Gaynor

Have just read Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. Brilliant! Would love to know of recommended contemporary French novels.

Every evening at about 22h15 (when the tempo creuse kicks in)the fuse box starts making manic clicking sounds. It continues until we go to bed - possibly all night, who knows? 1) Is it dangerous? 2) How do we go about fixing it?

Sorry to ask what is probab;y a really obvious question but how can one amend one's profile entry?

We are considering moving to France in 5 years time - we already have a "maison secondaire". We have a house in England, which, if we moved to France, we could either sell or rent out. If one of us were to die, once we were resident in France, would our UK property (either the house or the bank account)be equally liable to French Inheritance law? i.e. Would it be better (from the point of view of the survivor) to retain the house or to sell it? There are children from both marriages and we would want to make sure that the surviving partner had complete freedom, if possible.

How do you obtain a TV licence in France?

We bought from But at Caen (Mondeville) and were very happy with our purchases - electrical and furniture. The problem is delivery, if you are in France for only a short visit and don't have your own transport (for larger items). I sent But a fax, explaining the situation and negotiated a delivery on the Thursday after choosing items on Monday of the same week. Our house is near Pont D'Ouilly. You may well find a Conforama (or equivalent) closer to you than Caen. We chose But because we had visited one elsewhere in France and realised that we could get everything we wanted under one roof.

We are just about to sign for our French property and have joined the BF Property Owners' Club. We want to sail Portsmouth-Caen because our house is less than one hour's drive from Caen. I have booked for five return trips to France - school every holiday fron Christmas 2001 to August 2002 (inclusive). We intend making the most of our house! We are tending to choose convenient crossings (time-wise)for short breaks and cheap crossings for long breaks - always with cabin. We have ended up paying just over 1000 altogether instead of 1500 (full price for exactly the same crossings). We reckon it's a good saving and, although by no means cheap, by far the most convenient option for us. I'd be interested in trying the short Cherbourg crossing some time - although we quite like the Caen sailing. We feel that the holiday starts on the boat. (Perhaps we are masochists!) I'd also be interested in train travel from Cherbourg to Caen and beyond. Is anyone used to travelling by SNCF? I've consulted their website but cannot work out where the useful (to us) stations are in Normandy. Is there such a thing as a route map?

Would love to contact anyone with a maison secondaire in the Pont D'Ouilly region!