Liz

We wanted an extra loo and had no choice because of the distance involved for the pipework to put one of these in. We've had it about 3 years. We bought the all in one type which works fine, the pan is a bit shallow so it sometimes needs an extra clean round. You can also get the macerator to add on to a normal outlet, I've no experience of these. We paid about 200 Euros in Brico Depot who have a couple of models I think. M Bricolage has several of both types and they often seem to have leaflets as would a plumbers' merchant. These explain the distances you can go to with your pipe work for the models available. They are noisy and I don't think any one would choose to have one if they can fit in a normal loo. Bear in mind they don't work if there is a power cut. LIz (29)

We've just taken some of this off a ceiling so I wouldn't recommend it. We put it on a new platerboard ceiling over the stairwell. I don't know if we didn't prime the new plasterboard well enough or whether it was just a question of the difficulty of access that we didn't get enough pressure but it didn't stick very well and had air bubles in it. I would be very doubtful trying to stick it to floor boards and it doesn't have much 'give'. On an ordinary flat ceiling or on a wall it's fine. If you want to decorate between the beams we have put up lambris (cerusé finish). We think it looks good but I know lambris is not everyone's taste. A friend of mine has plaster board but with beams as unevenly spaced as ours we didn't think that was an option. Liz (29)

Our experience of French credit cards was so poor I would not recomend bothering to ask for one. We had a Barclaycard (french version). Because we had one in the UK and used it a lot over here they invited us to take a French one. The credit limit was ludicrously low, something like the equivalent of £500 a month, not because we were considered a poor risk, this is simply their policy. After the first year, in which we had managed to get a free card, they were willing to put the limit up to about £750/month and wanted to charge about £40 for the card. At that point we had had enough and declined their offer. I investigated a card from Egg also but I am not sure if they are still in business here. Egg discovered that the French market is simply not like the British. We have given up on cards completely in France and now use a cheque book for everything. Liz (29)

I think a lot depends on how urgent it is to get your kitchen up and running. If you are in a hurry and can't spare time to go round the various outlets when you get here it may just be worth buying in the UK. If all you want your removal company to bring is kitchen cabinets and beds and can spare time to look around I would buy locally. You can get a lot of kitchen (and beds!) for £1400 and, IMHO, the quality is better here, even at the bottom end of the market. Brico Depot catalogue quote, for example, 8 units from 528 Euros. They show a mid range set of 8 units for 1153 Euros. Also try BUT for fairly modest prices or LaPeyre, slightly more up market. There are bargains to be had here, if you can hang on until the July sales it could be worth your while. Liz (29)

I am sorry to tell you, Azila, that I don't think there is any easy way round this. We had foam back carpet stuck to floor boards. The first time we tackled this I used paint stripper which did take the glue off but it was a nasty, messy job with toxic stripper. They do sell stuff in the DIY stores which is supposed to rake the glue off but I found it useless, but maybe it would work better on tiles than on floor boards. The next time we sanded the floor which is not an option open to you. The third and fourth rooms still have the carpet on the floors! Liz (29)

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to buy Vinyl Silk in B&Q. It was certainly much cheaper than I could get here but the coverage was terrible and I had to buy a fresh lot locally to do the job again. We buy most of our paint in Brico Depot (same group as B&Q) and have found all kinds, outside and inside, oil based, vinyls and chaux excellent in quality and not bad on price. The range of colours is very good although they don't seem to have caught on to 'heritage' colours yet, still doing heritage the first time round I guess. As for the reason for the difference in price I think you may have hit the nail on the head, Steve. We have not had the benefit of makeover programmes here so no one knows that they are supposed to paint their walls with assorted colours of vinyl silk rather than wallpaper. It is only in very recent years that shops have started selling wall paint, other than in basic white, in any quantity. I think it is just a case of what the market will bear. Reasons for substantial differences in prices on a number of products are difficult to fathom. Coffee, for instance, is much cheaper here, whereas tea bags are much dearer. It is just what the market is used to, and what the manufacturer can get away with, in a particular country. On the plus side I would say that the majority of DIY goods are much cheaper than in the UK and, taking the B&Q/Brico Depot comparison we frequently walk round B&Q spotting goods that are priced with the same numbers as the same item in France, it's just that they have a £ sign in front rather than a Euro! Liz (29)

Some time ago there was an article in LF magazine about the British Council which mentioned that they can assist with the 'translation' of UK qualifications into their equivalents in other countries. I am afraid I can't remember the details but I know I did find the info on their web site and it could be that this would be useful to you. Liz (29)

"A french firm think you are living there full time so a lot cheaper buuuuuut read the small print if it is left un ocupied for x nos of weeks if you do not have bars on the windows if ......if ...." I am not at all sure that this is true. Surely you tell your french insurance company that it is a Residence Secondaire? There probably will be conditions about shutters having to be closed, possibly bars to certain windows as well but these apply equally to a permanent residence. If the British firm is not laying down conditions like these then this is probably the reason they are marking up their prices and it suggests to me that they do not know the French market very well. Who in France ever went out and did not close their shutters? If you are doubtful about on line quotes I would check out the local insurance market, they know the risks in your particular location, probably have many holiday properties on the books already, and if you are in a rural area insurance will not be that expensive. If you need to make a claim you will, at least, have a local agent to deal with. Liz (29)

LOL - I really did. My cat, on the other hand, is keeping a perfectly straight face. The pictures really make the story. Liz (a cat lover)

I noticed this yesterday morning about 8 15 UK time. There were 60 on one topic alone. I didn't believe it then and I don't believe it now. A couple of hundred guests rootling about on the Forum at that time of the morning sounds most unlikely to me. Today at roughly the same time there are the usual one or two. Or were we taken over by aliens? Liz (29)

[quote]Having read the archives I am convinced that i need to buy the good quality sunloungers mentioned (stacking, few moving parts types)and to avoid the one in leclerc and the like, on promotion. This see...[/quote] I think you were being a bit optimistic hoping to find a good choice of sunloungers in mid February.  I noticed a few days ago that garden furniture is just starting to come into to the local shops and within the next few weeks their full ranges will be on display.  The best bargains are usually to be had at the start of the season.  To everything there is a season particularly when it comes to goods on offer in French shops! If you haven't yet found any I would suggest another trawl round in a week or two. Liz (29)

The usual advice with asbestos is to leave it alone, no scaping the varnish or anything like that, and cover it up. So it sounds to me that what you are proposing is a good idea. Hopefully the surface is sound although I am not sure how well your tiles will stick to varnish. Tiling new ceramic tiles on old ceramic tiles is quite usual, so I suspect they will stick very well. Liz (29)

Well, he would say that wouldn't he! I have been wondering whether to top up our tank but haven't got round to checking prices yet, we'll hold out until the end of the season I think. Thank heavens for a wood burner though. A 3 hour power cut yesterday would have left us without heat and had me wondering whether I would, at long last, get some use out of the candles I stockpiled in the 70s (anyone remember the 3 day week?) Liz (29)

I am afraid I don't have a serious answer to the question either but, on the lighter side, some English acquantances living locally for many years told a neighbour that they had booked a double plot in the village cemetry. The neighbour thought that was terrible, not good value for money and people were not treated very well. She had misheard them and thought they had booked a double room in the old people's home. I know that they have funeral plans here for which you pay in advance. I think if I really wanted to explore the question I would make enquiries of a local company. Not an easy subject to deal with but I am truly grateful to my dear Dad for having made his own arrangements last year. Liz (29)

I've recently moved to XP & IE6 on a new machine.  On a couple of sites I've had the message 'runtime error' and 'do you wish to de-bug?'  Could someone explain to me please, what this is all about.  Is it a new feature in XP   ?    I had lots of problems I could put down to dear old Win95 but not this one!   Liz (29)

[quote]I found the whole thing rather a hassle. Most banks wanted me to pay an annual fee for the pleasure and convenience of owning a cash card - it was only at La Poste that the card was free. However, be...[/quote] Surely what you have is a savings account?  A current account, which I think the original enquiry was about, would offer a cheque book (La Poste charge about 2 Euros a year for a basic cheque account).  Any sort of card on a current account is, AFAIK, always charged extra.   Liz (29)

We paid 4300 Euros last year for supply & fit a 23Kw boiler.  This included demolishing an old chimney and replacing it with a balanced flue and some minor pipe work to connect up to existing water pipes etc.  The work took one day plus a couple of hours commissioning. Other quotes we had were roughly of the same order.  Radiators were already in place.  Get at least a couple of quotes for a job of this size.   Liz (29)

[quote]I was reading an article on the web yesterday about comparing the cost of living in UK and France, but it didn't really show any examples or prove anything, so I was wondering if everyone gave exampl...[/quote] I don't believe you can ever prove anything. The way people spend their money varies so widely that one family's weekly budget would keep another for a month and vice versa. If your budget is so stretched that it is important to you that living in France costs a few quid more or less than the UK then don't come. Whatever the costs now any advantage could be wiped out by a fluctuation in the exchange rate. It has happened before, and many people had to return to the UK, and it will probably happen again. If you really want to know how much things cost come and have a good long look. Liz (29)

The shoe repair, engraving etc. booths that are often located within hypermarket shops usually do them as well. Liz (29)

There have been many postngs about banks on this Forum, some good, some bad. I am not sure how easy it is these days to pick up past postings but it is worth spending a bit of time scrolling through and trying the search facility. We are with La Poste. They are very widely available all over France and offer plain, simple and modestly (for France) priced services. They are open 5 and a half days a week (although the very small ones have reduced times). You will need the usual papers to open the acount, ie proof of address and passport, and we found it more or less instant although you will have to wait to get your cheque book etc. of course. Make an appointment to set things up. Also make sure you are very clear what you want, the various cards we Brits are accustomed to have supplied for 'free' generally require an annual fee in France and there have been a number of tales on this Forum of people being charged for services without realising there would be a substantial charge for extras. Liz (29)

[quote]Hi, We are about to register our gite as a business. There are only two of us and our cat, small outgoings so no need or desire for large income from gite. Any ideas as to whether we would be better...[/quote] I am at a loss to understand why you feel the need to register as either of these things. You seem to be talking about a gite in the singular and from your description in your first paragraph you seem to be in much the same position as ourselves. We are not reistered as anything. We simply fill in the tax forms as appropriate, it is pretty much a one line entry of the gross figure for the year, and pay up when required. Am I missing something here? Liz (29)

If it is in reasonable condition and might be saleable see if you have an Emmaus (try yellow pages or web site for address)charity shop nearby, they will collect (or they do round here). Liz (29)

I'm not sure about lentils and oats but the place I would try first in Morlaix is the Bio co-op which is in the same area as BUT and NOZ but across the road and just before the Magazin Vert, sorry I can't be more specific about the address but it is quite easy to find. For spices I find the man on Morlaix market on Saturday is as good as anywhere. He sells lots of spices in small plastic pots at something like 4 pots for 3 Euros. He's usually on the far side (coming from Grand'rue) of the big car park. Check the french names of the things you want beforehand, I nearly came unstuck with Turmeric the other week. I assumed the french would be virtually the same as english, it isn't! Liz (29)

[quote]"A couple of weeks ago I had a bit of a disaster with my computer and wiped off practically everything so I had to re-install including the browser. I can now get a lot of the facilities such as Contr...[/quote] "Hope you don't mind my asking. I'm presuming you are using Win XP and ask if you remember if you had upgraded your old machine from 98 or was it a new install. " I don't mind a bit but I don't think I can help much I'm afraid. On this desktop machine I'm still using Win95 and IE5. Win95 is the original backup from years ago but the IE5 comes from a Wanadoo disk currently available in the supermarkets. I have been a bit surprised at the differences there are from the previous set up, which, so far as I knew was exactly the same. I also have access to a much more recent PC with XP and IE6 (I think) both installed from new. So far as I know all the Forum functions work fine on that one. Liz

"Anybody know anywords which are definitely French in origin and start with K ?" K7? Sounds french to me Liz (29)