Eslier

I'm sorry to say that it sounds as if your cats have "cat flu". It can become very serious but with prompt treatment from your vet they should make a good recovery.  The symptoms you describe are exactly the same as our kittens had some time ago now.  Following an injection, a course of antibiotics and eye drops (great fun trying to put those in) for a few days, they both recovered well. You are doing the right thing to take them to the vet in the morning.

Firstly, your chainsaw will have a quite high power motor - probably around 1600w - and you won't find a domestic dimmer switch which will cope with that sort of power unless you spend quite a lot of money. Even if you did  find a suitably rated dimmer it won't help you much. If you run the dimmer at a low output it will wreck the motor so I wouldn't recommend it.  The resulting smoke and burning smell might be quite effective though.

The best way is to arrange for a transfer of funds to the Notaire's bank account for a day or two before your appointment to sign the Acte de Vente.  Your Notaire will provide you with the account details you require (IBAN etc.) and all you need to do is arrange the transfer with one of the many commercial exchange companies, telling them which day the funds need to clear into the Notaire's account.

Any subject you like Dick, it doesn't have to be about anything to do with France. As long as the conversation stays within the Code of  Conduct.

mmmmm sounds good - I might just have to give that a try. Thanks.

Caen to St Malo is a very easy trip. It takes just under two hours by car.    Usually, when BF have to transfer people to another departure port, they offer cash handouts towards the additional fuel costs when people turn up at the port. When they had problems with the Pont Aven the year before last I understand they transferred passengers onto alternative crossings and gave them a full refund of what they had paid.

Dotty, logout of the forum then, try deleting all your cookies.  If you're not sure how to do this, post back with which internet browser ( i.e. Internet Explorer, Firefox etc.) you are using and someone will talk you through it.  Once you have deleted the cookies, open up the forum again and it will ask for your registered e-mail address and password again. Do this using the one you want to keep and hopefully you should login ok.

If anyone is interested in finding images that can be published freely then just do a Google search for "public domain images" and you will find many websites offering copyright free pictures.

On some days it is possible with Condor - sometimes with a change in Jersey  - but it depends on the tides so not the same schedules each week. You best bet is to give Condor a ring.  I don't find their website is that user friendly !

There is no dispute that using a photograph for which you have no rights of use is contravening someone's Intellectual Property Rights.  I agree that this sort of practice is widespread and action is rarely taken by the owners of the photos but this doesn't make it permissable. It should be remembered that Archant, who own this forum, is a publishing company itself and it would be highly embarassing for them should anyone take exception to photos published in their webspace. This is why such posting of photos is specifically proibited in the Forum Code of Conduct. We are very fortunate to have the facility to post photos within the forum. There are other forums who do not allow this specifically because of the serious potential implications of copyright breaches. We moderators are only members of the forum like the rest of you and I for one would like to see this facility of posting photos continue. For that reason it is only fair that we do what is asked of us by Acrhant Forum Admin and do our best to uphold the Code of Conduct. We try to do this in as friendly a manner as possible and are always happy to offer advice or answer questions if contacted privately.

If the photo is one that you have taken or you know the person who has taken it and have been given specific permission to use it then it is fine to post it within the forum.  If you copy and paste a photo from another website, scan something in from another source (magazine etc.) then there is a breach of copyright. The problem is, that as this site is owned by Archant then they could be the ones in trouble if photos are published without permission. I hope that helps clarify the situation.

Try  http://www.leroymerlin.fr/mpng2-front/pre?zone=zonecatalogue&idLSPub=1061906511&renderall=on

Setting up a B&B in France can certainly be a much more simple matter than doing so in the UK but then that's only part of the story. Much will depend on how much money you need to make from it.  If your plan is to have a few visitors in the summer, enjoy the company and make a little pocket money, then, as long as you find you enjoy living in France all should go well with ease. If you need to make an income to live off then that's a different matter altogether and will be very hard to achieve on our own.

[quote user="WJT"]Thank you Eslier, that is a relief. I don't have one of the wireless routers or the card so it looks like I will have to use the Wanadoo modem. By the way they are charging me 3€ euro a month for the modem. [/quote] If you are paying 3€ a month then you must have the Wanadoo Livebox. This is in fact a wireless router which Wanadoo seem to be trying to fob people off with even though  a) many people don't need it and  b) they are notorious for causing  problems. The other option which you can have from Wanadoo is a simple ADSL modem for which they only make a one off charge of 1€ thereby saving you the 3€ per month

Unfortunately, Keith, the 24hr return offered by BF, that you refer to, is only available for trips starting in the uk so little use for those of us who live in France.

I would say that a rate of 60€ per hour for a registered architect sounds very reasonable and I can quite see that they would clock up around 80 hours on this sort of work.  Whether or not you are obliged to pay this or not will depent entirely upon the wording of the contract you presumably signed with the architect.  One would expect there to be a clause in the contract dealing with just this sort of situation where the building contract does not go ahead.  It is most likely that their charge to you is legitimate and you will have to pay. Unless you can find something in the contract that you feel would be worth taking to a lawyer and fighting it out then your best bet is probably to grovel a bit and try to get them to accept a reduced settlement - maybe 7500€

Will has given you good advice.  The advice you have been given is a common misconception and understandable if one looks solely at EU law. Unfortunately the French laws covering this sort of thing are quite complex and the safest thing is to get the advice of a French accountant.  Although particular circumstances can differ, it is most likely that you will find it far easier simply to setup a new entreprise in France if this is where you will be living and conducting your business from.  If you operate under  your uk company then you  would most likely still have to register a branch company of your business in France so you will have the same commitments in France and still have the uk side to cope with too.

Good afternoon to your all, Firstly, I am sorry if anyone is concerned that I am "anonymous". I agree that Eslier is not a common name but nevertheless it is the name I use. If you really would like to know, I am male, in my mid forties and live in France. I hope that satisfies those questions. Regarding the issue of Miki, I do not feel that the open forum is an appropriate place to discuss matters of a private nature that take place between another member and the moderators.  I am more than happy to provide an answer to any questions or concerns any of you may have, to the best of my ability, if you wish to contact me privately. I will not, however, be able to divulge any information which has been passed on to the moderators in confidence. The main problem here is that I, and the other moderators, are in possession of information that, due to the confidential nature of forum "report" complaints, we are not at liberty to divulge. Therefore, no one, other than the moderators is in a position to judge categorically whether the decision that was taken to ban Miki was justified. I can sympathise that this may be very frustrating to some of you. I would also urge you all not to believe everything you read. There are some posts within this thread that are simply not true. I haven't done anything about them because, quite simply, I really can't be bothered and am not interested in over moderation. Those people who have been a little creative with the truth know who they are and I can't see that there is anything to be gained by bursting their little dream bubble. On a personal note, I respect the fact that everyone is entitled to an opinion, whether or not it is one I agree with.  One of the most important lessons I have learnt in my life is that sometimes it's ok to agree to disagree. The important thing is to move on or no one gets anywhere. I enjoy participating in this forum and have aquired a lot of knowledge from it as, I suspect, have many of you. Let us not lose sight of the fact that it exists to discuss France and French Lifestyle. Please keep posting constructively. My very best wishes to you all - enjoy the sunshine. Mr. Eslier. PS  Do I get an invite to the "prison food" dinner ?

Yes, I agree, Cabernet d'Anjou is a good choice and, also from the same region, you could try Coteaux de Layon which is a medium (ish) white wine. Although supermarket Cabernet d'Anjou is around 2€ a bottle, if you visit some wine merchants you will find better ones at anything up to around 4€ a bottle.  Better still, if you are anywhere near the Anjou region (near Saumur in the Loire), go and visit a number of the makers and try their wines. You will find the sweetness and quality of the Cabernet can vary quite a bit between different makers and from year to year.

I think you will find that there is no legal reason why your friend must go ahead with the sale of the house however, since he signed a contract with the agent and the agent has subsequently done the job he was contracted to do selling at the full agreed asking price, if your friend decides not to proceed with the sale then he will need to pay the agent an amount equivalent to the commission that the agent would have made if the sale had gone through.

Just in case anyone has missed this, but .eu domains can now be purchased by all. If you have always wanted a particular domain name then why not check to see if it is available. Many very good names have yet to be registered. I've picked up a couple of really good ones and simply set them up to forward to my main domain.

You won't need touse the wanadoo usb modem if you have a DG834GT but at only 1€ you might as well have it and use it as a back-up.  The disc that comes with the modem has the driver on it - whichyou need to connect with the modem but you don't have to install Espace Wanadoowhich is on the same cd. It's much more obvious than it sounds.  The easiest thing is to follow the instructions and run the cd installer but stop the install at the obvious halfway stage.

The Netgear units bought in France are exactly the same as those bought in the UK and come with a CD that enables you to load English software/drivers etc. It may not have written instructions in English but these are easily downloaded from the excellent Netgear US website - as is the latest firmware for your router (very important to do this). I bought a DG834GT in France and it is very good. At the time, it was cheaper than I could have bought the same package in England.  I have no problem with wifi through 60cm stone walls. It will work at 108Mb if it's talking to another Netgear pci card etc. that is enabled for 108Mb communication but to be honest, your internet connection isn't going to be any more than 8Mb anyway !   I have subsequently bought a booster aerial and now have wifi access in four (and almost five but only outside on the patio for the furthest away) houses. When you get your Wanadoo service connected, whatever you do DO NOT load the Espace Wanadoo software. Also, don't let them talk you into having their "Livebox", just accept the standard ADSL modem which they will sell you for 1€

Prices can be found at: http://particuliers.edf.fr/article494.html It will look a little different to what you have quoted as the prices shown are TTC. In essence it will cost you 6,98€ per month more to go up to a 9kvA supply.

If your owner wants you to leave then he/she must give you notice three months before the end of your lease, likewise so must you. If notice is not given then the lease is automatically renewed for a further three year period. At least that's as I understand it.  Best thing is to have a word with the owner or his/her agent.