Loiseau

Tricky one, but "mon feeling" would be for no subjunctive. I like Norman's more elegant construction of the beginning, too. EDIT Whoops, I hadn't realised this thread had passed onto a second page while I was driving found the DIY stores of west London, so my réponse lacks erudition and is sadly out of date.

....or just see which French service provider your U.K. mobile picks up when you are at your French house.

Whew. I was a bit worried about that red icon as well, but too scaredy to try it out! Thanks both.

Well, we on the other side could barter with Yorkshire Tea and Worcester sauce, I guess.

Another factor to consider is that, if the house is a second home, when you come to sell it you would not be able to offset the costs of labour and materials against any capital gain if you were not able to produce receipts from French artisans.

Lots of trips to the dump, and to Emmaüs in my experience. Try and give away/sell what you can to friends and neighbours first. Do your buyers want to purchase any choice items? Mine took a few, though paid peanuts.

It's true that funerals in France are usually within about three days of the death, so arranging leave and travel from afar can be tricky. For the one I was involved with, the bereaved relatives were in Canada, so it was necessary to delay things by a few days to give them time to get to western France from Montreal. It was all possible though, so do ask about extending the death-to-cremation period if necessary.

Very courageous of you to be looking ahead in this difficult situation, Blodwyn, and I am so sorry for the circumstances you find yourself in. I think, as said above, it's a good idea to ask around locally. If you don’t have friends or neighbours who have organised a funeral and might advise you who they used, then a good suggestion above is to ask the staff at the Mairie. The only time I was involved in organising one in France, we used a local pompes-funebres in the little town 5 miles away. They were brilliant; efficient, sympathetic; came to the house to collect the deceased (it had been a sudden, unexpected departure), and organised everything just as the bereaved wanted (no church service; just a brief ceremony at the crematorium with music and words chosen by the relatives). They were able to pick up the ashes from the undertaker later the same day. I am sorry to say that I can't remember the cost, as I was not the one paying, and it was 15 years ago now, but I am sure it would be over the 1,000 euro mark. It depends of course on what coffin you choose, whether you want embalming and viewing; how far away the crematorium is, etc. I have recently been helping organise my aunt's funeral in the U.K.: collection from hospital, keeping the deceased for more than 3 weeks, church service followed by cremation; hearse plus one limousine for family. Came to £3,000.

+1 YCCMB !

That's another good wheeze, GG, turning the other way and hoping for a roundabout or similar in order to come back.

Absolutely agree, les filles. When the bright sun is very low, the sun visor does not extend downwards enough to screen it from my eyes. I now keep a long-peaked cap on the passenger seat beside me, so I can cram it on my head and pull it down to try and eliminate dazzle.

YCCMB wrote: Luckily, mince pies get phased out much earlier! In fact, there are already signs of the odd Easter egg. Hot cross buns have been in M&S since Christmas. In fact I think they are now on sale all year.

LOL, Norman!

Well done, mint, re "blindé". Did they all applaud you? I have just learnt a new expression thanks to ericd in another thread: "...do not listen to hear-say (bruits de chiottes in my language) ..." ! If you would like me to scan The Week article and email it to you, send me a pm with your email address.

mint, I finally caught up with it, and thought it gripping, and quite chilling to see how people can be manipulated. I was reading an article today, in The Week, by Dominic Cummings's wife (originally published in The Spectator, I think). She said they had B Cumberbatch to dinner one evening, by the end of which he had absorbed DC's posture and mannerisms to a T.

Here it is https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/oleaster-elaeagnus-x-ebbingei.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkpTB2I3p3wIVArTtCh0mGACGEAAYASAAEgKInvD_BwE In French you would ask for "ell-ay-an-yewss" !

Absolutely NOOOOO to bamboo! Have you thought of eleagnus ebingii? It comes in plain or variegated versions; is evergreen; grows fairly fast, but is easy to keep in check. And in the autumn it has a delicious fragrance, emanating from flowers so tiny that you almost can't see them. I used to trim mine with hand shears (cos that's all I had); it does have slightly fuzzy undersides to the leaves that can be itchy on the skin for a few hours after you have lugged armfuls of trimmings to the compost heap. But on balance it makes an excellent hedge.

Slightly tongue-in-cheek suggestion here, but I just came across this website that compares various aspects of living in different countries: https://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/FR Apparently you are 20% more likely to be murdered in France than in GB, so be sure to lock your doors tonight. On the plus side, you will live 1.2 years longer (as long as the murderers don't get you), and have 12% more free time. You can chop and change countries, and compare Finland with the Democratic Republic of Congo if it takes your fancy.

in the end I was too busy catching up with "Manhunt", which I hadn't realised was being shown on three consecutive nights rather than once a week. Tonight WILL be the Brexit pro, I promise, mint!

Hoddy, silvery-grey is the colour the wood goes when nothing has been done to it, or when the oil treatment has worn off, and is highly prized by many. Indeed, varnish needs to be removed - maybe you could sand it off with a machine for speed - the whole thing karcher-ed down, and then the 50-50 linseed oil and turps substitute applied once it;'s all thoroughly dry. It'll need re-doing every spring, but always looks wonderful when done. (NB, don't use it for a few days after oiling, or it might drip on any diners sitting at it.)

I know several people in the U.K. with septic tanks, and they barely know where they are located! No official has ever been to check them. But these days the French seem obsessed with finding fault with them. Must make a nice lot of work for the installers...

QUOTE Sherlocked Well, no other renovation costs needed. Been on sale for 6 months. Owner did a lot of work but had to move out due to disability. .... the only issue is the fosse ... END QUOTE I absolutely sympathise with the poor vendor. His fosse probably works perfectly, but SPANC in their wisdom have condemned it - as they have 95% of perfectly-functioning fosses in France. I believe the present owner does not have to do anything, but on the sale of the property the buyer is supposed to carry out the necessary work within 12 months. I sold my French cottage a year ago, and at the last SPANC inspection - when my perfectly-functioning 25-y-o fosse was found “non conforme” for the lack of a grease filter (that was not obligatory at the time of installation) the guy said there would probably not be another inspection for 10 years, due to lack of resources. I suspect my (French) buyers, sensibly, will do nothing about replacing it until they are absolutely compelled to. And for you, it might have been worth the risk - except for the problem with access and lack of available space if you DID have to do the work. As I said earlier, I am afraid - sadly - I would walk away from this one.

Ooo, I meant to watch that. Thanks mint, that's my catch-up viewing organised for tonight!

Hello Sherlocked, and welcome to the forum. I honestly think I would walk on by... But perhaps someone will be along soon with some useful info.

Mint, I am hopeless at making mince pies, and anyway only like to eat a max of about three a year. I specially dislike them served, cold, alongside mulled wine, which often seems to happen pre-Christmas! Galette des rois seems to vary from area to area. I remember somewhere (I think Paris) where it was more of a biscuit thing than the flaky pastry or brioche things that I was always being served in the Vendée. The advantage of the biscuity version was that if you looked at the base you could usually spot the baby Jesus showing through the bottom crust.