bixy

Gardian asks 'why ask on here?' Well it was the Easter weekend and the insurance offices are closed and I thought someone else may have had the same experience. In the past when I've looked at the forum there have often been helpful, not to say sympathetic, responses but perhaps times have changed. To all those who did respond, in whatever tone, many thanks.

Hello, I hope someone can help with this. We came over to the UK for Christmas and have been stuck here ever since due to Covid. I am wondering if our French car insurance remains valid, a) because of Brexit and b) because of the length of time we have been here - more than three months. The green card says that the insurance is valid in GB and we haven't received any ommunication post-Brexit to notify us of any changes. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Hello, hope someone can help with this. I was in the process of filling in my declaration on line when I noticed a new form had been added to the list to fill in - 2041E. Never seem this before but it seems to be a form for non-residents but we are resident. It's impossible to remove it. Anyone else come across this? Patrick

Hello, I hope someone can help me. I've got in a complete stew thinking that I have previously filled in the tax form incorrectly. We have two types of pension - the OAP and the teachers' pension (on which tax is deducted in the UK). Am I right in thinking that the total of both pensions should be entered in section 1 of 2047 and the teachers pension only entered in section 6 of 2047? I would be grateful for some advice.

A British friend resident in France has recently been to see a notaire about drawing up a will, taking account of the new provision from Aug 17th - in other words requesting that the inheritance regime of the UK should apply. The notaire told her that this cannot be done because the British have not ratified the agreement. My understanding is that that will affect foreigners living in the UK, not foreigners living in France. Has the notaire got hold of the wrong end of the stick, or have I? Patrick

Finally discovered the problem. The channels had moved. Did a factory reset and then a scan and there they all were. Hope that helps if anyone is still struggling. I know C5 is mostly rubbish but the cricket highlights are on there, which I like to see. BTW talking to someone in the TV business, it seems a lot of these lesser channels - he gave E4 as an example - don't have cameras, studios or even any staff. They just give the recorded programmes to a company that broadcasts them on their behalf, and on behalf of a lot of other channels. Patrick

Thanks for those replies. what I can't understand is why it is only the 5 channels which are affected.

I live in Burgundy and I can only get Channel 5 TV, or the other 5 channels, intermittently. Everything else is ok. Anyone else having this trouble? Has something changed that I don't know about? Patrick

There are certainly fouines around here but to get into the roof space it would have to climb a vertical wall and get through a tiny hole. Also, I doubt very much if a fouine would be interested in apples. It could be that we are putting two and two together to make five. The noise in the roof may just be a loir and the objects left outside on the ground nothing to do with the noise. So what then would leave this stuff? The fat is the biggest mystery. We are very isolated, the nearest place this might conceivably have come from is a kilometre away. Patrick

And to think, I tell others how helpful people on this forum are. But of course I was forgetting about the odd ten-year old who likes to make himself look clever at other people's expense. Patrick

Thanks for the reply. A web search brings up nothing for this animal. Do you know the Latin name or is there an English name? Patrick

In part of our house there are noises in the roof space. On the ground below where we hear these noises we have started to find strange things. First of all apples - large ones, clearly from our trees (which are 50 metres away), which appeared then disappeared. We working on the idea of a vegetarian living under our roof but what could be small enough to get through a small space but large enough to carry an apple? This morning the mystery deepened considerably when we found a huge lump of white fat on the ground - must have weighed at least half a kilo - like a jumbo sized block of lard. What is it? We just cannot thing of anything that fits the bill. Any suggestions very welcome. Patrick

Just a follow up to this. I noticed that our cooker gas rings were not burning evenly, and with less force than when new. I took off the spreaders and inserted a very fine wire into the single central jet. I needed different sized wires for the different jets. It's made a big difference. Clearly over the years some kind of gunge gets deposited which partially blocks the jet. A word of caution, don't force wire into the jets if it won't go. All it needs is  gentle up and down movement. And, as with all gas appliances, leave it alone if you're not sure. Patrick

Yes, butane, and yes, kept in a cold room. Now working ok after a night in the kitchen, so thanks for the tip. Curious though, because all the other bottles have been kept in the same cold place without any problem. Patrick

For the second time we have had a problem with a new cylinder of gas. The gas will only come out at very low pressure. It's not the reduction valve as the previous bottle was fine. Does anyone know the cause or the cure for this? Patrick

ET don't worry about what you said. The whole point of this forum is to express opinions, ask questions, give help when asked. We don't want any unnecessary censorship. As you have seen a lot of people have retained UK bank accounts and perhaps now you can see why. As for my friends, and the original question, I think they just need a sterling account to pay for odd things they need from the UK and to pay costs when they go over. If your income derives from the UK, as I guess is the case for many of us on this forum, it is madness to lose once on the transfer of funds over here, then lose again sending money back to pay for things. Hence the need for a UK bank account. Patrick

Thanks for those replies - much as I suspected. I find Eurotrash's question a bit odd. I'm sure there are plenty of French residents who retain UK bank accounts (as we do). For visits to the UK, for buying presents for family and friends there, for ordering stuff to be sent over, subscriptions to various bodies, journals etc. it is very useful to have a UK sterling account. Many people like us have income paid into a bank account in the UK, and yes we do declare all our accounts and all our income to the French fisc! The friends I was enquiring about had an offshore checking account with the Coop, which is now closing its offshore operation. As I write this it occurs to me that they could get a similar account with another offshore bank. Patrick

A simple question, which I hope might have a simple answer, although I suspect not! A friend resident in France, no UK address, wants to open a UK bank account. Is this possible? Patrick

We thought of doing so but a) it was a long way out of town and would have been very expensive, and b) we could not be sure of getting a taxi back. We had a train to catch at a certain time. But actually that's not really the point....

This weekend sees the journées du patrimoine throughout France. We wanted to see something which is only open for this one afternoon in the whole year, which was today. We made our way by train to Dijon,  where we needed to catch a bus to the outskirts of the city. The Dijon bus drivers have been striking every Saturday for some time, but of course, as this was a special weekend with so many people travelling to the city to take part in the journées du patrimoine.... the bus drivers struck as usual. Well done them. There was a whole group of people hoping to travel to the same place who have been let down by these...what can I say... somewhat inconsiderate persons. They may well have a grievance but a gesture today would perhaps engender sympathy, rather than the opposite - contempt. I write this as a life-long trade union member. Patrick

Gardan, you're right, of course. Here are some more prices from 1952, again in Euros: wrist watch 3.04 to 4.57 sewing machine from 74.69 washing machine 106.70 to 225.62 depending on model vacuum cleaner 28.96 to 48.78 depending on model At the time wages in France were lower then in the UK. A reasonable wage might have been the equivalent of €12 -15. For most ordinary people these items would have to be bought on HP, paying over a number of years. So it was  a good job wine was cheap! Patrick

Here are some examples from the Casino Christmas wine price list. All prices in euros: Bordeaux .15, Mercurey .31, Moet and Chandon Champagne Brut 1.26, Cointreau 1.36, Martell Cognac 1.63 Not bad eh? Perhaps I should mention that this is the 1952 price list, which I came across in an old magazine. Prices converted from old francs. Patrick

Thanks for those replies. It seems from ther dearth of responses that no-one else has had this problem. I would be very interested to hear from someone in the same position as me, ie. who has started to receive the state pension while already resident in France. Patrick

I've just been told that because I have been resident in France before starting to receive my state pension I have to fill in another France Individual form. It was only with the greatest difficulty that we managed to get this back to the UK the first time. I'm dreading having to do so again. Apparently when you have any new source of income you have fill in another France Individual, according to the UK tax office. Has anyone else had this experience? Patrick

An interesting thread and some very sensible posts. We have known a large number of ex-pats. They are of two types: those that came expecting to find work/set up a business; and retirees. It is the former who have gone back to the UK, for fairly obvious reasons - no research and completely unrealistic expectations. Of the retirees only one couple we know has gone back to the UK and that was not because of any of the reasons discussed above, but because they fell out with he local ex-pat association! As for the newspaper article - haven't you heard - they make it up. Patrick