Catalpa

[quote user="devils advocate"]I think it the world would be better off if people snitched less and helped more.[/quote] I think that comment is coming from the fact you're feeling a bit raw about what you think (you don't have any proof that someone "denounced") has happened to you when you weren't doing anything (very) wrong - though if any of your visiting family had been injured while doing the work you might have found yourself on the receiving end of a rather large medical bill. Even so, putting that and your experience aside, you can probably see that if you set up a business, pay the hefty cotisations in advance of any earnings - ditto paying for the 10 year insurance which, as Punch said, can be around 3000€ each year - you would resent... and your legitimate earnings could be directly affected by... unregisted people working au noir. The outgoings for a new, registered artisan can be around 6000€ in the first year before they've earned a cent - it's therefore easy for the dishonest unregistered to undercut honest enterprises on price. Edited to add: Just to be clear: I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with your situation - family helping - just that the other posters passing on the details of unregistered activity where money (sometimes substantial amounts) is exchanging hands isn't necessarily unreasonable. Edit II: It'll be interesting to see if you receive different opinions on TF - http://www.totalfrance.com/france/forum/viewtopic.php?t=93217&highlight=&sid=d30cf83c7c35a82caf0befecb9bdaf69

Do you both (Gem and S-17) hope to meet up to complete the walk or are there time constraints that mean you probably won't have chance? I do hope you can finish together - that would be perfect. [:)]

Gem and S-17... you are bloody amazing. Respect. [B] [kiss]

[quote user="Quillan"]They normally can't afford to hunt, thats for the rich...[/quote] Oh dear, Q. You're a bit behind with the prejudices. More people are hunting since the ban and from a much wider social base. And farmers have always been members of hunts, continue to be so, and the fees are on a sliding scale anyway.

[quote user="Christine Animal"]Yes, what is happening in the UK due to the hunting ban?   [/quote] Hunting continues - though not through the summer, obviously. My question to Afy related to the fact the only foxes recently in the news (afaiaa) are urban foxes... and packs of hounds tend not to be an efficient - or welcome! - means of control in Islington, Highgate, Fulham or even Brixton. Not to mention Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham and all the other major conurbations with a surfeit of foxes who have lost their fear of man due to man often proving itself to be a kind and frequent purveyor of food. And lots of it. Leading to more frequent breeding cycles with higher number of cubs per litter many of whom then start scrapping for territories before breeding more frequently with higher numbers of cubs... As is often the case, man is the problem.

[quote user="Afy"]Cremated and ashes down the toilet. [/quote] So a bespoke form of Eparcyl, then... [geek]

[quote user="Afy"]Just look at what is happening in the UK thanks to the hunting ban. [/quote] What is happening in the UK due to the hunting ban? [8-)]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"] I thought Emma Peel got the boots and Steed wore the hat, but what do I know? [/quote] I suspect she got pretty much whatever she wanted. [:-))] And yes. Perhaps that is the ultimate test of integration: willing incarceration in a maison de retraite. [8-)]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"]If they didn't put it on and immediately break into an impression of Freddie "Parrot Face" Davies, then they weren't ready for citizenship.[/quote] You mean if I whizzed it across the room à la Oddjob, I'd lose my citizenship? Or maybe I'd turn into Emma Peel. [blink] In my dreams. [:P]

A basic funeral and cremation (by basic I mean that the coffin was £350 and there weren't any official limos, etc) was just over £3000 in Wiltshire last April. And apparently crematoria fees vary considerably.

[quote user="Russethouse"]I guess there would would be a certain humor in choosing the BF alarm call...[/quote] [:D]

[quote user="NormanH"](The Forum is called 'Living France' ) [/quote] A 'Dead in France' forum would be a bit quiet. [quote user="NormanH"]Why are they posting here?[/quote] Because they can. [:P] There are crematoriums (crematoria?) in France. I believe there's a very nice new and shiny crematorium in Caen (or there's due to be) for eg. Where's the difficulty in arranging it? http://www.afif.asso.fr/english/cremation.htm

Where do I want to be laid to rest? I'll be dead. I won't be "resting" anywhere. Having seen a few dead bodies in my time, to me the body is an irrelevant shell once whatever it is that animates that body departs. I definitely want to be cremated as anything else would be a waste of space but as to what happens to my ashes... well, it's of no interest to me. Those decisions have to be made by the next-of-kin and they have to do what feels right for them and what aids their grieving process. Assuming anyone is grieving... [6] Nice to see you Twinks. [:D]

You've lost ALL your knickers?!? [:-))] Well, that's a bit less washing to be doing en route. You go (Compeed)Girl. [:D]

[quote user="Gardian"]Got to the door of the Mairie to find a pigeon with it's throat cut hanging from the door handle: there was another one on the floor which had presumably fallen off.  [/quote] It was probably just a meat delivery. I love pigeon casserole. In England, we frequently used to arrive home to find a brace of pheasant or ducks hanging from our front door but we considered it a gift, not a curse. [:P]

Perhaps put a "want" ad on your local AngloInfo? There are always dogs available for re-homing on ours and even if you want a specific size or breed you may be lucky. And so, of course, will be the dog. [:)]

[quote user="idun"]I was en plein campagne for 25 years and was fine until those last few years when I really had had enough of it. [/quote] In the Rhone-Alpes region, iirc? Which is gorgeous. Welcome back to LivingFrance - vicariously, this time! [:D]

Good luck, both. I shall follow your trip with much interest. [:D]

Your prices are very good, Osie* - which may also have something to do with your occupancy rates. On your website, when in the Gallery tab, I can't find a way to navigate to another section - I can't find a tab that's clickable. I'm using Firefox. * Edited to say: sorry, not Osie - I should have said: Dave&Olive.

As the WB... or were you masquerading as "terry"? [blink]

If the dog is chipped, a way around the registration problem might be for the new owner to have him tattooed by an understanding and cooperative vet. Then the tattoo would be seen before any scan for a chip. But then the other thing to do - and so many people don't and I can't understand why - is put a name and address or at least a phone number on the dogs' collars. Then if an animal does go missing, it's easy for mairie / gendarmes / vet / good Samaritan to just look at the collar and phone a number.

[quote user="Polly"]I asked you what you would do if no-one would take her.[/quote] S/he doesn't have to reply. Nor do you have to be able to judge someone before you offer help or at least verbal support. And how it can be any better to suggest a different dog (the crazy labrador) is abandoned instead? I find such a suggestion quite bizarre and, frankly, unbalanced. As the OP observed, there often have to be compromises in life and they aren't always easily arrived at. Mr CdeL has getting on for four months to find his dog the right home so perhaps that should be the focus. 

On "Greenland", I see the newest member (listed on the index page) is "a" terry. Whether it is "the" terry...

[quote user="Chris Head"]Thanks Catalpa...15-20 minutes doesn't seem very long? He has got ALOT of energy.[/quote] A lot of that is energy that in nature would be spent playing and fighting with siblings rather than actively walking or running. A rule of thumb is that you build up walks gradually by calculating about 5 - 10 minutes walking per month of age. So a three-month old of a medium to large breed would be having a couple of walks per day of max 30 minutes each time and nearer 20 if it's a smaller breed. You often see sleepy puppies being carried around by owners which is kinda sweet but does indicate too much has been asked of the pup. And of course they shouldn't be in public places (where other dogs frequent) until after they've had their jabs.

I am so sorry for you and your family on your shocking loss. I appreciate that you need to assess exactly where you stand and what your financial and practical options are but try not to make any quick decisions. Now is an impossible time for you, I realise that, but it's important that you speak to someone who can look at the whole picture of your life - and what you think you might want to do - and give some objective advice on the possibilities. As far as what you might want to do longer term, all the bereavement advice is to try and make no quick decisions. You have to start to deal absorb the grief and loss before you can make reasoned judgements on your future. There is a rental owners' forum called http://www.laymyhat.com/forum/index.php - if you join, explain your circumstances and ask about changeover help in your area of the Gers, you may find someone who can help or provide contact details for trustworthy, reliable people who manage changeovers. There are plenty of people across France who have small businessses doing just that. Bon courage. My father died a few months ago - no comparison to your loss because he was 90 and left a life that was well-lived... but my 86-year-old mother is devastated. Even so, four months on, she is beginning to pull her life together again and is now appreciating that a lot of her early thoughts - sell up, move into a home etc - weren't right for her and she's gradually becoming much more positive about coping on her own.