Causette

You could try getting in touch with Angie, who is the Charente Maritime Granny, and who is extremely helpful. You can find her via www.grannynetwork.info , or via her e-mail on [email protected]  . Good luck with your move! JudyM   

Hi Mrs MDW - I went back to London for the VLF exhibition at Olympia.  Crossing London was a nightmare - traffic jams everywhere, underground filthy and crowded, restaurants expensive... and I am certain I could taste the pollution in the air   To think I worked there for 8 years without noticing it! I was glad to get back home! 

There's an American (I think) lady called Rachel Kaplan who has a website at www.frenchlinks.com  She charges megabucks to take people on all sorts of tours.   May give you some ideas?    

Morning Sue!  I'm not a real '27', but  I often stray over the border from 14, as I have a little holiday cottage about 500mtrs from the 14/27 border (and I have also sold houses in the Eure region, and helped others to sell theirs...). Anyway - cheese..  Mimolette is about the nearest I have found to Cheddar, and you can get normal, regular variety, old or very old - the older it is the stronger it tastes (and the more expensive it is!).  In cooking, it behaves like cheddar!  You can sometimes find cheddar in the supermarkets - it has been seen in LeClerc in Honfleur, and is usually always for sale in Carrefour in Caen, and at the shopping centre up towards le Havre (can't recall the name of it at this time of the morning!).  Monoprix in Lisieux is a good source of foreign foods - surprising things from time to time, like cheddar, or 'real' bacon, and once last summer - oh joy!  scones!  Over in Manche region, I know that Brits  have asked their supermarket managers to stock certain things - and they have!  Worth a try! As for van rental, try the yellow pages on line (www.pagesjaunes.fr - and there is an English version on line!), or if it is because you are buying furniture etc, most of the stores have their own vans you can hire. Hope this helps, and HNY to you too!  

£1000 ???  that's worth more than my car   And much as TOH is dear to me... I'd rather get him the TomTom version! When we win Le Loto and buy a Jaguar, we shall have a built in one..  Until then, it's Landrover and TomTom (I love that name!) - and no more arguing over maps!  Bliss

Wow!  Thank you all very much for such informative replies - I actually feel ready to buy!  Funnily enough, I was in a car with someone yesterday who has a GPS set up (tho' it was built in to a very posh walnut dashboard in a very posh Jaguar!), and he obligingly switched it on for me.  I am still in awe of the technology behind it! JudyM(14)  

I'd like to get TOH an in car GPS thingy for his  birthday.  I've searched, and read through, the postings on this topic, but I need someone - please - to explain very simply (as if speaking to a complete simpleton should just about do it!) exactly what components I need to buy.  Is it the just the unit itself , or are there other additional things I need to buy, too, to get it to work (and he won't want it to speak to him in French!) ? Many many thanks, Technically Challenged of Lisieux...  

I couldn't get to work this morning.  Lots and lots of snow here, just south of Lisieux in Calvados (14).  I was bemused to see on the Météo this morning that there were orange weather warnings for Normandy - and Corsica!!  I've just been out on a hour long hike with my spaniels, and then had to put them in a bath of tepid water to melt the ice balls off their chests and legs - they looked as though they were wearing legwarmers! They're now snugggled up together in their bed in front of the fire...  and vin chaud sounds a fabulous idea.  Much better than a cup of tea  !      

I live and work near Lisieux, but I have a holiday cottage just between Beuzeville and Honfleur - and I can thoroughly recommend the Relais de Poste in Beuzeville  - where we had one of the best meals Iwe've ever eaten in France.  I recently sold two houses in 27, both to lovely English families - I must tell them about this forum thread (one family is in between Lierey and St Georges du Vievre, and the other nearer to St G).  I believe there is a lovely museum about the Resistance movement in the region - would love to know more about this! I also have agreed to help sell some furniture from one of the houses, if anyone wants to e-mail for more information....      

[quote]Even when not running a business it is still important for those of us with a fosse septique to tell our guests the don't's. I say no paper other than what is provided, paper hankies must not be throw...[/quote] TU, You're absolutely right.  I am so careful to tell cottage guests the mysteries of the fosse, but I tend to take our own home for granted.  TOH had a very unpleasant job just before Chrtistmas, because our friends staying with us chucked BABY WIPES down the loo, can you believe?!  I hadn't said not to, but they have a septic tank back home in Derbyshire, so I sort of assumed.....

I always supply loo paper and fosse friendly loo cleaner in our cottage - and when I send out welcome letter and directions to our guests before they arrive, I tell them there is a wlecome pack of local goodies, and that the cottage is supplied with all the essentials, including cleaning materials and a supply of loo paper.  That way, hopefully, they don't go out and buy Andrex!

Telly your friend to try Limousin Granny who might be able to help her.  (www.grannynetwork.info)  

Just to add that I wasn't writing anything rude in the above post... all the asterisks arrived by themselves, and are hiding the breed of spaniel - My dogs will be delighted to know they are now the Rude Boys!

We feed our 2******r spaniels on organic Burns food - it is fabulous stuff - it not only cleared up Merlin's dry skin, but the dogs stopped fighting each other (apparently a lot of the economy dog foods contains far too much protein, which can cause behaviour and other health problems).  We order from www.chateaudesanimaux.com which has a load of advice on the Burns range.  I'm sure Candice supplies sample packs of the food, too.  

Finally, if you are buying through an agence immobilier then you should get translation provided as part of the service. If buying another way, or though one of the poorer agences that won't provide translation, you may have to pay a translator - the notaire will usually recommend somebody local. That's a bit harsh, Will!  Some of the smaller (not necessarily poorer) agencies, or those outside the main tourist areas, might not have anyone who speaks enough English to provide this service.  It's sometimes a matter of 'can't' rather than 'won't'! In our area, quite a few of the notaires insist on using only sworn translators if the buyer can't speak French.  I agree that notaires don't like sharing fees though! I can also recommend Kathie Murray Lacey of Prettys solicitors in Ipswich...  although I do agree with using a French lawyer to answer questions of French law.  

You could also try Michael and Sally's lovely Chambres d'hote, which is within an hour of Bayeux.  They serve lovely food, too! Their websie is http://www.vacances-normandes.co.uk/   Regards, and bonne route!  

Can anyone help please? There is a house in Lisieux (14) which has a statue set into a niche in the wall. This statue is of a man who could be either a saint, a bishop, or even a king (difficult to tell which). Anyway, said chap has his head in his hands. A friend has a vague recollection of a story of someone who was beheaded and got up and carried his head... Anyone know any more about who this could be? Thanks!

The storm didn't get to us in Lisieux until about 3am, so we were rudely awoken - although both our dogs slept through it! It was spectacular. Today, I was talking to someone in Wembley, who said they were being flooded out by torrential rain. Le Havre had flash floods this afternoon, tho' there was nothing in Lisieux today... but the heat is building up again! JudyM (14)

But your cottage is lovely - yes, it's colder in Normandy than Provence, but you have a cosy woodburner and your place is well equipped for winter lets. Still, if you decide not to have them, send them my way! JudyM (14)

This is an auction site (also in English, but translated!) selling just about everything, but esp good for used cars - mostly ex gov't/fonctionnaire, so usually well-maintained (although there are no car sales in August). http://www.dnid.org/ JudyM (14)

This is an auction site (also in English, but translated!) selling just about everything, but esp good for used cars - mostly ex gov't/fonctionnaire, so usually well-maintained (although there are no car sales in August). http://www.dnid.org/ JudyM (14)

LAST EDITED ON 21-Jul-04 AT 07:58 AM (BST) And there's also Chateau des Animaux in Vimoutiers on the 14/61 border(www.chateaudesanimaux.com) - the cats and dogs there have a lovely time, as Candice treats all the animals as her own. Oh! and she isn't a drunk! We buy all our pet food from her too. JudyM (14)

LAST EDITED ON 10-Jul-04 AT 08:07 PM (BST) > >All I know is, from my >point of view anyway, if >Brits continue to congregate and >form small(large?)enclaves, we will be >seen by many, as no >better than those immigrants in >the UK that do the >same thing and which I >believe (I might be wrong) >some actually leave Britain to >avoid. > >I can only say from my >point of view, that we >are so very lucky that >many French are willing to >accept us, I doubt very >much the Brits would be >so willing to accept the >same situation. > >Bon weekend ! > >Miki In the June edition of Le Chasseur Francais, there was a letter from a reader, responding to an article in the April edition entitled "Will my house please the English?" (ie can I flog my cottage for lots more money to them?) He was saying that in his area (and I'm sure he was in 50 region), everyone sticks to their own culture, and the British don't try hard enough to integrate - they prefer to anglicise everything around them... The Brits then go home after a couple of years, leaving behind a community they've created that the French don't want, so everyone loses their jobs... He didn't say Brits Out, but he did call the British people 'envahirs' (...or should that be envahisseurs'? The Chasseur mag is downstairs and I'm too lazy to go and find it!) I didn't see the original article that prompted this letter, but it was in April's Le Chasseur. Does anyone have a copy I could buy, please? TK

Hi Sabina, I pondered this one when I started out, and I suppose I'm option (b), (usually about 4 - 6 weeks) but I always make sure I have a spare set ready in case anything looks as though it needs freshening. I hadn't thought about Febreze, and probably wouldn't use it in case anyone had an allergy to it. But I dare say others will do it differently! My first job, when I get to the cottage on a Saturday, is to strip the beds (unplugging the fridge on the way through the kitchen!) and if it's a fine day, I fling open all the windows, then I peg the mattress covers on the line for an hour or so to get some air through them. Good luck - and happy guests! JudyM (14)

Firstly, congratulations on your house purchase. Exciting, isn't it? Secondly, I know it wasn't one of your questions (I agree totally with the answers you've had though - I'd try and find out via the immobilier when the fosse was last emptied), but have you arranged for house insurance to start from your AdV signing day? Good luck and happy times in your new home, JudyM