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St Bernard

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Everything posted by St Bernard

  1. For what it's worth..... I had contacted URSAAF  before the demand came through and was told to email them once the demand came through if I disagreed. As soon as the demand arrived, I sent the email and on Dec 27 received an email accusé de réception saying that the demand would be reviewed. Last week, after several attempts I got through by phone to a conseiller to be told that they had so many contestations that the Jan 19 deadline for payment had been suspended for those who had submitted them.
  2. If it is the case that S1 holders escape the cotisation subsidiaire (big if), then the reason I received the letter may be that my status altered in 2016 quarter 1 - ie I turned 65 and got the S1.
  3. I am officially retired ie I have an S1 form and as far as I am aware the UK is responsible for my health care contributions - thus, I had to get my EHIC from the UK. Will I still be liable for this cotisation subsidiaire?
  4. Thanks for the responses and pointing me in the right direction. Jan
  5. Hi I would be grateful if someone could point me to a good source for answering the following questions in relation to a UK private pension for someone who is French tax resident. 1 Under UK tax rules, on or after reaching pensionable age, you can take up to 25% of your fund as a tax-free lump sum. Do the French authorities treat this as taxable income? 2 How do the French tax authorities treat income drawdown from a SIPP? Many thanks Jan
  6. Hi Sorry that I did not see this post earlier. I live in the Ariège, so too far from you, but have been playing bridge down here for 6 years in local clubs. It's been a great way to integrate, make friends, and learn more French. The "standard francais" for bridge is not that complicated - it is based on 5 card majors with a strong no trump rather than ACOL. Checkout the FFB website (www.ffbridge.asso.fr) to find a club near you. I'm sure they would be happy to welcome you and to introduce you to the French system. There are plenty of  bridge books where the french is not difficult. The Le Bridgeur website is a good place to look although you may find things cheaper on Amazon.  Best wishes Jan Laury
  7. We live south of Toulouse in the Ariege but in the area close to the Aude and the Haute Garonne. Access to Toulouse is easy by the A66 or RN20. Sky looks very blue today and the Pyrenees are in the distance. What you need to be aware of in this area and the Lauragais is that it can get quite windy. It's a price worth paying as the climate is very good. Micro-climates abound in this area but generally, we find that it is drier here than slightly further south (Pamiers, Foix etc.) or west of the Ariege river. As for rain on a regular basis - no way!   Jan
  8. Thanks for that..it only goes to show that there's nothing new under the sun.
  9. I've come across this "new" product called Ecoswim. It states that it is " à base d'oxygène actif". It is ecologically sound and allows you to do without chlorine or ph testing. All you have to do is repeat the treatment every 2-3 weeks during the season depending on water temperature. Sounds too good to be true. Does anyone have experience of this product?   Jan Laury
  10. Thanks for that. I think you sat next to my wife on the flight to Carcassonne last Saturday! We have an abri - it was there when we bought the house - so rain is not an issue. The pool has been thoroughly brushed before the latest choc chlore treatment and the pump was on for 24 hours. We are aware that the slow release galets contain stabiliser but the stabiliser level is correct - verified on three separate visits to a pool specialist in Pamiers. I've set out more fully in another reply what we have done. We had also done a "preventative" anti-algae treatment. The algae problem may be centered on the filter bag housing we have been advised to pay extra attention to that and as a result put "anti-algues" directly into it as well as a "floater" with chlorine pastilles. We'll find out later today what the impact of that has been. So, thanks for the advice but we're still struggling.
  11. Thanks for that. We take out a good part of the water at the beginning of the season and follow up if necessary with a choc chlore. We did that some weeks ago and the chlorine level, as expected, was high. The water took a long time to become clear (much longer than usual) and we resorted to using JD Flash (hydrogen peroxide). That did the trick but the chlorine level fell to zero. Despite our adding chlorine tablets as per normal it failed to recover and gradually algae started coming back especially in the filter bag housing. We decided to do another choc chlore this week but following that the chlorine level still appears to be nil. The stabiliser level is correct so we know that we are not suffering from chemical saturation. So it's still a bit of a mystery.
  12. We have a Desjoyaux pool which is normally fine but this year we have a little problem. Having applied chemicals at the start of the season everything looks fine - the water is clear etc.. The ph level is correct and we have had the level of stabiliser checked independently and it is fine. However the level of chlorine appears to be nil even after a "choc clore" treatment. The result is that we have a lovely looking pool but with an uncanny ability to allow algae to develop. Any advice would be much appreciated. Jan Laury
  13. Or park it in the garage! It's amazing how many of the cars that were damaged could have been parked in a garage.
  14. We live 25 minutes north west of Mirepoix and missed the worst of the storm. However we have friends around Mirepoix who suffered badly. We know people who had windows broken (including Velux windows), car bodywork dented, car windscreens smashed, awnings shredded etc. Also, some people lost all their flowering plants and all the blossom and new leaves on trees destroyed. Damage was widespread from the Mirepoix area heading west with the Pamiers area badly affected. When a friend of ours went to the car windscreen repair place at Pamiers on monday morning, she was the 40th person to do so.   Mind you, it's been gloriously sunny and hot ever since but that's no consolation for those who were affected.   Jan Laury
  15. Many thanks for the replies. The good news is that I looked at the carte again and found that it doesn't expire until 2008! I have to say that carrying a carte around is a lot preferable to carrying a passport. Happy New Year to all Jan
  16. I understand that as a Brit I no longer need to apply for a Carte de Sejour but as I have one which was issued when they were required, are there any issues as to what to do when it comes up for renewal. I wish to avoid Monsieur Plod appearing on my doorstep for contravening some wonderful administrative rule. Jan Laury  
  17. Well, it's been another dry autumn in the Ariege....................... As far as hospitals are concerned, you may want to look at the issue of Le Point which came out on thursday (07/12) as they did there annual survey of hospitals. Jan Laury
  18. There is a dog training school at La Tour de Crieu, near Pamiers, which meets every saturday afternoon. Jan Laury  
  19. You have all our sympathies. On tuesday evening I went to Toulouse airport to collect my wife, leaving at home a bouncy labrador who was not yet 4 years old. When we returned, he did not come out to greet us as usual and we started to search for him. I found him a couple of minutes later lying dead under a tree. The shock has been huge and we were distraught. Having spoken to our vet, it is likely that he was bitten by an adder on his tongue and this would have been fatal (his tongue was dark and swollen with a couple of drops of blood in his mouth). We had decided to get another dog to succeed him when on thursday night we had a phone call from our neighbour's sister saying that a couple of weeks earlier as a favour to a friend they had taken in an eleven month old labrador whose previous owner, an elderly gentleman, had been unable to cope with such a young and energetic dog. They, in their turn, were not able to look after the dog as they would wish as they were out all day working and asked if we would like to have him. On saturday he arrived - a beautiful dog and hopefully a worthy successor. The old adage of every cloud having a silver lining has come true again. Best wishes Jan Laury
  20. I'm having a problem updating my definitions for Norton Anti Virus software and getting error message LU1814. Essentially, I'm unable to access the file with the definitions on the Symantec server. I've followed all the instructions as to what to do in the event of such an error message but to no avail. I've run a virus check and that was fine. Our subscription is up to date. Has anyone come across a similar problem and been able to resolve it? Any advice gratefully received. Jan Laury
  21. There was a Desjoyaux pool already installed at our house when we bought it and it is of the type described above - 10x5 with roman steps. In addition we have a large abri (also installed by the previous owners) so the pool is kept cleaner and warmer - we normally only have it fully retracted in July and August. We have not removed the pump in winter but keep the water circulating for 6 hours per day. Water temperature has not fallen below 8° even when air temperature has been down to -7°. We have not had any mechanical problems yet but algae have been a problem. This may be due to our own inexperience of controlling the pool chemicals. Be aware that the chlorine tablets can be bought with or without "stabilisateur" and I think that the supermarket varieties tend to be with. As a result, we ended up with a pool which was chemically saturated and the chlorine tablets were ineffective leading to algae. With this system you should replace one third of the water each spring to avoid chemical saturation. You must use a submersible pump and place it at the deepest point of the pool. The abri is fine unless it snows as it cannot take a lot of weight. In the event of snow it has to be opened! Our experience of the nearest shop - Pamiers - has not been great as they gave us wrong advice more than once but we have found a better pool equipment shop. There is certainly no need to use their products. I have no idea what the total cost would be but I've heard from others that the cost of installing any terrace surrounding can be high so a lot depends on the size of the terrace surround that you require. Jan Laury  
  22. You can get free weather forecasts for up to 10 days on www.weather.yahoo.com where there is a reasonable selection of towns. Also for free, for up to 5 days, you can look at www.pleinchamp.com where it is done by departement. Jan
  23. There can be huge differences in weather even within a small area let alone between Toulouse and Perpignan, one of which is inland and the other by the coast. Esperaza is just to the east of a divide which means that its weather is more likely to be Mediterranean influenced than Atlantic influenced. Don't be surprised if the weather is quite windy. Another web-site that you can try is www.meteoconsult.fr and you can enter the precise location where you are staying but I agree with all the caveats about weather forecasting above. Enjoy your stay Jan Laury
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