hoverfrog

I too was under the impression it was a legal requirement to have insurance before you can sign the acte de vente. Can't remember where I read it but I'm pretty sure it's right!

when replacing our UK washing machine within the last year we were hard put to find a hot and cold fill one, as most are now cold only (market forces, they said!) as we got free hot water we insisted on a hot/cold fill. Our water came out of the hot tap at 98.9 degrees c (yes it boiled in the tank frequently) as the thermostat on the aga (not ours) was faulty. We never had a problem with the water being too hot for any of our washing machines over the last 16 years (and with 4 kids I've seen a few off!) The only problem I can see is the hot water being at mains pressure in france unlike over here, but the temperature certainly isn't an issue!

many thanks! Lots of food for thought there

Doh! tried clicking on the links and all I got was "this website is under construction"

I've repeatedly asked the estate agent for our _exact_ address so I can tell people when we move. The answer is always the same - they give me the name of the village and the french departement code. I'm a bit baffled as to how the poor postie is going to know who we are/where we live, as it's a large geographical area. I'm beginning to think we should tell our friends to address everything to "Les Anglais" so it gets there!!!

Does anyone know of a LETS (local exchange trade scheme) in France, or even what the equivalent acronym is? Translating it word-for-word and googling doesn't gain anything worthwhile even on google.fr

I looked into it, and will probably do so again when we get over to france. There are local companies all over France, and they do vary a bit. The one I spoke to couldn't help me though as their insurance didn't cover my client being in Canada. Their rules stipulate that you must set up the contract at least 48 hours before you start work, they need your social security number and the client's SIRET numbers, and run a credit check on the client before taking on the contract. If anyone is interested they can contact me and I will send them all the papers that the portage company sent me, which said far more than any of the websites I looked at about the whys and wherefores.

we found the best way was to chop off the head with an axe or similar - at least you know that it's definitely dead then when it continues to flap about! Seeing a headless chicken running in circles, with the head still on the block - the beak opening and shutting and the eyes looking round, takes quite a strong stomach Don't put it straight in the pot and expect anything but leather to eat though - especially with an older bird. I think the idea is to wait until rigor mortis has worn off at least, so getting rid of the evidence before the kids see it is out "boiling fowl" is what my parents called it - pack the pot with whole carrots, onions, garlic and herbs and cover with water then simmer for a long time, then use the stock to make white sauce to go with it (half and half with milk). Yummy!

I usually use Camino on OS X as it's a lot faster then Safari, but I also run firefox as there are so many neat plugins now. One of the most 'useful' when following up a google search is bugmenot, but there's usually nothing for the developer sites I look at!

apologies for large (deceased) dog - it looks like checking the 'automatically resize to 80 x 80 pixels' button does nothing now left with daughter's manic patterdale...

thanks for that. Yes I'm devastated. Still have to arrange the BCG for no.3 but there's always tomorrow. Bl**dy good dog that, well he was.

at the expense of making this thread topmost, pleeese, pleeese can we keep juvenile exchanges such as these off the forum! We don't care what members think about other members, but (hopefully speaking for the majority of lurkers out there) we just want to know what, if any, were the answers to the original post. Otherwise we wouldn't read the thread.

my dog was the bee's knees indeed, but sadly he had to be put down today, as at 11 1/2 we had to rush him to the vet as he couldn't breathe. Not in a fit state to say anything else right now

We have had no issues with Credit Acricole centre-ouest, apart from the french post! I requested a cheque book by phone which was apparently sent out on the 6th of December and still hasn't arrived The online part is very good (as are the very regular and frequent statements - which seem to be duplicated as we have a joint account) and easy to access. I'm not sure the security of the website is as good as some of the online banking available in the UK, but it does for us and a current account! Just what is it with french post?!? It would be quicker to walk, and not just to collect a cheque book from Limousin

we had a proper receipt for the deposit - but that is held by the immoblier in their secure account. Thanks for the info - I think I'll be getting my french friend to ring them so I don't run the risk of upsetting the Maitre with my french!

I would like to speak to the notaire direct, but so far we have not been given his number or any details other than that he is Maitre Valade of Chateauneuf de la Foret. We opted to use the same notaire as the vendeurs as we had no reason to justify bringing another one into the fray. Google may be my friend but other than the number for the mairie it hasn't given us anything, and although the immoblier say they are doing their best we feel they could act faster if they wanted to. We appreciate that our purchase isn't going to earn them mega bucks but it's a lot of money to us and the family's future is in the balance! The main thing is we would like to know if our purchase could be under threat, as we have quite a tight timeframe here as we will be homeless after the end of January. If the original CdV still holds then we will be OK eventually, but if the deceased's children now come into the picture it could all be different

we signed the compromis de vente in October, and it took a while for the notaire acting on behalf of the vendors to sign as the original owner had died and all his heirs had to give their permission. We've just heard that one of them has now died, so what happens to our sale? If the deceased had children will they now have to give their permission, or will the original contract still hold? Even worse, could we have to start again with a new compromis de vente? - or worse still could they stop the sale (the return of our deposit isn't much help in our situation)? All we know is to expect more delays - which isn't very helpful when we're due to be homeless in the UK at the end of January

we (i.e. the OH) spent a long time looking up french internet radio stations to listen to on braodband, and here is the list we came up with (exported from iTunes so please forgive any extraneous info!) Hope it helps someone http://66.90.66.114:8070 (#10 - 249/650) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://212.27.33.232:8000 (#10 - 249/650) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://212.27.33.232:8000 (#11 - 127/300) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://80.65.234.120:8000 (#12 - 43/100) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://83.243.23.114:8000 (#13 - 44/100) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://193.19.217.19:8000 (#14 - 59/80) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://213.186.41.119:8000 (#15 - 51/60) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://195.140.143.7:8000 (#2 - 143/650) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://193.25.195.192:8000 (#3 - 157/650) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://62.4.21.91:8000 (#4 - 40/150) Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France 16/10/04 5:34 pm MPEG audio stream http://195.140.143.122:8000 Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France Top 40 Dance Pop Rock 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream http://213.161.200.21:8000 Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France Top 40 Dance Pop Rock 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 1 17/11/04 12:00 am http://195.140.143.76:8000 Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France Top 40 Dance Pop Rock 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 1 17/11/04 12:01 am http://195.114.88.6:8000 24/7 Radio Bazarnaom : le bonheur au maximum ! HQ News, Live talk show, various music eclectic music french talk 16/10/04 5:34 pm 64 44100 MPEG audio stream 25 22/12/04 11:36 am http://82.67.100.79:8020 24/7 Radio Bazarnaom : le bonheur au maximum ! LQ News, Live talk show, various music eclectic music french talk 16/10/04 5:34 pm 24 22050 MPEG audio stream 11 1/12/04 10:52 pm http://82.67.100.79:8000 Emk33 radio House 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream http://193.24.243.14:8000 Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France Top 40 Dance Pop Rock 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream http://193.25.195.190:8000 Start Radio - 100% Musicale - French, Francais - M P 3 P r o Pop, House, Rock 16/10/04 5:34 pm 24 16000 MPEG audio stream http://81.220.136.173:8000 CJRS RADIO MONTREAL Various 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 1 17/10/04 7:15 pm http://64.246.48.87:5000 CJTM Radio Montreal Studio 1 francais et anglais musique de annee 1950 a 2004 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 1 7/11/04 10:47 pm http://64.246.48.87:9050 CMOI Radio Montreal Quebec Canada - Musique d'autrefois, francais, anglais, french, english oldies retro country mixed 16/10/04 5:34 pm 24 22050 MPEG audio stream http://67.68.204.155:8250 PACTE-Net: Web RaDiO VariÈtÈs Francaise 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 1 17/11/04 12:00 am http://69.93.25.90:8000 Radio FG - Live Techno from Paris - 128 Kbps Techno House Live 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream http://213.246.39.72:8000 RADIOWAVE.FR - Une Vague De Tubes **** HautDebit **** Top 40, Pop/Rock, Dance and R'n'B 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream http://194.146.224.90:8010 ALOUETTE EN LIVE www.alouette.fr Music 16/10/04 5:34 pm 64 44100 MPEG audio stream 2 17/11/04 12:00 am http://217.71.210.164:8004 Frenchbreaks FM Breakbeat 16/10/04 5:34 pm 56 44100 MPEG audio stream http://localhost:7144/stream/0A711CF50B126813116406B9FE170D40.mp3 304140 alternative,electronica,indie rock 16/10/04 5:34 pm 64 22050 MPEG audio stream http://www.live365.com/play/304140 RadioABF.net - Paris Electro Spirit Live From FRANCE Techno House Electronic 16/10/04 5:34 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 1 17/11/04 12:00 am http://stream128.radioabf.net:8128 304140 alternative,electronica,indie rock 16/10/04 5:34 pm 64 22050 MPEG audio stream http://www.live365.com/play/304140 RADIO FAJET (Nancy) - France Alternative 16/10/04 6:43 pm 24 22050 MPEG audio stream 3 17/11/04 12:01 am http://radiofajet.servemp3.com:8024/ 106.1 FM - Radio Jeunes Reims - Live from Champagne - France - France 16/10/04 6:45 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 3 17/11/04 12:01 am http://213.186.40.7:8000 Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France Top 40 Dance Pop Rock 16/10/04 4:17 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 2 16/10/04 4:19 pm http://stream-hautdebit.frequence3.net:8000 La Grosse Radio Rock Pop Talk Feeling 16/10/04 4:27 pm 24 22050 MPEG audio stream 7 16/11/04 11:56 pm http://207.44.189.115:17010/ Magic Radio - www.magic-radio.net - Des Tubes De Toujours ! 80s Pop Rock Funk 16/10/04 4:41 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 1 16/10/04 4:41 pm http://213.246.39.77:80 Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France Top 40 Dance Pop Rock 16/10/04 4:17 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 2 16/10/04 4:19 pm http://stream-hautdebit.frequence3.net:8000 [Titou] - Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.com -- Une Rafale De Tubes [HautDebit] 16/10/04 4:17 pm Flux audio MPEG http://titou.relay.frequence3.net:8000 [Rigel] - Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.com -- Une Rafale De Tubes [HautDebit] 16/10/04 4:17 pm Flux audio MPEG http://rigel.relay.frequence3.net:8000 [Pussy] - Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.com -- Une Rafale De Tubes [HautDebit] 16/10/04 4:17 pm Flux audio MPEG http://pussy.relay.frequence3.net:8000 [Liberta] - Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.com -- Une Rafale De Tubes [HautDebit] 16/10/04 4:17 pm Flux audio MPEG http://liberta.relay.frequence3.net:8000 Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.org - Une Rafale De Tubes - The French Webradio live from Paris France Top 40 Dance Pop Rock 16/10/04 4:17 pm 128 44100 MPEG audio stream 2 16/11/04 11:57 pm http://lespotos.relay.frequence3.net:8000 [Glou] - Frequence3 -- www.Frequence3.com -- Une Rafale De Tubes [HautDebit]

if you have broadband you can listen to radio using iTunes (or equivalent). (note - iTunes is available for Windows too!) I quite like "24/7 Radio Bazarnaom : le bonheur au maximum ! HQ News, Live talk show, various music eclectic music french talk " as it has the most amount of chat between the music.

hey - I'll have you know I resemble that remark! Nothing wrong on my mac - although I did get numerous "out of memory' scripting errors when I tried to access the site earlier on. Have you got any CSS scripts lurking? I tried out a CSS script to block ads and popups and the OH couldn't see the pics on Amazon - "nothing to do with me" I said, "what have you broken now?" !

In the Uk I found mixing a sachet of weedol and one of pathclear works wonders, better than anything else. Don't know what the french is for them though!

[quote]As I understand it you will be employed by the portage company, not your UK company. So you could not be classed as a subsidiary of that UK company. The whole point of portages, I thought, is that you...[/quote] ouch! I didn't realise that I'm probably only going to be working 4 days a month - with occasional bursts of activity! so may run into problems with lack of funds. The original société I spoke to was geared up for technical stuff and only took a small cut from the total but they don't handle canadian clients because of their insurance, so I will probably have to take a larger cut to my take-home and go elsewhere.

thanks for the link - most informative! I guess I'd better sort out a BCG then

I'd forgotten about the other E forms... What makes it all more complicated now is that I'll start working for an overseas client before we move and the Portage scheme only lets you start work 2 days after a new contract is in place! I can't set up the Portage until we move though Perhaps I'd better invoice directly to begin with

that's the sort of thing I was hoping to avoid! According to the Portage Société you use their siret number, and as the contract is effectively between them and the UK company (you have a separate contract with the Société) it seems OK. I'm surprised no-one else has tried using Portage (or if they have they're keeping very quiet!) Now all I have to do is get the UK company to agree to the contract (which is under French law!), oh and they want the following: 1/ La convention de portage ainsi que la fiche individuelle sont à nous renvoyer accompagnées des éléments suivants : - CV + photocopies diplômes et certifications (OK so far) - photocopie attestation de sécurité sociale (I guess E111 will do for now?) - photocopie feuille de calcul Assedic salaire de référence (celui qui a servi au calcul de votre allocation) (may be a problem - except I'm not claiming benefit so may be immaterial) - justificatif de domicile (haven't had an EDF bill yet, but the bank were happy because we'd bought a house so I'm sure we can sort something out) - RIB (no problem) 2/ Pour chaque nouveau client, vous communiquerez à votre attachée de carrière son numéro SIRET. Sans cet accord préalable tout contrat sera refusé. (Agh. There had to be a catch - they allow foreign clients but what if they don't have a siret number??? Apparently this particular Portage Société allow clients from everywhere except USA and Canada because of the insurance, so there must be a way round it!) 3/ Le contrat de prestation de services est à nous retourner signé par le client pour accord. (well when I've provided them with a translation they may or may not!!)