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French Novice

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Everything posted by French Novice

  1. I am not a fountain of knowledge on this subject but i do know that there is an international school in Bordeaux. Sorry, I have no idea where or what it's called but I guess les page jaunes would help. Good luck.
  2. Does anyone know of a reputable place where we can look for a new kitten. We already have one from the local farmer but I would like to rehome another if possible. Thanks in advance Helen
  3. We had the same situation with a Ducati motorbike that we brought over last year. Luckily we still had the receipt which proved that we had paid tax in the UK when we bought it. For the 'certificat de conformite' all we did was write to the Ducati headquarters (in Italy) with the bike's details and they send us one by return of post. They are obviously missing out on a money spinner!
  4. I am looking for someone to put up a decent fence around a vegetable garden in 33 near Duras/La Reole. If you are interested please send me a PM ASAP. Thanks.
  5. Thanks Peter for this - I have a feeling I need all the luck I can get at the moment!!
  6. Exact location is between Duras and La Reole in the Gironde (33). Sorry I left out the most important bit of info.
  7. We are looking for a project manager in 33 area to oversee the renovation of a large barn. We would need him to be insured and be SIRET registered. We would also like to see properties that have already been renovated and to speak to former clients. Sorry for the long list but it's a case of once bitten. If you are interested or know someone please send a private mail. Thanks.
  8. Does anyone know of a GOOD project manager who preferably can speak English and French, but just French is okay. We are converting a large barn and would like someone to oversee the project. They would need to be SIRET registered and have insurance. We would also need to see projects that they have already done and be able to talk to previous clients. Sorry for so many demands but a case of once bitten!!
  9. Sorry to jump on your posting. We also have two pylons on our land and a neighbour has suggested that if we don't like them EDF will come and put the cables underground free of charge. Does anyone know if this is true?
  10. We moved here last year with a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old who did not speak a word of French apart from 'Bonjour' and 'Merci'. It was a difficult 3-4 months when they started, more so for our eldest. He would scream at the door when I left and had to be pealed off me. This was not the experience we had when he went to school in England. He was popular, loved it and did well. One year on and they have both settled in well and can speak French fluently. They both love school and now they want to stay for the afterschool clubs as well. My advice is not panic if they don't fit in straight away and although you may leave them in tears (yours and theirs) it will get better and you'll forget what all the fuss was about.
  11. I assume as children who were born in the UK and reside here qualify then a child who is born in France is entitled to payment. You need to contact your lcoal Caisse d'allocataire Familiale they will be in your page jaunes. I'm sure they'll have an abundance of paperwork for you to fill out before the happy day!!
  12. I also have a husband who works full time in London and returns to us in France for the weekend. After consulting CPAM many, many times and filling in a mountain of paperwork I had to contact Newcastle. I had to fax my husband's D.O.B, NI number, place of work to them along with my NI number, D.O.B, address in France and details of any children. FAX no is 00 44 191 225 3540. They then issued a E109 in a fortnight (quite prompt I thought as they told me that only one person worked on them). This I posted to our head office of CPAM, in our case in Bordeaux, and they have provided us with a temporary attestation and a social security number. Once you have that you can take out a mutuelle or a top up insurance as you are only covered for 70% of costs. We did this with AXA but there are loads of insurance agents who do them. We are still awaiting our carte vitale which we have been told is being processed and will probably take about a month. However, a word of caution they are still asking me for paperwork to complete our dossier. As you needed an idiots guide I hope you don't mind me asking if you have already had your marriage and birth certificates translated as you will be asked for these no doubt. Hope this helps, I know paperwork is tedious in France but it does get there in the end - at least I hope so.
  13. We bought a Toro last year (I have no idea how big it is sorry model numbers are never my thing) and we also have a large field that is on a steep slope. It seems to manage okay but we have to make sure that the ground is very, very dry before we mow otherwise we have to push it out. Also it takes a bit of getting used to mowing in large figures of eight rather than the more traditional up and down. Have no idea about maintenance as it hadn't done that much work.
  14. As ever, it depends on what you're growing some can be put straight into the soil such as peas, broad beans, french beans, carrots and quite a few others. Sounds silly, but the best thing is to read the seed packets. Others like the good old tom need to be planted in either seed trays or put a few in small pots and then plant out when they're strong. Also don't forget that you can buy lots of plants in local markets and garden centres - aubergine, pepper, courgettes, onions. It's a good way of building your garden overnight!!
  15. We are currently renovating a large barn and are looking into our heating options, of which there seem to be many. We originally thought of oil but this has been superseeded by electric underfloor heating for the ground floor. I am a bit concerned about the cost as electricity seems to be really expensive. Has anyone got an idiots guide to costings for our heating options?? I would be prepared to pay more for a more cost-effective system to be installed. Thanks in advance for your help.
  16. I know this is a bit of a long shot but do you know of someone who can weave green willow into fencing to go around a veggie patch? I would like something natural to keep out the rabbits and deer that have decided to invade our garden. We're on the border of 33/47. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
  17. Does anyone know of someone who can weave green willow into wickets for fencing around a vegetable patch?? I know it's a bit of a long shot but I am looking for a natural fence that will keep out rabbits, deer etc. We're on the border of 33/47. Thanks.
  18. Hi Dotty Like you I started my veggie patch last year without using a rotavator etc. I find that it has really helped with the weeds as you get all the roots out. My advice with the veggies is to read a few simple websites/books make a list of things you will really eat and then have a go. Our first crop last year was great and has inspired me to double the size of our bed and add a few things that we find hard to find in France such as corn on the cob and parsnips. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have and friends/family who have stayed love to help out in the summer - especially with the picking and eating! Happy digging.
  19. Just to second what Val has already said. Our SIRET registered project manager does not have insurance as we have found out to our cost. Althoug he told us he had insurance, our renovation project has gone badly wrong and we are now left to battle it out in court and hope that he has the money to complete our build for the price on the original devis. Also don't just check on the website to see if artisans are registered it's worth giving the Chambre de Metier a call to check them out individually. Make sure you see and take a copy of all paperwork and get it checked out if you need to (language) before he starts. Bonne Chance!
  20. Thanks for those tips. I will probably try a mixture of all three methods as they may need all the TLC they can get. I had also seen 'blue' trees in the village and wondered what they'd been sprayed with I will seek some stuff out in the local Terre du Sud ASAP. Here's to abundant fruit trees next year!!
  21. Serious help needed. We have inherited the usual range of fruit trees but they have not been looked after for years. Could anyone give me an idiots guide to what I need to do when. I would like to try to be as organic as possible. Thanks in advance.
  22. Our warning from the store in Marmande came this morning via a lettre recommende. I guess they used the store card information to send out letters. Unfortunately we had already eaten our over the weekend but luckily there were no ill effects. First and last time we buy frozen steak hache!!
  23. Have sent you a PM Liz. But we have a list of all the artisans who were working on the project prior to it starting. Luckily in a way because we borrowed some money for the renovation the bank made sure that we had all the necessary paperwork (apart from his insurance) before they released the funds. But it's his signature on all the devis pages and the contract and the marche de travaux. Incidentally when the paperwork goes to court probably next week we are also demanding that he pays the 100 euros per day for finishing late. I only hope we get somewhere.
  24. He has increased our costs as he has vastly underquoted for the job!! Bizzarely he had visited the property many times before providing the Devis but obviously got it very very wrong. We have the insurance for all of the artisans on site but not his as he was the project manager. Essentially as he is not working on the house the bank who provided us with the funds for the renovation did not ask/require it. The kind bank in question has of course added that if we want more money all we have to do is ask - if only we didn't have to pay it back!! Thanks for all the help so far.
  25. We are currently having a dispute with our maitre d'oevre who has increased the price of our renovation by 50% after we have signed a devis and a marche de travaux. He has a siret number but as yet has not produced his insurance documentation after we have asked many times. Is it a requirement if he is registered and if he hasn't got insurance what are the legal implications for him as we are probably about to sue him? Any help/knowledge would be gratefully received.
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