phylisbide

Have just found a website with reduced price Egyptian cotton and other bedlinen, at sale prices. They deliver to Western Europe and until the 23 May there is a further reduction for Daily Telegraph readers - promo code TELE4. Have only just placed an order but the site looks good. www.wallacesacks.com .

Midwife toads -they  make my favourite sounds in the garden and thanks to Chris PP I now know what they are. En masse they sound like wind chimes - a friend near a river has the windchime effect - but we are miles above sea level and have some in the area. I spend happy times calling them into the garden. Really. And the link Chris PP sent had a recording of them too  - so I can listen to it when in Blighty too.....OH thinks I have lost the plot though.

The wisteria should be pruned back hard around Christmas - leaving just two buds on each stem. The long whippy growth can be trimmed back in the summer if you like as it is a very fast grower and you don't need these long shoots for flowers. Cuttings or layered new plants should flower more quickly I think - but some never flower - my sister gave me a ten year old plant from Wisley and ten years later I dug it up as it had never flowered. Try some seeds too though - if you get flowers in fifteen or so years time you will be pleased - if not you will have had the greenery. PB

We are in 24 - near Montignac. Whereabouts is the builders merchant in Perigeux? PB

When we bought our property the guttering, plastic, was punctuated all along the length by holes - about the size of a golf ball, every six or eight inches along. Not a device for watering hanging baskets methinks, but the result of heavy hailstones puncturing brittle old plastic. We are in 24 and the hail did a lot of damage to cars etc again last autumn. Anyway we have now replaced with galvanised and doesn't it look nice against the stone... phylis

On the Portsmouth route last year, P and O staff seemed to be mostly new, many from agencies and therefore not on long term contracts, I believe. So assume the cost to P and O will be minimal. I am more concerned about the cost of a journey going up without the benefit of competition..

Hello Have been looking for a shared load to take some furniture down to 24. If you let me know your estimated costs perhaps we could put the two loads together.. I am aiming for 15 March.. Another site worth trying for shared load is www.loadup.co.uk  This is a truckers site and seems to work like a dream -have had loads of calls in response to my post. Costs have varied hugely though. phylis

Wouldn't it be nice to think that the operator on the Portsmouth route might have some competition - is this a real possibility? Speaking to a member of staff on a ferry last year, there have been occasions when a ferry travels with very few passengers - once at least with just one lorry driver... hope he didn't have to pay extra.. The back of a fag packet calculation I have done is the cost of ferry plus my diesel roughly equates to the cost of cheap flight, parking and car hire at the other end. Is this a coincidence? Looking forward to lots more weeks in France this summer...

Wouldn't it be nice to think that the operator on the Portsmouth route might have some competition - is this a real possibility? Speaking to a member of staff on a ferry last year, there have been occasions when a ferry travels with very few passengers - once at least with just one lorry driver... hope he didn't have to pay extra.. The back of a fag packet calculation I have done is the cost of ferry plus my diesel roughly equates to the cost of cheap flight, parking and car hire at the other end. Is this a coincidence? Looking forward to lots more weeks in France this summer...

We know a really good blacksmith when you get to this stage. Based near Montignac and does good work. Happy to supply details if appropriate. Phylis

Does anyone know whether there is a stockist of natural - coir or other material -flooring in 24? Is it cheaper to puchase in UK or has anyone found a sensible supplier? Looking for full room size rather than a doormat... thanks

Hello All of the above are true - and if, like us you are in a protected village in the Dordogne, the final permission has to be granted through the Architect de Batiments de France in Perigeux. We had no idea that this would be the case and were just starting roofing works - tiles just about to go on in our absence- when the work was halted - by the mayor - who himself had agreed earlier - and lengthy discussions had to start with Batiments de France. The roof looks lovely now (hand made clay tiles - tuiles plats) and we are quite a bit poorer. Still, we now know that the B de F has to be involved for us... and they are quite long winded. Hope you are either not in a protected village or not in a hurry, or not doing any expensive, contentious repairs!!! Good luck with the project - we have been really happy for over three years and now hope to spend more time in the house...

Hello When we have applied to the mayor for permission for building work etc, we have had to complete papers for the Department (DDE) as well and then send the whole lot to the Architect at Batiments de France - without his full permission the whole thing is impossible - but we live in a conservation area and the Architect de Batiments de France is like the most senior bod at English Heritage etc. Hope this is relevant...We ended up with the requirement for hand made roof tiles and conservation colours only.... and our request to open windows was approved by everyone until the neighbours expressly forbade - because we did not own  a 1 metre strip behind the house...very long winded... good luck Phylis  

hello If you are going to let your property out over the winter, take care on long lets because I believe the French system for long tenancies is different - and you might struggle to get tenants out at the end of the period. Temp agencies seem to have plenty of work. Manpower have branches in UK and in the Dordogne - you can speak to them in UK about work over there. Hope this helps

Ridding your beams of the little blighter - DIY effort - please make sure you are well masked and protected. The chemicals are very fierce on the lungs etc. A friend was very poorly after treating his beams with a spray pump, despite being well protected. We have struggled to get local quotes for removal in a small area - having had the main house treated before we moved in. THe quotes we have had are very expensive and we are now planning to tackle the job ourselves. However when the main house was done, they cut back any obvious infestation, giving us rustic look to the beams, and then drilled holes into which they squirted the beetle juice. It is a horrible job - keep the invoice afterwards as it may be your only future guarantee. Good luck

Could someone confirm how we decide on a price for the sale of a shared house? It seems that the price could be plucked out of the air - as different Immobiliers will quote different figures - and is the vendor the customer or not here? I think this varies - so how do we ascertain the current value of an unfinished property? Help please!

What happens if we buy our friends' half of the house? The arrangement at present is a maison secondaire, 50:50 split. Will they pay CG tax on the total gain or their half of the gain? Presumably all of the other issues (GB tax returns, etc) apply for them too.

Some interesting observations - thank you to all who have responded. The 182 days max in France can presumably be in more than one chunk of time - the suggestion that we try it in smaller chunks to start with sounds sensible. Not planning to work - although we might rent some holiday accommodation in the future - at which time we obviously start paying French tax on earnings there - as well as English tax on earnings here in UK. Interested in the idea of thinking of this as longish holidays - and using the E111 or health passport later in the year - does anyone know of anything else we need to think about? (House insurances and transport sorted) Are there any good websites or books on the subject that you can recommend we check out? Thanks in advance

We are seriously considering splitting the year between France and UK, starting next January. Is there a central source of info  - its quite a big subject. We have a property in France already - and three years' experience as occasional visitors. This is a serious option for us and we would be pleased for some input. Thanks