Jo Taylor

And I wonder if any Brits ever order the offering at a local restaurant: "Pigs feet in his own grease"... there were other gems too, will try to find the menu. Jo

Talking of septic tanks (don't we always?!)... Playing with a translator one day, put in "Do not put panty liners etc. in the lavatory, please place in the waste bin provided"... translated it to French then back into English (best way to test if it's OK - or not - but it's fun!) - came back as "Do not make passenger boats in the washbasin, square in the bread bin". Jo

But where do all the teaspoons go? (Having just had to replace the remainder of the gite cutlery with a set of our own rather more expensive stuff...) And why was the kitchen soap dish in the bathroom? (When there's one there already) And why do I always end up with a pocket full of those little plasticky T shaped things that hold clothes price tags on? Always a bottle of olive oil left (that's noce) but never potatoes, which you wouldn't think they'd take home... And why was the little fat Scottish lady wearing a corset in the baking hot last week of August last year? (It was left down the side of the bed, no, I didn't send it back.) This prompted a small verse: On the 3rd day of September my gite guests left for me - 12 Sainsbury's teabags11 melted biscuits10 pubic hairs9 ripe or-anges8 pieces crispbread7 dirty towels6 teaspoons margarine5 poo-ooo spots4 kitchen rolls3 clothing tags2 bot-tles water...and a grubby grey grotty cor-set!  (Actually there were 9 dirty towels but I already had the oranges in there!) Jo

May I tag a related question on to this one? If we're domiciled in France (we are), do we HAVE to renew through the Embassy, or can we apply to the UK? There appears to be a horrifying difference in price! Renewed last time through the Embassy (amazingly quick) but don't remember it being so expensive, and we've expired... Time is not important this tiime round. Jo

Income Tax Bands for 2005 Income PercentageUp to €4,334 0From €4,334 to €8,524 6.83From €8,524 to €15,00419.14From €15,004 to €24,29428.26From €24,294 to €39,52937.38From €39,529 to €48,747 42.62 Over €48,747 48.09 The taxable unit is the household. The figures above are for each "part", i.e. a single person is one part, a married couple is two parts, if there are any children the first two have 0.5 of a part each, any further children one part. For example, a family with three children will add up to four parts. The total household income is split across those four parts, each of which is separately taxed according to the bands in the chart above, the sum of these being added together to result in the amount of tax payable. See: www.impots.gouv.fr Jo

Hello Goose,  I've only been stung by a bee once in my life, and a wasp once when I was 5 and twice (at the same time, mowed over their nest!) last year. Thankfully, like you, I didn't suffer a bad reaction - one sting was on my heel, hurt horribly probably because of where it was but the other just made an angry lump which faded after a day or two.Your wife's reaction to the horsefly bite sounds like the same as mine - horseflies definitely do it to me, I've seen them actually do it. One rarely feels it at the time, they slice with such a fine "blade" that it doesn't hurt - just swells the next day followed by pain and itching. Doc prescribes cortisone cream, antihistamine tabs (Telfast, they don't make you dozy) and I find ibuprofen alleviates the pain. I'm pretty sure it's mossies too - seems to happen when they're around. The flies that look like house flies (but bite) do not provoke the reaction- just a small localised lump and itch. The B vitamin thing was mentioned on another thread, Marmite was recommended, I ate it for two days then rapidly went off it! There is also a theory that those with high blood sugar levels are more susceptible.Humming bird hawk moth: http://www.uksafari.com/hummingbird.htm  Jo

No, it's not a spoof site, and hornet stings, in general, carry no more hymenoptera venom than that of a wasp. Of course, if you have an adverse reaction to the stings or bites of certain insects and if you suffer swelling from any insect bite or sting you should go to your médicin. I swell up like a balloon when bitten by mossies and horseflies, known as "large local" reaction and carrying a 10% risk of anaphylactic shock, and once had ascending lymphangitis as a result. I have looked into this subject in great detail, having had hornets in the roof when we lived in the UK then in the immediate vicinity of our property here for the past fifteen years (last year was the only time they've actually moved in!), and because of the danger of my own reaction. I am very very careful! This site: http://www.insectstings.co.uk has a wealth of information on the subject, and was started by a person who suffers severe allergic reactions. Jo

Facts on hornets: http://www.muenster.org/hornissenschutz/hornets.htm Myth no.1 - Is the urban (or perhaps rural!) myth that their stings kill people. Hornet stings are no more harmful than those of wasps, multiple stings will only be life-threatening if you have a sensitivity like a very small percentage of people have to bee stings and go into anaphylactic shock. Nor will they "attack" like wasps seem to! They are annoying to have in the house, we had them last year. Other Half got stung twice when a dozy one went up his trouser leg, they do get a bit woozy in the autumn. It hurt, but after a couple of ibuprofen the pain faded (he's not that stoical!). Wasp stings in previous years have given him more pain. Myth no.2 - Hornets do not return to the same nest, they're gone in November and find a new location each year. The above site is very informative (it's in English despite the German name). Jo

No, they're not hornets. And there's no need to rush to the hospital when stung by a hornet - their stings are less harmful than that of a wasp! See http://www.muenster.org/hornissenschutz/hornets.htm We had a hornet invasion last year, spent every evening chasing them round the living room with a glass and piece of card and humanely evicted them. Never found the nest, probably betwen the floorboards somewhere, they were coming out of the chimney. Other half came down one morning, cat knocked butter dish off the table, OH knelt down to clear it up and hornet crawled up his trousers (they go dozy in the autumn), he was stung twice though luckily not in a place too tender... hurts, dose of Nurofen, faded in a couple of days. JO

Gyn Paul, look at the "Deleted Items" folder in OE - does it have a cross beside it? Deleted folders end up as a sub-folder there. Try expanding it. If it's there, click, hold and drag to "local folders". Another thing that can happen is that an accidental slip of the mouse can send one folder into another - again, look for any that have a cross beside indicating a sub-folder, and do the above. Next, close OE and have a look at your storage location - you'll find it under something like C > Windows > Application Data > Identities - drill down until you find a folder called Outlook Express. It will contain items with the file extension .dbx (do a search for *.dbx if you can't locate the folder), see if you can see one which corresponds to the lost folder. If it's there, open OE and create a new folder with exactly the same name. Close OE. Open it again and see if the new folder contains anything. If not, but you did find the dbx file, try opening it with notepad or wordpad, you should be able to find the information you need but it might be hidden amongst yards of HTML if most of the emails weren't plain text. Hope one of those works! Jo

Apologies for the double post above. Chez, go to your médécin, he'll sort you out, and read all the posts above. Keep the foot up and encourage your nearest and dearest to be very sypathetic. I tried the Marmite prevention strategy and have rapidly gone off Marmite. Love it, usually, but not if I HAVE to eat it every day. Got two bites on my arm this week, too high up for the inflated rubber glove effect, this time it was more like one of those balloons that you blow up then twist in the middle... Jo (in Normandy)

it'd probably take me about an hour to get to a dairy farm! We're not all in the countryside Ah - sorry - assumption based on Normandy - one big dairy farm!

Two points to add - do make sure your guests / tenants have a permanent home elsewhere otherwise other factors come into play. Also, make sure the property is completely furnished, because if they do intend to squat they can ask for a tribunal ruling to the effect that the property is inadequately furnished. If they succeed, they will then have the same rights as tenants in unfurnished property which is subject to the "Loi Mermaz" of 1989. French law defines a furnished property as one where the tenant can move in with personal effects only.

The taxi fare / length of journey will depend on whether you're going from Exeter Central or St David's. Why not ring the airport to ask about the bus?

Any cool place will do. Forgot to say that the milk should be untreated (not pasteurised). Ask the nearest dairy farm if you can't buy lait cru locally. Another idea - contact your local cream-producing farm and ask to buy the cream after the separator has done its bit, but before they stir in the culture that produces the sour taste. We have a friend who works at one who brings us tubs of cream "au naturel" - yum! She (and the owners think we're rather odd and that the uncultured cream will do something harmful to us...

The extreme allergy is called "large local reaction" - when the area around the bite swells up like a third, er, breast (assuming you have two already! Never known a man have it). If it's anywhere near the hand, it swells up like an inflated rubber glove. My médécin prescribes a cortisone cream and antihistamine tablets. I asked for Telfast as these don't zonk you out. Germolene eases the pain as it contains a mild local anaesthetic. Ice wrapped in a cold flannel brings some relief. But it HURTS and throbs and sends histamine levels way up, and lasts 4-5 days, usually leaving a scar. If this is the reaction you have, be very careful - there's a 10 per cent risk of anyphylactic shock. Also be very careful if taking any medicine to thin the blood - when on heparin, prescribed when I had a broken ankle, and bitten, the infection caused lymphangitis. Not nice, and it's difficult to grapple with crutches when an arm's out of action! I have the reaction with mossies, horseflies and ticks but was delighted when attacked by wasps last year (!), being stung for the first time since I was 5, that it doesn't happen with wasp stings. (Nor when I sat on a bee...) I don't eat many sweet things, but was told years ago that I have high blood sugar and to watch out for diabetes later on, so it might be related to sugary blood. This time of year I have a Raid citronella thing in the bedroom, and pin a mossie net around the window. Great tip re. Marmite! Will definitely try that.  

The extreme allergy is called "large local reaction" - when the area around the bite swells up like a third, er, breast (assuming you have two already! Never known a man have it). If it's anywhere near the hand, it swells up like an inflated rubber glove. My médécin prescribes a cortisone cream and antihistamine tablets. I asked for Telfast as these don't zonk you out. Germolene eases the pain as it contains a mild local anaesthetic. Ice wrapped in a cold flannel brings some relief. But it HURTS and throbs and sends histamine levels way up, and lasts 4-5 days, usually leaving a scar. If this is the reaction you have, be very careful - there's a 10 per cent risk of anyphylactic shock. Also be very careful if taking any medicine to thin the blood - when on heparin, prescribed when I had a broken ankle, and bitten, the infection caused lymphangitis. Not nice, and it's difficult to grapple with crutches when an arm's out of action! I have the reaction with mossies, horseflies and ticks but was delighted when attacked by wasps last year (!), being stung for the first time since I was 5, that it doesn't happen with wasp stings. (Nor when I sat on a bee...) I don't eat many sweet things, but was told years ago that I have high blood sugar and to watch out for diabetes later on, so it might be related to sugary blood. This time of year I have a Raid citronella thing in the bedroom, and pin a mossie net around the window. Great tip re. Marmite! Will definitely try that.  

Ummm... you don't "make" cream. It can either be produced by using a separator, or simply by leaving full milk to stand for 24 hours (single) or 48 hours (double) and skimming. Whatever results from over-whizzing butter and milk together, it certainly ain't clotted cream! One gallon of full milk will yield 3/4 - 1lb of clotted cream. Leave to stand (preferably in an earthenware bowl) for 12 - 24 hours at room temperature (13 degrees) until the cream rises. Stand the bowl over boiling water (but not touching it) for about an hour, when a crust will have formed on top. Leave to cool until the next day, then skim off the yummy clotted cream! Jo (originally from Devon where we made it with very creamy Devon or Channel Island milk).

Nearest I've found is the Bon Maman Oranges Amères (oranges amères = Seville oranges) - it's a light, fruity, tangy marmalade. Avoid "marmelade" - yuk. Never seen Seville oranges in Normandy, I've always looked out for them. Another idea is to get the cans of "Ma-Made" from UK - not wonderful but acceptable and you can make it at any time. Lisa, there is a couple who sell English food on the markets round here - I've seen them in Le Molay Littry (14) - she makes some very nice marmalade. I can't remember their trading name off the top of my head (Épicerie Anglaise perhaps??), but they have a website and will deliver / send stuff. Jo

If you're in a rural area, perhaps they heard little furry intruders (imagined or otherwise) and pulled the furniture out to check for mice?! Jo

Hello Lottie, Here: http://www.directgestion.fr/immobilier-guide-pratique/baux_a_telecharger.asp Contracts in Word, you want Baux à télécharger Location Meublée (furnished) or Location Non Meublée for unfurnished. But... do take advice from a notaire, longer term lets are full of pitfalls, especially if the property is to be the tenants' principal residence. Even "good friends" can turn into sticky tenants. Quite separate laws apply for furnished and unfurnished, you'd be best keeping to a furnished let of under 6 months, but even then beware of the rights of tenants with no other home. The law is very heavily weighted on the side of the tenant. If a furnished property is deemed to be insufficiently furnished you can find yourself subject to the "non-meublée" law (mainly Loi Mermaz) and tied to 3-year contracts which are automatically renewable as long as the tenant continues to pay the rent. It's a huge and complicated subject, do see a notaire however well you know the prospective tenants! Jo  

Many thanks for all your responses. Blimey. I'm not doing chambres d'hôtes at present, but I did for about 7 years, and hadn't a clue this requirement existed. Really can't imagine trotting off 8km to the gendarmerie for every new arrival, let alone asking all those lovely older ladies their dates of birth! Cheers, Jo

Looking through the Inforeg information, I noticed this section - "B. Cas particulier de la clientèle étrangère Depuis 1999, l’exploitant de chambres d’hôtes est tenu de faire remplir et signer à ses clients de nationalité étrangère une fiche individuelle de police. Les informations suivantes doivent être portées sur la fiche : - le nom et le(s) prénom(s) de l’étranger ; - sa date et son lieu de naissance ; - sa nationalité ; - l’adresse de son domicile habituel de l’étranger. Elle doit être remise le jour même aux autorités de police." Is this right? Do all CdH owners have to do this for all overseas visitors?

I think this is the article Di is referring to: "France - a Squatters' Paradise" http://www.frenchentree.com/fe-property/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=1432 HTH Jo

"Country Cottages in France" in the first line of my post above should read "French Country Cottages" -I just haven't got used to the name change! Jo