LisaJ
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Posts posted by LisaJ
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We do this regularly from Normandy and spend a night just before the border and a second one south of Madrid. We stay at the Parador hotels in Spain; if one of you is over 60 you get a substantial discount. We use the one in Chinchon, it is a fabulous hotel, and there is a good, cheap café down the road if you don't want to wait for Spanish dinner time. We find the drive round Madrid OK if you use the M50.
regards
Lisa
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It would be nice if Jim Murphy had a bit more to say though - it makes an interesting comparison with David Miliband's blog (which I understand he really does write himself.)
http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/blogs/david_miliband/
regards
Lisa
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What system is that Framboise? The old one or the new one? As it stands you could be joining the state system for a bit, coming out and using private insurance for a bit (and hoping you don't get too ill in the meantime) and then going back in when you get to 60. I simply cannot see how this process is efficient or helpful for anyone. I would also still like to know what the actual deficit from "non-actifs" is. Does anybody know? If 8% of income is not enough then surely it should be possible to pay more and stay in the state system? Having read elsewhere that the E106 /121 per person contribution from UK to France is some 3,600€ per year, might this be a starting point? I would much rather pay this to the state system than to a private insurance company.
regards
Lisa
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I think I thought it would be a free discussion, but we have ended up with people speaking individually (partly because we all have a different book), then others chip in with questions. People are sometimes quite reluctant to speak and you need to be ready to scaffold the discussion, especially at first. I think I was very used to chairing discussions with groups of teachers, who always have plenty to say, so I was quite surprised by the first few meetings, but it is all much more relaxed and chatty now.
regards
Lisa
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I should have looked here first...
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/PensionsAndRetirement/StatePension/DG_10014671
regards
Lisa
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Yes I think Steve is right. I think 30 years gives you a full state pension. I thought 13 years of contributions to qualify for the minimum pension, but this may not be right.
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Lisa
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Yes, we have been running for a year now. We meet one morning every month and the host member provides coffee and biscuits. We started off trying to discuss one book, but found that it was difficult / expensive for everyone to read the same book. Now we choose a monthly theme (biography, diaires, First World War, thrillers etc) and talk for about 5-10 minutes about our book. We decide on the theme two meetings in advance. After the meeting we make a list of the books we have read and circulate it by email. We have found that there are always a few people missing from each meeting so we have been having a bit of a recruitment drive; I think about 12-15 members would be ideal, then you might get 10 at each meeting. There is quite a lot of useful stuff on the web about starting a book club.
Hope this helps.
Lisa
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Nope! My female French hairdresser is the best one I have ever had. I think it does help to take a picture of how you want your hair to look to the first appointment.
regards
Lisa
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Is anyone able to clarify re existing conditions? If, for example, someone has a long-term condition of contolled hypertension, does this mean that they would not be covered by an insurer for a future heart attack or stroke? Or does it simply mean that they would not be covered for hypertension drugs / blood tests / cardiograms etc? It is hard to understand the advantages / disadvantages of the different offerings without some understanding of what it might mean in practice. Is there anyone out there with a good understanding of health insurance who might be able to help?
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Lisa
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And we have just made it onto the one o'clock news on BBC!
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Lisa
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We registered at our Mairie to vote in European elections and for the local Mayoral elections.
Also, just wanted to add one small point. Holders of the E106 have the form because they paid full National Insurance contributions in the UK. If they had not paid full National Insurance then they would already be in the CMU on a contributory basis. I am not sure that the letters make it entirely clear that holders of an E106 already have a Carte Vitale and a Social Security number like everyone else?
regards
Lisa
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Just wanted to say thank you to the people who have posted helpful ideas for lobbying. We are in the position of having an E106 which will run out at the beginning of January and are finding the current situation very worrying. We will be lobbying our MEP along the lines suggested.
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Lisa
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Thanks for this - I played around with the services + menu and got a text back, but wasn't sure what I had actually done!
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Lisa
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For me HRT was a miracle cure; all symptoms stopped immediately and I had no side-effects. I went on it, as I described earlier, to stop the problems of lack of sleep caused by frequent night-time sweats, but on it I also regained the emotional wellbeing I had lost in the early stages of the menopause. I was lucky in that I had a sympathetic woman doctor who talked it all through at length and allowed me to make an informed decision to take HRT for as short a time as possible (the two years before I stopped work). Interestingly, I believe that the study that caused so much alarm about the possible dangers of HRT at that time, has since been discredited. I wouldn't have wanted to stay on it for long, because I don't like taking medication either, but I think you have to take a sensible decision based on what is best for you at the time. I also found Jenny Murray's book very helpful.
regards
Lisa
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My experience for what it is worth. Two years build up with weight gain, flushes and panicky moments just before hot flush. Two years on HRT after I was awake so much at night with flushes that a 30 mile drive to work, plus a very demanding job was becoming a real threat to my wellbeing and safety. Came off HRT on retirement, 6 months of hell with all the above symptoms far worse than before, then a gradual easing off over the next 18 months to a point where I barely notice hot flushes and emotions are very stable. Can't get rid of the weight though, despite lots of exercise and a healthy diet.
Hope this helps?
regards
Lisa
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Sorry - yes I had assumed she was English. In which case forget all the stuff about the literacy strategy and learning English as a first language - what you need are her English course books and text books from school. A book on teaching English as a foreign language would also help a lot, I think. I would look at what she is learning and then give her lots of oral / aural practice. For example, if she is learning about the past tense ask her to tell you about an event which has happened in the past, try to pick up on what she is consistently getting wrong and then give her lots more practice. Make sure she is telling you about something she is interested in and (I am sure you do this already) give lots of praise along the way. Then you might look at the written stuff and the lists of irregular verbs (bit of a nightmare in English), but you will be looking at it in context.
Hope this helps
regards
Lisa
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I think the basic problem is that the way that we learn verbs in our first language is not the same as the way we learn them in a second language. Although pupils in schools will be taught about tenses and will change writing from the present tense into the past and future (for example), they probably won't learn to conjugate verbs in English as they would in French or any other foreign language. Are you helping her to understand French verbs better or to maintain a good standard of written English? If it is the former then books about French grammar might help. If it is the latter, then it is more important to write things that she will enjoy, as well as ensuring that she expresses herself clearly in accurate English. As someone with A level English you will be more than capable of doing this. I suspect that you may be trying to translate into English, things that she really needs to understand about the French language in French and that is why you are finding things difficult.
I hope this helps rather than confuses!
regards
Lisa
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You would find the materials relating to the Literacy Strategy at Key Stages 2 and 3 the most helpful, I think. These can be accessed through the Standards Sites of the DfES. (Now the DCSF, but the web link is still DfES.)
regards
Lisa
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You would find the materials relating to the Literacy Strategy at Key Stages 2 and 3 the most helpful, I think. These can be accessed through the Standards Sites of the DfES. (Now the DCSF, but the web link is still DfES.)
www.standards .dfes.gov.uk
regards
Lisa
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Don't forget to beware the fake policeman stopping foreign registered cars on the Madrid ring roads. The Guardia Civil will always be in a marked car; if anyone else tries to stop you dial 112 and ask for help. The British Embassy website has helpful information. There is a new fast expressway off the M50 (Madrid outer ring road) which goes down to Aranjuez now; it costs a few euros but is much better than the old road.
regards
Lisa.
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I would say:
Learn as much French as you can (if you do not speak it already); Michel Thomas courses are good for covering the basics and giving confidence. Read some good basic guides to the practicalities and to the French way of life. Make sure that you do the essential things you need to do before leaving the UK (e.g contacting Newcastle re health cover.) Do not try to deal with everything at once; for example we moved in late December and did not have to submit a tax form for 18 months, when we needed to do it I followed the excellent, clear and careful advice of Sunday Driver, by going through his past postings. Long term medical conditions are not a problem, but make sure you rehearse the vocabulary before you visit the doctor. When you arrive introduce yourself at the Mairie, remember to greet and shake hands with neighbours and try to attend village celebrations and events. If you have had busy working lives then you may find it takes time to adjust to life deep in the French countryside; having enough money to ease the transition does help.
If any of this sounds obvious and/or patronising then please accept that this is not my intention. We love living here, but realistic expectations and lots of preparation are essential.
Good luck if you decide to move.
regards
Lisa
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We have lived here (just outside Pont d'Ouilly) permanently for two years, having had the house as a holiday home before that; we have found local people very welcoming and friendly. You do need to speak French as there is very little English spoken and I think that if you needed work then employement prospects would not be good in the area. We tend to know mostly other retired people, but I would guess that there are two or three lots of English in most villages and more in some. My impression is that there are not many in Pont d'Ouilly itself, but I may be wrong; you see and hear quite a lot of English in the summer, but very rarely in winter. Benefits are wonderful countryside, peace and quiet, lack of traffic etc. Possible downside is that it is very quiet in the winter and it feels like nothing happens for several months; we enjoy this (most of the time), but I know that some people find it difficult. Can't comment on the quality of educational provision, but the PTA in Pont d'Ouilly seems to have quite a lot of activities that are reported in the local paper.
It is a lovely place to live and there are lots of good houses for sale at a very reasonable price. I wish you luck in your search.
regards
Lisa
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Yes I think she would definitely have revised it - but I marvel at how much foresight and understanding she showed, given how close to the actual events it was written. I think if she had lived (and used her foresight to get out of France in time?) then it could have been one of the great literary works of the century, on a War and Peace scale.
Does anyone else think that it seems that she almost resigned herself to her fate in staying put?
regards
Lisa
Expiring E106
in Health
Posted
I am afraid Gemma, that you are one of the people caught up in the new health reforms, which say that people at the end of their E106 will no longer receive cover and must seek private health insurance. You will find lots of information on other threads on this forum and also at this site.
http://www.frenchhealthissues.eu/
regards
Lisa