Jump to content

Catalpa

Members
  • Posts

    2,468
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

Everything posted by Catalpa

  1. Weight is relevant at this time of year: if a hedgehog weighs less than 600 grams they don't have sufficient "mass" to make it through winter on their own. Someone on one of the forums did overwinter a young, underweight hedgehog successfully and released it the following spring. I seem to remember it ponged rather a lot while in its winter quarters so personally I'd avoid donating a bedroom to them! Good luck. [:)]
  2. When I was describing the area last night, I forgot to mention that if you are looking "in the area" as opposed to in the town itself, beware of the new line of THT (high tension) electricity pylons that are due to march down la Manche within the next few years. If you are looking to the west of Mortain, check with each Mairie whether the commune will be affected by the ligne THT. You can ask the question of the estate agents and notaires too but they will not provide the information unasked as you would expect searches to do in England. Official site + maps There's a list here of all the communes affected: ligne THT communes Some of the signs that will alert you if you see them in the local countryside: THT signs and maps
  3. Glad things are progressing well, Coops. I think resting, eating and sleeping with a bit of sun on the side sounds an excellent way to be getting through this period. May it all continue for the rest of your treatment. [:)] Regards to Mr Coops.
  4. Caen and St Malo are approximately the same distance in time - 1 hr 20 / 1 hr 30. Le Havre is about an hour further. Flights into Rennes and Dinard which are both about 1 hour 30 / 1 hr 45 away. Beautiful area, nicer in the hills than in the valleys - imo. Great beaches between Avranches and Granville - approx 50 minutes away. Lots of British people - and a fair few Dutch and Germans in the area. There is a weekly market in Mortain - Saturdays - it's not exciting! But there are good markets at Sourdeval and Villedieu les Poêles (Tuesdays) St Hilaire du Harcouët (Wednesdays) and Vire (Fridays). And markets to the south and east too but I'm 15 mins north west of Mortain so don't know south and east so well. Mortain itself is a grey little town by virtue of the fact that - like many of the towns and villages around here - it suffered substantial damage during the months after D-Day as the Allied armies defended the area against several Panzer divisions trying to take back ground. Google Mortain Counter Offensive for more info if of interest. It was re-built speedily to provide commerce accommodation and aesthetics weren't the first thing on their minds. There's a Carrefour (smallish) and an Aldi. There are boulangeries, traiteurs, boucheries, etc in the town. There's an open air swimming pool - during summer only I think. There are plenty of associations, clubs and "stuff" going on in the area, some Anglo-French, some Anglo and, of course, plenty of French activities to which any other nationalities are welcome. Weather is similar to Devon and Cornwall. Located at the end of the baie de Mont St Michel valley, it may be a bit more prone to mists and rain than other areas but that's an impression, not fact. Temperature a few degrees warmer in summer than southern England; winters possibly a few degrees colder (beginning to be influenced by the land mass of France rather than the maritime climate enjoyed further north). I love valleys, hills and woods: I've seen no area of Normandy in which I'd rather live. PM me if you want more info.  
  5. [quote user="Mick"]The question was simple. There is no need for people to complicate matters by introducing aspects that are irrelevant as you did. [/quote] When someone has got themselves into a bind, their judgement on what is and what is not relevant is immediately suspect. But the unwillingness to be more precise does tell its own story. Very clearly.
  6. [quote user="Mick"] BTW the thread is not about whether anyone has renaiged on the work or payment. It is simply about selling a house without a copy of a builders insurance. Let's try to stay on topic if that is OK.[/quote] You have come here to ask for advice; your snippy responses are not going to encourage people to spend their time answering your question far less researching and posting links to "pertienent webpages". The questions I asked were relevant and related to what your next steps might be. But if you are only prepared to reveal a specific amount of information then that limits the advice one can provide...
  7. Was the work done against a devis (can't remember if you said it was) and was the work paid for against a facture - ideally via a cheque, not cash! Did you get the facture receipted? Have you still got all three? What precisely is the difficulty with obtaining insurance details? Have you asked face-to-face? Or just via emails and / or answerphone messages.
  8. Exactly the problem. As a rule of thumb, if you have costs (materials, insurances (public liability equivalent, decennal, rent of equipment or services etc) comprising 20% or more of your turnover, AE is not a good choice.
  9. BBC say dead. Dug out of a drainage pipe or ditch in Sirte, apparently.
  10. I have no burning desire to write (and I do think you need that to be successful) but I have always enjoyed writing... and I wondered if I could write a whole book. During NaNoWriMo about 3 years ago, I achieved about 38,000 words... before an event that the plot hinged on had to happen. By which time, the characters involved in the plot point had written themselves in such a way that for the event to be put in motion the one character particularly would have been acting so out of character as to make the whole thing unbelieveable. So I ground to a halt... it was very good fun though and I might revisit the idea one day. Many years ago (like about 35!) I did have a couple of short stories published in magazines - paid for! - and it is a buzz. [:D]
  11. [quote user="mary"]They have both decided to close down the sarl as their proffit can't cover these charges and both are registering as Micro.[/quote] Be careful with this. A friend of ours closed down his SARL and reopened the same business as micro (réel, I think). This was done on the advice of an accountant. Friend was subsequently told that if a SARL is closed down, the individual/s concerned cannot start a new business doing the same work for one year after the SARL ceases. This may not be accurate; something may have been lost in translation or in the re-telling of the story but I would advise that you check it out. If true, it seems utterly bizarre to me as effectively it prevents someone continuing to earn a living for a year using existing skills but... some things about doing business in France do seem bizarre to me... Good luck with your plans.
  12. NaNoWriMo is the writing month thing. National Novel Writing Month. Actually, it's international, happens every November, it's fun and the idea is that you just write... 50,000 words! You don't go back and edit or rearrange etc, you just get your novel written in a month. Then you go back and do whatever amending you need to do. Congratulations on getting published, Wrimo. [:D]
  13. I think simple works too, Christine. And Eglise is often understood even when people don't speak much French so it's a good choice, imo. Except... if there are other chambres d'hôtes / holiday rentals in the area with the same name. It's more of a challenge to develop an individual character for a property when there are others with similar names in the vicinity. I have this problem myself.
  14. [quote user="Louise"]If we dont open till next summer, and Im not expecting to have guests falling through the door for the first year...[/quote] Well, even if the business isn't registered much in advance of opening, you'll want your website up and running from January even if you are not open for guests before June or July. You need to be visible and "there" in late winter and spring for when people start searching for and planning their summer bookings.
  15. [quote user="Louise"] He is coming to help set i up and then I am going to send him out to work !!!![/quote] Don't underestimate the amount of work involved in running a b&b. My OH has his own business and I frequently work solo 18 hour b&b days as I do table d'hôte too and most of those 18 hours are spent on my feet. Mentally, the work is fine, easily doable... physically... my feet are knackered! And "staff" cost a lot of money in France.
  16. [quote user="Louise"]Hi Catalpa, We think the shutters are going to have to be grey...to fit in with the rules of the church. did you open the link to the pictures ? [/quote] Yes I did. Lovely square, solid-looking house. It looks as if you are on a bit of a crossroads? But I think that's been done as a name. Possibly overdone. [:D] Could you have a couple of beautiful plant pots either side of your entrance door? Bay trees or olive trees... bay trees probably better as less spreading. Then you could be Les Lauriers. Or plant a couple of wisteria - Les Glycines. Both of these would lend themselves to nice graphics. Whatever you go for, make absolutely certain there are no other similarly named holiday properties in the area - ideally not in the departement. BTW, did you say earlier what the name of the river is? Can you do anything with that name? [quote user="Gemonimo"]It goes brilliantly with the climbing rose 'Pierre de Ronsard' on the front of the house.[/quote] Gem! I have that rose too. Several of them in fact. Isn't it wonderful... and it just keeps on flowering. The only downside is no scent.
  17. [quote user="Daft Doctor"]...I'd rather be handing this sort of money to the FG rather than to a profit-making insurance company.  [/quote]But in case of an individual's serious illness, I suppose the FG would rather the profit-making insurance companies cover the thousands of euros of costs (possibly ongoing costs) and not them. I kinda sense that occasionally people feel that the FG is a good cause deserving of their donations... er... contributions. I don't think the FG sees it that way or manages risk that way. [;-)] ETA: And I certainly don't feel that way about RSI... [:P]
  18. [quote user="Chancer"]Why a name at all? [/quote] <thud> [:-))] The property is the business. That's why it needs a memorable name. Le Bourg doesn't really cut it as something evocative that can be developed into a brand.
  19. [quote user="idun"]Now that is a new one on me, I thought that La Dame Blanche was the White Lady, isn't it?[/quote] Did you click the link? Yes, it is white lady, of course, but la dame blanche is the (or a) popular name for the barn owl, barn owls being a white and silent spectre sweeping up and down the fields at dawn and dusk. Hence the little graphic for Maison de la Dame Blanche on their site. Other owl names are chouette and hibou. La Maison du Hibou And Hôtel La Chouette... Edited to add: And the other name for a barn owl is chouette effraie. A chouette hulotte is a tawny owl.
  20. Louise, could you do some research and find out a bit of the history of the house - who lived there previously... is it the Old Presbytery, for eg. Or is it a Maison de Maitre (so it could be called La Maison de Maitre). Or a house down in the valley here is called le Trois Fenêtres, which is rather nice. Or what colours are your shutters... should you have any... les Volets Bleus ?
  21. Are there any large trees you can name the house after? Or roses? Or you could plant roses! What is the address at the moment? You don't have to post it here but for eg, does it have a number? I know one or two b&bs called Number 5... or whatever. Here are two... which have absolutely nothing to do with me. [:P] Number 1 Numero Cinq Or you could maybe call it after birds - Les Hirondelles (swallows) or Maison de la Dame Blanche (House of the Barn Owl). La Dame Blanche is nothing to do with me either - but I quite fancy staying there. I think you have to announce your house's name at the Mairie and at la Poste... but not sure about that.
  22. [quote user="Louise"]I have enwquired and been told I qualify for the E106 so will be ok for health care for the first 2 years. [/quote]Something for you to check: I think the S1 CPAM affiliation may only be valid until you start your business even if that is before your two years are up. When your business is registered, your S1 cover will cease and you will begin paying cotisations. [quote user="Louise"]... hiring a translator to help is a great idea although we have a few french / english speaking neighbours who I might ask to come with me. [/quote] As has already been said, friends are useful - sometimes very useful - but if you are going to be discussing business registrations, tax regimes, cotisations, etc, you might be better to look for a professional translator who is used to dealing with those offices. If your friends haven't been through the process of registering a business themselves, they're not necessarily equipped with the right experience or knowledge to ask your questions in the way that might deliver the best outcome for you. We've found that when we have been told we can't do something, we need to re-state the desired goal and then ask if there is any way we can achieve that within the system. Often there is, but alternatives are not necessarily offered unasked. A translator - or friend - who is well used to dealing with officialdom could be better than one who speaks French well but has never worked here or had more than an over-flowing fosse septique to deal with.
  23. [quote user="flyingicarus"]Hi Louise - you probably haven't got many responses because half the Brit chambres d'hotes owners in France aren't registered for tax...!  [/quote] Or more likely they legally run as an adjunct to another registered business and returns are submitted via that business. As I am in that situation, I don't have advice to offer to the OP other than: if it is to be your only business, you would do well to talk through your specific financial and property situation with an accountant before deciding what regime to opt for. Don't think of paying for (good!) financial advice as a waste of money. The right advice is an investment in future success. Depending on your situation, the following advice: [quote user="flyingicarus"]Your best option is to go for the small enterprise system where you don't have to pay the tax in advance. [/quote] ...could cost you dearly. Good luck with your plans - I second the recommendation to look at laymyhat.
  24. Really?! [:D] I found this pic when I was looking which is what really sold it to me... though I reserve the right to substitute cats for kids. [;-)]
×
×
  • Create New...