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Em

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  1. Hi To answer your question, in our experience, the pool will heat faster and retain heat better if the cover is left on for as long as possible. The best scenario would be to only uncover when you are actually swimming, but during really hot weather this isn't so necessary. We live in Normandy and I had my last swim just last week - November! We don't have an abri as I do think they would spoil the look of the place. Em
  2. I do believe you need to think very carefully about a move to Spain. Why do you think it will be different? Friends of ours had a stunning house (in summer that is), but come winter it was freezing and the walls covered in mould. It can get very cold there too and a much smaller proportion of properties have central heating. In rural Spain many people don't speak any English and there are no guaranties they will seem more friendly. Add to that the rather haphazard planning laws and often shady title to propery makes France seem comforting. I'm not trying to be horrid, but given your current unhappiness, it would be awful to make the same mistake twice. Much better to have had a bit of a scrape than end up with nothing. Good luck anyway, Em
  3. LURV this thread! We have had several near misses with friendship in the last 18 months. The classics were - guest saying, as I was more than half way through preparing dinner, "Ohh, I was going to cook tonight". guests who genuinly believe we want to visit Mont St Michel again. guest asking if we had more towels. (I always give our guests copious quantities, but I do believe she thought we were a hotel!) guests who sit by the pool whilst I do the saturday gite changeover and don't offer to help ( I don't want help, but I would like you to notice!!!) guests who don't even make the bed, let alone strip it on their last day. guests who stay more than three nights. guests who bring a vehicle and don't pack it out with British produce on the way over, but make sure it is full to suspension bursting with wine and French stuff on the way home. guests who bring a vehicle; and don't use it except for packing it out with French produce. guests who get up too early. HAVING SAID all the above, and meant it, I couldn't do without our visitors. It is just that the anticipation is SO much better than you will be feeling on the third day. If you get to the fourth, it's all down hill. Whey hey! Happy summer!! Oh yes, and guests who arrive in winter are the worst, 'cause there's absolutely nothing to take them outside!!!! Em
  4. I wonder if anyone can help me with an irritating problem which occurs every time I connect to the web. Having logged on for example, to the LF forum, I cannot go beyond the first page without a pop up message which says: "this action cannot be activated because the other program is busy. Choose "switch to" to activate the busy program and correct the problem" Then gives three choices - Switch to, retry or cancel. If I try "switch to" it gives me my main programs menu but I can't locate the busy program. Instead therefore, I "cancel", which closes the web screen, which I then reopen using the AOL icon on the bottom contol bar. This happens for virtually every new page I try to open. Has anyone else experienced the same problem or could offer advice? I currently use AOL.8. Thankyou, Em  
  5. I have bought a number of books from USA via Abebooks on line. I've never had any issues with duty. They just arrive in the standard post, sent directly to France. You can in any event buy products in the US up to a value of something like £147 (can't remember exactly)without incurring duty. So unless you are doing a "Coleen Rooney", I don't suppose you will have any problems. Some of my books have been quite valuable first editions, but they are well packed and the postman pops them in the box. Em
  6. I would say that "old" questions are an essential part of the forum. When I first logged on I really didn't know which questions would be uesful to me for our move and it was other people's requests for information that have gradually improved my knowledge. If everyone used the search engine, we wouldn't know what they were asking and apropos the above, wouldn't find out the answer. Em
  7. We didn't want or have time for drinks and everyone departed very quickly. So quickly in fact that I was nearly out of the car park and had forgotten to take the keys from the vendors. Oops. Whole thing took about 1.5 hours. The Notaire should give you an Attestation to prove you own the property. Deeds will follow in a few weeks, together with perhaps a rebate on fees once they have calculated all the charges. Lovely. We took over the previous insurance. All sorted on the day with a phone call and faxing of the Attestation to the insurer, all done by our agent. Very simple. If you can, try to view the property before you sign to check it is as agreed. Good luck and enjoy! Em
  8. To my knowledge there is no rule on river/pond fencing or else the whole country would be behind wire! We have a stretch of river, plus an unfenced pond, together with an expensively fenced pool. The river is FAR more dangerous than the pool and I warn all visitors with children when they arrive. Em
  9. [quote]Thanks for the various site references - I've saved those in favourites. It does seem expensive - but it is about the same in Euros as in pounds for the ones I've seen to hire in England, so a third ...[/quote] Jill re your idea for putting a car in the back of a van. Why not consider a luxury horsebox. We have one which has all the attributes of a camper van (shower/loo/heating/tv/video/fridge/ etc,etc. Ours sleeps four and has loads of room, plus you could drive a small car up into the back. Not sure about the weights, but don't think it would exceed the maximum. They are expensive to buy but hold their value well so you could sell it on return and you can drive a 7.5t on a uk license. Love the idea. I am always trying to persuade hubby to do the grand tour. Happy holidays Em
  10. We took delivery of a new Range Rover this week. From memory the road tax portion (the Carte Grise) was about 680euros and is a one off charge. Given that we will keep the car about 3 years, this will work out rougly the same as current UK road tax which I think is about £160 pa. Em  
  11. Hi Judybos I really would not get in a panic about bringing your horse over. Ours are practically commuters and have no problems at all. We do the long crossing to Caen, and they have always travelled brilliantly - no sedation required. We had a "fattty" arrive back on sunday and turned him out on about 1 acre, and we will monitor his diet to ensure he doesn't o.d. but apart from that, he copes well with change of feed. We find Dodsen and Horrell are the easiest of the UK manufacturers to get hold of here in Normandy, so perhaps you could find out which feeds will be available to you, before you leave UK and get him on to that, so you have one less thing to worry about transporting. When you get here, visit a local stable to seek recommendations for things like farrier and hay. We have found everyone to be really helpful and friendly. Hay quality is our biggest problem, but we now have a network of good suppliers. Bring wormers and your favourite first aid/medical kit products to see you thru the first months. One thing I would recommend is using a commercial transporter to take the hassle out of the journey. A shared load is not expensive and will take a large burden out of your hands. We have our own lorry and although I am very experienced driving the horses, I still find it easier to offload the responsibility. Good luck and have fun and don't forget your passport (for horsey)!!!!! Em      
  12. Em

    FRELONS

    We had a hornet's nest in a chimney six weeks ago and the pompiers were fantastic and FREE. They arrived next day and had to climb to the top of the roof, which entailed calling for reinforcements. They then entered the house to unbrick another conduit of the chimney. All done with good humour and while they were here I got them to remove a wasp nest and spray a tree hole about which I was concerned. I can't praise them more highly and all they would accept was a cup of coffee. Will definately be sending a christmas card. Em 
  13. I'm sure you are right and they are fair weather creatures, venturing inside more during winter. Ours have become extremely active in the last 10 days, due I suppose to the chilly nights. In fact as I speak they are scurrying above my head, as they seem to be lodged between the floorboards of our ancient house. I haven't seen any sign of them in any rooms, but my cat is just waiting for an opportunity! I am sort of resigned to the fact that we are all to share lodgings again this winter. Em
  14. I would certainly have a cat microchipped. At least you'll feel better if he does go missing or something else happens. Having lost my "cat of a lifetime" during our first year in France, I am a little wary, especially as looking thru the local paper there are many, many "lost" cats. We are going to have our other cat tatooed (sp?) this week, as this seems a more obvious identification, although it does require a general anasthetic. Sorry- I'm not trying to put you off France, but it will forever haunt me that we would still have Crunchie if we had not moved here. Apart from that, life is great ! ....and I think all you need officially is an export certificate, but search the archives on here as there is much infomation to be had. Em
  15. In my experience this year making several trips (Caen-Pmouth), BF have always insisted I travel freight with my 7.5t horsebox, whether it is empty or full. Then when I've spoken to the frieight desk, they look at me as though I am from outer space as until recently I haven't had a freight account number and don't really look like a commercial driver! I have the distinct feeling that private drivers fall between the cracks at BF, so if you can get an ordinary booking then good luck. There doesn't seem to be any communication between Freight and Passenger services and each side tries to pass you to the other when they are not sure what to do, so I suggest you are very firm with the passenger booking clerk. The cabin is often shared, and as a female, I don't like using the driver's restaurant 'cause they stare like mad, so all in all a freight ticket is poor value for money! Em
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