andyh4

My Apologies Chancer. It was a typo.

Cancer you are beginning to sound a bit like a closet UKIP supporter wanting to blame everything on the EU. Firstly this is not a sudden surprise for RA that they have to come into line with the rest of Europe. Secondly even O'Leary, who is never backward in blaming those who he sees as creating havoc for his company, seems to have been silent in blaming the EU. The simple fact is that freedom of movement and skills across Europe means you have to have common standards - and especially where safety is concerned. Pilot holidays and rest periods are part of a safety regime. Having differing standards (calendars) between British Isles companies and the rest of Europe creates nothing but problems. Imagine a pilot from RA that leaves in say May to join say LOT. He took 16 days holiday from the previous year between January and the end of March. When he arrives with LOT, are those holidays counted in his current year or in last year?? They could be counted either way - and maybe are. I would guess that many British Isles airlines have had to face this issue but without creating mayhem, because for many they will also have tied holidays in alongside the tax year. {This is a total British based anachronism based around quasi- ecclesiastical Lady Days and has no place in a modern world.} Even Ireland decided to ditch the Lady Day calendar for tax purposes in 2002, but it seems RA did not follow suit wrt holidays until now, when it must. Richard, I am not sure your hack in Belfast is any better or worse than my hack in London. He (yours) has been told that 140 pilots have left this year - but we don't know the source. More importantly we do not know the significance. Let me explain if I can. The 140 (and other numbers are out there) has been reported widely as being: for last year - I take this to mean Jan - Dec 2016 for the last year - I take this to mean most likely August 2016 to August 2017 and now in your report so far this year - which I take to mean Jan - August 2017 So which one is right? Let's assume for the moment that 140 relates to a whole year. 140 sounds a lot of pilots - even to me and even knowing that RA have a high turnover rate for the reasons I gave above. But what does this number mean? Is it more than the normal churn in pilots "enjoyed" by RA? We don't know but let's try and make some guesses. If 140 pilots lost did indeed cause a loss of 2% of RA's flights we could make a first pass assumption (always dangerous) that 140 pilots represents something like 2% of RA's pilot work force. Now let us assume that a commercial pilot has a working life of 40 years (that sounds a bit high to me, but if it is less then the argument that follows becomes stronger). So we would expect 2.5% (1/40th.) of an average commercial workforce to retire every year. So simple retirement should account for 2.5% loss of pilots every year. Against that 2% does not sound excessive - even I it relates to so far this year, 2% so far this year =3% in a whole year - and given RA's reported high turnover sounds perfectly normal. The sensationalist number now begins to look a lot more like relatively normal. Is it? We have no way to judge without knowing more - and we don't, and I would guess we never will.

Certainly losing pilots will not improve the situation, but RA has historically had a relatively high turn over of staff. It being used as an entry level or many to get into the aviation industry. http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/ryanair-cancellations-flights-why-cancelled-truth-latest-a7953251.html Gives a more detailed overview, and I think this paragraph is telling regarding the loss of pilots: Yet with the winter season just a few weeks away, it would not make sense for large-scale poaching to be happening – most other airlines will shortly be looking around the crew room and wondering why they are paying so many pilots.

Problem of their own making Chancer. They used to have a holiday calendar for staff that ran from April to March. They decided to change (goodness knows why) to a January to December. I would expect June - August would be a period when holiday was prohibited except in the most extreme situations. So now they have a lot of staff who probably took no holiday in the first quarter because they were using up what was left from last year and probably did not take mega amounts of holiday in April/May. They are now trying to fit a large portion of their annual leave into the last 4 months of the year (in pervious years it would have been 7 months to the end of March in the following year). Result- perfect chaos.

I have signed the petition but I am denied the right to vote

Germany is OK; Good standard of living, social systems that work (but like everywhere else run at a deficit), people that are polite (if a bit stiff at time - lot like the British), lower cost of living. But house prices and environment is what does it. 1900€/month rent for a house with less floor space than my house in France which I could afford to buy. [Germany has a system of 40 year mortgages and the ability to inherit both the property and the ongoing mortgage. It also has stagnated house prices - perhaps even drifting down in price by w few percentage points a year in many places.] The land was a typical pocket handkerchief and the property was situated on a relatively busy crossroads - not good for the cats. We now have around 1/2 acre which suits us and the cats just fine. In 12 years we had three relatively serious car accidents outside of the house, two of which involved parts of the fence (ours and our neighbours - 1 each) being demolished. Here we don't have a road passing at all. We were broken into while away in Germany (not so uncommon unfortunately) but have not had a problem in France. In fact - touch wood - while we have owned in France, the village seems to have suffered just 2 serious thefts - one a 20 year old small Renault car and the other a small shed full of firewood. In fairness we had a bigger and much more international circle of friends in Germany, but we did not have the peace and tranquillity of rural France. Our landlady was rather hoping that we would buy the house when we decided to leave Germany but even at a special price it would have cost more than twice our house in France - albeit that we have done and paid quite a bit to/for the French house to make it what we want and need.

Rustryhole wrote: Taking the emotion out of it, i reckon that if a contract date has an expiry date then that is enforceable, hence why issue a avenant due to the original expiry if it is none commital? As I wrote above, stop thinking with a UK legal head. The expiry date is there so that if in the event that there is a time waster, the seller has a legal opportunity to put the property back on the market without any redress. You can reckon all you want but if you keep up like this with the notaire please be prepared to lose the deposit and just possibly be chased by the agent for his fees on top.

Good to see you back Idun and I hope the problems resolve themselves quickly.

Rustyhole Your view that because the date in the clause suspensive has passed that the contract does not exist is a very British outlook. Here in France it is Napoleonic code that rules and - well shall we say - interpretations are somewhat different, some might chose to use flexible. IIRC you said early on that you expected a mortgage offer to arrive later this month and that alone may well mean that the compromise is still considered as active. If the agent (you did say you had kept him in the loop), the notaire or the sellers are aware of this potential offer, then I think you could get hung out to dry if you do not proceed when/if the offer is made. The onus is going to be on you to provide documentary proof of your inability to obtain an offer. This is a lot more than just keeping the agent informed. It could well include copies of the application forms you have submitted and the negative responses from the mortgage agencies. Whatever you do, do not make any suggestion that you now have cold feet - for whatever reason, good or bad - because this can and probably will be treated as a sign of bad faith; that you have not fully tried to obtain a mortgage etc.. Good luck whichever way it goes.

The laws regarding access to enclaved property are superficially simple but in fact quite complex (now why is that not a surprise). Yes someone who has enclaved land does have right of access across the surrounding property, but this must be via the shortest practical route to a place of public access (road). It could be therefore that the current access is not the shortest route and that the landowner is objecting and that the shortest route is over Angie's land. IMHO there is no reason why an estate agent would know the situation regarding an adjacent property to one he sold (unless he also sold that property). Therefore unless he is a particularly helpful sort I do not see him being necessarily a great help. As others have said, first port of call is a polite enquiry of the neighbour about what is going on. It may be that this is mothing more than a grand patio and therefore a storm in a teacup.

Mine cost €800 for each eye. We are fully insured so I am not entirely sure what the level of reimbursement is on the Carte Vitale. On top there are the fees to the anaesthetist and the hospital. In in the morning and released very early in the afternoon. No pain or complications in my case but I know that some people are less lucky. Each eye was done separately (I guess they do this anyway but in my case the cataracts developed at a different rate). Now done, my eyesight is nearly perfect (I was very short sighted before) but I do need glasses for reading - a sure sign of age catching up.

And some of those unbelievable things labelled as project fear have been seen to be actually coming true. The EU is not giving the UK an easy ride to a relationship where nothing has changed except that the UK has control, of its own laws and immigration. Key foreign workers are leaving and not being replaced; putting pressure on staffing levels in schools, the NHS and research centres. the pound has dropped in value - by roughly 25%. Investment in UK industries and business is slowing down (while at the same time it is picking up in the doomed EU). I could go one but it is pointless since there is a portion of the population who will not hear.

Must it be a chimney, or would a simple flue - enamelled or stainless steel - going straight up through the roof do the job? http://www.leguide.com/grp/3244336114445.htm gives some sort of idea of what might be achieved.

We lost a small glass greenhouse in the tail end of storm Zeus back in the spring. After looking around we got our replacement via auchan.fr. It is polycarbonate - which is much warmer than glass - and unlike some polycarbonate designs, the glazing slots into the Aluminium framing rather than being held in place with the same sort of W clips that are used for glass. I have made sure it is well anchored into the ground with some concrete pads into which the base is screwed. Took me about a day to build - mostly single handed - without any real problems or issues.

But isn't this the wonderful vibrant city life that ALBF always tells us nincompoops that we idiots living in the back of beyond (or anyone so thinking might be a good idea) should be enjoying?

Sounds quicker and easier to do it by snailmail. When I last renewed via Durham (Paris had just shut down its operation), I got the new passport back within 10 days. It was sent IIRC in July or maybe late June. Two days later I got the "Avis de reception" having sent it signed for with confirmation of delivery.

Mrs Jaye May I be presumptuous enough to ask why you are restricting possible viewing expeditions to October and April and thereby exclude January and February? If you can fit it in I would strongly recommend a visit between New Year and return to school and again at half term. This is when you are likely to see your chosen area at its worst - potentially deep in snow, half the houses unoccupied and the other half shuttered to keep out the winter, cold, wet and damp, no tourists or attractions and very little going on. If you can love an area then you will almost certainly love it all year round.

Moles (taupes) have poor eyesight - you don't need to be able to see in an underground run with no light. Their other senses take precedence and they rely on detecting vibration and scent. I have not heard of human hair working (maybe it depends on the brand of hairspay/gel used :-) ) but I have used calcium carbide - which releases acetylene gas in contact with moisture. The gas released (which is rather impure) stinks vaguely of garlic and it seems to work up to a point. I have heard of other that have used dog poo and claim some success. I think the problem with any of these smelly cures is that they work locally to where they are applied and the mole just digs in the opposite direction. If this is next door, all well and good, but if this is towards your crown bowls lawn then watch out.

Forget the English process. Also a lawyer will be of limited use, but there are many organisations offering English speaking lawyers who will disagree. In France notaires do all of the conveyancing work. They are independent of either seller or buyer, and it is usual but by no means obligatory that both parties use the same notaire. If two notaires are used they share the costs between them. A notaire will do his best to answer a question that you put to him, but in his work is not obliged (as a UK solicitor should do) to advice that a TGV line, an abattoir or the like is planned to be built next door. Structural surveys or indeed surveys by lending companies are not usually carried out. You can get an structural engineer to look over the property but as in the UK the caveats to their reports are unlikely to leave you with any real protection. Many people buying buildings needing obvious work will use a local builder who will give an opinion of what needs doing and probable costs. Once you buy get a series of quotes for the work and do not rely solely on this builder. If you make an offer and this is accepted you will be sent a compromise de vente (there are other processes but this is the most common). This will spell out all conditions of sale, rights of way and other servitudes. You sign this and have then 7 days to reconsider, and then are committed - with a risk of losing a deposit if you back out. It is the exact reverse of the UK process where everything is up in the air and can be cancelled until the last minute. In France commitment is made very early in the process and it only halts (usually at least) if the notaire turns up something regarding the ownership of the property or a fault in the description of the rights and responsibilities as described in the compromise de vente. [In our case the property was described as having no rights of way, but the notaire established that a neighbour had an ongoing legal dispute over whether he did have a right of way to his property. We were advised by the notaire and had the opportunity to withdraw, wait until the legal case was heard or continue.]

Is there one or maybe two particular places where she likes to cross the boundary, or is her crossing a rather random affair? Most cats have routes and if she follows true to form you could probably knock up a protective cover with three bits of wood fixed together in a U shape. Turn upside down and place over the top of the fence at her crossing point(s). Each would probably need to be around 1 - 1.5m long.

I cannot help with most of this but on point 3 I would have thought the safest route would be to stipulate in your Holographe will that you wish your UK will to define the disposal of your French assets. There can then be no conflicts unless/until Brexit prohibits the use of a UK will in France.

Euthanase the old men?? :-)

Generally hard woods are much closer grained than soft wood. Assuming these are not made of Balsa, a small pointed object stuck* in will usually differentiate between soft and hard woods, but as Grumpy says this is not infallible. Otherwise as he says it is down to hands on and experience. * do chose a bit that will not show later.

I must live in a different France to everyone else. I once got slightly ticked of when I had to wait nearly 10 minutes to get served, but that was my own fault for turning up on market day and standing behind a couple of ladies who had obviously just come from the doctor with prescriptions designed to cover the ills of the whole of their hamlet. [Market day here is traditionally a day when people go to the doctor without making an appointment beforehand.]. All the medications we buy or get on prescription have price labels on them. The staff are all friendly and those that have been there for some time refer to us by name. A couple of the staff even try to practice their English on us - even though we always ask for what we want in French.

I think you have entirely the wrong idea ALBF. Brexit means a return to duty free, means more Brits on booze cruises and trips to France.