1938

try google sovimo thats who we bought our house of. Sonia is french...its a family business...she speaks good english and was fantastic when we bought. She even opened a bank account for us and house insurance...she offered we didnt ask!!

Theres a good one just outside limoges click on the above troc link to see the adress and a few photos. They sell both good stuff and junk and definately worth a look

Stones ginger wine and shortbread.

We have the same problem to deal with but beware as i think if the paint is old it may be lead based. I havent found an answer yet so have left things well alone...no doubt someone will know the correct way

We are flying to Limoges on may 8th and have realised its a bank holiday, does anyone know if the hire car office will be open?

Bums, its a bit like finding out Father Xmas isnt real as a kid ..I was really looking forward to the trampolinist in our village this summer...and now its all turned out to be a fib!..bit like when the circus came and the poster promised tigers..all we got was a camel and a goat...poo... do they have trades descriptions in france. Wasnt sure about the performing chickens though lol. Although as a child i did go to the circus, which had performing pigs, which ran riot though the audience, seemingly pigs are hard to train, so maybe chickens are'nt such a bad idea.

Interesting question this one. We bought a house in the Charente 2 and a half years ago, and are in the process of doing it up. It is in a small village and everyone seems friendly.We have however made an effort to speak French and even if we get it wrong it is greatly appreciated. We have seen people in shops and bars shouting in English, and it is these that the locals dont like, and the more they shout, the more unhelpful people are towards them. When we had new English neighbours move in, my French neighbour said to me...ah les anglais..at which point we both fell about laughing, but then she told me I wasnt ..les anglais.. as i could speak French, best compliment ever as my French isnt that good by any means, but shows if you try then people accept you for the people you are and not your nationality. We have French friends who say that a lot of the little village shops, bars and schools would be closed without Foreign imput, not just the English, so some people see it as a good thing.We did feel a bit guilty about buying the house but it had been on the market for years, so obviously no one local wanted it. It is only a holiday at the moment to which we will eventually retire, but we know more people in the village, than we do in the UK. So forget the book, go and look, see if you like it.

Difficult one i think this for 2 reasons 1/ If you are a couple only one may want to paint, but both may not want to pay the full wack for a painting holiday. 2/ If you are a painter you can paint anywhere...from a gite, caravan or tent, hence considerably cheaper. I think you need to be more specific in your classes, for example a week on different forms of perspective lessons...to be honest something i would gladly pay for as i was never taught this. Or life drawing, again an interesting skill to learn, if you are an amateur artist and have never attended life classes.....you dont have to have a nude model to run a life class Or maybe lessons on French artists techniques, put into practice in the field. How about portrait lessons or how to paint animals? Sorry I know this may not be helpfull but just a few ideas.

Difficult question that one. We bought an old cottage 2 and a half years ago, which needed total renovation and thought it would be a 5 year project to complete. Well we now think 8 years as it is really difficult to find good artisans, and when you do they have a years waiting list ! So if you are not in any hurry or can do the jobs yourself, then fine. If not then I would think again. We can now at least camp out in our cottage in the summer months and have hot water and a toilet but it is still pretty basic. We did look at several so called renovated houses but you dont know what lurks underneath, at least with a ruin you can see it warts and all, so horses for courses I suppose. I agree a good manager to oversee the work is invaluable, but sadly we couldnt find one so are sorting it out ourselves, sometimes very frustrating but sometimes great fun and each small step is rewarding.

funnily enough i was about to post on this, can anyone tell me the french name for the ready mixed stuff, and how easy is it to use ?

We had to wait over a year for our plumber to start, even with a hefty advance...he was also supposed to do the electrics..after 2 years managed to get out of it and still waiting to find another...even french friends in our village have the same problem. we have problems with our roof after storm damage and it tokk 6 months to get a devis and we reccon a year if we hasstle before we get the work done...c;est la vie im afraid.

Hi couple of years since we did this but taxi is easy and quick...takes about 10 mins and seem to remember was between 10 and 15 euros, although could be wrong...taxis easy at the station but a bit thin on the ground at the airport, so pick up a card so you can call one...a lot of people seemed to be doing that

its an expected thing in america, we have stayed in several apartments booked over the net and they always leave an envelope for you to put the tip in so i suspect that is what the americans expect to do, so hey a bonus

sorry dont know the name, but you will need a second morgage for 50 litres.

i think by the time you have masked everything off its quicker to paint with brush or roller

To be honest havent used it in France but i have here in uk and not that good as you have to mix and mix well enough to do a whole room as you will never get the same shade...and if a bit gets scuffed or dirty later its impossible to match...best advice which is what i do is to bring paint from the uk as far better quality and half the price. get a colour chart or colours that you like and get someone in uk to get matchpots of these, post them to you so u can see what they look like on the walls before you go to the expense of buying litres of the stuff. Our local leyland paint ...a nation wide chain has half price sales every couple of months so I buy paint and stockpile it until we next take the car to france.

sorry sort of off track ...is there anyway i can overwinter my geraniums without a greenhouse i seem to remember a programne that said take out of ground and store in bags in the garage...would this work?

I sort of agree and disagree... while doing up our house we always stayed in a 3 bedroom gite...and only 2 of us. We did have people to stay, but always had the curtesy to ask our hosts if this was ok and it never was a problem...in fact they have gained from this as have repeat bookings from our friends...and theirs too. Word of mouth goes a longer way than a flashy website. We have become close friends with the French owners, and last year when the gite was booked , they let us stay in their house and they stayed in their camper van!! boy were we embarassed...but they are so nice even though now we can stay in our own house... they know we tell friends to stay there as our house is a bit of a squat. They gain and so do we..ironically we have never broken anything in the gite..but did in their house!!..glasses and a breadboard but we replaced these and no problem.

depends what you want, how large, how fast you want it...pm me with an image you like and the size you want and i will do you a costing

last time we were at the airport in may there were loads of taxis, sorry dont know the cost though as we hired a car

trifle?

Sorry not sure where 87 is but there is a really good art shop and a craft shop as well in Angouleme...although our local bricomarche has a really good section so if you have one look there first

Can anyone reccomend a siret registered builder and an electrician near Confolens in dept 16

my partner and I have a small house near Limoges, at the moment just a holiday home...we go about 5 times a year and have french lessons here in the uk. Last time we went some people were moving in across the road and I asked our french neighbour what was happening...'' ah les anglais'' she replied !! ''Mais madame je suis anglais'' I replied..and she said no you speak french..at which point we both fell about laughing. My french has improved but is still terrible but a little goes a long way and is appreciated so go for it...I used to be terrified of making a mistake...now i just jump in and i get there in the end. We go to our local bar for a drink most days we are there and now know more people in our village, than at home in the uk...it just takes a while for people to get used to you...so stick with it and best of luck.

Sorry dont know your circumstances or where you are in France but if you have nothing to come back to thr UK for and your partner is in France , I would say try and stick it out ...if you are lonely try and join in local classes or projects...even a local night school just to meet people, either Franch or English. Weigh up the pros and cons by writing a list and give each marks out of ten and see if the France or England option comes out best. If you do this it may help sort out your ideas...all the best.