fluffy tree

aww, thanks everyone - life is definitely looking up on the spreadable butter front  :-)

.....I wish I could buy spreadable butter here!! I love living here, but I like butter - it dosn't have to be 'real' butter - Clover, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter etc  are all nice too.....I just don't like margerine type spreads. But it's impossible to spread rock solid french butter on lovely fluffy soft french bread without tearing it to shreds....aaaggghhhh :-( You may say leave the butter out of the fridge in a butterdish, but my cool house is probably only marginally warmer than the fridge so it dosn't soften.....so, I have 2 questions:- 1)  any tips to soften the hard-core french butter?, and 2) what completely unimportant aspect of life here irritates you? :-)    

Thanks Sid - to the rescue again :-)      

aha! Thanks very much Sue - mystery solved :-)  

I now have an Intermarche loyalty card after being asked every time I shopped if I had one - and the offers on their weekly leaflets look good - but I think I'm missing something! Would someone be able to explain please how this works as I haven't yet had any of the discounted prices advertised on products and multi-buys - or the 5% discount mentioned either - so I'm a little confused :-)          

Very important to know the difference Glyn Paul as I have now discovered!! Can I add another to your list..... slugs - yuk! :-)

wow - you know how to make friends and influence people Andy!!! Seems I am now ignorant.... and maybe suffer from laissez faire too.... It would have been lovely to move to a new country knowing everything about everything, but sadly I didn't. I know a hornet when I see one, but failed to check their passports to see where they'd come from originally - or ask what they'd prefer to eat for tea. As I said, thanks to previous postings which included Sid's very lovely photo's, I discovered what nasty habits these hornets have when it comes to honeybees, and will make sure any nests next year are destroyed. I consider myself well told off - wow, gonna love it here..... anyone have any issues if I decide not to kill the squirrels, rabbits, hares, red deer and birds in my garden?

sadly Judith that's par for the course now...and the chances of speaking to someone who really understands the technicalities of residence and non-residence in the UK are slim - so phonecalls to the SA Helpline can be lengthy and frustrating - it's worth trying the HMRC website for guidance.

Depends whether 'french residents' are actually non-resident in the UK for tax purposes - which is not always the case...

Although the OAP pension is paid to you tax free, HMRC are well aware that you are receiving it, and how much you are paid each year. It is taxable, and does form part of your taxable income, but it is paid directly to you without deduction of tax as the annual amount is always less than the personal tax free allowance. If this is your only income you are not then troubled by HMRC (hooray!) - however, if you have any additonal pensions or earned income the fact that you have received the OAP pension without deduction of tax is taken into account - leaving only the balance of the annual personal tax free allowance available against this other income.

Thanks for your response Andy - seems you think I am a menace - cheers! The nest was already in the hangar roof when we moved to France in June this year, but it was no threat to us, and as we were unaware that there were different species of hornet here we had no reason to be concerned. However, I discovered what we actually had when I was browsing through postings, and photo's, on the forum - so obviously we want rid of them now. As we now know the threat posed by these hornets ( and had already found out before being accused of being a menace to the french bee population!) , we will be looking out for any new nests next year so they can be destroyed. I was simply looking for some thoughts on whether it was feasable for us to remove the old nest once the current residents had shuffled off their mortal coils!.

We have a massive nest high up in the roof of our hangar, which has grown to around 2 feet in diameter over the summer. The hornets have now sealed all of the holes on the nest leaving just one, and although there is less activity now, there are still plenty of hornets coming to and leaving the nest through the remaining hole. Is my understanding correct that they will all die in the winter - and if so, how will we know when it is safe for us to remove the old nest?

Plenty of suggestions to choose from! In the UK I'll say boyfriend, partner or other half depending on the situation, so it's good to know there's a similar variety here. I'm very happy to be described as 'petite' anything these days as it's been a while, and yes, we do more than bake bread together, but maybe we won't introduce ourselves by implying that we've just popped out of the bedroom for some fresh air! lol

I was wondering if the french have a word equivalent to 'partner' where couples are living together, but not actually married? We are in our 50's so I'm assuming we're probably a little too crumbly for the french boyfriend/girlfriend of petit(e) ami(e) - but I'm unsure how to explain our relationship when my partner is referred to as my husband!

I will definately save over a year by joining the club, but as Brittany Ferries only accepted membership from UK residents with second/holiday homes in France several years ago I wondered if this was still the case, so thanks for your replies - and I'll book single trips as suggested :-)

I am considering joining the club, but after reading the terms and conditions of membership - other than owning a property in France - there is no definition regarding in which country your primary residence must be. Has anyone who is a club member and spends most of their time living in France encountered any problems booking return crossings where your outbound journeys are always from France to the UK?

ps - yes, I was on here before, and yes, I have changed my name - though it's lovely to see some old familiar names still here :-)

I bought my first house in France in 2001, a time when those already living here were the few, and our new neighbours, both French and British, were happy to see properties being renovated, and new families bringing life back into their villages. It was just a home for holidays, but my children loved it here and we enjoyed sharing renovation experiences with our friends - some of which were pretty frustrating at times! I haven't owned here continuously though as the house was sold after 5 years, a casualty of divorce, but earlier this year I bought a new home - and this time my new partner and I have moved here permanently. So, has it changed...... oh yes. Life is easier maybe - shops, brico's and motorways have all appeared where there were fields - but it seems that the spirit of adventure in the ex-pats, and friendliness has been lost along the way. Would I have noticed this if I'd not been away for a few years? Maybe not - but I loved it here 10 years ago, and I love it even more this time - and with the benefit of previous experience was able to find a new home that suits our needs perfectly. Will I stay? Yes, and why? I can't really say....but I feel like I've come home.

Hi Steve, My first posting - consider yourself honoured! :-) I have not had a problem using one Sky card with a box in the UK, and over here too. It is true that the cards are linked to specific boxes, so you are unable to view some channels - a message comes up saying the incorrect card is in the box - but it's not the major channels on the standard '6 mix' package - and HD is fine too. You would be unlikely to view the premium sport and film channels with the card in the unregisatered box. If you wish to change your package at any time though you will need the card in the correct box in the UK when you're calling, otherwise any changes requested won't be successful. Hope this helps :-)