Hagar

It looks like it is going to be a right royal mess.  Yet again a leading politician reacting to public/pressure group demand without thinking through the full consequences. Mind you I think the initial legislation itself was put in place that way - wasn't it something to do with a senior politician's child drowning in a pool?. Firstly - out of the five alarms in question - two had already been withdrawn from the market before the CSC commisioned their tests. One was only a prototype from the USA that never pretended to meet the French norms (it has to be removed from the pool before swimming so cannot possibly meet the automatic reset requirements). One is a cheap import from China with dubious certification (probably deserves to be withdrawn) and the fifth, Aqualarm, are standing by their product and previous successful tests by the LNE saying the test was not representative. Secondly - what about the conforming alarms that were not tested ?. There are others on the market. Thirdly - the CSC are pushing for recall of the 5 makes they tested. How is that going to work?. One of the manufacturers already offer an exchange for an updated model if the customer tests himself (the 4 bottle thing) and the alarm is shown not to conform but they are probably the biggest and best known. What about those that bought the chinese import - they only have one model i.e no replacement/exchange is available. As for the Aqualarm - can the authorities really just inisit on withdrawal of a product that has all the correct certification . Ther decision is based on a single sample and the alarm  failed the 6kg test - and passed the 8kg test - I could see that decision being challenged by the manufacturer. rgds hagar      

[quote user="Ron Avery"] Normally that is the case, Hagar, but at the moment Ryanair are giving a 10€ duscount on return flights. [/quote] Thanks Ron - didn't know they did that sort of thing - learn something every day. As an occassional user of Ryanair one of the things that does irritate me is the constant changes they keep making to fare stuctures, baggage allowances, check-in procedures etc etc. . Some of it is of course regulatory and Ryanair would say the rest is improving customer service. My mother keeps telling me about friends of hers that get flights for a 1p or €10 return (implication being why can't I find flights like that for her). Short of looking in at Ryanair's site every single day I have no idea how they do that. Any hints ? rgds Hagar      

[quote user="mooky"] She won't be going back on the return flight, but we had to get one for her. Much cheaper that all the single tickets. .......................... I assume that is alright, or do I have to pay more for that too. It is cheaper to book returns . [/quote] Is that true with Ryanair ? Don't use them that much myself (family do though). I always thought they were a simple "point-to-point" service and that outward flight pricing was in no way linked to return flights. rgds hagar

[quote user="Panda"]Thanks coops I will, I'm not convinced on the whole all drivers are covered line though.[/quote] There are some restrictions/excess for inexperienced drivers on my own policy(ies) but they definitely include any driver who has held a license for at least 3 years. rgds hagar

Normally a  french policy covers you for any driver. Suggest you check with your insurer. rgds hagar

I know an airline pilot that owns a small VW plated "3 XGA" - he tells all the ladies that his name is Xavier Gordon Anderson. He is 43 and unmarried - without a current partner. rgds hagar  

When you re-register in France I beleive DVLA in the UK  will reserve your personalised number for a small fee. It may be time limited. Suggest you check it out with DVLA. rgds hagar

Thanks very much guys. I will have a look at all the suggestions. rgds hagar    

Even worse if you are over eighty. AMEX gladly took annual premiums for travel insurance from my mother for more than thirty years. She made one claim - for a broken wrist. As soon as she turned eighty they said they would gladly continue with the policy BUT all medical expenses would be excluded. Anybody know of a company offering annual comprehensive travel insurance for someone 80+.? We have tried SAGA - they will only do it on a trip basis and it is very expensive. rgds hagar  

Hi peter, Do you know if this a completely new service or is there a corresponding reduction in flights elsewhere?. I am thinking about Carcassonne in particular where Ryanair broke the recent strike by threatening to permanently withdraw ALL services from Carca and reroute to Beziers and/or Perpignan.  Earlier this week, after the staff had returned to normal working, Ryanair started action against the unions for damages and sent some very strongly worded letters through the local press. Basically I think relations between Ryanair and Carcassone are pretty sour at the moment and am wondering if , again, by announcing a new service from Beziers, Mr O'leary is just showing them who is boss. rgds hagar      

Probably not necessary from a health point of view. You might still consider it from the travel point of view - cancelled flights, lost bags, theft from your car etc. rgds Hagar

Interesting that Andyh4 - It is normally the complete opposite here in the Languedoc. This year the season started with the Fête de Cerise at Cêret (66) on 8th May - Price was €30/kilo. (yes thirty!). At the Trausse- Minervois fête on the 18th may the price was forecast to be €7 to €8 per kilo but in the end it was €4.50. (€4.00 if you bought 5 kilos or more). This week the local producers are selling at €3.00 in the market and we can get them €2.00 direct from the growers. Within a fortnight I expect them to go down to €1.00 direct which they normally stay at till the end of June. (unless of course the recent bad weather does cause a shortage). All the above prices are for locally grown v high quality cherries - particularly the Cerise du Pays Cathare from Trausse. rgds Hagar    

[quote user="Stu the Brewer"]As I understand it you would have to comply if you sold the house, this is the only check [/quote] Something like electricity regulations. You can fit what you like inside your own home/garden whther compliant or not. Nobody is going to come and inspect it or enforce the current regulations on you. Until you want to sell the property .............. rgds hagar  

Dave, Posted a long reply to this and somehow it dissappeared. Essence was that the pool security legislation is NOT about public safety - it is about child security in the home environment. That is why alarm systems on their own comply - and also why there is no inspection or enforcement regime in place. rgds hagar

Whislt on this boarding/disembarking lark - does anybody know of a really convincing reason why Ryanair and other "lo-cost" airlines  do not operate allocated seating.? I know the official reason is that "free" seating improves turn-around time but having flown many many times with both systems I simply don't beleive it does. rgds Hagar  

[quote user="sweet 17"] Why not then have priority get-off whereby you get to leave the plane before other people?  A blatant extortionate practice like this should be boycotted and not encouraged. [/quote] Strangely enough that used to be one of my bugbears before they did away with priority boarding for familes etc. Yes I appreciate we should give them time to settle the family in - make sure they've got everything needed in flight and everything is stowed properly before us impatient b..........s try to push past to get our seat.  What I do object to is the reverse - them blocking the isles rather than let us disembark swiftly. Always remember one time out of carcassone where when boarding we all stood on the tarmac in the pouring rain whilst a lady with two sticks struggled up the steps to be sat at the front of the plane - on arrival Stansted - door was opened - up she got sticks under her arms and gaily skipped down the steps. rgds Hagar

[quote user="Ron Avery"] Spoke to bruv, he said that there is the additional bonus with on-line Priority Boarding of not having to queue up to check-in, you go straight to the security gates, that has got to be worth a £5, saves putting a fuel surcharge on for the summer as well[:P] [/quote] Not sure if it is still the case but that was not true for awhile at some airports i.e even though you had checked in on--line with priority you still had to queue at the check-in desk to get a boarding pass. rgds hagar

Never heard of any private pool being inspected . In fact as I understand it there is no mechanism/authority that is responsible for such inspections. At the time the law was passed the minister responsible said there would be no random/regular inspections. The authorities would only act if somebody complained and then only following an incident. (i.e you can't just 'phone up and say my neighbour's pool doesn't meet the security regs.) Despite a lot of scare-mongering by pool security equipment suppliers have yet to hear of anybody being prosecuted. rgds Hagar  

Think I mentioned this on another thread , however, if you are not sure about what company stucture suits your particular circumstances (EI/EURL/SARL/SARL Familiale?) then you are probably better consulting with an avocat or a notaire rather than an accountant. You are choosing the "Regime Juridique" for your company which is the main about ownership, rights, obligations and liabilities. (with possible consequences for inheritance and marriage regimes.) This is their area of expertise. When choosing your "Regime Fiscal" i.e (Micro/Reel/Reel Simplifie/IS/IR etc) then you should talk to an accountant as that is their area of expertise. The two choices are of course interlinked as certain fiscal regimes are permitted only for certain company structures (e.g you cannot choose IR with a SARL but can with EURL), so you may need to go back and forward a couple of times to get it right. hope that helps Hagar      

[quote user="LesFlamands"] Operate as a Entreprise Individuelle (regime reel simplifiee). As the Gerant (principal in qn SARL) you are still responsible fpr all the debts of the company not as in the UK where all directors benefit from limited liabilty. My French accountant tells me that the only people to benefit from individuals setting up EURL/SARLs are the advocats and notaires. Merry Christmas everyone[B] [/quote] Just caught up on this thread as well. The above statement is simply not true. Suggest your accountant goes back to school. The Gerant of a SARL/EURL can only be personally liable for the companies debts in very specific circumstances - notably fraud and/or where it can be shown that the company has not been run properly. It is basically the same in the UK. rgds Hagar  

[quote user="ErnieY"] On wheelnuts, for as long as I can remember after a visit to a tyre place I've always slacked them off and re-tightened them myself with the wrench supplied with the car, and before somebody jumps in to claim how potentially deadly and irresponsible this is let me say that over innumerable cars and several hundreds of thousands of miles driven over the years is I have yet to have one come loose ! [/quote] In fact , for certain models of car, OVER tightening of wheel nuts can actually be dangerous. Wherever possible these should be checked with a torque wrench to make sure they are fitted to the manufacturers recommendations. Tyre places used to do that but I have not seen one do so in years.   rgds Hagar

[quote user="Quillan"]Sorry don't turn left after the canal bridge, keep going towards McDonalds, the restro is about 20M on the left, last but one I think.[/quote] That would be "le Bistro" then ?. next door to the Hotel Terminus ?. People say it has good seafood and one of my neighbours swears by the oysters. Have been there a few times - good value - reasonable service - only time I had seafood though (Gambas a la Plancha) the prawns were a bit tired and soft. Must have been unlucky. Mind you if you like Fish/Seafood cooked " a la Plancha" it would be difficult to find better than Eddie Gils down by the canal. rgds Hagar

Hi, Have replied re resto on your other thread. Probably the best florist in Carcassonne is AZUR in rue de la Liberté.  http://www.murielle-bailet.com/. Just up the road is one of the top Hairdresssers - DESSANGE http://www.justacote.com/ficheCoordonnees.php?ID_ENTREPRISE=40664. As a wild card for photography you could try Nicolas Postal http://www.fotorepost.net/ He is a photo journalist and something a bit special. He used to do weddings and such for friends - don't know if he would be intersted but you could give him a call. If you are thinking about a picturesque chateau near carcassonne you could also look at "Restaurant Château saint-martin trencavel " 5 minutes from le Cité and a beautiful garden setting - and he does a vegetarian menu. hope that helps Hagar  

If you want something a little upmarket right in the centre of the medieval city then look at Compte Roger  http://www.comteroger.com/index.htm Beautiful summer terrace just perfect in August. Pierre the chef/owner is very inventive and whislt he does not do a vegetarian menu per se - a number of his dishes are vegetarian . I am sure he can accomodate your wishes if you give him some advance notice. If, as somebody else suggested, you are happy with fish/seafood then they have a range of dishhes to suit. rgds   Hagr        

[quote user="tj"] Hi Your obviously resident here so convert the sterling to euros and enter into your day book, I presently convert income from UK at EURO 1.30 - 1 GBP. When you submit your tax return just enter the whole amount in Euros, theres no point in confusing the situation at the french tax office, since under the micro enterprise scheme they are only interested in the total amount of revenue not where it came from.    [/quote] I would be a bit careful with that. You cannot just select a rate that suits you without making some adjustment for currency gains/losses. If you do then you are in danger of over/under stating your true revenue. Example - you decide to use a rate of 1:1 - the actual rate you get is 1.3:1 - in this case you are underdeclaring your sterling income by some 30%. I know that is an extreme example and I am aware that the OP talks about a micro and the amounts involved may be relatively small but should you be subject to a"controle" by the "fisc" it might be something they would question. (Think about the money-laundering regs) rgds Hagar