Clarkkent

My wife and I bought our house "en tontine". She did not have a French will. When she died it became mine with no problem or delay. If your only other French assets are a car and furniture, I wouldn't bother. If you have thousands of euros in the bank, then seek advice.

[quote]I have Windows 98, AVG, Norton Utilities Integrator. Haven't a clue what any of these mean though - I'm a user - that's as far as it goes. I find the new forum extremely slow - usually around 25 sec...[/quote] Well said, Jill, I support every word.

You have to be Logged-In for the Control Panel to appear. I prefer the old layout - by using the outline of the thread you could actually follow arguments/discussions. Now you have to read every post to see whether or not it is relevent, and it is easier for people to hi-jack discussions - look at some of the nerdish discussions on football ...

Also - going back to the original theme ... the belief that Mark's mother suitably enobled her husband in order to ensure that her beloved (but otherwise TOTALLY unremarkable) son would be perceived as something approaching an important person ... I understand that the independent-thinking MP (and current Father of the House)Tam Dalyell and the envioronmental campaigner Jonathan Porrit are also baronets but do not use the "Sir" appendage - because they did not earn them. I wouldn't mind a knighthood, though, I might get better service in shops ... Then there is the story of the woman with 15 children. The newspaper reporter suggested that her husband should get a knighthood. "He's got one," replied the woman, "but he never uses it."

[quote]Can anyone please explain the following which may be obvious, but....! Films labelled VO, Version Original, does that mean original actors voices but with French subtitles? Films labelled VF, Ver...[/quote] You are generally correct, but sometimes VO may not have French subtitles, it is just the original language film. I have some DVDs labelled VOST - original language with French subtitles.

I cannot add very much to this debate other than to say consult a French lawyer. However: "I believe I read somewhere about being able to set up a trust where the property is donated to the trust." I think I read on this forum once that the English law concept of "trust" does not exist in French law. "I have also heard of elderly French couples selling the ownership of the house to the bank and retaining the right to remain in the property for their lifetime. Whether this is done because they are *****d off with their off-spring or they are in need of money --- that:s your guess" Could this be rent viager - which is a way of realising the equity contained in real property?

[quote]Second visit to the UK this year and for all there is a lot of fuss about chip and pin now, our french visa cards were not accepted in those shops that take pin numbers now on either visit. Will fre...[/quote] Will french shops take brit pin numbers? I suspect not............ I have just bought a camera from Geant (200 euro) with my Nationwide visa card - issued in July. The shop assistant made me insert the card into the chip reader. I tapped in my PIN ... and the camera was mine.

Treuil ?????? Is this a wind up?

I do not recall ever being able to buy a "return" ticket on the low-cost airlines. I don't think they exist. Even though I make my bookings at the same time, I buy two seperate one-way tickets - each at the price appropriate for the loading on that flight at the time of the booking. Whether or not I turn up is of little consequence for the airline - it has my money.

Just go along to your nearest hypermarket/BUT/etc and look at the displays. In most cases you will find an information card which will tell you how many scart sockets etc. My own view (possibly not universally shared) is that tv sets have become commodity items and the extra cost of a well-known brand is to provide revenue to support the brand. Most of them seem to be assembled in low wage countries. Look at the displays, compare the picture quality, pick the one you like best.

LAST EDITED ON 31-Jul-04 AT 06:15 PM (BST) It >was not clear why they >were going to the UK >for this except that there >was some mention of being >hassled by the French police, >on government instructions, if they >met in France. According to an item in a BBC broadcast, if they remained in France the French government could force them to work. I also recall reading somewhere about a year ago, that the French government were looking admiringly at the financial management of the NHS.

Apparently, bmiBaby are to start flying from Birmingham soon. Perhaps they are transferring the Toulouse flight from Nottingham.

I'm disappointed to hear this. I'm surprised there appears to be no business traffic between Toulouse and Nottingham EMA, given the latter's proximity to Derby and Rolls Royce. I have used both BMIbaby and FlyBE to Toulouse several times in the last year and all the horror stories relate to FlyBE - not to mention that their fares appear to be considerably higher. If your name is an indication of your location in France, you will find that Bordeaux will involve a drive which will only be 15 - 20 minutes longer than from Toulouse

I have just received a scam e-mail from a French e-mail address. Juliet Koffi tells a very sad tale and her English is excellent, but it is obviously a scam! They are getting closer to home.

To the best of my knowledge, cancer treatment in France is delivered from specialised regional centres. The centre for SW France is the Bergonie Institute in Bordeaux which has links with local hospitals. Try www.bergonie.org As for language, you take your chance ...

I don't know the answer to your question - officially France is divided into regions. However, the divisions in this forum correspond to the areas used in Living France magazine for the property adverts. SW France in LF terms is the regions of Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrenees. It's their magazine, they provide the funding, they can define SW France anyway they like.

LAST EDITED ON 28-Jun-04 AT 11:10 AM (BST) DVD disks are encoded in PAL and NTSC only. This is true even in France. There are no SECAM disks. DVD replay equipment in the UK is usually dual standard NTSC/PAL and can be set to auto detect the video standard. So as far as playing French disks is concerned you will have no problem because all French tv sets are now PAL/SECAM. As far as recording is concerned, I confess that I cannot, from my own experience give a clear answer. All I can say is that the documentation and software which accompany my computer-based PVR and DVD writer make no reference to SECAM - only to PAL and NTSC. Perhaps someone else has better information. EDIT As far as regional coding is concerned Region 1 is USA and Canada and Region 2 is Europe and Japan. Region 2 equipment will work with disks bought in France or the UK.

If the UK is no longer part of the EU, then UK citizens will no longer automatically be entitled to reside in France. M Le Pen will help UKIP with that. That should start things rolling!

To the best of my knowledge, you will never receive the deeds. These will be kept by the notaire. You should receive a copy of a document summarising the activity associated with the purchase of the property. Mine is labelled "Expedition". This ought to be available after the purchase has been registered at the Hypotheque and appropriate taxes paid. Call at the notaire's office and ask.

I could tell you lots, having had a house there for 10 years ... But why not just go and find out for yourself? You can't see the world through other people's eyes, nor can anyone else know what is important to you. Experience the place ... you might like it, you might hate it ... but you can't use other people's perceptions to determine your own.

My wife and I bought our house "en tontine". When she died the house became mine. I paid no inheritance tax at all. I suspect that the notaire may have accepted an undervaluation of the property from an immobilier who helped me at the time, the value of her share of the property attracted no tax at all. All I paid were the notaire's fee and some registration costs.

How about at the drawbridge leading into the preserved old town of Carcassonne?

LAST EDITED ON 10-Apr-04 AT 08:58 AM (GMT) You should be clear that the time constraints apply to the re-entry of the cat into the UK. About 4 weeks after the rabies vaccination, a blood sample will need to be taken (an act of great courage on the part of the vet who does it, because it is usually taken from the jugular vein) in order to ensure that the vaccine is working. The cat will not be allowed back into the UK until at least 6 months after the successful determination of the blood test. You can export the cat at any time, however. The passport paperwork takes only a few days. The chip should be inserted at the time of vaccination or before. This is to ensure that the cat can be identified without doubt as the animal which received the vaccination.

I missed this when it was on tv at Christmas but bought a copy of the dvd in France last week (French title is Les Triplettes de Belleville) and watched it on my laptop while waiting to be picked up at Nottingham East Midlands. As everyone has said - bizarre. But after a while I realised where the style had come from - it is pure bande dessinee. The dvd has a filler with someone called M which is an extended and extremely surreal dance to the Belleville tune. Highly recommended. (Oh dear, is that advertising?)

Is your daughter doing an intercalated year during a degree course in an English university? If so, when it is appropriate it would be useful if details of her experiences and perceptions were posted on this site. There are several people on this forum whose children are working their way through the French school system and this information may be of value to them. Before my retirement I was a lecturer in the "new" university sector in England. I noticed a small number of French and German students doing their higher education in England rather than their home countries. They said that English universities were preferable for many reasons, not least because would almost certainly graduate within three years!