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Would the notaire not know the answer to your question?

I have brought this topic back because Annie Ernaux has just won the Nobel prize for Literature. Very well deserved, I think, and has been coming for quite a while. She is very readable but, should your French not be up to reading books, her works have been translated into English for a good number of years now. So, if you are interested in accessing a slice of "real" French life (yes, dig at ALBF), this author is known for giving unvarnished insights into family and social life as she experienced it. Happy reading!

Thank you, ssomon. Actually, I don't think OH allows anything to hatch as he renews the bowls of water each day. I was so fixated on those mozzies breeding in our garden that I didn't stop to think of that.....😳

That might indeed explain it. OH has been filling shallow bowls with water for the birds and the stray cats that come to visit us in droves. It's lovely to see the birds splashing themselves in the water but I am not sure it's worth being eaten alive by mozzie?

Sounds like a real find, Lori. Just enjoy it. No doubt it won't be absolutely perfect but perfection is not and never has been the most important thing, if you can even find it. If you feel it's right, then it is for you...😄

Thanks, Lori. I find it very soothing for bites. It gives a nice, cooling effect and takes the worse of the itch off. Up to now, I have been using a steroid cream but that does need a prescription.

Betise, where do you buy Apaisyl? Someone left a gel of this in the gîte I was in and I took the liberty of appropriating it!! Confession time...gulp. I am thinking of taking the now flattened tube to the pharmacien to ask him but, if I could get it elsewhere, then I can compare prices? Thanks Betise.

Well done, Lori! Blimey, you sure don't let the grass grow under your feet do you? As for Judith's comment about the Dordogne being wet, I can't say I agree. We have had la grande secheresse like eveyone else. When I moved here back in 2010, a neighbour informed me that the Dordogne would not be "good" for me on account of my asthma. Actually I now have asthma as well as emphysema and I can say that I have not noticed any deterioration in my condition. I carry on with nordic walking, gym twice a week, pilates (though not since the heat), etc etc. I LOVE living here. We have magnificent views and fantastic neighbours and a kindly maire and my medical care through all my difficulties have been efficient and exemplary. You have come to, in my opinion, one of the nicest areas of France😄

Lori, I spoke with a French neighbour on your behalf yesterday. She has a VMC (must be double flux from the conversation) and she tells me a man comes and services it every year to ensure good functioning. She is however disable and so perhaps it is something you can do yourself as Lehaut has suggested.

Yes, maybe ants and mozzies and hornets.

Ken, that was a touching story about how you came by jake and her siblings. I have now decided that underneath all your truculent exterior, you must actually be a real softie at heart? Am I right in this assessment? IMO, anyone who is kind and considerate to cats cannot be entirely bad. Anyone who is kind to dogs also and birds and all manner of living things..... Live and let live. OK MOST of the time...!!!

My comment does not relate directly to a VMC but I hope it might be useful for Lori in her house hunt. I always look for windows to the outside in bathrooms and toilets. It's so much nicer, as both Harnser and Wooly have said, to be able to open windows for ventilation. Some modern houses seem to "squeeze" in bathrooms or toilets between other rooms (particularly "en suite" bathrooms) and I so dislike having ventilation mechanically rather than the easy opening of windows. Also these "interior" bathrooms necessarily have to have artificial lighting and there's nothing worse than having to put on your make-up in artificial light. How do you know what colour you will be when you go out into the true light of day???👾

Lehaut, I don't know how you ride these long distances. I can see you have a hugely impressive bike but didn't the vibrations get to your wrists? What I most remember from riding a (tiny engine) bike when I was young was how tough it was on the wrists!

Lehaut, thank you for describing your trip and your wonderfully interesting photos. Our travelling days are more or less totally over. So it's great "see" Brest. Did you go for a walk on the canal banks?

This is nothing new. For years, there have been manufacturers claiming the Laguiole mark and even put a bee on the blade. The name Laguiole has become used as a generic name for this type of knife with the special slip lock and does not necessarily refer to its origin. Even a Nontron knife (also with it's distinctive mark on the handle) is now very expensive to buy. Last time I looked, a bog standard pocket knife with a 6 cm blade was over 60 euros. I'd love a Laguiole so, if you do buy one, would you leave it to me in your will? Failing the knife, the cheese is also wonderful though I have been unable to find any for years now. It's all getting too popular and aimed at the tourist market.

Being one of those so-called dinosaurs who is not in possession of a smartphone, I normally use viamichelin to plot out my journeys. Even more dinosaur-like, I regularly have to drive to places in order to then take part in the very untechnical pursuit of walking. Tried to find an itinerary today and found from the viamichelin site that it is now necessary to open an account to access information. Happily, lots of other sites that will obligingly provide itineraries. Are there no organisations out there anymore who will provide a service without collecting personal data and targetting you with unwanted ads and trying to sell you stuff?

Thank you, Wools. I can, apparently, carry on drinking....er...the water!

Debbiere, it is no longer available because it was broadcast on Arte and I believe that their tv programmes are only on-line for a month after initial showing.

Here to redress the balance of complaints about the subject though I myselI have often had cause to be grateful for la Poste. Bit of background so that you know the context. Had to go to a village about 7 km away yesterday for a kiné session and found from Pages Jaunes that their PO would be open at the time. However, when I arrived I found that the PO had been closed (not sure if permanent closure or just "exceptionellement"). There was a factrice loading stuff up into her little van just outside. I had with me a parcel for Amazon with a return pre-paid label. I asked tentatively, I don't suppose you could take this for me because I would require a receipt. She said just tell me where you live. So I told her the name of my village. Then what is your name, madame? My name is T....oh and she herself gave me my FULL name. Astonished I remarked, so you know me already? No, she replied, but I have met your husband and I remember the name. Short end to the story....she took the parcel and my receipt slip and said leave it to me and my colleaque who does the round for your village. Now I have lived in many places (in different countries) where your instinct would be to hang on to your parcel, say a polite thank you but no thanks and leave quickly. But, such is my confidence in la Poste, I handed everything to her as requested. Early this morning, I found the receipt duly dated and stamped in my letterbox. The date on the receipt was 15 September, yesterday's date. So BRAVO, la Poste!

Indeed, check what she did say and perhaps check other media accounts such as newspapers?

Please do not imagine that this is a negative reply. Am I allowed to say that the area you want is calle NOUVELLE Aquitaine or NOA for short to the French. If you knew the right name, it might help your search. Good Luck! I don't know about fishing lakes directly so have no useful comments about how viable or otherwise they might be.

Rubble sounds about right, Harnser. After he said I could swallow, I asked whether I had to swallow the tartar and all and he said yes. However, when his back was turned preparing the filling, I sneakily spat into a tissue I had ready!

Having waited for 9 months to see a dentist, I was overjoyed (not my usual reaction) to be visiting a dental cabinet today. Covid restrictions still much enforced, mask and gel sanitaire as expected and of no surprise as I have only just stopped going on hospital visits. But, I WAS astonished when I asked to rinse my mouth and he said no rinsing of mouth because of the covid restrictions!! He said you may swallow but not spit. Has anyone else seen a dentist and come across this?

DB, just to correct what I think Liz Truss said. I did, like you, hear her say that the jury was still out but, right at the end of the clip and as the camera panned out, she said "foe". And I am not the only person to hear that. From what I have read elsewhere, other people were commenting on that as well. As to Ken, not sure I could bother to fend off your combative remarks. And no, I am not in the least bitter. Bitter about some politician who mainly does not feature much in my day-to-day live? I wouldn't give her the time of day....,

Loiseau, yes, I thought so too. He spoke so well and sounded sincere (well, appearances do matter, don't they?) and his English was on the whole excellent. Vive le Président, Vive la France! I love both countries and I was so glad that Macron signaled a respectful and friendly regard and was perfectly dignified unlike Liz Truss who recently called France "a foe". I wish she'd stop being and sounding such robotic dumbo