Liz

My neighbour, who grows shallots which are sold to Tesco, couldn't beleive his ears when he heard that their shops are open all night. He thought there would be a revolution in France if such an arrangement were to be introduced here. Vive la Difference! Liz (29)

I do not find it so easy to track down second hand goods in France as in the UK. It may just be the area but compared with England there are not so many active free papers, small ads etc, although, as has been mentioned, these do exist. I also find that french ads are shy at mentioning a price which annoys me. I don't mind negotiating but I do like to have a starting point. I also feel that where prices are mentioned they are often ridiculously high. You could try Emmaus charity shop if you have one near (check web site for addresses) and also any Depot Vente you see around. Liz (29)

I agree with Carole about the rose garden. I haven't visited myself but a friend of mine is always talking about it! Villandry is also well worth seeing. Although I have visited the area I can't remember the names of any other gardens but the easiest way to find out is to visit the local tourist offices and ask them for leaflets, or if you have time, write or e-mail them. Liz (29)

We now only have a small place, a double and two singles so I am able to easily have 3 sets of linen per bed. I make up the beds, leave a complete set for them to change, ask them to return the laundry to me when they change and also ask people to strip beds when they leave. This has worked well over a number of years. I would not wish to go in and change it for them in mid stay and I don't think people expect that in self catering. French owned gites I have stayed in simply give you a pile of bedding and leave you to do your own thing. As someone has pointed out this is not a hotel and the price should reflect the level of service offered. I have a folder which sets out all the arrangements in our cottage which I leave strategically placed, with a bottle of wine on top, so I am confident that most people will read the 'rules'. Liz (29)

Shopped there - we practically live there . I agree that there can be some inferior products but in the main we have found products and service excellent. Their returns policy is second to none in France - money back no problem if you make a mistake or just have a surplus of bits. Their catalogue is also extremely useful. I don't agree that it aimed particularly at the British, there are often quite a number in our nearest shop but the vast majority of customers are French and as pleased as us to see goods at a reasonable price and staff who generally know what they are selling. Liz (29)

I can't think of any particular draw backs. My impression is that P&O is the better scheme, but I haven't studied it in detail as we are stuck with Brittany Ferries down here. So I suggest a careful study of the small print. Either of these schemes is worth having if you intend to come frequently, you can get your money back more or less on the first trip, the cost of joining has gone up a little in recent years but the cost of travelling, particularly if you want to come in peak times has skyrocketed. One thing that is worth considering if you have a partner, and there is a possiblity of travelling at different times, is to take out a joint membership for a little extra so that you both get the benefits. Also look carefully of travelling mid week. I priced a journey recently for the end of July which was half price travelling in the week rather than at weekends. Liz (29)

This came up before and I cannot recall that there were any useful answers but it might be worth a search. I use a map of my own devising based on Freelance software, it is not on a web site though, I simply send it to visitors once they have booked as an e-mail attachment. No doubt such a map could be converted to a web page. Liz (29)

I used to get individual cheesecakes in the Geant. Nothing great but it made a change for a quick dessert. I suddenly realised we hadn't had them for ages and have now found out they are no longer stocked, so send me your recipe as well please, Val. Liz

I think, but I don't know, that this will be similar to an under 50cc scooter, ie insurance is required but there are no registration documents (this is changing soon for scooters I believe). I would ask an insurance company. Liz (29)

I was only thinking yesterday that this topic hadn't come up for a while. As has been mentioned it has been much discussed on the Forum but I always go by the advice I heard on Gardeners' Question Time, that there is nothing that is effective. For reasons that are mysterious we have no moles on our 'lawn' at present and we had only a few hills last year. I think it may be correct that they prefer nice soft soil and the ground is rather hard and dry at the moment. Not a lot of help on a newly planted veg patch though. Liz (29)

I agree with Chrissie, a spot of general fertilizer would probably help, spraying liquid feed is a quick way of giving it a boost. I also wonder about watering, Oleanders I have seen growing in the wild always follow a dried up water course, so I think they prefer a damp (but not waterlogged) situation. I'm no expert either, my Oleander give up when the poly tunnel it was in collapsed Liz (29)

I hope all has worked out OK. Take heart, a friend of mine did the same thing a few years ago. All she could offer was a tiny studio appartment she has in the basement of her own house, OK but not in any way as nice as the gite. They enjoyed themselves so much during their stay, taking her out with them on several ocasions, that they still come back and see her from time to time. Liz (29)

LAST EDITED ON 18-Jun-04 AT 05:13 PM (BST) Janet, I've only just seen this. Our insurance for car and house is in Roscoff. MMA 'au pied du Phare' just by the old lighthouse on the sea front. If other ideas fall through we have always found M. Pascallon most helpful in insuring our UK reg. car for some months, Liz (29)

The first time I looked at this I couldn't read the ad. Now on a different browser I can. It sounds very cosy and friendly Liz (29)

LAST EDITED ON 18-Jun-04 AT 04:01 PM (BST) It rather depends what you mean by running gites. If you just have one, near your own property, probably the owner you met was pretty near the mark. If you are talking about a group of properties, or, worse still several scattered around it is a completely different thing. You are right that much depends on how much land you have, and certainly a pool will take a lot of time, but you might well have these anyway. You are also right that it depends how much time you want to devote to your guests, if you see yourselves as jolly hosts of family fun and games, organising the barbie and boules match it will obviously take rather more time than if you take a back seat. Unless you are running an extensive gite complex I can't see that you will be employing staff. Quite a lot depends also whether you are into DIY or whether you are going to have to call on a plumber for a blocked drain or some other tradesman for running repairs. If you can't do it yourselves the need to get someone along at short notice could certainly cause a few extra grey hairs. Have you ever stayed in a gite, or self catering any where else? If you haven't I suggest you try that out and you can then assess the sort of work you would be looking at. Personally we only have one small place which is adjacent to our home. On changeover day we go frantic for a concentrated period but the rest of the week is generally free for us to do as we wish. Apart from last week when we spent the whole of one day helping out the guest who had locked his keys in the car, but that is another story. Liz (29)

There is a chain of shops that have appeared recently here called Le Negociataire. They sell new but traditional style furniture, I think it is bankrupt stock and the like. Not particularly cheap, although a lot less than the proper furniture shop outlets. but that sort of thing might help pad out what you can find on the secondhand market. Check yellow pages to see if you have one http://www.pagesjaunes.fr. There are probably other similar shops. Liz (29)

My favourite plants for almost any situation are Euonymus. They do not flower (or insignificant) but the foliage is usually variegated and there are sizes to suit all gardens. They can be low growing and cover the ground, suppressing weeds, such as Emerald & Gold, or they can be taller but not too bushy. Either way you have colour all year round. I find them widely available here as well as in the UK. There is a native version also if you want to stick to native plants. One thing I found when I planted our garden originally as a holiday home was that many plants I had chosen were at their best in winter when we weren't here! So choose things that will be at the best when you are most likely to be at your property. It is most frustrating to have a really big Camelia which you never see flower from January to March. I would also recommend planting in the Autumn so that new plants can take advantage of the autumn and winter rains. Liz (29)

What a nerve, tell him unless you receive the full balance by 'a suitable date' the property will no longer be available. This is in accordance with the industry's usual terms of business. I must say though that it sounds to me as if your conditions of booking are not very clear. The usual routine is for a deposit (of your choosing but not more than 25%) to be paid upfront and the balance is to be paid x weeks (I make it 6) before the start of the letting. The French do it rather differently and it is usual for the renter to bring the balance with him, and pay on day of arrival I believe. I have to say also that I did know a chap who many years ago went off looking for his holiday accommodation, for which he had paid in full, in South West France and never found it! Must have been a con. Liz (29)

May I suggest you have a close look at your pricing. My personal 'bible' when I am trying to decide how much we should charge is the Brittany Ferries French Collection brochure (they have a web site also). They have places in the south west with pools priced at around 1200 maximum in high season. There are not many as big as yours and they may not have all the amenities that you have but I think that is the sort of competition you are up against. Booking through a large company people do feel they have a certain amount of security that they may not get with a private owner and they also get a discounted ferry price. I also notice that you have quite a number of weeks crossed off so there aren't all that many to choose from. For the English market the season for large groups, ie with school age children is very short. Last week in July and a maximum of 4 weeks in August. I have found even the last 2 weeks in August generate much less interest than the first 2. I agree with the person who suggested dividing the property up if you can. I used to let 3 bedrooms sleeping 6 and had no trouble at all in filling about 18 weeks each year. It was priced so that 4 people could take it if they wanted without feeling they had paid too much. Liz (29)

LAST EDITED ON 12-Jun-04 AT 09:46 AM (BST) LAST EDITED ON 12-Jun-04 AT 09:35AM (BST) BF in August and September is expensive, no doubt about it. Can you travel mid week and in the daytime, does it have to be Portsmouth - St Malo, this is their most expensive route. Poole -Cherbourg for example - 265 return fare out and back on Wednesday in early August returning early September. Liz (29)

LAST EDITED ON 12-Jun-04 AT 09:16 AM (BST) I have a Faure dryer and I think it takes about as long as the one I had in the UK. The dial has two settings, one for synthetics at a lower heat and the maximum time on the dial is 80 minutes, I usually go for about 70 depending on the articles. The higher heat setting for cottons haa a maximum time of 120 minutes and I rarely use it but I would expect towels to be dry in an hour. I wonder if you have a french washing machine with a low spin speed (this is quite common) so the items are not coming out as dry as they would with a UK machine. Does the instruction book give any clues how long a cycle should take and what the maximum load is, maybe you are putting too much in? The electricity supply in France is to all intents and purposes the same as the UK AFAIK. If the machine is faulty I think you will find BUT pretty helpful. For gite bedding I have 3 sets per bed to be on the safe side. Liz (29)

I actually thought the Orange package of 10 Euros every 6 months was quite a good deal! I bought it so that people (mostly those staying in the gite) could phone me in case of emergency. Mine doesn't work either on the ground floor of our house but it is OK upstairs and I think that would probably apply no matter which provider it was. I am sure that it is correct that in case of situations where you reequire the emergency services your phone will work. You did ask for thoughts to be shared, you can rely on getting a different point of view on this forum Liz (29)

I heard yesterday on the BBC news that the 150 included installation. It sounds to me that this is all sewn up in a nice neat UK only package. I await developments but am not holding my breath Liz (29)

I have been involved in registering an Enduring Power of Atorney recently in the UK. In the UK a form can be completed at any time to indicate that a certain person or persons can be responsible for one's affairs should one become mentally incapable of dealing with them. In this particular case it has proved very worthwhile and saved everyone concerned a lot of problems and it made me wonder if such a thing exists in France. Anyone know? Liz (29)

I have often seen this in shops and catalogues. My personal interpretation is 'our favourite' or 'our recommendation' or possible 'highly recommended', not nearly so romantic though. Liz (29)