DaveLister

I think that if one was to superimpose the cadastre plan over most satellite pics you would find that it was, at best, a guestimate. The only way to ever be truly sure is to employ a geometre. Another chemin story. My neighbours ( french ) bought their property whilst working overseas and when taking up residence discovered that a track that ran down two sides of their property was not their private access but a Chemin Rural belonging to the Mairie ( no I don't know why the notaire wasn't across it either ). They ended up employing a very expensive Advocate in Paris who assured them that, if no one used the track for more than 10 years they could claim ownership. So they started to make it very difficult for the general public to gain access ( parking their car in front of the house that sort of thing ). They had many an argument with the hunters who wanted to get to the woods and even demolished a wall to give the impression that the chemin stopped short of where it actually did. Some fifteen years later we bought a stretch of land adjoining the track and were surprised to discover it belonged to the commune. We started using it ( albeit mostly by foot ) and our neighbours, on checking, found that their lawyer hadn't even begun the process of applying for it to be erased and, anyway, our new usage now made that application nul and void. They sold the property last year to a Belgian couple who appear to have done their research and are quite happy with the situation.

I've been a member of this forum since it was called La Mairie and have seen some wonderful people come and go but have we come to the end of the line I wonder? This year will be my 20th year as a resident and I now come here, not only to learn, but to converse with people whose life experiences are similar to my own ie a foreigner living in France . However I feel that we are no longer the community we once were. Perhaps the time for internet forums such as this is over. Anotherbanana now has the solo responsibility for moderation along with the ever increasing need to remove all the spam. Is this fair when I think most people, like me, glance at the active topics once or twice a day then move on? All things change and everything has it's time. Should we thank AB for his service and allow the forum to die?

Sad news indeed, my condolences to her family.

My understanding is that a chemin d'exploitation is private and therefore the Mairie would have no interest in knowing how wide or narrow it is. They would assume that your sisters plans were correct in that regard. I suspect someone saw the planning application at the town hall and realised they could earn a bit of "compensation" if they sat on their hands for a couple of years. Have you tried talking to the other parties to see if there is a compromise to be had? Maybe that's not possible but I can only second Lehauts comments. You really don't want to go down the legal route if you can avoid it. It could ruin you financially.

I hoped you would say that. In my experience most French people can't conceive of changing career no matter how much they might hate their job. When it is forced upon them most appear to be able to do nothing more than wait for something similar to turn up. The ' c'est mon métier ' still looms large. My car mechanic is a notable exception. He used to be a nuclear engineer at Flamanville on the French coast which he found mind numbingly boring. So he spent his free time training as a mechanic and, once qualified, resigned and set up his own garage. He once told me it was three years before they finally stopped calling him to ask him to come back. Not because he was particularly indispensable but because they couldn't conceive that anyone could make a success on their own.

Nice to hear someone falling on their feet like that. I assume he was French?

It wouldn't cross my mind that a supermarket would hike it's prices just for the weekend. https://www.midilibre.fr/2023/02/12/augmentation-des-prix-dans-les-supermarches-le-dimanche-les-enseignes-ont-elles-le-droit-de-monter-leurs-tarifs-10992942.php Good thing I normally shop on a Monday.

If you want to buy ready mix you can normally get Aspen at a local Bricolage or Stihl at an agent. It's more expensive than mixing your own but remains stable for two years. I tend to get a bidon at the end of the season just to finish up so that I don't end up with a tank full of old fuel. Ask your friend what he'd prefer. https://www.ruralmaster.fr/cohade/lubrifiants-carburants/33237-carburant-2-temps-5l-aspen-7330045973001.html

Sweet French Pancakes. ( makes around 20 ) 30g Buckwheat flour 350g plain flour 100g salted butter ( melted ) 110g castor sugar 3 large eggs ( beaten ) 1/2 litre milk a little water put flour in bowl, hollow out center and add eggs and the sugar. Begin mixing the batter with a little water then gradually add the milk mixing until smooth. Finally beat in the melted butter. If you like you can also add a small tot of rum to the mix.

Idun would be the person to ask I would think. I know she's not posting here much so perhaps a PM?

Have you tried using another browser? Or deleting the cache and cookies from the one that you do use. Perhaps there's a hang up from the older version of the website on your machine and it's causing your password not to be recognised. I seem to remember when they did the update a load of us ( me included ) lost our accounts.

Interesting. I don't think any of my cars are that clever😀. Most sit outside with the battery disconnected and I haven't noticed any of them running more roughly when I start them up (although I don't pretend to be an expert on these things). Certainly none of them have failed an emissions test during a Control Technique and I've had no comments from the garage when I've taken them in for service. In fact I think it was a mechanic who first suggested the interrupts.

Thank you ssomon for your timely intervention. I have a number of cars but none is less than ten years old ( heck one even has a crank as the emergency starter ). You were right to raise the alarm when I suggested disconnecting the battery. 👍

Have you thought of getting a battery disconnect for the little used car?

Tell that to Shakespeare 😁

Cats can be taught, just like any other animal. I've always had cats and they were taught from an early age that the kitchen counters and the dining table were no go areas. On occasions we would share meals ( fruit de mer ). The cats bowl would be put next to my chair and food dropped into it. If they attempted to jump up they would be taken out of the dining room. They very soon learnt that, if they wanted a prawn, they had to behave.

Perhaps they'll end up introducing a 'caution'. Return the plate or you won't get your 10 euros back.

I've been a member of this forum for nearly 20 years. We've certainly had some characters over the years and some heated debates. I would submit that only recently they have become "infantile".

I think the saddest thing is that there appears to be one or two people on this forum who wait for any opportunity to launch onto their favourite hobby horse. I started this thread and, although I admit it's hardly the most riveting piece of news, it is France related and I was genuinely interested in hearing people's views. In response I was accused of being feckless and deserving of anything that befell me. Norman answered the question and was promptly derided for his apparent lifestyle. It's no wonder people don't want to post anymore. As it is I was going to post something else today but, frankly as I can already guess what the responses would be, I won't bother.

In a national Poll conducted between the 25th of November and the 5th of December of a sample of 10189 french adults ( chosen to reflect a cross section of the population ) it was shown that 9 out of 10 French people were happy with their lives in their communes. When asked to give examples, 'calm and tranquility' along with the access to services were rated as "high" or " very high". The one out of ten who expressed dissatisfaction gave security and lack of local shops as examples. https://harris-interactive.fr/opinion_polls/barometre-habitat-2022/

You can't equate economic migrants ( in which I include myself ) with the native population. Most of us immigrated to France because we believed we would have a better life. Those of us still here probably, on balance, still believe that to be the case. If not we would have moved on. I see no point in constantly having it pointed out to me that not all France lives as I do. I already know that and yet I still decide to remain. One has to ask ALBF, why are you still here? I agree but no one said anything about the UK in this thread or any other recently. I remind you the subject was till receipts.

Thanks. That is the new site I was referring to but I hadn't thought of searching for a specific supermarket with it. You can also search using place names so, if you always shop in a particular town, you can limit it that way. I just think it's a shame that there isn't a way to subscribe for the latest recalls like there used to be on the old site. Still, from the looks of it, I'm glad I haven't bought any oysters recently🤢

Note to self - DNFTT

Just heard this one on the radio. Jerry Parr was the secret service agent credited with saving Ronald Reagan's life during the assassination attempt of 1981. His fast reactions, pushing the president into the limousine, prevented Reagan from being hit in the head. Once inside he checked the President for blood before ordering they went back to the White house. Reagan was in pain from what he thought was a bruised rib and when he started bleeding from the mouth assumed it was nothing more than a cut lip. Parr instead correctly guessed it was internal bleeding and diverted the motorcade to George Washington Hospital where it was discovered that the president had, in fact, been shot and the bullet had punctured his lung. Apparently Jerry Parr had always wanted to work in the secret service ever since he was a child when, at nine years old, his father took him to the movies to see a film called " The Code of the Secret Service". The star - a young Ronald Reagan.