Annabell

I don't quite understand this thread, maybe i'm being stupid, but when we arrived back in March with our disk and box we paid around £40 a month and had the whole lot on sky. After a while, we decided it was a lot of money so cancelled.  However, we still receive BBC 1,2 and 3, ITV1 and 2, Channels 4 and 5, all of the news channels, some sports channels etc and we aren't paying a penny. They've obviously taken away all the sky channels but apart from that we are still watching all the programmes we watched before we cancelled.  Have they made a mistake or are we just lucky?

Yes, there is a granny in Normandy, click on to www.grannynetwork.info then follow the link to Judy, the Normandy Granny.

We need to find kennels at short notice somewhere en route from Mayenne / Fougeres to either St Malo or Caen to attend a funeral back in the UK. Anybody know of any nice friendly kennels that will accommodate two dogs and two cats? Thanks in advance. Anne

We need to find kennels at short notice somewhere en route from Mayenne / Fougeres to either St Malo or Caen to attend a funeral back in the UK. Anybody know of any nice friendly kennels that will accommodate two dogs and two cats? Thanks in advance. Anne

Well its lovely here today, no heating on and the windows and front door open, letting in the lovely fresh air. Blue skies and a slight breeze.  Mind you, a friend arrived lastnight and her crossing was awful.  Reckon you'll be alright tonight though. Annabell (53)

We just couldn't see a future there.  We lived in London, I used to love swimming and going to aerobics etc, but a 5 minute drive eventually ended up being a 45 minute drive as the traffic got busier and busier. Wanted to move to the country but that would have meant a couple of hours commuting a day. I worked as a PA for London Underground at Canary Wharf.  I had a brilliant job and a fantastic boss.  When Metronet took over it all changed, so decided then it was time to leave for good. Its only been 7 months but i've never been happier, no stress, swim 3 times a week, aerobics etc, no traffic and the only person in the pool sometimes. We were due to go back to UK and visit family at Xmas but have now decided to stay here where its much nicer. I do miss Canary Wharf though, but popped over last weekend for a drink there with all my ex colleagues which was great, but it was even greater knowing I was returning here the following day.

There is a granny in the Charente www.grannynetwork.info why not give her a try?

Friends of ours want to hire a 3 tonne truck from France to take to England to clear out their house as they are moving permanently in a couple of weeks. Does anybody know of a company that will supply a truck this big and take it to England. Preferably department 53 or 35. Thanks in advance Annabell

Hang on a minute, I don't think you are being very fair here.  I remember when I first joined this forum over four years ago.  I was only thinking of moving to France then, and yes, I could have gone through the archives but how boring is that when you are so excited that you have found a forum with like minded people. Newbies could well be put off by this thread.  I think if somebody asks a question that you find repeatable, you could still point them in the right direction! Horses for courses and all that!!!

Sorry, but i am obsessed with gravy granules at the mo, and what I also miss are the sachets of gravy granules that are flavoured ie; chicken flavoured with sage etc, or lamb flavoured with mint (these go down a treat when entertaining French folk).

Be careful, whatever happens, our beloved cat was taken from us last year by the dogs behind.  We're still trying to get over it, not sure about jabs and stuff though as we had planned to take our cat back to England afterwards. Mind you, saying that, the surviving cat we decided would stay in London with my Mum as we were so worried about the same thing happening to him, and he has now been missing for 3 weeks. Just be aware that there are  many dangers for cats in rural France, dogs,  poison etc.

Gravy granules, mushy peas - yummy!  HP and Worcestire Sauce, Atora Suet, Marmite, Mint Jelly. Its funny because a friend of ours gave us a Fray Bentos Pie and some Mushy Peas which we ate with glee lastnight.  The funny thing is though, I never even bought a Fray Bentos Pie in England so I don't know what I was so excited about.

I've just browsed that site and they are half price compared to what I've been paying in England. Does anybody know if you take your prescription into an Opticians here whether they will give you lenses straight from that without the eye test?

I think it is true as our neighbour came round to tell us that ADSL would be here in time for Christmas and that it would also include free local calls.

I did this a couple of years ago.  Our elderly French neighbour had just come out of hospital for some kind of heart operation (can't remember now it was so long ago) so we took her round a pot of chrysanthiams and I wondered why she left them outside the front door. She was quite amused though when we went round a few days later to apologise after finding out on this site what they were actually for. I still buy them for myself though.

Well I thought good luck to them really.  They seemed like a very nice family and the 13 year old was very brave to start school without the language. They never show you the whole lot of filming anyway, they may have made them look unknowledgable on purpose. We've all been there in the beginning when having to deal with something unknown and flaffed about a bit on the spot.  You need to be here for a while until you gain confidence in speaking the language. I really hope it works out for them.

Sorry to have sounded negative April.  But moving to France is still a great idea.  We struggle, but we'd much rather struggle here than back in the UK. We've only been here since March, but there is nothing so far that we miss, not even friends as we have made so many (French and English) here already.  In fact our social life is more hectic than it ever was in London. Still wishing you luck Annabell

Hi April. Welcome to the forum.  The general feel though in France at the moment is that there are too many gites and not enough clients.  Have a search through and you'll get the general idea. I do wish you luck though, we've been very happy since arriving here permanently.

We also took on two unwanted kittens a few months back and also called the peach one peaches.  However after visiting the vets for the first injection peaches is now called Fudge as Peaches turned out to be a boy.  The other one is called Barney.  We now stupidly call them Barney Rubble and Fudge cake, not to mention Coco Pops and Sonny Boy for our two Labradors.  Its funny what pet names you use isn't it.

I received mine about 2 months ago, but to be honest it was a complete waste of money. There is absolutely nothing in it for my region and they promised to supply a free edition covering my region which i never received. Most of the info is on Paris. I've complained but haven't heard anything since

Emma You're rates were extremely reasonable and as soon as we hear from the company I will let you know the outcome. Thanks Anne

I've read through the FAQ section and was wondering about freeview.  Is it possible to buy the freeview pack and watch UK channels in France? Or is there an alternative to Sky as we're finding the monthly payments hard at the moment? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My Husband and I are thinking of working a ski season in the French Alps for 4 months to tide us over through the winter. We have two labradors and two kittens that will need looking after. Does anybody know of kennels in the 50,53,35 area which would be willing to take them on for so long or are there any pet lovers out there who would like some company in the winter months. Obviously our best solution would be to take them with us, but its not allowed I'm afraid. Thank you in advance.

Got to be honest, I was pretty scared lastnight. Hubby not here so was on my own. Funny enough though, as soon as my head hit the pillow i was asleep and didn't wake up until this morning, (thanks to the red wine). Only thing blown in the garden was the garden hammock, so no real damage done.

My friend was due to arrive yesterday but phoned to say she couldn't come because of the tunnel closure. Hopefully she'll be arriving today.