Stocky
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Posts posted by Stocky
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A question I always wanted to ask, I brought 100 for 4euros as St Hilaire market in August, manages to plant 130 of the 100 and gave away the other 30. were OK in September but in two weeks time we will have to face them and live on leeks and leek soup for three weeks.
At least the unuse will help in the compost bin
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A Colleague of mine is driving from Calais to the French Alpes on Boxing Day, and doesn't have the French Credit Card. He wants to know if the petrol station on the Autoroutes will be open for cash/British Credit card purchases.
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You will get hundreds of people saying that their area meets the requirements. all will be very true but what is needed is your parents requirements. Do they want heat or do they want a slightly better than UK climate. Do they want to be near to the UK Ferries. Do they want to explore France and Europe and therefore want a central location. do they want beaches, scenery or culture. We feel that we have met our criteria in a rural location within walking distance to shops, easy to reach Brittany, Normandy and the Loire valley. Even paris is within reach.
My recommendation is for them to tour France and decide where they like rather than sift through personal preferences.
Best of luck to them. We hope to move permanently to our house in Ceauce within the next six months.
Ian
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Being a bear with little brain I am now completely confused. Having followed many similar topics I am not sure the route to take.
We are hoping to move permanently to France in the 1st half of 2005 annd I am looking at buying a new Renault laguna. In the UK I can get a 27% discount but cannot get a LHD, in France I can only get a 10% discount from the local dealer who would do our maintenance.
Do I buy the cheaper British car and insure in the UK or do I pay more and have a French registration vehicle. RFL doesn't come into he equation as my wife gets the free disability license.
I want to drive legaly in France and the UK, where we will return to visit family, however living on pensions and dependant upon exchange rates variations I have to considerate the financial options.
Advice and recommendations Please
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"I like Brittany Ferries. Because most of my travel is for work, and hence tax-deductible, I don't need to be quite as economical as most other forum users. I also like the chance of shopping at Gun Wharf in Portsmouth before getting the boat, plus having a good rest on the ferry and an excellent meal, rather than extra driving. So no contest."
Its allright for you Bill, as I have seen the prices offered by Brittany Ferries to those who live in France. Offers are certainly better than UK.
Unfortunately, although I have a daughter living 15 minutes from the Pompey terminal and hate the long run from Calais, I have to take the black lab into consideration. A long haul in the car with regular stops is better than her being on her own in rough weather. Either way we have to contend with the M25.
Summer when the Vomit Comets are running is our preference, but for our Xmas visit I'm afraid its the extra cost of Travel Lodge at Dover and Road tolls. Not the cheapest way.
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Just received an email from Brittany Ferries re their 2005 schedule. No mention of Le Havre so be interested where those Ferries go.
Highlights for 2005 include:
- Two new high-speed services - Portsmouth to Caen and Portsmouth to Cherbourg, providing up to two return sailings a day from mid-March
- New Portsmouth to Cherbourg classic ferry service from Jan to March
- Bretagne to operate on the Plymouth to Roscoff route, providing even more comfort and capacity
All we need to see is how they price it. Brochure available end November.
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Kaz, My understanding is that if you are getting a teacher's pension then it is paid by Local Government which means the tax is paid in the UK. This is confusing as when we finally retire to France I will be getting a pension from a Private Business and a second from Local Government. Where do I pay tax and declare my income?
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IV wrong, the manufacturers say the Rabies injections say 2 years, France and UK say it needs to be renewed every year. this means 12 years not 24. I have had dogs lasting 15 years so I would need to renew my passport.
V if you renew your injection in time then you would not need multiple RSTs
Vi and VII Fortunately we have not had this updated yet, but 6 return trips would mean renewing wevery 2 years at £50 a time.
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The general concensus of opinion is that there is little difference in the cost of living, apart from those affected by exchange rates. So lets look at the better things in life. I have seen large turkeys for sale in the St Hilaire d'Harcourt market, no problem for me as I am willing to pluck, dress and kill (not in that order). That market puts the majority in the UK to shame and I am sure there are better ones I have yet to find.
I enjoy watching and listening to people and that market has many to watch. On my first visit I wondered why there were so many piles of Crepes ready for sale, now I know. 4 Euros for 100 leeks is a good by particularly as there were 140 in the pack. I just hope the snails haven't eaten them before my return at Christmas
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I agree with Iceni, we know from our visits that cost of living is going up in France, but it is also going up in UK and other countries. Price of Oil/Deisel is increasing, the tax free use in farming in our area has shown a 33+% increase in diesel. Regardless of ones income it is a fact of life that you will always overspend due to the way of life.
We hope to move there soon, on pensions where we will be controlled by exchange rates rather than income, and will spend accordingly, possibly shopping based on the special offers from the various supermarkets.
I don't look at the cost of living, I belive in the joy of living.
Ian
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French Passports are due at the end of this month. However if the French are like the British it will be next year.
Although we had the British Passport on our last visit the French vet still completed the old forms and these were accepted at the Ferry terminal. All things considered the people who deal with dogs at the terminals role is booking in cars, where the number of dogs they deal with is low, and they accept what they are used to until they hear otherwise. In the UK there is has been no interest in our dog by anybody. the fact you have to put up a "Dog on board" sticker (That is misnamed, it never sticks) while in the operators hands is meaningless.
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I replied to an earlier item regarding Rabies jabs and mentioned that in the new pet passport the manufacturers state the jabs are for two years. This is a valid statement by them.
The secret is that the manufacturers do not make government decisions. The rules for France and UK is that the Rabies injections only last for one year. Miss this date by one day and you have to go through the process again. All dog owners are made aware of this when the initial process is started.
Sorry about your problem but the moral is look at Defra and abide by Government guidelines not manufacturers.
Ian
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Ours is with AXA and allows the property to be unoccupied for 90 day periods.
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My wife has been an insulin dependent diabetic for 34 years. We are looking to moving full time to France when we sell our house, but her key concerns are her diabetes and her Rheumatoid Arthritis. Although she is not an intyernet user she would definitely be interested in any info on these subjects. I will keep my eyes open and feed her comments and concerns in.
Ian
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"It does mean though that you cant travel back on Monday evening as the treatment needs to be applied sometime between Saturday evening and Sunday evening and vets dont seem to operate at these times...."
True one has to be careful wih ones return trip, or having a considerate vet.
Only problem out Black Labrador has is we won't let her go in the water after the treatment
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We received our British Pets Passport the day before our trip to France early August. Included a history of Rabies and other injections.
On the return of that trip the Vet in France had nor seen one and still filled out the old paperwork and it caused problems with the lass as P&O Chebourg.
On our visit and return this month the Vet in France said that the French passport was due to be issued in October/November and still completed the old documentation. At least the lass at P&O Cherbourg recognised it and the process was quicker than the previous trip.
Ian
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We fianlly got the new version of the Pet Passport the day before our last trip. Very good system with all details of the dogs historey. Only problem was that the Vet in Ceauce had not seen one and still filled out the old paper work, and the ticket girl at Cherbourg complained that we were rather late in booking in due to the work she had to do (normally we sail past).
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I Know its early days as you have just started the process but ensure that you record the date of the injection, although the manufacturers state they are valid for two years the Pet Passport scheme anly allows for one year. miss the date of the injection by one day and the whole process has to be repeated with the 6 months delay from the blood test.
Don't forget the transport costs, usually free UK to France but £30 back, also number of pets on a ferry is limited even though they remain in the car, also some services wont allow pets (P&O Portsmouth Caen). we also find that we have to pay and extra £9 on pet plan insurance for each visit, am now looking for a French company.
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LAST EDITED ON 30-Jul-04 AT 08:29 AM (BST)
The true moral to this story is that if you receive an e-mail from any sender you are not certain of DO NOT REPLY. On replying you are opening up your address to a range of spam e-mails.
Key principle in junk mail is to gather together addresses and sell them. -
I have just bought a Garmin iQue 3600, pricy but the detail is excellent, having loaded all France and SE England. on trials locally details and guidance goes down to single country tracks. When walking round Mayenne or Flers gives street names so could plot where the car is parked then I would know where to find it. Ideal for a bear with little brain like me.
Will give it trials on my visit next week -
Sack and water spring to mind
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My wife has bread ducks for many years (Ornimental type) they do not need a lot of water unless you wish to breed them. they are happy with grass and drinking water. we have an area with 20 youngsters and they are happy with what I call the cast iron doughnut, one of the animal old feeding rings. just regularly ensure it is refreshed.
Hopefully they are not both males otherwise you will not be able to get eggs. The simple way tell them apart is pick them up. If they quack then they are female, if they wimper then they are obviously male. (this is a simpler process than picking them up and inspecting their anatomy.
Ian
Xmas Turkey
in Finding/Owning French Property
Posted
Go to any good market such as St Hilaire and you will be able to pick up a turkey.
Additional benefit is you will soon learn how to kill, pluck and dress one
Alternatively you will have a new pet