Tony F Dordogne

I'm sure that I saw a message a few days ago on here from a company called 'Sky in France' or something similar. I had a look at their web site and they say that they can do all of this for people, set up, install the whole thing - in fact they were advertising for installers. So if what is said here is correct and that though not illegal, it is outside of the Sky users contract, where does it leave that company?

Our closest neighbours are allowing their free rangers to range freely as they usually do, all over the chemin rurals.  Nothing about confining them on the noticeboards in our little commune. I'm told one problem for the neighbours is that neither of them have tvs nor, in one case, a radio, so she may not even know there are any issues about avian flu. We've put getting chickens on hold again, wait for all this to blow over first.

Thanks for the very useful replies about cheque vacance. Interesting how quickly the original thread was lost and turned into something completely different, I didn't actually ask about GdF or anything about registration with them, size of rooms, whatever.

Does anybody have any idea on how these things work? Though I'm likely not to have spelt it correctly, I think they're sort of luncheon vouchers for workers going on holiday. A friend of mine who has a gite has asked me to post this as they have never come across it before.

Sorry, should have added that it seems a smart way on his part of getting his larger garden unless you do something proactive.  You must put some sort of a barrier up, then he's confined to his current garden space.

Why not just ask the neighbour what's happening about the fence?  That would inform your next move.  If they said they were not reinstating - and I suppose there's no reason why they should except if it's your fence and on your land - I'd just put a fence up, my side of the boundary so that if the neighbour doesn't reinstate, I'd have the fence in place and that would stop people/animals roaming across the land. I think a geometre costs about E700 to do a survey, well that's the quote I received.

Blimey Mel, you're lucky - our French tutor charges by the person, not by the hour so in your instance we would pay E30 per person!

Where about in 24?  There are all sorts of places that you may be able to get furniture from but if you could narrow things down a bit ........

Don't know what it's like to live around there but recently had a few days in out of season Bayonne. Good shopping area in general, lots of things to do (museums and the like) but the weather was relatively mild so that helped.  Also the coastal area is pretty spectacular all the way up to Arcachon.  But like many of the towns that have a large visitor season, many of the restaurants were closed for the winter (plenty of other good places to eat though), excellent sports centre and a great rugby club.

I now know of 5 gite complexes in the 24 area around St Cyprien/Mayrals/Les Eysies area for sale - and 4 of them are for sale because the owners are saying that making a living from them is getting too hard or they are just generally fed up with the whole thing. Sizes of complexes range from the relatively small to the very large. Sounds like a good time NOT to be buying into them!

Only the once TU, now I know what to do and have the forms.

Thanks for the links Weedon - I've had this so long now that I've been just about everywhere for advice and support it's going back onto the chemo and getting used to the French system that have been the problems but thanks for the kind thoughts.

Hi Cathy Found it after I posted thanks, must be the chemicals, could have sworn it was in Legal or Finance!

Right, have this sorted. Can't be dealt with at Mairie or by OH, unless I have sick note from medico saying I can't attent CPAM office.  So, was stuffed into car, taken off to Sarlat to the wonderful CPAM office there, signed the OTHER form that you have to sign to claim travelling allowance (and peage costs if incurred) and voila, money paid into our account.  The other form, which has the details of the journey on it, can be taken away (I was given a few to be getting on with) to be used as necessary. The hospital form has to be endorsed by the consultant or his support staff person and then you just fill in your numero d'immatriculation/ss number and address on page 2.  That and the kilometer claim form then goes off to CPAM central, whereever. For anybody else having to go down this route (sorry, no pun intended) the reimbursement is 28 cents per kilometer each way.

Was it me, defuddled by the chemo, or was there a thread somewhere about starting a business of some sort and avoiding paying taxes? Thought I saw something but it seems to have disappeared.  Mods, was it pulled, no axe to grind here, just curious.

Surely if zencherry wants to make their point more forcefully, perhaps they should have used their real name so they can be identified, rather than a pseudonym which means that they could be a ringer, glove puppet, troll, whatever. For all we know, zencherry may be an owner/administrator of the other site.

We have a couple of people who regularly take their small dogs into the local supermarkets, larger dogs are left outside. One of the owners of the local odd person who actually keeps the dog in the trolley but some of the others let their dogs run around - just seems odd to take them into a supermarket at all.  But don't actually remember seeing 'no dogs' signs on the entrances.

Didn't think it was that subtle, having looked at the web site can see the London influence in advertising.

Fraud is a criminal case not a civil action - if the company have truly committed fraud, you should take the case to the Police.

Interesting replies, thanks. Chris, reed bed totally impracticable because of nature of land and size needed. Understand the environmental arguments but the idea is to seperate the water competely from the fosse waste, filter it and then re-run it onto the garden.  There is no run off onto the road nor into the local water system - we dont have one really way out here where we are, no chance of ever going onto mains drainage because we're so far out of the village so it looks like we will just have to pump and filter if we wish to reuse. Back to the drawing board I think.

Should have changed title to ........off topic, the boy stood on the burning deck

Interestingly, despite this being an 'English' poem, it's about a French admiral's son at the Battle of the Nile. The lower and thicker part of the main mast, which the boy was holding on to when the ship exploded, was given to Nelson by his crew.  The mast was hollowed out for a coffin and Nelson kept it on his ships, being eventually buried in it in his mausoleum in London.

Pressed wrong button ....... I'm lucky in that I can and will be doing my own chemo at home (again) which means I can do it on my own time and terms rather than being dependant on the local nurse - if I don't feel up to it, OH does it for me. TU - had already thought of that but I'm not well enough to get there atm, great office in Sarlat and if I could go there, it would make everything easier for me.

As far as I am aware it's a seperate form each time. Couple of tips if you haven't already done so.  Get your specialist to write to your GP clearly outlining the drugs that are covered by the 100% - it can save time and energy when you don't need to be chasing bureaucracy. Get really friendly with your local pharmacist also - I'm even joking with my guy about buying shares in his company as I spend to much time and money in there so when he realised I was going back on the chemo he told me that if I needed anything, day or night, just to ring him.  Realistically, once your Carte Vitale is updated, your GP knows what's happening and the specialist has things under control the bureaurocracy will fall substantially, for example with 100% it obviates the need for payments from the mutuel and the like. I'm lucky

Castine is the chalky/limestone stuff that is used for paths - called different things in different places. As for the vice cache, it's actually designed for your/my situation exactly - we had a no guarantee clause also but IF the vendor does not disclose a salient fact - like the propensity to flood - it negates the no guarantee clause. The mediator from the insurance company says that it's to stop people lying at the time of a sale and to give the buyer some safety net.  He looked at our sale document, shrugged his shoulders, said we had a clear vice cache claim and voila, meeting with the vendor tomorrow week to discuss what he is going to do about it. I was sceptical about getting anything back but the mediator says he'll get the money, even if he has to set the huissier on him!