HoneySuckleDreams

EnrieY the blurb on the link says The IP Changer basically does for your Internet connection what "Caller ID Blocking" does for your phone. There is nothing wrong with trying to keep your IP address private for the right reasons. If there is any question, you should consult with a legal advisor to confirm that your intended use is legal. but by the bbc, my intended use is illegal (for the moment). Sill...when  has that stopped the bulk of France from adhering to the letter of the law If anyone can come up with an IP address of a Proxy server that allows me access to iPlayer (or Radio 5Live for that matter) then I'm all ears...and doesn't disappear after 2 days would be evern better!    

www.gumtree.com  

Geothermic? I assume you mean pompe chaleur (heat pump). That is remarkable value. I believe the rebate scheme has changed/about to change next year. I know of grants for solar panels (as we applied) but i believe they are stopping in the new year, but that might be department specific.

sweet...yup [IMG]http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr283/greeninfrance/DSCF0973.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr283/greeninfrance/DSCF0975.jpg[/IMG]  

sweet.. it needs to be a flexible (watertight) hinge so no3 son (in charge of egg collecting) can fulfil his duties

but you can get it. just in stupid shingle sheets or stuff thats so much engineered to be unaffordable. (I know it melts, the tarred roads melt round here in the summer). But it's the only way I know of covering a hinge joint on a chicken coop nest box. If there is an alternative then i'm all ears (or eyes when it comes to the t' interweb). I'm not being flippant...i can't think of an alternative at the moment. I've tried plastic, but it cracks too easily with the UV stuff floating around. Actually.. i've had a thought.. i might try rubber.

squeeze it between the crate of strongbow and box of cadburies chocolate [:D]

Punch Thanks , but a tad too far i'm afraid. I've got some friends coming over in a week or so and i'll ask them if they squeeze some in for me.   Thanks anyway

Does anyone know where I can buy roofing felt, the sort that goes on shed roofs? I think it's called Capsheet at Wickes in the UK. I got quoted for something called Simpralin (??) which was €184 HT for 8m2. It would do the job, but seems to be 10x the price of anything in the UK. Can't find anything similar in the brico sheds around here other than "Shingle" which is strips of stuff that are supposed to look like slates. Many thanks ps I've tried Chausson, BricoDepot and BigMat so far.

Make sure you know what your doing. No 1 son got us out of bed this morning (he leaves at 6:45 for school on wednesdays) and pointed to our neighbours chimney which had 4 ft flames coming out of the top. "Is that a problem" he asked.... only a 14yr old can make that sort of understatement

i wouldn't use rockwool. Capping of the chimney you have to use "Pink" plaster board (unless you want to go the steel route). This is the stuff that is fire retardent. (it's a bit heavier and a bit more expensive). The insulation above the capping has to be special stuff as well. I wouldn't bother insulating the flue. Although you can buy double lined insulated tube for the flue. Flexible is OK as I bet your chimney is not perfectly vertical, there's normally a kink in it which is a pain. (but you can buy stainless steel mutli joint thingy to get round that problem). Flexible is OK, but supporting it at the top is a pig, especially if your chimney is very old and 10' high!

I've just received forms for Taxe Professionnelle to fill this in and i'm afraid i'm a TP virgin. By my reckoning, reading stuff on this forum and other places, I don't need to pay anything this year as I only set myself up in business January 2008. I just have to plough through the forms. I don't work from home, I travel to foreign parts (UK) for a few week and live out of hotel rooms. It's a bit like cheque d'emploie, I pitch up at a business, use their facilities then go home. I am slightly concerned though of the future. It seems that the tax is based on the "valeur locative des seuls immeubles". As my valeur locative has increased by 370% this year i'm a bit concerned.  Is this a tax on profit as well? And if so, how can I show "profit". I don't make anything, or sell anything other than my experience/knowledge.  Another tax to pay! Along with everything else, car/house insurance, house running costs, cotisations, school bus/lunches...blah blah. we're living of about €300 a month...all very scary. I know it's a generalisation, but is this tax a biggy? Or are we looking at a couple of hundred €'s. I'm supposed to be working within the BNC micro framework, so at the moment not earning over 27k. This might change next year depending on the economy problems improving slightly.    

an update on the Fonciere/Habitation saga Wifey went with a friend (French) to hotel impot yesterday armed with all drawings measurements etc to see about a) further fonciere reduction b) habitation reduction (based on duff data) A very long afternoon being passed between Box I and Box H (you know how these things work!). At the outset they were told that no-one could deal with both enquiries at the same time. In reality they spoke to one person (Box I) about fonciere and then box H about habitation (and then vice-versa - strange how they can accommodate change when needs be). Neither would progress without confirmation/bits of paper from the other person.  Long story short... we got a €150 reduction on the Habitation because they had based it on the wrong figures.  It took an age for them to agree to this though, and without the bit of paper (which they issued..same tax lady...2 weeks ago) saying that the Fonciere had been reduced, they woudn't have agreed to a reduction in Habitation. So it is worth it after all. I did have a smile at the following though. Wifey and French friend were discussing with the Tax lady over what should constitute liveable space. She said all sorts of rubbish and then said "if you want, I can get someone to come in and measure everything". We're not that worried about that though, being the honest people we are as we had measured everything to be spot on. French friend said that was ridiculous, whereupon, Tax lady turned to her and said "...and I can get someone to call on you as well if you like!" ... on which point French friend shut up for the rest of the afternoon ... last time I fill in an H1  

as an update- of the 16kids in CM1 15 want english lessons pre 6ieme entre. (The schools round here offer spanish as a 2nd language). we think that they (the parents) have realised that understanding english, even at a basic level, is going to give their children a better chance in life in 8yrs or so. Mandarin for me i'm afraid

i'm not rich, of pensionable age, or allowed to claim winter fuel allowance from the UK. Yet have had to close down half the house and rely on a poele to heat the 2 rooms we live in as we cant afford to turn the oil central heating on.  Poor...but happy(ish). Is there an equivalent french top-up-free-claim-sort-of-thing for french tax payers?  

do you actually have a facebook login? if you have it should work automatically   edit - sorry i was being dim (too much wine) - you obviously have a facebook login.  facebook has problems with some things. especially emails. I know this sounds vacuous...but try again tomorrow. chances are it will work. The thing with PC's (after 25 yrs experience) is that what happens to them today will not happen tomorrow...and vice - versa

our 3 children have coped differently at different levels in schools, some redoubling (for the best), one being sent to a  "special" etranger classe as his teacher couldn't cope (actually "be bothered" is a better description). He's now doing ok 2 yrs on. Youngest sometimes comes home in tears as everyone picks on him as he's different. other friends of ours all have different stories. Some schools good, some bad. some kids adapt well, others struggle. There's no point in asking how your child will do as no one here or anywhere else can answer that correctly. Only you know how your child will react in a strange/different environment. Try it. you might be pleasantly suprised or hate every minute. Speaking French is a definite. Not just simple stuff, you need to invest heavily in a French language intensive cours over the next 2/3 yrs All things change over time, the education system will change to be more adaptable. For an instance, my wife is just about to start very simple English lessons for CM1 at the school where the teacher couldn't be bothered. She couldn't speak french 2 yrs ago so  things change  

Hi Does anyone access the WEB (using IE7) via a VPN? Or has anyone used a Proxy server to do the same How do you tell IE7 to connect to the web via the VPN and not the ISP connection which is on at the same time? I would normally not bother with this, but i would like to get Radio5 live to listen to the footie/rugby and the BBC iplayer thing knows i'm outside of the UK. I can get the radio normally via satelite, but with all this mad weather the signal keeps dropping. Many thanks

healthspan are brilliant, based in the channel islands they don't seem to have any issues with customs etc. very fast delivery. Also do some very good deals.

hi tax d'habitation has arrived: 374% increase from last year, and they've based it on an amount more than they based the fonciere amount on. The two taxes together now amount to around €1600. (last year €420) Does anyone know if you can pay monthly ?  

hi kantboy did you get anywhere? I'm in IT (finance software so unfortunatey nothing useful) and i'm just about to pitch up at ANPE with my CV as things have gone a bit Harry Hat Stand with the contract market in euro land. I did manage to get  a short term contract in Paris but they cancelled/delayed etc a week before I was due to start. Another interview for a job in Lyon didn;t work out (French wasn't stong enough) So i'm trying to put more irons in the fire and see if the local ANPE can come up with anything  

 I had the same problem, but all you can do is wait. Filled the self assessment forms in to try and claim tax back on the tax allowance you are allowed. Completed in April...they lost them...filled them in again in June,they finally registered them in August. Got the tax back in Februrary. They said it was because of new procedures and no-one knew what they were doing. Apparently, there are going to be more new procedures to try and fix the other new procedures, so expect the same mess this coming year. I found phoning and writing letters a waste of time, you just have to bite your tongue and wait.

No1 and 2 sons were told at lunchtime that there is no college tomorrow. Wifey bumped into their gym teacher, shopping, who said the reason they left it so late to tell the parents was that the strike would have the maximum effect this way

cranes make a very distinctive noise. The latin name for them is Grus Grus (Grue...funnily enough is what the french word for a crane is). When you hear them flying you can understand where they got their name from (to me anyway)

dept 65. had a few small flocks over this week. some heading due south, others heading due west. They are a week later than last year.