DaveLister

We had 512K broadband when we first arrived in France. It felt so high tech after our dial up in rural Norfolk.

Well, unless there is a late contender, I hereby anoint Cajal and Hectorsdad joint forum Doyens. 🏆

Mmm me thinks a touch of sour grapes. Fortunately whoever was concerned isn't the only person who knows how to edit a Wikipedia entry.😉

From the article. 'The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says it spent £200m part-funding new facilities to cope with post-Brexit border controls at 41 ports. It acknowledges that fewer checks will now be required and says ports are free to use spare capacity as they wish.' Portsmouth is just an example. Also from the article. 'The British Ports Association meanwhile has raised concerns with ministers about the preparedness of the new inspection regime at new border control posts (BCPs), due to be enforced in less than six weeks. The trade body says ports have still not been told what hours BCPs will be required to open, or how many staff from two state inspection agencies will be required on site. Crucially, they also do not know how much they will be able to charge importers for inspections because the government has not revealed what price it will levy at the wholly state-owned and run BCP at Sevington in Kent, 20 miles inland from Dover.' As I said this shower couldn't organise a P155 up in a brewery.

So we're currently looking at 2000. Anyone earlier?

Well you've got two years on me Hectorsdad. Any advance on 2001

Whatever your thoughts on Brexit this government have made a complete b*lls up of it. https://news.sky.com/story/portsmouths-new-brexit-border-post-could-be-demolished-without-ever-being-used-13099358

I know I started following it in 2003 when I took out a subscription to the magazine but I was wondering how long it had been running before then. Anybody got any ideas?

82 year old man set to lose his home of 40 years because the daughters of his partner want to sell it. https://www.midilibre.fr/2024/03/20/jai-tout-perdu-un-retraite-de-82-ans-va-perdre-sa-maison-et-son-jardin-car-ses-belles-filles-ont-decide-de-vendre-11837757.php One has to ask why they didn't either get married or PAC'ed whilst she was alive.

Well we're going through a period of solar flares which will interfere with satellite reception but only for short periods. Could the dish have been knocked slightly out of alignment by last weeks storm? How old is your LNB? Perhaps it might be worth getting it replaced. You have, I assume checked all your connections.

Then I suspect it's because they've closed the SD radio channels and you ( like me ) live on the edge of the footprint. FWIW I've just done a check & I'm currently not receiving BBC 6 Music, Radio 4 extra, & BBC World Service. Radio 2 is pretty glitchy as well. Today is a good day as I've got a signal on BBC news.

Is it a HD box?

your wish is our command 😊

If you mean correcting the spelling I'll be happy to if Lehaut wants.

If you do agree a price remember you don't have to use the sellers Notaire. Here's the official website for finding an English speaking Notaire in the area. https://www.notaires.fr/en/directory There's also lots of generic information on property purchases and succession rules.

Menthe is right. The Notaire isn't going to want to draw up a compromis until the final price has been agreed. If you are paying the agents fees then they are working for you. Use them to sound out your offer with the owner without making it formal. Something like ' I believe the property is worth more like xxxxx'. Remember the agents fee's are normally a % of the selling price so they won't be keen to go too low. However, that's their problem not yours. I do advise you to get as much information about the property as you can before placing an offer. Again use the agent. It's their job. FWIW my last 'property' purchase was some land 10 years ago. The 'price haggling' was all done in the agents office with the owner on the phone. Only then was an official offer made and accepted.

My understanding is that any 'offer' can be considered legally binding. Here's a translation from a French estate agency. Now that you've found your ideal home, it's time to make an offer to purchase! This is a document that commits you to the purchase of the seller's property. It must therefore be drawn up in accordance with certain rules. Here are the essential points to bear in mind: The price at which you propose to buy the property from the seller. The period of validity of the offer, which is generally 5 to 10 days, corresponding to the time you give the seller to accept or refuse the offer. How the seller should respond, i.e. by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or by bailiff. Your own withdrawal period, which by default is 10 working days. The financing of the property purchase (loan and/or down payment). You should mention that the sale will not be final until the preliminary contract has been signed. You should indicate that the offer to purchase will be cancelled if it has not been accepted by the seller within the specified time frame. You can also indicate the type of property involved and describe it (surface area, number of rooms, etc.). Warning: remember to include suspensive clauses so that you can withdraw from the sale if something unforeseen occurs beyond your withdrawal period (such as a poor assessment of the property's condition, for example). Remember also that suspensive clauses have to be agreed by both parties, you can't just include them at a later date into the Compromis.

Funny how all three are Belgian. Was it a national holiday or something yesterday that caused them all to be out on the roads. Currently in the middle of a massive thunderstorm. First hail now rain. Guess I'll be manning the pumps again tomorrow.

Tragically they've just found a body.

I've spent most of the day so far manning the pumps. Vide sanitaire and control technique both under water. Got an alarm from my insurance company late last night advising against travel. Fortunately we had large drains installed all around the house when we arrived which normally prevent any damage internally. One of those missing was in a car found just down the road from us. Very sad but unfortunately all too common.

If I want to sound officious I begin with 'Dear Sirs' and end with 'yours'. If I want to be a little more friendly I'll use 'kind regards'. 'Regards' only gets used if I know them.

Sounds expensive and if there's one thing our Mairie hates doing it's spending money. And besides, our local handyman doesn't get the chance to play with diggers very often.😀 Still mustn't hijack the thread ( Sorry Guardian )

Haven't had a chance to get to the markets this week. The Mairie are installing new water meters at the road edge. Unfortunately information on where the actual pipe runs has been lost in the mists of time so we've have two weeks of digger man putting holes anywhere and everywhere. Most of this week I couldn't even get out of my front gate. With luck things should be back to normal next week so I'll be on the lookout for some asparagus.

Can't wait for the asparagus, poached egg instead of the butter for me though. I'm fortunate in that wild strawberries grow in my woods. Tiny little things but packed with flavour. You can always try improving shop bought strawberries with a grinding of pepper.

Moi aussi, unfortunately the feelings not mutual. I'll cook with them but have to fish them out before eating. Luckily I don't have the same problem with Chilies.