Liz

We used to belong to one of these and we miss it over here, although sitting around in the Sauna was our main activity! They do exist, probably in or on the outskirts of large towns, but are not so common as in the UK I think. I have noticed that there are quite a lot of gymns but not the full health club set-up and there are also plenty of local authority owned swimming pools which are often superior to their UK counterpart. I would agree with opas, yellow pages is your best bet. The link is http://www.pagesjaunes.fr in case you are not familiar with the system. Liz (29)

Yes, this sounds correct and I have read it somwhere very recently. I think it must have been in the April LF magazine. Yes, it was, just found it, P73 article by Bill Blevins 'The Rules of Residency' Liz (29)

I think you've got most of the answers already but one tip - if you do have to send off by post DON'T FORGET the Stamped Addressed Envelope. The Embassy makes it clear what value of stamps you need and for the Driving Licence 50 centimes should be sufficient. I have a theory that every French Government Office is stuffed full of applications for one item or another which has not been accompanied by a SAE and there are numerous civil servants employed to rip these up from time to time. Dealings with French Officialdom makes you cynical I would also send by registered post with receipt even if not asked to do so. Liz (29)

Wanting to contact someone recently I clicked on 'Profiles' thinking this might help with contact details. In fact it doesn't do that and I had to trawl through to find a posting from the person to pick up their address. Fair enough! What puzzled me was that the the person concerned was not on the list and neither am I. Life is too short to test this out with other names I know, but I am extremely puzzled where the list of names comes from if it does not include all current Forum members. Anyone know? Liz (29)

> >The bad news is that there >is a 3 surcharge for >credit card bookings (but not >for Switch etc). > I got caught with this. I know 3 isn't much but I shall be using Switch from now on. The other thing I noticed new on the web site booking form is that you have to give details of disabled passengers, presumably so that the person at the check-in doesn't get too much of a fright when the wooden leg is produced Liz (29)

I have thought about Owners in France a number of times but never actually advertised with them. We have a small property and would need to attract a substantial amount of business to make their charges worthwhile. Fine for an expensive Villa but not suitable for us. I have found that you will never get sufficient interest from one advertising outlet only and it pays to spread your ads around. Which is best is anyone's guess but read through some of the postings on here as there have been quite a few comments over the last few months. The other thing I have against Owners in France is that it is a brochure, so by its nature, you have to submit copy about August or September of the previous year. I know someone else commented on this in respect of Chez Nous, by the time it hits the book stalls many weeks were already booked. Liz (29)

LAST EDITED ON 08-Apr-04 AT 08:23 AM (GMT) I think she's pretty fluent. Remember when that Canadian chap got on the phone to her and pretended to be the french speaking PM (I think). She had quite a conversation with him completely off the cuff. The accent is very British, a bit like, in reverse, the french old boys I come across sometimes who love to try out their english with an 'Oxford' accent. I think she learnt from her English nanny (Crawfie?) so that is not surprising. Liz (29)

LAST EDITED ON 07-Apr-04 AT 05:38 PM (GMT) This sounds very similar to the messages mentioned by Jill at http://www.livingfrance.com/dcforum/DCForumID3/3384.html although I don't think she is a gite owner. It is similar to ones I have received (but never opened) myself. I believe it arises because someone who has made an enquiry, or possibly booked with me, then has my e-mail address in their address book. Like you, the technicalities of this are beyond me. I don't see there is much you can do about it except change your address (probably not practical) and keep on deleting the messages. I have also installed a virus checker which I didn't have before (see postings re AVG in the 'techie' forum http://www.livingfrance.com/dcforum/DCForumID33/1060.html) and was pleased to see it come up with 'no viruses found' so I know my system is in the clear. Liz (29)

The penny dropped after my first reply on this subject. Like Val2 I must have been away from the UK too long. My neighbour got a complete kitchen from BUT and I am sure that all her appliances are integrated so they might be worth a try, there is bound to be a shop not too far away from you. Darty also have a good range of electrical appliances which are sometimes a bit more upmarket than average. In case you are wondering what to ask for it will be a Lave Linge Intgrable - I cheated and looked on page 93 of the Lapeyre Cuisine catalogue . There is only one priced at 600 Euros. Liz (29)

What is an integrated washing machine, please? If I knew what it was I might know if I've seen one! Liz (29)

I wondered about this. He used to bring the magazine to a finish and I knew that was it for another month. This month I felt I had paid my money for a great many house agents to advertise and not a lot else, except the item about southern Finistere, of coure, what a lovely place Liz (29)

> >Tell it like it really is > Last week-end husband lost wallet with Carte de Sejour, Driving Licence and Bank Card. No idea what to do but, as always, first port of call the Mairie. Advised us to go to the Gendarmerie, which we did, to report the loss of the official documents. Information to be given and form to be filled in. For the Bamk Card off to La Poste to report loss and complete another form. Last week plumber came to install new central heating boiler. All this previously aranged with written quotes which we had queries on from the various installers. Eventually selected the one we want and made 3 phone calls to get him here on the days we wanted. He's done a great job but there is still a leak. Phoned twice to get him back and he has come twice and re-welded the bit. Further leak. Is it the Groupe de Securit that is leaking, he asks me. I suspect it is and tell him so. He'll pick up a new one and come on Monday. All part of life's rich tapestry. All conversations conducted in French. What would you do? Liz (29)

HI Janet I think refresher lessons would be a good idea, without your husband anywhere near! I think it would be worth the expense and effort, and also get some miles in on your own before you come over, just quietly without him fussing you and being critical. You really will have to drive here and it is generally a lot easier in this area than most places in the UK. I was over in Plymouth a couple of weeks ago, traffic lights all over the place, lots of changes of lane etc etc, since I got back I haven't seen a traffic light! I found when I first came that it was easier to drive my RHD car with which I was familiar, on the wrong side of the road, than it was to get used to a LHD which we now have. Go for it and don't let your husband put you off. I hope this doesn't sound rude but men can be very dismissive of women drivers and knock your confidence. There were some postings about this on here a long time ago which indicated this. Good luck Liz

Our car is coming up to 4 years old so the Contrle Technique will be required. No problem getting it organised, there seem to be loads of places around that do them, but I just wondered if, like in the UK you get a reminder. Also if there are any tricks like, for example, in the UK you can have the MOT done a month before the due date and gain an extra month. I have also seen Pre-contrle checks advertised. Are these worth having or is it something that anyone with a bit of common sense, check lights are working, tyres OK etc, can do. What are the requirements, is there a list of points to be checked on a web site somewhere? Liz (29)

I have had ant bites a few times when digging in the garden, not from the ordinary black ones I think, but some other larger kind. You will also get mosquitoes in the late summer, and if you are any where near farm land you will get flies also fairly late in the season. Lovely here isn't it? Arm yourself with your preferred repellant and remedy. For mosquitoes at night we find the plug in devices very effective. Liz (29)

I believe it is very often to hire. We stayed in one where we were offered a pile of sheets etc for a fee. I think I'd rather take my own! Check to be on the safe side. Liz (29)

I am very surprised your friend hasn't heard of it. Even if she doesn't like it you can hardly miss it in the shops in prepacked and off the counter versions and also in those handy bags of grated cheese. I use it mainly in cooking being one of the nearest I have found to Cheddar in its versatility and being reasonably tasty. Not something I would expect to find on a restaurant cheese board though. I'm not quite sure why but they tend to go in for soft cheeses a lot, Camembert, Brie, Goat etc. Probably in the appropriate region you would get it served this way. Liz (29)

A new help line I think, Free Phone number and International phone number on: http://www.francetelecom.fr/en/tools/others/contactus.html Liz (29)

A new help line I think, Free Phone number and International phone number on: http://www.francetelecom.fr/en/tools/others/contactus.html Liz (29)

>Do wish I knew how to >create "links" as I'm sure >many of you would have >enjoyed an article in last >Saturday's New York Times. Entitled >"Breaking France's final film taboo: >movies about money", opening para >read:- > > To create a link simply go to the page you want to pass on. Highlight the address bar. Copy (CTRL C). Then paste (CTRL V) to your posting. http://www.nytimes.com/ I'm afraid I couldn't be bothered to register to allow me to search for the full link but I hope you get the general idea. You can also simply type in the link in the text of your post, not forgetting to include the http:// part of the address. You can check that you've got the right format by previewing your post before you send it. On the original question I must agree with the other posters, I don't find the locals particularly coy about money and we have always said we would never want to live in a village because I am sure one's finances and purchases would be the subject of gossip. Liz (29)

I do agree with the person who said it is just a matter of learning them. They are very tricky things and although you will be understood if you use the wrong one I always feel it marks me as a foreigner when I realise I have inadvertently translated from the English and got it wrong. My brother-in-law is Danish and it is the one thing he often gets wrong when speaking English. One rule I can remember from school is that masculine countries are 'au', j'habitais au Canada, and feminine countries and ones beginning with a vowel are 'en', j'habite en France, j'ai une maison en Espagne. I was also surprised to find 'sur' for towns or villages which someone has mentioned. For instance if I am out for a walk and I am not sure whether we have crossed the boundary from one village to the next I would say 'on est sur Roscoff ici?' Liz (29)

Yes, he is entitled to the UK tax allowance. I suggest you take it up with the UK tax authorities to find out the procedure. Liz (29)

I think this is one for our little blue men as I noticed mention of taking subjects up with Forum Admin. I must admit I always thought the FAQs a waste of space, just a collection of opinions that needed some serious editing to be of any use. Looking at them now I notice they must all be at least 2 years old and in some cases the law has changed or a subject has been clarifed. I feel that it is time for FAQs in their present form to be zapped. Does anyone actually read them any more? Liz (29)

Brit Line with Credit Agricole is probably the easy way out. Credit Agricole are big in Brittany as you might imagine. Lots of comments on this firm on the site, some good some bad! We opended an account with La Poste when we fist came here and still have it. They seem to be about the cheapest around, a current account costs 2 Euros per year (going up to 2.50 in July!). It is not an internet account as such but you can have Internet access (currently free but they keep warning of a charge of 2.75 per quarter from July). You just walk into any post office and ask to open account. If it is a very small one they may ask you to come back a bit later when convenient for the only memeber of staff. A passport and bill, as you suggest should be adequate for identification. Make sure it is a joint account and it is in the names of Monsieur ou Madame (not M et Mme) so that either one of you can sign cheques. You will need some French to do this but if you can manage 'Nous allons acheter une maison prs d'ici. Nous voudrions ouvrir un compte cheques, s'il vous plat' you should get there. They will complete the forms for you. Paying you bills from Ireland should not be a problem, setting up direct debits being the simplest method from a distance. The procedure is explained on all the bills you get. Liz (29)

If I'm speaking French I think in French and it is one of those real breakthough moments in language learning when this starts to happen. Even if I'm stuck for a word I'm thinking of a French circumlocution (there's posh!) rather than the actual English word. It takes a while and the more you mix with the French themselves the better. Alexis has the right idea, no English spoken at home, no English TV etc. Although, I have to say that when I was in that situation there were times when I said to myself if I hear another word of French I shall scream. Our cat, by the way, is bilingual Liz (29)