Catalpa
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Posts posted by Catalpa
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We're thinking of going the stations d'épuration route instead of a bog-standard
fosse - toutes eaux.Has anyone installed a stations d'ép? If so, are you happy with it and who was the manufacturer? We're looking at models by Neve Environnement but would like another supplier or two for comparison. And if you did install a stations d'ép, did you have much trouble selling the idea to your Marie??Questions, questions, always questions! 
Carole
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and it's called " medium " (but pronounced in a more French way!) The only place we found it locally (border of 14 / 50 in Normandy) was Point P. Bricomarche, Gavraimat etc would order it but they didn't hold stocks.Carole
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<< In a country where little politenesses are adhered to, lots of bonjours in the boulangerie and all that, it is indeed a surprise to have a load of mums yakking through a children's theatre performance.Has anyone got any sensible insights into this little phenomenon? >>I've no insight, just further confirmation. Our village had it's usual summer fete day last year and booked a comedian / impressionist to round off the event. The UK contingent in the audience had never been more conspicuous. Scattered around the 200 attendees were pockets of intent British faces turned towards the stage, realistically probably only understanding a tiny part of what he was saying. Everyone else in his audience got on with the serious matter of drinking, gossip and catchup. The comedian didn't seem phased at all. I suppose it is just a culture thing.Carole
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or we could all go over to betfair.com and play there!Carole
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I like 4 page threads best. Then I can go to page 4 first, read the posts and then go to page 1 and see whether the original post has any vague connection with the discussion underway on page 4.'S okay, I have an appointment with my therapist this afternoon.Carole
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Good, I wasn't mean! I had E6 in coins and gave that. Phew.It wasn't a scam, I know of the group's existence and I know the identify of the woman who visited though I'd not previously met her. She was possibly looking for new recruits to her merry band of personnes agées and came to check us out. She's a bit premature and I felt her disappointment. And Sue...<< When three gorgeous sapeurs pompiers arrived at the door I gave them E10. >>I'll certainly keep all my loose change available for the day *that* happens! Sad? Nah... hopeful!As far as suspicions go... we did distrust the guy who turned up one July Sunday afternoon, 2.30-ish, with a few sample pieces of firewood in the back of his van asking us if we'd like to order. Not at this time, we said. Leave your number and we'll call you. No, he said, because he "didn't speak English". As we'd discussed his wood in adequate French which he'd understood we didn't rate this as a convincing argument. Carole
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duh!Because most pets aren't bi-lingual.Carole
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So, when the lady from the Troisieme Age group arrives and offers a calendar (I assume it's next years - I forgot to check ) what's the going rate for a donation? More generally, does the postman merit a bigger donation than the dustmen... or than the lady from the Club de l'amitié des personnes agées? Flat rate for all or scaled according to an esoteric pecking order?Carole[waiting to see if I've been generous or exeedingly tight!]
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What I like to see around me in the countryside somewhat dictates my perfect climate. I 'need' lots of trees, preferably plenty of broadleaf forests / woods, lots of greenery. This precludes swathes of southern France. So while I'd like shorter winters than southern Normandie is likely to provide, I'm still likely to have to live in an area with comparatively high rainfall. Carole
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Quote:<< pps could your 'neighbours' have recourse against you if they believe that such a development would be devalueing their property? >>No.
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[quote]It may sound weak, but I see the wisdom in all your comments. There are no signs of others selling-up - yet. But I can see that I would be unhappy if the boot was on the other foot. It's just the vit...[/quote]
Quote:<< 10/9 Post Script: The planning application was unaimously rejected last night, and a 'circular' dropped through our letter-box this morning. It says "Greed has been defeated. Thank you for your support. Let us hope these neighbours move away quickly." >>Piprob, have you spoken with a local planning consultant? This being an independent consultant who works with clients and planning officials and committees? Often a member of the RTPI and frequently and ex-council planning officer. Or have you spoken with the planners yourself to confirm what might be acceptable, whether there are any similar developments in the area that have been granted planning permission and if so, how? Why?Don't give up because if you don't take advantage of the potential of your land, someone else will.PM me if you want more info.Carole -
Quote: << Oh, and until it died in our woodshed, next door's cat. >>So you won't be able to send it out to check the wetness of the rain any more. Oh dear. Did it have pneumonia?!Carole... who has all of the above except jumbo spiders... so far... plus a really delightful toad who is now treating me as a taxi service knowing that each evening I will pluck him from the path of rampaging labrador paws and deposit him carefully at his favoured destination on his sun warmed rock in the middle of the herb bed.
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Hi -I'd definitely be interested in a plant swap but my problem is, I have very limited plants to swap as we've only been here a few months and gardening is not a priority yet. Removal of the corrugated roof and replacement with a slate one is.But I may have some stained glass mirrors and candle holders etc by then so if that counts as home-made produce...! Count me in. I'm near Sourdeval / Mortain so Villedieu / Percey would work for me.Carole
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[quote]Hi Jongleuse here, with another Tale from the Henhouse (especially for Gay and Di) For those of you who know us (in the web sense that is), we still have our hens, but have to say they are not as wel...[/quote]
... and for me!Love "Tales from the Hen House", thank you for this. It's duly printed out to hand to TOH on his return from "The Other Side".(and that would be England, not Total France!)Carole
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We're going to install solar panels during the installation of a complete new roof. We understand solar panels can best be used for heating water to a temperature which can then be used - underfloor heating for eg. So that we can understand the options available to us, my other half is enrolled on a solar panel installation course at the Centre for Alternative Technologies in Wales this week so he'll have a lot of information he can pass on when he returns. HWH on Total France has plenty of practical experience though so I agree with Jackie / John - follow the link above.This might also be a useful link:http://www.totalfrance.com/france/forum/viewtopic.php?t=471Carole
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I've got AVG and don't get the smily / text formatting options... but I can rate topics.
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[quote]I've just logged on in Explorer, and I still don't have a toolbar or emoticons or anything like that.Opas - you HAVE ticked the box that says to log you on automatically when you return? It's under th...[/quote]
I use Mozilla and I don't get tool bars, emoticons, supreme beings... is it enough to make me switch back to IE... perhaps not! A lot of software is only developed (or at least tested) against IE and Netscape Navigator nowadays hence the variable displays.
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<< LF's publishers' IT people having specified this forum, and LF having bought it, it turns out that there are several things that don't work properly - most of them being known bugs in the software. >>Yep, perfectly normal! I spent the last 3 years on the edges of a technical department involved in specifying large website developments for educational publishers. I came to the conclusion that software suppliers (or at least their account managers) lie through their teeth as to what their systems can accomplish. Part of the answer lies in developing detailed requirements documents and use case scenarios as part of the discussions and eventual contract but even then, it's difficult to foresee everything. And this approach assumes that those specifying the software truly understand what the users need / want. Carole
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As promised, here is some of the info I kept which I'd cut and pasted into a Word document - and I think I've attributed the posts to the right people. Apologies if I have not. I should emphasise that I did not keep every post in the original thread (started on 30 Oct 2003) and I may even have edited some posts at the time to remove info which I didn't need. So it is not a complete replication. But the info was very useful. The links in mpprh's post below should work... because they're not livingfrance. mpprh (737 posts) 6. "RE: I'm moving, what do i do now"Hi I think you are asking for a checklist ?I haven't seen one published, but I'll have a go at the stuff you need to do once in France. Carte de Sejour (birth certificate, passport, proof of income, proof of address etc.)Livret de Famille (birth certificate, passport, proof of income, proof of address, wedding certificate, etc.)AssedicANPESocial securityMutualiteRegister with tax manProperty lease or buyProperty insuranceWillsBuy carRegister carDriving licenseCar insuranceTelephoneWaterGas V licenseElectricitySatellite TVInternet connection I'm sure I've missed some out ! There are more for starting a business, marriage, children, schools etc. The problem is to decide the order you sort out each item.You can buy a house without a Carte de Sejour. You can't easily be an employee without a Carte de Sejour. But you may need that proof of income to get a Carte de Sejour, etc. Different prefectures and mairies may have slightly different requirements. Somehow it all gets done. Here are some useful links I've put together : http://tlp.netfirms.com/expat/link5.htmhttp://tlp.netfirms.com/expat/link2.htmhttp://tlp.netfirms.com/expat/link17.htmhttp://tlp.netfirms.com/expat/link14.htmhttp://tlp.netfirms.com/expat/link9.htmhttp://expatfoyer.aimoo.com Use forums for specific points. Bonne chancePeter The Languedoc Page : http://tlp.netfirms.com ------------Val_2 (1118 posts) 29-Oct-03, 07:35 AM (BST) 1. "RE: I'm moving, what do i do now"As regards the UK you should let the tax and DSS people know so they can change their records for when the french side need to contact them.If you have children, then the child benefit people need to be informed and they will stop the payments from the date you leave so you can get the french side to take you on,plus if they are school-age you need to sort out schooling in France too and jabs if they are required by the education people in that dept. You would need to let your bank know, council tax office so they don't bill you for another year etc,insurance companies if you are continuing with endowments,life assurance etc, - the list is endless. Best to write down everything in your current life that you are paying out for and also let your solicitor know if you have an english will. France can be dealt with as you meet each criteria along the way. As for getting translations of paperwork, don't worry too much about that as each dept has it's own rules and there is always someone who does translation work about. I suggest you look through the archives on this forum and glean as much info as you can because by the sound of it, you really have no idea of what you are getting into by moving to another country. -----------goatlady (310 posts) 30-Oct-03, 07:25 AM (BST) 5. "RE: I'm moving, what do i do now">LAST EDITED ON 29-Oct-03 >AT 11:40 PM (GMT) >>>by the sound of it, you >>really have no idea of >>what you are getting into >>by moving to another country. < snip > >to time to learn and >with so much info on >this site in many threads >I just wanted to try >and get them all together. >>>Cheers By asking the question on here, I would say that you ARE trying to get prepared for the new life! Good luck to you, handle each hurdle as it comes, theres no big mystery to it and you dont need to have a portfolio of 'things to do' either. My first tips however would be1 meet the mairie who will already know your there anyway. If you make friends with him/her you can always ask advice before committing yourself to anything!2 say bonjour to everyone but dont listen to everything the locals tell you!3 inform the EDF, water and telephone with meter readings at the time you arrived, who you are and what date you moved as sometimes you can end up paying the previous owners debts!4 if you have kids get the info on school enrolments and meet the teachers asap 5 Make friends with the postman/woman they know everyone, but equally be careful not to upset same as the postie spreads goss like wildfire !!ENJOY the adventure YOU HAVE DONE THE RIGHT THING! ----------PatF (362 posts) 3. "RE: I'm moving, what do i do now"Don't forget to arrange to have your post forwarded.There are bound to be people who don't know your new address. You get a form from the Post Office and it costs ?? can't remember - it's either £32 or £64 for a year. Pat. ---------Note from me: it's £66.40 - or was in June. Hope this is useful. Not covered in the above is how to bring pets with you. There is info in the pet forum but I can tell you what we did in June re our two dogs if it's of relevance to you. We also imported shotguns - again, if you want info on this, let me know. Otherwise, I don't think we've done anything yet which isn't covered by the above.Carole
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Yea! It *is* the software!
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Quote:<< James is currently trying to sort out these problems. I agree that it would have been nice to present you with a fully-working new forum, but that would have meant it was off line for even longer. >>Anyway... full user testing (that's us!) would always drive out problems that no amount of techie testing ever uncovers.I can't get the "selective quote" to work. I wanted the final para - as above - but each time I got the first para inserted instead. Still, I'm sure it's me... can't be the sofware?Carole
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I printed out a lot of the bullet-point info as we were moving earlier in the summer and I am sure I have it somewhere. I'll look and type it out - adding anything we did that was different or not included. Probably tomorrow.Carole
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Searching for a distraction from the Eventing medals dbcle in Athens, I discovered theres an FEI Eventing World Cup stage (ie French equivalent of Chatsworth horse trials this year) at Martinvast near Cherbourg on 29th August. Sunday has the cross-country of the 3* event but there are other CCI * / ** competitions 25th thru 29th August.
http://www.concours-complet-martinvast.com/
And if you're interested in the final in Pau in October...
http://www.event-pau.fr/
Carole -
Searching for a distraction from the Eventing medals dbcle in Athens, I discovered theres the FEI Eventing World Cup stage (ie French equivalent of Chatsworth horse trials this year) at Martinvast near Cherbourg on 29th August. Sunday has the cross-country of the 3* event but there are other CCI * / ** competitions 25th thru 29th August.
http://www.concours-complet-martinvast.com/
And if you're interested in the final in Pau in October...
http://www.event-pau.fr/
Carole
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