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Penny29

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Everything posted by Penny29

  1. Hi Rob. I'm afraid I've only negative things to say about the nig companies - they promise much in their pre-sales banter but the service eventually delivered usually falls far short. In my own personal experience the "insurance" wasn't worth the paper it was written on, our instructions were ignored, goods were damaged and the "staff" consisted (at the French end) of one driver and one decrepid old man. Were we to do it again we would DIY all our boxes by flying into France, hiring a van from French Hertz and drive it back to the UK to collect our stuff. For the large items of furniture we would simply hire a "one man and a van" from small adds in French Property News/Living France/The News & accept that we would have to do all our own packing/help with loading/unloading etc. We used a large removal company, paid a lot and still ended up assisting with loading/unloading etc, so it isn't a case of getting what you pay for. There are many many threads on the subject if you do a general search under "removal companies", "removals" etc - from memory some people have highly recommended firms from the UK.        
  2. You can donate online to the Disasters Emergency Committee (which is the umbrella organisation which coordinates all the various charities including Oxfam, Red Cross etc). The website is: http://www.dec.org.uk/index.htm The UK have now given approx £1 for every man, woman and child in the country - which is a fantastic response and makes you start re-believing in the innate good nature of human beings (with the exception of the above poster!!!!  lol). I'd rather give money and hope that it somehow helps someone in desperate need than stand idly by doing nothing. How about you, Outcast? Ever helped (ro thought of) anyone but yourself in your whole damned life? Penny    
  3. HI, Welcome to France. The best place to pick up secondhand goods is in the Trocs, there is a large one in Perigueux (Troc De L'Isle) but the best bargains are normally to be had in the smaller trocs. As it happens we are about to take our gas cooker to the Troc within the next month as we have just had an integrated hob and oven put in our new kitchen. You may be interested in coming and having a look - we only live about 30 minutes away from you. The cooker is 12 months old, it is a black, larger-oven, range - style model, with a tinted black cover which pulls down over the hob part, brass effect knobs etc, it can run from either gaz cannisters, cubes or town gas. It is in perfect condition apart from being just a little dusty from being stored in our barn. I still have all the orginal receipts and handbooks. PM me if interested, if not try the trocs or the sales (which start Jan 12th) Penny        
  4. Penny29

    Bereavement

    Chalkie, So very sorry to hear of your loss. Can endorse what Mrs O said above - give Newcastle a ring, I am fairly sure that, as a widow, you will be entitled to the E121. Penny  
  5. Thanks Bob, I'll pass on your reply Penny    
  6. Hi,   I have a mad-on-fishing friend here in the Dordogne and he has asked me to find out what the signs posted around various lakes mean e.g Category 1,2,3. Can anyone enlighten me please? Thanks   Penny  
  7. Hi Maureen, Sorry, I don't have any experience of houses with termites - our house came with a clean bill of health but we have just paid out for every room in the house from grenier to cave to be re-treated again just to make sure. Not cheap! Personally, I wouldn't have bought our house if it had come with all the problems you have mentioned about yours - one out of three (lead, asbestos and termites) might have been manageable but all three!! This is only my own opinion but it sounds as if the owners haven't taken care of your house in a long time so who knows what other problems are lurking under the surface - have you checked the condition of the roof ?(very expensive job if it all needs replacing), are the electrics pre-war (also expensive to replace), damp rot? dry rot? woodworm? If you are set on the house then I think you should invest in paying for a full structural survey. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Penny        
  8. Hi,   Also in Dordogne here. Our stone fireplace, dating back to 1662, had been covered with awful cream gloss and wood panelling. We bought in a fireplace historian who advised sandblasting. The mess was unbelievable but the result well worth it!   Penny
  9. Ditto here, This time the supermarket was an L - bought a dishwasher, paid for delivery, when we unpackaged the machine it's entire front panel was completely smashed in. After about 5 weeks they finally collected it & said they would contact us about a new one. After weeks and weeks of phone calls we visited the store & pinned a small man down in the corner. Turned out that the delay was because they were repairing the smashed up model and apparently I was being totaly unreasonable in expecting a brand new replacement model! After making a big fuss we were finally given our money back. This is by no means a French thing - I have had the most appalling service from many, many large chains in the UK - I agree, I think it is a "huge chain store" disease - these places are usually understaffed and the employees are overworked and underpaid - no wonder they don't care. Also the chains are so huge that the odd disgruntled customer makes no real difference to the stream of punters coming in the door.        
  10. Everything Ian says is very sensible and is good advice. Where do your parent's live in the UK? Which UK city will they be flying back to for visits to family and friends? Which French airport flies direct to that UK city? This may help them narrow down the possibilities. What climate suits them best - some parts of France are not much warmer than the UK even in the summer, some areas get very harsh winters coupled with very hot summers, some parts have above average rainfall. I shouldn't imagine that they will have any trouble renting in any part of France & maybe a series of short rentals in different areas will help them make up their minds. As one reply said - you will get nothing but unbiased advice from us guys (!!) as we all love our particular corner of France. Here in the Dordogne, of course, we have it all - friendly people, an ex-pat community if you want it, wide availability of French lessons, three airports within a few hours driving distance, short harsh winters, long dry summers (except for this year!), lots of rural villages and hamlets, a good choice of large towns within an hour or so's drive, scenery to die for etc. But prices are not cheap, over the border in the Haute Vienne or the Correze property prices are significantly lower. The drawbacks of our area are that it rains a lot (the price we pay for all the green fields and fertile forests), it is a long drive to the sea (I miss that soooo much) and it is an 8 hour long and boring drive to Calais. My friend's website has some info about the area and rentals in the locality - check out http://www.dordogne-on-line.info Penny  
  11. Hi, A thin, desperately hungry, incredibly afectionate and obviously domesticated cat wandered onto our land this morning. We've asked around the locality but he doesn't belong to anyone in the village. This is a long shot but wondered if any reader of this Forum had lost a non-neutered black and white cat (my guess is he is about 8 months old). He is predominantly black but with long white socks on all 4 legs, a white beard & a white patch on one side of his nose and mouth. I can't check for microchips with the local SPA because of the destruction policy here in 24. He doesn't have a tattoo. If no-one claims him I guess he will stay here with the rest of the menagerie! Penny    
  12. Hi,   You have nothing to lose so try the following tactic: Write to DVLA, tell them you do not accept that all correspondence has to go through the courts now because your issue is with them and their apparent inability to deal properly with a simple query sent to them X months/years ago. Then refer them to the fact that they were made well aware of your circumstances on X date and that, had they replied with the correct guidance, your present circumstances would not have arisen. Say, also that the reason the debt is so large is because they have continued to write to you at a UK address which has not applied since X date (as you informed them on X date). State that if they are unable to resolve the matter you want a full copy of their Customer Complaints procedure so that you can take the matter further and, if necessary, you will approach your MP. Then copy your letter to the court asking for the case to be suspended until DVLA deal with the issues arising from the letter. Personally, I don't hold out much hope for you as ignorance is no defence in law, but then again I used to work for H.M Civil Servant and you would be surprised how many debts are written off when someone complains vigorously! Good luck. Penny        
  13. Decoceram in Perigueux (near Auchan), also in same vicinity there is an old fashioned bathroom shop (can't remember the name) on one of the approach roads which has some gorgeous tiles and a wide price range. La Peyre also stock a reasonable range.  
  14. Depending on where you are you may not need to go to Perigueux - here in the North Dordogne the CPAM representative comes to one of the small towns one day per week and deals with all applications from there.
  15. sausages bacon Christmas pudding M & S chestnut stuffing choc hobnobs Heinz salad cream Cheddar cheese books and magazines chews and pigs ears for the dogs (so expensive in France) British paint (lots and lots and lots)
  16. Thanks both of you for the advice. We were hoping to get the work done within the next few weeks before the new floor goes down but, after reading Tresco's warnings, we have decided that this will have to be a long-term project instead (because, after the white base coats have been applied we will need to finish the entire ceiling in two different shades of cream) -  if we are going to be sensible then this job will take us the best part of  4 months! Oh joy!!! But the warning has been gratefully heeded.
  17. Cos my beautiful daughter has just arrived from the UK for a long, long stay with us.
  18. Hi, It's a long story but basically we have converted three smaller rooms into one large sejour (50m sq) & have been left with a huge ceiling problem. The ceiling is chestnut planks interspersed with oak beams. Sadly, the previous owners painted the ceilings in two of the previous rooms in various shades of gloss paint & this has proved impossible to move (we even tried industrial sandblasting) so we are left with a room with three different shades of ceiling - grey, cream and natural wood & we have no option left but to paint the whole into a uniform colour. We decided to give the whole lot a good coating of white emulsion paint (bought from the UK) first - trouble is the paint simply soaks into the wood and at this rate the ceiling will take us months and months to complete. Has anyone had a similar experience? Any advice on a product/products to use prior to painting? Any suggestions gratefully received!      
  19. Another tip I meant to add is for you to get up 1/2 hour earlier on the morning of your departure and drive round the block as many times you need to until they both have a good dump (and they will!). You can then get them nice and clean again for the journey proper. Believe me the extra 1/2 hour is far, far better than the smell of cat pooh invading your nostrils just as you've got on the motorway! On the first journey we made we did actually take a small cat litter tray with us (covered in cling film to avoid spillages),  we stopped at a Motorway Services and let the cats out of the carriers to see if they wanted to use it - big mistake - they rushed around the car exploring, didn't want to go back in their carriers and I was on edge the whole time in case they somehow escaped (oh, and of course they didn't use the litter). Personally, I think this caused all of us a lot of stress and I really wouldn't recommend it at all.
  20. Penny29

    Dog Agility

    Try out the following links: http://chienplus.com/repacceuil.html http://www.chez.com/cnea/favorite.htm      
  21. I stayed up all night watching events as they failed to unfold (suffering from it now) & have just seen that Kerry has conceded defeat (presumably rather than put the US through another Florida 2000). I can't help feeling that there is something fundementally wrong with an electoral system which routinely deals out inconclusive results, involves people queuing at the Ballot Box for hours and hours, and (by default) concentrates real power in such a small number of key states.  I'm not convinced that, even had Kerry won, that things would have been that much different (given the huge Republican majority in the HOR), but I do worry about that Muppet Bush being given another 4 years in office because I am just not convinced  that the man actually has a brain let alone intelligence, integrity and good judgement! The French friends I have spoken to today are grieved by the result and they feel that the repercussions of this elections will haunt the world for many, many years to come. I fear they are right.  
  22. Hi, In total we have bought 4 cats over to France (two separate trips) soI can only tell you what worked for us. We bought the 2 younger ones over unsedated, but chose to use tranquilisers for the two older ones, on the vets advice. I would never do this again - the drugs (in my opinion) did not make the cats more relaxed, but simply spaced them out and made them even more confused. Also, the effects lasted some 24 hours and turned them from peace-loving moggies into wild beasts who wanted to fight all our other animals when we finally arrived home in France. We did starve all our animals for 12 hours preceding the trip. I felt mean doing this and did offer food part-way through the journey but they really weren't interested and didn't start eating properly until they were all safely ensconced in their new home. Water, obviously, is essential (although they drank very little) but I would forget food if I were you - cats can last a good while without it and it will cut down on the likelihood of them being sick or getting distressed 'cos they want a good dump!!! We had cat carriers which had little water bowls (like budgie feeders) that attached to the inside of the wire doors - you could get something similar by visiting your local pet store and buying a couple of hamster water dispensers and bowls, then you can just lean over your front seats from time to time and give the plastic botltes a squeeze - enough to provide them with water but not so much that the liquid gets spilt all over the bedding. Also at the pet store we bought Puppy Training Pads (like square disposable nappies), these hold any liquid and stop it from seeping into the bedding beneath. Each time the cats relieved themselves (not often) we just pulled the top "nappy" off leaving a nice clean, dry one underneath. By building these in layers we also ensured they had a nice comfy bed. I found the MORE they could move around the unhappier they were - in fact we ended up putting the first two cats in together part-way through the journey and they were much happier when they were squeezed in together - guess they felt the movement of the car less of a threat. After bundles of meowing and screaming for the first hour or so the un-tranquilised cats calmed down and slept for most of the journey - they didn't like it but seemed resigned and quite stoical! The tranquilised ones howled for most of the journey (Essex to the Dordogne) & it was a less pleasant experience. Hope this helps              
  23. Hi, I really feel for you as we were in the same position about 18 months ago (fortunately, we didn't have to go back to the UK in the end) and I had to research all the intricacies of taking our animals back to the UK (ours also came on a one way trip & then we acquired more - we were talking 3 dogs and 2 cats at the time). Obviously the regulations may have changed in the interim but here are some sites that I used then, which preumably have been updated since. If you want more info please send a message to my inbox and I'll let you have my phone number.   http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/factsheet/petseurope.pdf   http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/quarantine/procedures/support-info/trans.shtml   http://www.dfkennels.btinternet.co.uk/contact.htm        
  24. Penny29

    Catteries

    Hi, Here are some links for you but you will need your French dictionary by your side!   Basically you will need: 1. To qualify for a Cert De Capacite 2. Have permission of your Maire 3. For less than 9 cats your animal housing MUST be at least 50 metres from your nearest neighbours house. 4. For more than 9 cats the kennels must be at least 100 m from your nearest neighbours house. 5. There is another organisation (can't remember the name of it) who also have to approve your scheme and who have the authority to veto the agreement of the Maire. 6. Plus all the normal registering for business (Chmabers of Commerce,tax office etc) - all covered in the Earning a Living forum.     http://perso.club-internet.fr/denac/Denac/CertificatCapacite-01.htm   http://www.cyno.org   http://www.sfcyno.org/faq-sfc-6-La.html+loi+les+chiens+et+vous#62
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