Benjamin

[quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="Benjamin"]Try hoovering from the outside. [/quote]Will do.  The cleaner's here tomorrow![:D][/quote] Doesn't he live there all the time?  [:P]

Try hoovering from the outside. It's worked for me before.

[quote user="NormanH"]"I'm not normally a Guardian reader" There is more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.[:D] Surely this débâcle shows exactly what is wrong with privatisation? [/quote] Thank you Norman. A certain inner calmness came over me when I read your words. Is beatification next or do I have to die first?  [6]    

I don't think anyone takes out travel insurance hoping to claim but it's worth it for the peace of mind it brings.

I'm not normally a Guardian reader and don't know if the following is standard fare from them or a bit tongue in cheek but they reckon that this G4S debacle makes a compelling article against privatisation! http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/17/g4s-privatisation-racket-outsourcing-revulsion?newsfeed=true

Maybe, maybe not Frederick. They have already withdrawn their bids to provide security for the next football World Cup and the next Olympics so they clearly feel they cannot bounce straight back. If I was a  shareholder in G4S I would certainly make it a very personal crusade to se the back of this management team.

[quote user="Gardian"]I'm generalising here, but I have some (small) amount of sympathy for G4S. Trying to recruit 000's of personnel for what amounted to very short term contracts with no longer term job possibilities, can't have been easy. IMO they share the blame with the mandarins in Government who seriously thought that this was feasible.  However, someone in G4S and /or Govt should, months ago, have been asking the question "How many have we got", understanding that for certain you'd get an x% no-show rate. It turned out to be much worse than they expected. I'd like to have been a fly on the wall when Theresa May was told about this !!!![blink]  Blood on the floor.      [/quote] G4S (according to BBC/Channel 4) are the largest company in thee World, by far, providing these services. Sympathy, even in the smallest way, will not be given.

Also in't it probably the case that those unable to afford top up cover will be under the threshold for paying tax?

From an article I read in last Sunday's Times Bradley Wiggins is well known and liked by the French cycling public as he has ridden for three French teams. He speaks French and gives interviews to the French sports press whenever asked.

Now that John Brown has said it's OK  [6]   I'd like to go slightly off topic. A few pages back Idun made the following posting "As I have said before, we have to have a french S1(E121). We pay cotisations in France and get an S1 which we have give to Newcastle.  When the french were slow in issueing it, Newcastle kept calling us, asking where it was. So we have to pay to be in the NHS. So we pay, we pay Peter to pay Paul." Idun Are you saying you are paying for NHS treatments in the UK or are you saying that the rules in your Competent State (France) are such that, like their other citizens, you continue to pay cotisiations there?

Mmmmm...... Panorama is normally a BBC 1 programme and the 27 July is the Opening Ceremony.  [:D] Let's hope they switch it to BBC 2 and give us who are already bored to tears by the Olympics, something else to watch.

[quote user="EmilyA"]Thanks BaF; I knew they will take them, but wondered if there was anything greener, more useful around. I know in the UK there are companies who will take them to recycle in various ways.[/quote] That's exactly what they do at the dechetterie. Periodically a man with a van arrives and empties the container (a closed one) of all the electrical items and recycles as much as possible.

Thank you Pickles. There seems to be a general underlying idea that, somehow, pensioners wont be affected. Of course I could always shout Boo! at them which seems to make this coalition change tack,  [:D]

[quote user="Pickles"] It was already mentioned in this year's budget statement ... [/quote] Then I missed it! The only Budget text I have found is the following link so did they bury it in the small print somewhere? http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget2012_fair_efficient_tax.htm

[quote user="andyh4"]The same in the UK by incorporating NI into income tax - ergo no upper limit on level of NI collected.[/quote] Now that would be interesting. I wonder which Party would be brave enough to try explaing that move to the Pensioner vote.  [:@]

[quote user="Loiseau"]Excuse typing; i am on a train and it's lurching around a bit![/quote] At least you're not on the mobile shouting your bl**dy head off!     [:D]

Add "er" to my very English surname and you have a French verb, but it doesn't appear to be particularly known or used by French people.

I don't think you can ever know too much about your buyers. Our buyers, Robert and Lulu, were very open about their financing of the purchase to the extent that they 'phoned their Notaire from our house who confirmed the price they were selling their property for. They had bank statements to show where the rest of the funds were coming from. We then sat down with our agent and his sub-agent and thrashed out who was getting what from the sale. We enjoy going back to see them on our trips to France and know that we always have a parking space for the camping car when we need it. It was a hellishly hot day for the signing. They sold their house in the morning and bought ours in the afternoon using the same Notaire. A very civilised affair.

OK OK! I promise to stop winding the Scottish contingent up. It's not that you get a lot to cheer about sports wise. [:D] I'm honestly not bothered who wins..............so long as it's not Murray.  [6] Czech? Ivan Lendl, his newly found coach.

Carefully take measurements of your neck, chest, waist, inside leg together with your shoe size and 'phone them through to the local hire shop. Unless of course your name isn't Quasimodo.

[quote user="Rabbie"] It's people like you that made him say that. Just let me know next time England have a gentleman tennis player in the top 100.[/quote] Or a top flight football club that goes bust.   [;-)] Or just get your Czech book out.

I don't mind who wins so long as it's not Murray (remember what he said about England?). Come on Roger!!!!!!!!!   [6]

It's a Saturday morning or late afternoon job. You'll get the best cash price from your local digger man if you ask if he can "fit it in to suit himself".

[quote user="Loiseau"]I think what nectarine meant was that tontine covered only the house, whereas the "donation" covers house AND the other stuff. As far as i remember, with the donation, the survivor couldn't sell without the agreement of the children, and giving each of them their share. But it did mean that as long as the survivor wanted to stay living in it, the children could not turn him/her out. Angela[/quote] It's not worth splitting hairs but I posted because I read it the other way but again I remember it differently to you although I am getting older.  [:-))] Except in the short term Mrs Benjamin couldn't have coped in the house so the option to sell and purchase more appropriate property was very important to us. But as I say I am less clear on this point.  [:D]

[quote user="nectarine"]Only the house can be covered by tontine - the donation entre epoux covers money and other assets such as cars, jewellery, and gives you the maximum allowed under French law at that time and the complete use of it, to sell, dispose or whatever. So it is additional to the tontine.[/quote] We were most certainly told in 2005/6 when signing the "donation entre epoux" that property was included. That was the whole point of doing it and the Notaire was well aware of this fact. We do not have children but I have a son. Whilst I would never expect a problem from him if I pre-deceased Mrs Benjamin, it seemed prudent to cover that eventuality.