybe with the exception of a working bathroom! I don't see any of this as being poor.It's just folks who are not interested in the accumulation of "stuff" of which there is a mighty amount of these days.You're dead right ,Braco
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I've written about this before on the forum,but thought this would be an opportunity for an update. We have learnt to live with our lerots since giving up the battle in 2003. What about their reputation for gnawing electrics,I hear you cry! Well so far no probs,no smell just an occasional wall of death display in the salon to the delight of the cats. They seem to spend most of their time within the walls which are 2 feet thick. Don't spend too much on fantastic devices, nothing works!
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Sorry about your year Quillan,hope things pick-up. It looks like you've been scuppered by the weather which in our case has been freakishly glorious this year and continues. Our April May and June was as expected ,then at the beginning of July we had no bookings whatsoever!Talk about last minuters this year! Most of ours have been made within a few days of arriving and many on the same day. We're a good spot for Parisians who don't want to leave unless the weather's guaranteed and we're less than 3 hours away. have also had a few from Orleons and Tours ,not far at all. Also the southerners who have been escaping the tourists. All french with a sprinkling of Brits and Belgians. By the end of Aug we had topped the whole of 2009!There's no way one can predict what will happen ,but the weather plays a big part.We had a holiday today.Went out riding for the first time since April then a lovely swim in the local lake which is v unusual for this time of year.
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That's strange Quillan ,I had the same idea after a family booked with us specifically to do this so I was thinking of promoting it . Needless to say once they arrived they didn't go anywhere. P'raps they were scared of doing it in France?
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You can't beat Gites de France for attracting the french and belgians. You'll get inspected which is why the french use it as their bible. We are a chambres d'hotes ,but have never looked back since registering with them and it's the same for gites.
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The problem is that the nature of Chambres d'hotes is sharing with the hosts and most french expect this. so they may feel a bit cold shouldered if you adopt this approach.
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I think it's still not fully sorted how it will work. We are waiting for advice from GdF before we do anything.
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Bit disgusted with the Brits. Because Le Francais have won the last 2 years ,they have changed to rules to work in their favour. Consequently it was a victory for the Brits........leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
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We have a separate entrance to our Chambres d'hote and have never had anyone do a runner in 6 years! .......touching wood
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Don't forget the cricket match in Cheniers ,Le Stade,24th July. Brits against the french.Any young blood out there? The french won last year........
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Love this site JJohn. have put it on favourites. We live in a mill and luckily all was in good condition. It's such a shame the OP's need removing as with a bit of imagination they can be incorporated into the room .We have a round upholstered banquette, a large round coffee table and the other which is the bed stone only is just a round raised part of the floor.The part of the site about stones being evil because of the amount of people they killed only proves it's a dangerous operation to move them.
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That's why I posed the question!We were warned by GdF to expect legislation during this summer ,but are keeping our heads down. I wondered if anyone in more touristic regions were getting any grief yet.We've heard of a B&B in the Dordogne being prevented from serving their own eggs, well, their Chucks eggs actually! but maybe it's just a rumour?
The restaurant saga
in Hotel and Restaurant Owners
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