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Paul Bradford

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Posts posted by Paul Bradford

    Where are you spending Christmas?

    in Other Topics

    Posted

    Hi Dotty,

    For twelve or thirteen years we have had Christmas with family, either going to them, or for the past seven years or at least since our children arrived, coming to us. We moved to France this year, in July and this is to be our first Christmas at home in France. It will be the children and us. It seems strange to think that we will be on our own. On the 23rd December our girls are singing in the square in Monflanquin with other children from the village, French and English. We are looking forward to that.  Christmas dinner will be turkey, our first for years. A locally grown organic one. We normally have a capon, but found they were very expensive. Wondering at the moment where I can get my sausagemeat for the stuffing!

    Following lunch we plan to go for a walk and feed the horses and ponies from our local riding school, also the ducks on the lake. Hopefully we'll see some of our French neighbours while we are out and will exchange pleasantaries.

    No plans as yet for Boxing Day.

    Merry Christmas to all.

    The Bradford's

    SKYPE

    in French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone

    Posted

    Hi,

    We use Skype to talk with relatives and friends in Sweden and the UK. We also have a webcam which the kids think is great. The webcam is slow, due I understand to the web not being able to process video at normal speed at this time. This doesn't really cause a problem, just seems a bit odd at first as the sound is not in synch with the picture. We tried yahoo and msn messenger, but none of them worked as well as skype. We already had a contract for free calls within France, otherwise we wouldn't have bothered as skype works well with them. Sound quality is very good and there is a good help system to adjust sound quality. My father in law is 69 and until a couple of months ago had not used a computer, let alone the internet. We bought him a computer and webcam and he uses it to 'skype' us several evenings a week. It's fantastic for my wife and him to keep in contact so easily. We have broadband, as do our contacts. I don't know how well it would work on dial up.

    Hope this helps.

    Paul

    Allocations Familiales CAF (Help please)

    in French Legal Issues

    Posted

    I would be grateful if someone can assist. I have searched the forum but have been unable to get a result. We would like to know what documents to take with us to CAF when we submit our claim for child/family allowance. We have the Certificates de Scolarite. We will take our passports, birth (obviously children's also) and marriage certificates, proof of address. We have been living here since the 1st August 2006. We have contacted  UK Child benefit three times by telephone since then and have now written a letter. They confirm (by telephone) that we no longer receive UK Family Allowance, but have yet to provide us with a Certificate stating when it ceased. Will we require that before we go?

    ( This information and similar articles would be a good subject for a Dossier that could be downloaded by members)

    Many thanks in advance.

    Regards

    Paul Bradford

    Condenser Drying system

    in Shopping

    Posted

    Over the years we have had two or three combined washing machine condensor dryers. The latest is a Whirlpool. Previous were Bosch. They condensed and the water drains through the outlet pipe. No need to empty any tanks. Good bit of kit. The Whirlpool is 6 or 7 years old now & still going strong. The first Bosch lasted well over 10 years. I have no links to either manufacturer. If you can I would suggest buying in the UK if your French is not great, as you will likely as not only get French instructions. However, you can go to the website and download the English version.

    Paul

    Restoring Old Fireplace

    in House Renovations

    Posted

    Hi,

    This chap might be able to help. He has been in the business for years. Mick at Pavilion Hills 40-42 Station Road, Westcliff on sea, Essex. Telephone:- 0044 (0)1702 432721. His web address doesn't seem to work. We have had a few fireplaces from him over the years for different houses that we have lived in. I do remember seeing French fireplaces in his shop.

    Regards

    Paul

    Satalite navifation systems - cheaper in France?

    in Shopping

    Posted

    I have had two cars with built in systems that covered 15-20 European countries. The first was in my Ford & made by Becker. The second was fitted by Jeep but I believe was also a Becker. They both worked superbly in the UK and quite well in Europe. They were supplied with CD's for the mapping. Just before we moved here I bought an inexpensive one from Tchibo, the Coffee Shop to use in my wife's car. It was made by Medion and cost £169.00p. It was fantastic and worked better than the one in my car costing ten times more! I was so impressed that I bought their French map supplied on CD for £70.00p. I knew that you could buy cheaper copies but I didn't want problems cropping up. Unfortunately I was unable to load the French map onto the system. I was supplied a second unit, but had the same problem. I was given my money back, but was still impressed with how the unit worked in the UK. I believe it was probably just a software problem. Having got to France, I have seen advertised what I believe is the same unit for sale in a supermarket chain. I have yet to check it out, but if it's the same, it will be even better value.

    Hope this helps.

    Paul 

    Looking for a goat

    in Pets

    Posted

    Hi,

    There is a farm called le Chaudron Magique, close to Brugnac. It is run as a working farm as well as a tourist attraction.They sell products made from their goats, sheep, rabbits etc. ie wool, garments, yoghurt, sausage, pate etc. They might well sell you a goat. The owner speaks very good English. Unfortunately I do not have the telephone number here in the UK, but I'm sure that someone out there can help.

    Regards

    Paul Bradford

    Has anyone else heard of this??

    in French Education

    Posted

    Hi Sheila,

    Probably won't help much, but we registered our children just after Easter having visited the Marie and the schools (Monflanquin 47). Neither of the schools (our daughters are 7 & 5) required any letter, just confirmation their vaccinations were up to date. We have just had the TB one done at our local NHS School Clinic as this was a requirement.

    Regards

    Paul Bradford

     

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    Bathtub re-surfacing

    in House Renovations

    Posted

    Hi Nick,

    Some years ago my father used a DIY kit called Tubby to resurface his enamel bath. The finish was excellent and is still good today (at least ten years later). At the time it cost him about £40.00p. I couldn't find the enamel bath kit from Tubby, but here is a link to a site which sells bath re-enameling kits. http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/ . I have no affiliation to this company. Once you find the product it might be worth checking out ebay.

    At the same time I tried to find someone in the UK that would professionally re-enamel an old ball and claw foot bath that I had. I could not find anyone that would do it. I was quoted from £600-1000 minimum depending on the weight for shipping. What you have to bear in mind is that the old surface will need to be shotblasted off and the new surface, which is basically powdered glass put on and then put in an oven. If the enamel is just discoloured and not badly worn or chipped it could be worth trying a very fine abrasive polishing paste with one of those small polishing tools.

    Hope this is useful.

    Regards

    Paul

    4 x 4 LHD

    in Driving in France

    Posted

    Hi Kate,

    The following website might be of use to you. I have no affiliation to it. I saw their ad sometime ago in Living France or FPN. www.car-dealers.tv They sell or source new and used cars. My father-in-law had bought a new Hyundai Tuscon in the UK for around £18000. The same specification from them was around £5000 pounds less. They are English speaking. I recently used ebay to purchase a lhd French registered car. Just a cheap runaround for now, but miles cheaper than buying a similar secondhand car in France.

    Regards

    Paul

    Chickens n Quackers

    in Pets

    Posted

    Hi,

    Just come home from Monflanquin (47). Geese all out in the fields adjacent to the road on the way to Beauregarde. Lots of chickens seen out all over the area, even by the road side.

    Paul

    Driving too close and changes in weather. Please take care.

    in Driving in France

    Posted

    Hi,

    Just a quick reminder to those out there planning to drive through France this summer, that the wonderful French courtesy disappears once they get behind the wheel! They all have this tendency to cut in swiftly and very close following an overtaking manoeuvre. We've just come back from an Easter break. On the A20 a sudden, short but tremendously heavy hailstorm caught some drivers unawares. About nine vehicles involved with several written off.

    Regards to all. Drive to arrive.

    Paul

    What documents should be with the car?

    in Driving in France

    Posted

    Thank you for taking the time to reply.

    I am considering a purchase in the UK because from what I have seen so far is that owners and dealers in France value their cars unrealistically high. I know that we like to think our cars are worth a lot, but when you compare the price of a new car in France, the price of a used one seems ridiculous. Left hand drive cars in the UK now generally command a higher price than a few years ago. Down to all of us wishing to relocate I suppose! I just happen to have seen a French registered car for sale at what I feel is a reasonable price.  

    Many thanks for the assistance.

    Paul

     

    What documents should be with the car?

    in Driving in France

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I'm contemplating purchasing a French registered car from a dealer in the UK with the intention of registering it at our holiday (soon to be permanent!) home. Apart from the receipts for sale and purchase, registration document etc, can anyone tell me the equivalent numbers of the documents? For example the UK registration document is a V5C and the new style MOT is a VT20. Also, is there a service available in France similar to our HPI check?

    Many thanks

    Paul Bradford

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