LaBezarderie

Same here. By the time I've become aware of a bird I don't know the name of, ambled indooors, forgotten what I'm looking for, remembered, found the bird book, located the binoculars and ambled back out again, the bloody thing is always long gone.

I do it too and yes, it is an age thing.  I've had a poor French man protesting "mais, c'est mon chariot"  as I gaily continued to throw stuff in it.

Is that really what the police are for?  I would have expected the tax authorities to instigate an investigation if they suspected tax avoidance.

After the war my grandparents moved from London to a smallholding in Berkshire with no electricity and no sanitation.  Every morning my grandfather emptied the bucket in the loo, dug a trench and buried it and that was in the veg garden.  It might be a bit basic by todays' standards but then it was normal practice.

It's distressing news and I don't think the implications have sunk in yet.  There is no doubt that the writing has been on the wall for a long time.  I travel from Cherbourg to Portsmouth every month and the boat has never been full for the last two years.  At the moment Brittany Ferries to Poole or Portsmouth looks the best bet and I bet their phone is ringing off the wall with enquiries about their Holiday Home owners scheme. Worryingly there are no references to the scheme on their website at the moment and there used to be.  Does anyone know if you can still join it and how much it costs? If I can't get reasonable prices for the car it will be foot passenger by ferry and train for me next year.  

Mikey, thanks for that info.  We did look at importing from the UK but in the end have decided to buy second hand from local dealer for 2,500 euros.  It will come with a carte grise and my husband has seen it stripped down, he's an HGV mechanic.  He's quite happy with the deal.  Your insurance sounds very reasonable, did you do it through your house insurers or a different company?