CJJL<HR>Si jeunesse savait! Si vieillesse pouvait...

Have a look at these: http://www.ghyvan.be http://www.cafe-outdoor-furniture.com/

A quick tip my English OH thought I should mention here: if you have Sky and EuroNews (ch 528), you can select French language commentary if you prefer, without it affecting the other channels... Go to Services on the remote, press 4, then 3 and change the main language to French. This only affects the channels where multiple languages are available (very few on Sky), so wherever there is a choice of languages, French will be heard without single language channels (i.e. English language) being affected at all. Jules

Fantastic! You're all a mine of information and a font of knowledge! I feel more confident about what to look for now and what to avoid. Many many thanks Jules

Does anyone use a "onduleur" (Uninterrupted Power Supply or UPS)? This was brought up to my attention when I went to an ADSL info meeting in our village yesterday. The chap there had a few bits and pieces to show in connection with protecting a PC whilst online and offline. I had thought these would be costly (several hundred €), addressed more to businesses and that a home computer user would have to run to his computer to disconnect everything before a storm(! which is what I have done so far!... when at home) Anyway, they had several models to show ranging from €70 to €200+ (HT). I was not ready to make a decision until I had done more research into it away from the pressure of a salesperson, hence this message. Do you use one? What type is it? Do you need the "close programs" software? Any comment welcome Many thanks in advance Jules

[quote]Hi CJ Well, I don't buy truffles or foie gras, lobster or oysters, either for Reveillon or Pâques, so reckon that a kilo or two of good bacon can be bought with our savings ;-)). I'm on a bit of a die...[/quote] I don't buy foie gras, lobster or truffles either! Like you, we live off our rental income, it's just that yours seems larger than ours, lucky you! Our hamlet is out in the sticks and shopping trips to Brive or Toulouse are out of the question, as are trips to the UK! We knew that when we moved, so we're gently adjusting to the change of pace and finding alternatives suitable to us and our (shallow!) pocket... cutting our cloth, so to speak!

[quote]Hi,Smoked streaky bacon is one of the very few things (count 'em on the fingers of one hand) that I REALLY miss. I'm sorry, but I don't find that any poitrine fumée is anything like the flavour. I lov...[/quote] How I envy your financial means! I just buy the best I can afford at the moment! Being French born and bred does gives me a slight advantage on everyday French cooking, but I never did manage an Indian curry from start to finish, even when living in the UK! I always preferred the ease of a good take-away... Of course this is no longer an option so we have to do with supermarket or shop offerings!

I found fresh parsnips in a health food shop in Aurillac (15). They're called PANAIS in France, and they were always considered horse and pig food, which is why you won't usually find them in supermarkets. It's worth trying the Bio markets/shops angle, as they're seen as "marginal" veg only fit for veggies and a bit weird!! Now is the time to plant and you can buy seeds from http://www.graines-baumaux.fr/produit.asp?numsouscategorie=104 http://www.willemsefrance.fr/boutique/masque105.asp?reff=5502703&reffMere=270 http://www.jardiniersdefrance.com/boutique/produit_detail.asp?produit_id=479 (sorry, copy & paste as I can't do links with Mozilla) If the right page does not come up, type panais in the search field...

Re bacon substitute: we use Herta "Poitrine Fumée tranches fines", which are thin belly slices. They come in smoked or unsmoked and there's a €0.50 off sticker for your next purchase at the moment... Re tea: Him indoors is very satisfied with Leclerc "Plantation d'Or" breakfast Thé de l'Inde, which is sold in boxes of 100 individually wrapped bags. On another note, Géant in Aurillac have now expanded their "éxotique" range to include Patak's curry pastes (various strengths), Naan breads, including (garlic and coriander) and mango chutneys... When they had their "Chinese New Year" display last month, we stocked up on all sorts of chinese and indian basic stuff (they do tend to put all non-european food stuff in the same display at that time of year!) and I finally found some Sesame oil! At the till, I was asked what I used it for, as they did not know whether to use it for salad or frying...I did stand out a bit with 4 bottles of the stuff! Anyway I am pleased to see that it's now available on the shelves all year round and I am even happier to have bought 4, as it's now priced 50% more than I paid for them last month!

[quote]Well now I'm completely confused! Managed to print off forms 2042 and 2042c but they seem to be for the year 2003 - Declaration des Revenus 2003 and Declaration Complementaire des revenus 2003 I am ...[/quote] Your forms must be "...Revenus 2004", as they relate to the income earned in 2004. Have you refreshed your browser (F5 on keyboard) as you may be viewing pages you looked at a while ago...? I downloaded mine yesterday with no problem: just type 2042 in the search field adn they will all be listed, or even better, order them online from http://www.minefi.gouv.fr/commande_formulaires/index.html If all else fails, the Mairie should have copies! Good luck

I went to my local Tourist Office last spring and asked if they would display some cards for my newly started meublé de vacances. They said NO as they could only recommend or pass on any enquiry they received to a Clévacances registered meublé, as this was the rule for all Tourist Offices in France. I should get them to inspect and then register once I had made whatever changes they required... The person in charge of the Tourist Office offered to visit the meublé to give me a few pointers. On arrival, he commented on the fact the stairs to the house were used for both the meublé and my side of the house. Bad point... Could I build another set of stairs as they (CV) prefered independant entry. (The 2 doors are about 20m apart on a long 30m balcony!) Once inside the house, he said that having the WC within the bathroom was a No-No for CV, but would be acceptable for GDF! Could I build a partition to make the WC independant? (the bathroom size is over 12 sq m with 2 windows). Then he said the registration fee for CV was equivalent to 1 week of the highest rate of that year. When I asked him how many weeks had been booked for his CV registered meublés in the area so far, he said 4... for all 17 meublés!!!! I had already booked 8 weeks without them, so I wished him luck and departed! In the end I made a contribution to the running cost of the Tourist Office, (staffed by volunteers here), and my cards were displayed last year. I also made an application to the Préfecture for registration: I was told there was only 1 man to cover the whole department, so he would come in 2005 as he had already been in my area in 2004! I am still waiting for his visit!

[quote]Thank you for that Chas, someone also said I might need 2042c, do you get that or does anyone know what it is please?[/quote] 2042 is the basic declaration(simplified for 2004). 2042 C is used is you have gite income (section "NO" on page 2) if you use 2042 C, you will also need 2042 P which is used by your commune to tax you on the extra work incurred by your visitors! All 3 forms can be ordered online or downloaded (PDF format)at http://www.minefi.gouv.fr/commande_formulaires/index.html or via http://www.impots.gouv.fr/ (sorry, copy & paste as I can't do links with Mozilla!) (Fixed links for you. Belinda)

Any garage should be able to arrange new number plates. Prices vary, so do ask before ordering them. You'll need the Carte Grise and possibly proof of residence at the same address (usually an EDF bill...) You can choose whether to have the EU stars within the plate or not...

Just cross the original address, write the new one on and add " Faire suivre SVP" Then post it on without adding anything else.

In view of the lack of clarity on the insurance regarding UK based visitors, I have now amended my "Terms". as follows: "Insurance Under French law, the Client can be held responsible for any damage (flood, fire etc...) at the Property (art. 1732 of the French Code Civil). Therefore, the Client MUST ensure every person in the party is covered by a comprehensive insurance policy, particularly with regards to public and third-party liability, since the Owner's insurance does not cover these risks. We strongly advise every member of the party to have full cover for the party's personal belongings as well as cancellation cover and breakdown insurance if on a self drive holiday." I have also emailed all my UK bookings for this summer and attached an amended copy with the following tetxt to explain the amendment: "We have been asked by our insurers to amend the insurance section of our "Terms & Conditions". I attach an updated file for your attention. In France, a household insurance cover includes a "holiday" section, which extends the home cover to a holiday rental property. This ensures that the client's insurance covers any major damage (flood, fire and such like) to the property during the rental period, as the owner's insurance will not cover these risks if caused by a third party. The amendment we have been asked to make requires all clients to check that these risks are covered by their own insurance (household or travel), generally under "public and third party liability" and to make arrangements as necessary. Please do contact me if you have any question regarding this. Best regards" I will enclose the same updated "Terms" when I confirm reception of the final payment before their arrival.

I should have said, this is a French family booking... I know it's against the law in France to write a cheque if you don't have the funds to honour it, but the bank does give you 30 days to rectify the situation before black-listing you. Thinking about it, this is just the way to do it if you're trying it on: send the cheque late so it can't be cashed until the following week... If I cash the cheque on Tuesday (as the banks are closed until then) I will not know if it's bounced until they are in the gite! It takes the bank 5 days to advise me of a bank transfer, so I won't know if the cheque has bounced until it's time for them to leave! Then he'll offer me what? another cheque??! As I have already asked him to bring cash, if he has not got it when he arrives, I'll know something is up. I think I'll direct him to the village cashpoint machine, after saying that the gite has to be paid for before the start of the rental period. That way, I'll get cash in hand... If there is a family crisis of some sort, I'll have to be firm about MY interests. I am the only one who stands to loose anything here... He stands to gain either a free holiday or an early trip home, neither of which will cost him anything!... It can't be a replacement cheque, as he would not have known the first cheque had not arrived, and he would have mentioned sending a second cheque when he rang me at 11pm the same day of the postmark. And why would the cheque be dated the previous Monday???

I received an tel enquiry on Sat 12 Feb for 1 week starting 26 Feb. The client said he would be away from home all week, could I email the booking form straight away so he could deal with it, which I did. I heard nothing all week and emailed again on Fri 18th as another enquiry had come through for the same dates. I asked him to confirm before 8pm, as I had promised a reply to the other party. I did not hear from him until 11pm on Fri 18th, when he rang, saying the cheque had been posted on Monday 14th, "how could I have not received it? What was he going to do about finding another place at short notice"... blah blah blah... I contacted him by SMS (as his mobile was off and he is still away from home) this morning to say the gite was still available as the 2nd party had found an alternative anyway, but saying his cheque had still not arrived, so he would have to bring cash on arrival. His cheque has arrived today, dated 12th Feb, but the postmark is dated YESTERDAY 5pm!!! SO, the big question is: should I cash the cheque, hoping he is not trying to swindle me with a "chèque en bois"... or should I keep the cheque and exchange it for his cash when he arrives? ( which is what I tend to favour...)

[quote]Looking at your details you must be on option base which is the tarif we were on until Nov. The only option for you, like us, is option heures creuses which charges heures creuses from midni...[/quote] Re the "heures creuses" times... This is set by EDF and varies according to the region. In the Lot, mine are between 2pm and 5pm and between 2am and 7am, which means I can program my washing machine before leaving in the morning and come home to a finished load at the end of the day. My sister who lives in the Rhone Alpes region has the same hours as yours, and envies my daytime option...

I occasionnaly treat myself to these products and I have noticed they supply hospitality kits: http://fr1.loccitane.com/aboutus/1.hotel.asp? Sorry, can't do links here! copy and paste to go to the relevant page...

After a quick search on google.fr for "savons hotel"... http://www.pacah.com/ http://www.sofraco-promotion.com/ http://www.agencement-hotellerie.com/produits-accueil/

Many thanks for your updates and particularly to Paul who offered to forward a catalogue to us after his next visit...

[quote]Hello Hunting Is not dangerous. The number of accidents pale in comparison with road traffic and diy accident. If you disagree with hunting I suggest that the next time that you see a group of hunter...[/quote] Hunting Is not dangerous. Try telling that to the bloke who got shot in the hand!!

I am with Mazan on this one. Saying that hunters have been here before me or my other neighbours is saying that hunting is a tradition that should be accepted by "incomers" regardless of their own principles... It's always been done like this, it's the way things are done here... bla bla bla... isn't it what used to be said about slavery (for instance) in the days of the civil war in America... yes, a strong comparison, but you get the drift... Nothing changes unless people express their opinions. Seen in today's paper: (translated) Half of 203 hunting accidents recorded between Sept 03 and Feb 04 happened on a Sunday, traditional day for "battues". To try and secure a safe day out for non-hunting people, ASPAS (Association for protection of wild animals) sent all MPs a cartridge box containing the following message: "Hunting also kills people". It is unconceivable that such a dangerous activity should still take place in public places. Also in last week's local paper: the story of a 70 year old respectable farmer who shot a passing driver in the hand, whilst trying to kill a hare. He admitted having heard the car but thought he'd have time to shoot, knowing that by law he was forbidden to do so near a public road. He was fined and as well as sent to prison for a few weeks and his licence was revoked for good measure. The judge also said that this type of behaviour would encourage her to get the byelaws reviewd for the next hunting season.

Further to my problem mentioned yesterday... I have managed to download the update file from the AVG website (www.grisoft.com) on my computer (remembering where!)... In the AVG control centre, highlight Update Manager, click Properties (bottom right) and untick "do not ask for the update source". Then do a manual update, the program will open a screen asking where to get the update from, browse your computer to wherever you saved the update file and Bob's your uncle...! It worked for me yesterday and I then reset the dowload time to early morning (well, 8 am!) and it updated itself without a hitch this morning! Thanks to everyone for the various tips and I hope this solution helps someone else.

I have just had a look at AVG forum and I realise that A LOT of people are screaming about update problems... It seems there could be a server capacity problem (?) at their end and that updating is a bit of hit and miss at the moment... So I'll be patient, enable Norton again for the time being and I'll keep trying... unless someone knows better?

Hello I have recently replaced Norton Anti Virus (now disabled) with AVG7. It worked fine until a few days ago when it became apparent that, despite checking for daily updates and seeing them, AVG does not download them. I have removed and re-installed AVG7 and tried a manual update on installation, but although I can see there is a critical file ready for download, the download screen just disappears. I am running Windows ME with a Norton Firewall (which did not need to re-configuring when I first downloaded AVG). I cannot figure out why the updates just stopped being dowloaded when everything worked fine for a few weeks, with no intervention on my part... Any help will be greatly appreciated.