Mac

I think that I would cry! Its all of a piece with wanting to apologise for things that happened years ago-as if we personally are responsible for the acts. There were Americans that flew with the Dambusters and they didn't find it offensive. I understand the word n****r is used by black people to each other so why the double standards? I hate that people feel the need to rewrite history because it doesn't fit in with the PC culture of today.Which bit of history will be next I wonder?

Thanks for the advice. As usual so helpful and quick!! Don't know why I don't always come on here first instead of spending half the day trying to find things myself as someone out there has usually already done it !!! Thanks once again.

Is it still possible to buy the folding metal shutters that concertina back. You see them on older houses and we have a couple of windows where we can not open normal shutters fully but I don't like the roller type metal ones.

Always see lots of road side notices for concourse de belotte. I know it is a card game. Can anyone explain how its played? In simple terms please-I looked it up on the internet and the explainations were so complex I gave up.

A YORKSHIRE LOVE STORY An elderly man lay dying in his bed. While suffering the agonies of impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favourite scones wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength, and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning on the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort, gripping the railing with both hands, he crawled downstairs. With laboured breath, he leaned against the door-frame, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven, for there, spread out upon the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favourite scones. Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of love from his devoted Yorkshire wife of sixty years, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man? Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself towards the table, landing on his knees in rumpled posture. His aged and withered hand trembled towards a scone at the edge of the table, when it was suddenly smacked by his wife with a wooden spoon ...... * * * * * 'Bugger off'. she said, 'they're for the funeral.'

We recently sent our E106 forms to CPAM in Perigueux together with all the info they asked for. The forms have been returned saying that we need to send birth certificates(not asked for at the time). I have been told by one person that these need to be translated by an official translator. However I have been told by someone else that if I go in person to the CPAM office in Perigueux and take the certificates with me,there is someone there who will deal with them as they are and that there is someone who deals with queries from non-french speakers. However this person registered a few years age and I wondered if anyone knew if this was still the case? This would not only save time but money. If however I have to have them translated so be it -but don't want to if not needed.

We recently sent our E106 forms to CPAM in Perigueux together with all the info they asked for. The forms have been returned saying that we need to send birth certificates(not asked for at the time). I have been told by one person that these need to be translated by an official translator. However I have been told by someone else that if I go in person to the CPAM office in Perigueux and take the certificates with me,there is someone there who will deal with them as they are and that there is someone who deals with queries from non-french speakers. However this person registered a few years age and I wondered if anyone knew if this was still the case? This would not only save time but money. If however I have to have them translated so be it -but don't want to if not needed.

Gandhi said 'an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'

Don't want to hi-jack this post but can some one just put me right. I thought that you had to submit forms (S1 Double Taxation Convention) to your local tax office as soon as you became resident in France. I did this and have had them returned as having sent them in too early. The letter says that I should send them in when I have filled in a French Tax form. As we became resident here from 1 April 2011 does that mean that I don't need to get a tax form until next year(March I think the link said) fill that in-return it and then also submit the S1 form ?

Thanks for all the help. I have managed to get something that looks like muscovado and will act like it I hope. Some of the stickier cakes e.g. gingerbreads just aren't the same without it.

Is it possible to play the euromillions lottery online in France as I know that you can't buy UK tickets online from here. We tried to find the official website but got a couple that looked legit but weren't (one wanted payment in US dollars) we gave up. Don't want to get ripped off-just want a little flutter.

I need light and dark muscovado suger but I can't find it in any of the supermarkets I've looked in. Is it available in France or is it one of those things I shall have to ask visitors to fetch with them? Some receipes just aren't the same with ordinary brown sugar.

Can anyone suggest a way to remove smoke from the granite surround of our fire place.

We are now settled in the Nontron area and I am interested to find out what is happening in the area. Would like to know if there are and Book/reading groups or rambling clubs( nothing too taxing as not that fit!!) being newly retired we are open to try most things. Iknow that the Town Hall is also a good place to try for association-just wondered where else to find out about things.

We bought a house late last year and thought everything was going ok. When we came to sign the acte de vente both we and the estate agent were suprised to be told thast the notaire had recieved a letter from the mayor stating that the house had 'no drainage'. Confusion ensued. We defered signing and made phone calls. The sellers were adamamnt that there was a fosse. They had lived there on and off for about 5 years. Turns out that the mayor meant there was no drainage on their records (going back only 10 years apparantly and the building was converted over 15 years ago). The estate agent also thought that what was there wouldn't conform to the new regs. and the mayor was trying to bump his figures up for houses with regulation fosse systems. Fortunatly the sellers agreed to put up 4000 euros towards the cost of updating the fosse to allow the sale to continue, We have found the fosse as no one knew where it was and have just had soil tests done before sorting out installation of new system.

 We are in the middle of moving to France and I think the questions that idun suggested are a good place to start. We also made lists of everything we could think of-think what you would have to do if you moved house here-and then add on the bigger things like health ect. We also went to the France Show and attended some of the seminars on health and tax and found those very useful. The other thing I would say is to use this forum. There are people on here with years of experience and they are all so helpful. Whenever I came up with something I needed an answer to -even very small seemingly silly questions there was always someone who knew the answer. Sometimes you also get advice which makes you look at things you hadn't thought of!! Just looking back through the questions that other people have asked will give you a steer on what you need to do. Good Luck.

I thought that to avoid capital gains tax you had to be tax resident-that is pay your income tax ect. in France and not in GB. I'm probably wrong but if this is the case I'm sure someone will put me right.