Lindnarden

One of the Limousin's main tourist attractions......here in it's living form   [img]http://www.boomspeed.com/lindnarden/cow.jpg[/img]

Not a huge consumer of the above but we are having some on Xmas day - having not the first clue about it I have bought a block of stuff in a vacuum pack out of the fridge in the supermarket......it is,  by all accounts, 'avec morceaux'.....which is nice This may sound like a stupid question but are we supposed to cook it or slice it straight from the packet ? [8-)]

Mexican jumping dog  - her current record is a seven foot wall....I am single handedly keeping the Limousin fence manufacturing business afloat. [img]http://www.boomspeed.com/lindnarden/Katysmall.jpg[/img] Mexican sleeping dog - has never jumped over anything [img]http://www.boomspeed.com/lindnarden/Moby2.jpg[/img]

We had a substantial and effective Wiesmann (?) condensation boiler fitted 18 months ago but it was installed sans any means of regulating on/off timing (at the moment its on one of those €4 timer thingies at the plug end) . There's a panel where the on/off switch is that looks like it should come out for such an item to be installed - is this likely ? The follow up question is then - how difficult is the installation of said device / where would one buy it / and, because it's a gas boiler, does it need to be done by a registered plumber ? NB for all these questions....er.....the same for thermostats. Thanks for your consideration [:D]

Yes I think so - the calculation of the amount of reduction is something I wouldn't like to comment on

The brand is Casto which, I assume, by a Sherlock Holmesian deduction is the Castorama own brand. The title: facade monocouche in a 10 litre tin. You can call me Mr - the woman in the website in my profile is my wife.....just my own shoddy attempt at guerilla marketing.

I painted our shutters (metal and wood) with a cream paint that was supposed to be used for painting the outside of the house and it worked a treat.....*causes palpitations amongst renovation purists* Bought from castorama.... if you're interested I can go to the barn and ascertain the make.....(once it stops raining)

Tax update - Having thrown myself on the mercy of the tax office, I discover them to be charming and helpful....... I complete a zero income tax return for last year having admitted my huge erreur handed it over to the chap with much hand shaking and lo and behold I get an adjusted bill a week later with my habitation reduced from 730€ to 147€...... Yip dee and indeed hoody - were I to wear a hat it would be in the air. [:D][B] Thanks all for your advice etc..

I guess we did as we moved here in Sept 2004 and bought a house in Jan 2005....we still have a house in the UK but I suppose as we live here pretty much permanently we are residents.....

So the fonciere is based on half the amount of the habitation but still is supposed to be more ?? If I go down to the tax authorities and ask to fill in a tax return for 2005 (I didn't bother as my 2005 income was zero) what do you think are the chances of: a)  them letting me b) revising my habitation bill to impecunious pauper levels [blink]

I agree - I keep meaning to do a tax return but can't get round to it...I have however noticed that the base figure upon which the tax habitation is based is exactly double that of the figure used for the fonciere - perhaps I'm being charged for two years worth as I don't recall paying anything last year (for either come to think of it) The amount for televisual fun and giant woofers on the current bill is zero - I assumed this was some kind of political commentary on the quality of french television

This year is the first year we have paid habitation and fonciere - I was under the impression that the fonciere should be the greater  of the two...in fact our habitation bill is 50% higher [8-)] than a not insubstantial fonciere bill - is this normal ?? We have never filled in a tax return - I don't know if this makes any difference, oh and we live in 87. look forward to any input..... cheers, K

Not as far as I'm aware....I seem to recall the sales guy saying we could buy our gas anywhere. What it actually says in the eighteen volume contract is, of course, a different matter.

We ordered some dumbells over the internet for my wife's Pilates business about five weeks ago - despite a 48 hour delivery promise they are yet to arrive. The company maintains it is the fault of La Poste who were responsible for the delivery and canot therefore do anything until they complete their investigation....La Poste are not whipping through their investigation post haste- can I legally just ask for the delivery to be cancelled and obtain a refund from the original company. NB my record thus far after two years in France is some woodstain ordered from Castorama via the internet which arrived not in the 48 hours promised but after 12 weeks.

[:)]As I understand it the current wholesale price of gas is now less than zero so hopefully the cost of filling the big gas tank buried in the garden before winter kicks off will also have plummeted from the astronomic levels of last year. We have been using Vitogaz until now but has anone by any chance done any price comparisons recently or spotted any good deals amongst other providers ?? I don't think it makes any difference with respect to the big companies but we are based in the Limousin. cheers, K

I think it would take about 50 trips - life's too short and I'm too weak

Hi there, I live in 87 Haute Vienne and have been demolishing a lot of pottery walls recently - as a result I have a very large pile of broken bricks sitting on the front drive which would be perfect for hardcore. Does anyone know of a way of getting rid of it (ideally without paying) - I imagine it must be some use to someone.....perhaps. cheers

You might ask why, but I am looking for brown rice and a totally unable to find it anywhere - tried all the usual suspects, Carrefour Cora etc. Has anyone seen it stocked anywhere or even internet delivery from anywhere ? cheers

Does anyone know a rental company where one could do a one way rental, picking up in France and dropping off in UK ? Thanks

Hi all, My wife and I have all our UK assets covered in our UK will but need to arrange for a french will to cover our house and property in France - very simple as we have no children, in the event of either of our deaths the property passes to each other. I guess the easiest (and cheapest ) way is to do a holographic hand written will. 3 questions [*-)]: Do we register it with a notaire ? the central registry in Aixe ? if the latter, how ? Is there such a thing as a pro forma will where we can fill in the blanks ? I assume it has to be in French ? Thanks in advance for your help

...and if the habitable space is over 170 square metres already ??

Ta for that.....somehow that doesn't surprise me. Do the drawings need to be full architectural or can I just use the scale designs that I have put together on the PC. Apart from the door the work is really only a floor and a few stud walls.

We are changing the garage that currnetly occupies about 50 sqaure metres of the ground floor into three rooms. We have the permission to change the garage doors at the fornt of the house into nice french doors but do we also need permission for the change of useage within the house or is it just an additional tax issue for the impots folks ?

May or may not be of interest / use but I use First Direct in England and CCF in France - both part of HSBC. The charge for transferring sterling to euros is thus 10 pounds flat fee irrespective of amount - it is probably similar going back the other way....may help ??

Thanks all - that should have saved me a few quid. I'll go to Castorama and buy a 120 bar Kacher - if it's not up to the job then there shouldn't be any problem taking it back for a full, no quibble refund....no, absolutely no problem.....none whatsoever