Suninfrance

Be very careful with those blaster kits. I know someone in Haute Vienne tried to remove it and didn't realise it hadn't gone off. Result - visit to hospital with bullet between thumb and first finger. Not a pretty sight, especially as the hospital didn't put the tendons back together properly. ..... and, he can vouch, extremely painful. Jan

There is a "frelon" (hornet) thread under the gardening section on this site. Worth a look. Most people recommend getting the pompiers out or using a "6 metre spray". Badminton racket also works, but only one at a time! From what I've read about hornets (unless you get stung) they are quite harmless as long as you stay at least 2-3 metres from their nest site. If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. Having said that, I really don't want to share my house with them, so I will be calling the pompiers soon. I guess this time of year they are quite dozy so easy to sneak up on, but don't take any chances. Suninfrance

Don't know about getting rid of my moles just yet. They are proving quite useful! Recycling at it's best, I'm using the tops of the mole hills (very nice soil) for my garden pots. Not doing to bad so far. Jan

Saw a french couple eating andouillettes in our local bar last night - even they couldn't finish them. Good job I had my back to them otherwise I might have been sick.

We have found coffee mate or similar whiteners in Intermarche and Super U.

I have just received a very useful book called "Hadley's French Medical Phrase Book" which translates from English to French and French to English. It's only small, but looks like it could be very useful. Obtainable from Amazon.co.uk at only £6.00. Worth paying half as much again for the postage. Jan

Hi Does anyone know of someone in the Correze (19) region who could carry out a repair on a glass fronted bookcase - it's leaded glass so needs to be specialist. Two panes of glass cracked and need replacing. Jan

When we signed for our house a couple of years ago, our notaire didn't seem to think that having a UK will would be a problem. However, I am beginning to think that maybe we should get our UK wills translated, just to make sure. We certainly wouldn't want any hassle if one of us 'popped our clogs' because we'd been wrongly advised. Any advice? Suninfrance

Thank you. I will do that. Jan

Can anyone tell me where the nearest neurosurgery hospital to Arnac Pompadour is? Currently having to travel back to Oxford for appointments and need to set up regular MRI Angiography scans in France now that I am living here. Jan

Well, we finally made it. We were hoping for a spring move, but the usual delays and "purchasers from hell", we finally got here in July. So far it's been great. Not too much work on the house, but we have been having a lot of fun. I would recommend canoeing on the Dordorgne river. Best afternoon I have ever had. Work on the house will probably start in earnest when the weather gets a bit cooler. If you are thinking of moving out here - go for it. I have never felt so relaxed - I've even stopped biting my nails after 30 odd year. Anyone know a good manicurist in the Pompadour area? Hope to meet some more people out here soon to share experiences and advice on renovations. Jan & Ray

Hi We're in the Limousin and we have flies, that look like ordinary flies, but if you are in the shade, they like to draw blood!! Irritating when you are trying to have lunch in the garden and you feel you can feel the little beggers nipping away. They particularly like ankles - mine anyway. Horseflys, the same as in England, wasps as in England, hornets a different matter. However, with the hornets although they look scary, if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. Try not to get within 2-3 metres of their nests and they won't touch you. However, if they are too close for comfort, a badminton racket is a good weapon. Some friends have just acquired something that looks like a badminton racket, but it has a battery and once you swat the offending insects, it fries them. Quite a useful tool if you are an insectiphobe. We are getting used to all the different insects though - they are ow a part of our everyday life, and we've only been here a couple of months.

Can anyone advise on the best way to get rid of frelons (hornets). We have 3 nests in the end wall of our house and at least half a dozen in our barn. So far we've left them alone and they've left us alone, but I want to start raking out the joints in the stonework on the house ready for re-pointing soon, so need to do something about them. Jan

Our situation is we're moving permanently to France, we will have no regular income, but we will have savings and hopefully, some interest from those savings. Can anybody tell us what the tax thresholds and rates are for income tax in France. We've also heard that there is a "weatlh tax" on global assets. Our global assets will be our house in France and our savings. Will we have to pay tax on these and if so at what rate? Help please!!

OK - this may sound a bit dim, but what is the correct way to address a letter to France? It looks like we are finally moving to Arnac Pompadour on 30th June, and I'm writing to friends and family with my new address. Is it: 19230 Arnac Pompadour or Arnac Pompadour 19230 or does it matter? Confused

Any "twitchers" out there? We have a small dull looking bird not much bigger than a sparrow. Fairly dull grey/brown with a darker "cap" on it's head, but when it takes off, it has red flashes under it's wings and tail which makes it quite pretty. Any ideas? Jan

Not sure what snake it was, but while Ray was cutting the grass last summer one came a cropper in the blades of the flymo. Unfortunately Ray didn't see it until it was too late. Unfortunately for the snake too who didn't see the flymo until it was too late !! By the way, this is not a recommended way of ridding yourself of the slippery creatures - too messy !! Jan Correze (19)

Thank you everyone for your advice. We'll be buying vast quantities of round-up. Could be a long summer ..... . This time, I'll try not to get "whiplash" :O) Jan

We have an area of woodland which we would like to clear of brambles. Short of a flame thrower, can anyone suggest a quick and painless (for us) way of getting rid of vast quantities of the stuff so we can make our woodland a pleasant area to walk and sit in. Having suffered lacerated flesh when we tried to clear a space last year, we'd be most grateful for any advice. Look forward to hearing from you. Jan

This may be a bit of a tricky one. I'll be moving to the Limousin area (Correze (19))this year (hopefully) and would like to know how I go about getting regular (annual) CT or MRI scans as I had a brain haemorrhage two years ago. I don't want to "leave it to luck". Healthwise at the moment I am fine, but I will need to have either a CT or MRI scan annually to check that everything is as it should be. Any advice gratefully received. Jan

Will be moving to France this year and I'd like to get set up on the internet/e-mail as soon as poss, so I can stay in touch with family and friends in the UK. How do I go about finding a suitable ISP? I use Freeserve in the UK. As I'm not the "brightest sparkler in the pack" when it comes to technical stuff, any advice/help would be very much appreciated. Jan

Hi everyone Ray and I are making the move to our new "hovel" near Arnac Pompadour this year (hopefully April/May time, if we can sell our house in Milton Keynes). I don't speak any French, so am looking forward to making contact with people for advice,drinks, food, talking, friendship. Ray speaks pretty good French (that's bad English, but hey....) so I may feel a bit isolated for a while until I pick up the language. We would both like to meet people in the area who don't mind sharing advice about their experiences on moving to and living in France. Ray is out there at the moment slaving away on renovations, while I'm slaving over a hot keyboard at work. We'll both be there from 24 March for three weeks, so please send me e-mail if you would like to meet up for a drink or a chat. Look forward to hearing from you. Jan