alittlebitfrench

Termites...?

Sorry, yes I know. That was not my point. Two things. The ultimate in picture quality and 'sound' will come from an ariel in France for French telly. Secondly, if Chancer has an ariel receiving French TV (which he watches mostly2) then he does not require a receiver in the area of his TV. The mess of boxes that allow him to receive UK TV/watch DVD (occasionally) can be hidden somewhere else and linked with an HDMI. That was the logic...somewhere...that is now lost

Hold on a minute... .....you receive french telly through your internet box type thingy. Not through an ariel on your roof ?????

A plumber in France is usually if not always gas trained. A lot are trained in electrics as well. Mine does everything and services our boiler. He is quite young and very good at his job. Just make sure you do everything at once so plan carefully. Take time and think about your kitchen. Doing jobs twice is where you will lose money.

Chancer says...... "Maybe in the future I will do some remodelling, put the TV on the wall and find a discreet place for the satbox, can anyone answer my qurie about what to do with all the boxes when the TV is wall mounted" There is no law that says you need your boxes anywhere near your telly. In fact a telly looks so much better without all the fuss. When you do your re-modelling, bury a few HDMI cables and an ethernet cable in the wall with a socket and put your boxes somewhere else more discrete in the room.

There is also thing in France called 'vice caché. So lets assume you bought the house and there is indeed a dry rot problem. Your insurance company will take up a legal battle on your behalf towards the vendor, the diagnostic company and the notaire which you will win. I dare say neither of those three wants to get into such a battle and a swift letter from a French lawyer may resolve the situation. In the short term it is very important you get copies (better still the originals) of the two diagnostic reports because now you need a paper trail. Any correspondence from now on (in French) needs to take place by recorded letter. That is how it works in France.

Sorry, is there actually dry rot in the house ? The first report says yes and the second no. Is that right ? You are in a very unfortunate position. Lets assume there is no dry rot, would you still buy the house ? As I understand it, if there is dry rot in the house you get your money back. No dry rot, you must proceed with the sale.

Blimey. You are not the first person to buy two houses and want to convert them into one. You are best to start with the marie and then maybe a nortaire so that the dwellings are legally recognised as one address. Then back tho EDF to tell them that it is one dwelling/one address. They are only responsible for the electricity to the border of the property. We have one standing charge for electricity and gas from EDF. Yes that is possible. Boiler does need ventilation and don't be too surprised if you need a new boiler as well. The gas that supplies your cooker needs a tap usually placed in the 'meuble' next to the cooker. We have 'gas' but don't use it for cooking. We have an induction hob which so much better to cook with. Their is a reason I said that and I will come back to that. Yes, you can find an electricien/plumber/gas all in one type person who also services the boiler. That is who you want. TOP TIP Always go for the younger guys. They know all the norms and the latest techniques and are a lot quicker and efficient. Your house will need rewiring I am sure and for peace of mind it is worth it. You now need to work out where you want all your plugs and light switches. Draw a map. Also you need to work out where you are going to put all your white goods (including induction type hobs) that need a direct line to your new fuse box. Given they are going to cut into all your walls think also about plumbing and TV, telephone, ethernet cables. Do it all at once. Lots to think about.

I reckon the answer is.... "my ears are no longer attuned to the English language" I will explain my logic: The sound produced by modern LCD TV's tend to be too tingy so I doubt it is the TV speakers. The reason you would buy a soundbar is get full depth of sound and to get rid of the 'tingyness'. We have a LCD with a soundbar and one without because it does have surprisingly very good sound. I don't watch English telly anymore. I only watch films in English once in a while which I download. I would say that I have exactly your problem. I can't pick up half of what they are saying. My very good hearing is not tuned to listening to Films/TV in English. They are speaking too fast for me. If I watched more TV then I am sure it would come back. Edit: Just read the post before mine. I remember watching Doctor who last year and I had the same problem. I understood nothing. So it is not just films.

[quote user="Patf"]albf - reading your last post, it's you who has the problem, not the rest of us. [/quote] How does that work ? I am just a passenger looking out the window.

Are you setting the camera to 'A' on the command dial so that you can control the aperture ? What are you trying to photograph ? Cameras have loads of functions these days and most are personal, i.e, they are only relevant to the person that needs it. So a lot you can ignore. What you need to do is to tailor/set up the camera for what you want it to do for you.

Your zoom is 24mm-1000mm You will only have a max aperture of f/3 available from 24mm. When you zoom into your subject your aperture will get smaller to the minimum of F5.9 at 1000mm. Only a fixed fixed lens or very very very expensive zooms will you have the ability have faster apertures across the whole focal range of the lens. There is always a trade off in photography. It looks a nice camera mind you. You need to stand closer to your subject so that you can use a smaller focal length & faster aperture. Try the lens at 50-70mm which is your typical focal length in digital for portrait. I think I got that right ???

Just wanted to add to my mainstream France/Tours list that people are not miserable, tight-fisted, poorly educated, hostile to outsiders and have rarely set foot outside of the Department. People are normal. Just normal run of the mill people with mortgages. The family of my wife are from a hamlet in Burgundy. Her family pretty much founded the hamlet. For generations people have lived in the house (tiny typical old house) but mostly in the summer as they spent their winter elsewhere working.....mostly cities. When some of the family go and stay at the house during the summer like every year for the last zillion years, the locals will not talk to them. They are considered outsiders although they are born and bred there and the graveyard is mostly full of their family. The people who ignore them are not born and bred themselves in the hamlet they grew up in the surrounding villages. It is not just a Parisien thing. People in these villages are just so untravelled and uneducated and are hostile to anyone that 'may' have money. A Belgian bloke bought the local bar in an adjoining village. The locals ganged up an essentially forced him out. Now the bar is closed. Vivre la France.

Wood Pigeon. They can nest late. Or it is an old egg of a wood pigeon. My cat not so long ago was walking around the garden with a wood pigeon egg in her mouth. Trouble is, she did not know what to do with it. When she got bored she dropped it and it rolled away somewhere.

You make some good points there Chancer. My wife has worked in Paris for nearly twenty years and will carry on doing so for the rest of her working life. Does that make her Parisien ? Her aunty is a nun and has lived in Paris for the last 60 odd years. Is she Parisien ? There are many different types of Parisiens. Not everyone who was born and lives/works in Paris have wealth. These people are like cockneys to me. They are really cool and very funny. The Parisiens that people seem to dislike are the ones with 'inherited' wealth. They tend to be aristocrats. But that is typically normal/historical with French society. As you say it is probably jealousy. Nevertheless, being a voyeur of French life for so many years I have come to the conclusion that living in Paris and having a 'maison secondaire' outside of Paris is the ultimate in French living. We are moving back to Paris next year. I can't wait. P.S Chancer. You will be surprised to learn how little people actually speak English in Paris.

I don't think there is any country in the world that would tempt me away from France. I would go for a nice flat or a historical hotel particulier in Paris. Maybe in Montmartre humming the music from the film amèlie or just in the 16th? That would be my dream. Paris is the ultimate. Other than that, a house in Annecy with a panoramic view over the lake and the mountains or a house just outside Aix en Provence. Idun....Tours is mainstream France. It is one of many places in France where people drive well, excellent customer service, everyone is polite, supermarkets are great, schools are great. You will have no problems with SFR, your neighbours, barking dogs or the chasse. If you buy white paint your walls will go white when you use it. It is like UK but everyone speaks French. It is quite boring really.

My dad was gluten intolerant. Unfortunately he died before anyone realised. Enjoy your bread. I would not drink from the tap in certain places in France.

Ok. You have just won Euro millions or the Loto. You now have the choice of living anywhere in France. So where would you live ? What region ? Rural or city ? What type of house ? Old or New ? Indulge.....

Slightly off subject but the same sort of thing my little boy has been diagnosed as being intolerant to gluten. Yes being gluten free is a big fad at the moment but in his case eating anything gluten related makes him quite ill. After being diagnosed with this condition we all went in solidarity gluten free. It makes life more simple when cooking family meals. Do you know what, after two weeks I would say that I never felt more healthy in my life. So back to the thread, I am quite happy to spend a little more ensuring that what I am eating is not poison. Having lived in 'Beauce' I know what crap they spray on the corn fields. I understand better now having gone gluten free. No more baguettes for me.

idun If you go on the voyages SNCF site and research Grenoble/Geneve/(or wherever) - Londres. If you look carefully there is a '+ de criters'. Select that and it will give you some other options. In the 'ou trajet via' box put in Lille Europe. That will bring up all trains via Paris and Lille.

I met my OH at uni when she did a year in the UK. My OH came with her best friend. At the end of their year in the UK they could both speak very fluent excellent English and English slang. Just like a native. Thanks to me LOL. Now, her friend went back to France and over the next 20 plus years has got a job, got married and had children in 'mainstream' France. At no stage has she needed her English. Coincidently, she now lives just down the road. Imagine the probability in that !!!. Anyway, she has 'mostly' lost her English. As you would expect. When we meet it takes her a good two hours to start speaking sentences in English again. So going back to Lindas point, even if you learnt English at uni, unless you use it on a day to day basis you will lose it. If you turn up in a fast moving Emergency unit the doctor is not going have time to get his 'English' back to treat you. I have had two kids (well not me) in France and at no stage from the pregnancy to giving birth (not far from where Nick P lives) to pediatricians to normal doctors appointments has anyone spoken English. The kids (being kids) are frequently in and out of AE or having emergency doctors appointments when we have been on holiday all over France. Again, no English speaking doctors. My son is being followed by a number of specialists. Again, no speaky English. I am sure they do speak English but have lost it.

[quote user="Judith"]"Where this thread is concerned, they are french health workers in France, so why should they, even IF they can", because, Idun, whether the French wish it or no, we now live in an international world, and so far, technically, a Europe with free movement of people .... so I ask, why should they NOT???? [/quote] Judith....unless you are a linguistic expert/gifted in languages or you are in a position to practice a second language on a daily basis you will forget how to speak that second language . Saying 'everyone in France should speak English' is stupid. Apart from SW bloody France (I am beginning understand why so many Brit expats live in that part of France) most people in 'mainstream France' (I will explain that one to you one day Betty) most French people don't need to speak English on a day to day basis. So even if someone could speak English (from school, university..trips abroad blah blah blah), they would naturally lose the ability to do so over a period of time if they did not practice it. Why can't Brits get that simple concept ????? Everyone should should speak English blah blah blah...it gets on my t1ts.

Just trying to warm you all up a bit. Flipin heck...you lot are hard work. I blame Facebook. What can you do ?

If only you new what crap was sprayed on your 49 p cucumber. Is this the phrase ..... http://www.expressio.fr/expressions/se-faire-prendre-ou-passer-pour-un-pigeon-se-faire-pigeonner.php

Following on from the post above, the amount of successful people or 'cadres' as you would say in French that speak good English is surprisingly low to non-existent....and remember 'cadres' run the show in France. My OH tells me that a lot of 'cadres' are arrogant in thinking they can speak English when they can't. A friend of mine also says that it is normal practice for applicants to put on their CV that they can speak English even if they can't. Employers don't care because they then don't have to send them for 'training' at their expense. The majority of jobs in France does not require English so it really is not important. In my experience the people who speak good English pop up in the most surprising places. My dustman can speak English, a women in our local Toys r Us speaks immaculate to utterly perfect English. Quite a few younger staff in the likes of Darty or Leroy speak English. But when you talk to the managers of these stores 'the cadres' the highly paid ones that went to the 'good schools' they can't speak a word. It kinda the same in hospitals. The nurse is more likely to speak English that the doctor. Chancer: Google 'Survive France' to see the funny faces. Some have made an effort with their photos...others not so much. It is quite funny to see a picture of someone living in the Dordogne who is completely incapable of painting with French paint. LOL