Judie

WONDERFUL !!!

I bought some in our local Tesco and made low fat frozen yogurt icecream with it today - yummy.

We pay in the region of 1300 euros per year in combined TF and TH. This would add another 600 euros, and all of that on a property which we are now only able to visit about 3 times a year. I would not want to rent it out, it having been our family home for nearly 10 years. The only consolation seems to be that we won't be liable for the first 5 years, having been recently resident in France. Sadly, we shall probably sell it during that time, market forces permitting.

Sorry to be a pain, but can someone tell me how to download a 2044 which I think I need for UK letting income. Many thanks.

Yes, so I definitely won't pay UK tax this time at least.

For anyone who is interested, I have just spent a very useful 30 minutes (mostly waiting) with HMRC to get an answer to my question (thanks Idun) Aparently in the year of arrival back in the UK after being non resident and not ordinarily resident, I can claim split year treatment and only need to declare any UK income received in 2010/11. The french income will be dealt with on the french return.

Can anyone advise me how I declare my french income on my UK return (I'm now a UK resident) when I've not yet paid tax on it but will obviously do so in due course. Part of the conflict will arise as there is no independant taxation in France and I'm not sure if all the tax eventually due on our joint income will be relevant to my employment. Do I have to wait until I get our avis d'impot sur les revenues?

I have always claimed for mobile phone usage.

Yes, Spike was only 7, but feral cats rarely fulfill their life potential. Hugs to you too.

My thoughts are with you. Had to have my wonderful Spike put to sleep this morning. It never gets any easier.

You can use any notaire you like, but obviously the one who dealt with the property when you bought it will have all the relevant paperwork to hand. I suppose the comment about your wife being in Australia is just to do with the cost of sending paperwork to her to sign. They could use email but lots of notaires are old fashioned in their technology.

Sweets, when I said flexible, I meant rubber or whatever those perishable hoses are made of. If it's made of anything else ie metal, then a test will be require.

If the hob has a fixed gas pipe, rather than a flexible one, then it will need a "diagnostic".

Thanks to both of you for the responses.

Thanks. I would still like to know if others have sent recorded delivery termination letters to french companies from the UK which have been accepted.

Thanks. I have the letter prepared and ready to send but will it be accepted by Orange if it is sent recorded from the UK?

Can anyone tell please, whether I can send a letter of termination of my french Orange mobile phone contract from the UK by 'signed for' post. Will it be deemed to be legal or will I have to ask a friend in France to post it for me?

No, unfortunately not ours. But thanks anyway.

What a coincidence and thanks so much, but unfortunately my cat is tabby and called Tiggy - he's still missing sadly. I've registered all my cats now with PetLog in the UK.

I've now been in touch with Petlog who have added my cats' details to their database and they are local to me so the animal wardens etc in this area are more likely to use them rather than another company. Thanks.

Many thanks. I really think it's a bad show that the UK doesn't have a national database. If your animal goes missing (as one of ours has) I'm sure not all the agencies, individuals, vets etc will use a particular database such as PETrac to find an owner.

Does anyone know how I can register my french animals' microchips here in the UK? I've looked at Petlog but they seem to imply from their site that the only microchips that can be  registered are theirs.

The short answer is no, you can't get out of an exclusive contract unless they want to let you go. However, you could conveniently forget to give them a set of keys and at least that way, you'll be reassured that they are not in your house while you are away. You are right that you can end the contract with a recorded and signed for letter giving 2 weeks notice to coincide with the end of the exclusive period. I would suggest that you get at least 2 or 3 other agent lined up for when the 3 months ends so that they are ready to go straightaway. Don't forget though that the date you sign with them must be at the end of your exclusive period with this agent.

Please don't think I'm looking for praise or feeling smug, but we are returning to the UK tomorrow with 8 cats and 1 dog; 5 cats, two rabbits and 3 guinea pigs having already been taken there 3 weeks ago. When I took my animals on, I had no idea we would be returning to the UK, but they are a part of our (very large) family and as such, could never be left behind.

We've now decided to change our ferry booking to avoid any potential problems on the 28th.