londoneye

sorry loiseau, if you read this, forgot to ask also, how far apart (if you can recall) did you plant your sprigs, because i have read both 1.5 metres and 1 metre as planting distance on two different garden sites?

thats interesting because this is the hedge i have decided to plant - small godets about 8 cm high (i am being a bit cheap but i have a large area to cover).    Have you tried taking any cuttings from your hedge yet, and if so has it worked ok, because i dont have a huge garden budget (OH thinks you can plant out and landscape an acre for about a fiver !) and wanted something which i could take cuttings from myself and grow in other areas in due course.

thanks, i will wait then; however by then i will probably have chickened out and keep it in the pot!

yes, you should get a report in writing from the fosse inspector.   in our case the report went to the installer and we had to chase him down for a copy.    strangely i am led to understand that whilst you absolutely need a certificate, in reality if you dont have one it doesnt much matter.   however, i would personally contact your installer at the appropriate time and request the certificate (i am sorry i dont know exactly what it is called but if you really want to know i will have a look through the paper mountain (er i mean filing system!) in the corner of the room and try to find it), because if you decide to move on and sell, it is something the buyer would almost certainly like to see.

thanks cassis (sorry, and susie of course), but actually i want it to get HUGE ! so whilst Susie's idea is a good one, i would like my gorgeous tree to grow to its full size. i think i will try it out of a pot, but in shade as you say; i do normally position pot so it is only in the sun early morning, so must have been aware of this proviso at some point.  Dont like the look of the fibreglass pots myself, but they serve a function. thanks again, if it really can survive out of pot then i would like to try it to see how big it gets, as it has grown so much since i bought it.   must stop now, because i am prone to getting a little obsessive about this particular plant  (as if no-one had already noticed !)

my neighbour took photos and said his fosse passed inspection.   However, it is possible i guess that it varies from one inspector to another as to what they will accept.   Our inspector of fosses' (if thats what they are called !) is said to be of the reasonable variety; he was certainly good with us.  I am sure someone will be able to give you a more definitive response, but failing that your option is to check with your local fosse inspector (via Mairie).

after a short ski trip around the back (!!!) the label, which is luckily still on, although too mushed up to read much, says its a dissectum garnet.    its very beautiful and of all the maples i have had, has the most perfect shape, i would love to have it outside as a tree, but dont want to kill it !

i will post it when i eventually find out.

hi I think that its very much down to individual to be honest.   We have tried several methods; firstly french evening classes in uk.   Kind of enjoyed this method of learning, nice to have company to learn with, and also met some nice people.  the downside was that once winter got into full swing i just couldnt face going out after a hard day's work, but did got to classes for about 1.5 years before giving up.    Then moved on to buying a teach yourself french book, but didnt get on too well with that.    Finally moved onto Michael Thomas CDs about 6 months before coming over, which we are still using, and which I find a really good method. Now that we are here, we should of course be going to local language classes, but i confess we don't, but nonethless my French has improved, and I force myself to check dictionary every time i come across a word i don't understand, and even carry one with me to (probably very annoyingly !) press upon local tradesmen if they use a word i dont understand so that i can note it for future use. We are similar age to yourselves, and other half has struggled terribly as he has not done any studying since school, whereas i have been an intermittent eternal student so find it easier (plus I have lived abroad before), so I think its impossible to say how difficult/easy each individual will find it.    We have been here 8 months now and OH still only musters up about 5 words in french, although he understands a lot and could say more.     Beware of letting the one of a couple who speaks the better french do all of it, a trap we have fallen into, because it has really inhibited his progress.

thanks all; the leroy merlin is looking good at the moment - about half the price of our local builders merchant, where we already have a discount and still pay over 12 euros for a sheet of 13mm 280 x 120 - outrageous , especially when we will need around 100 sheets. am waiting for response from leroy merlin on delivery charges, as nearest store is a fair distance away.    it seems you cant order it on line from them but can go into store and order and then get delivered...

hi all i have a japanese maple in a pot that i have lovingly lugged from place to place now for about 6 years.    It is now in just about the largest pot i could reasonably find in uk, and is probably about 1.25 metres high.      It requires either re-potting (again) or planting out.     I am in region 87, yesterday minus 7 degrees during day, as an indication (although hopefully not a common scenario; if so i shall shortly be looking at houses in bahamas (dream on)). Has anyone had experience of planting trees of this type, and these type of weather conditions, in the earth, and if so with what level of success please? I love my japanese maple with a passion (and would probably have a tough decision over saving it or OH in emergency ! ), so am agonising about the keep in pot or plant out scenario.

thanks i will have a look.    couldnt go out to buy it if wanted to at moment, as we are snowed in, cant move car, freezing to death, and near starvation !! i exaggerate a little, but thanks for this.

hi we are close to st yrieix, and used a french architect, but he doesnt speak any english.   dont know either if he does inspections, but happy to dig out his details if you are interested? whereabouts exactly, out of interest, as we could end up neighbours (almost !)

does anyone please know where you can buy large quantities of plasterboard on line, with delivery, at a reasonable price ? our local builders merchant is very expensive when it comes to plasterboard, and our nearest brico depot is a fair distance and it would probably take several trips with one of their camions to get the required amount.     any information would be really great.    

just for information, we have a rowan and last summer i rather optimistically (and with my usual lack of all gardening skill and knowledge !) pulled out three off shoots coming from ground and planted them in various places.      all three are growing really well, so if anyone has a rowan which they think might be on the way out they could always try propogating it before it has to be felled.     of course i might be eating my words next spring if all three offspring are dead, but they all look fine to me (well except the one that the puppy bit the top off)

hi everyone i am posting this on behalf of a french neighbour.     some months ago my neighbour took away a dog from another neighbour (with consent).   the situation was briefly as follows, before he came to live here, in his previous small town a dog which was starving kept coming to his house and raiding the bins.    he fed the dog a few times and made some enquires and found the owner.   it transpired that the woman claimed not to have sufficient money to feed the dog.    as my neighbour has many cats he felt he could not take the dog, but dropped off dog food every week to the womans house for several months.   then at end of last summer another neighbour came to see him and told him that the woman had gone on holiday for a couple of weeks and left the dog locked in the garage to starve.     my neighbour went around to the house, and eventually made the decision to break into the garage and take the dog out.       he left a note for the woman saying what he had done etc (and she knew who he was anyway of course from the dog food).     anyway the dog which i saw for the first time the next day was in a pitiful state, thin and almost hairless, covered in scratches and bites.   he was so badly infested with fleas that he had almost eaten himself alive trying to get rid of the irritation.      my neighbour sorted out the flea situation etc, and he is now a lovely little dog, and we often take him for a walk with our own dog, whom he absolutely adores.     anyway, on her return from holiday the woman did go to see my neighbour and said she was sorry but she could not have the dog anymore and would he take it.    he agreed but has always said that if, and when he finds a good master (as he puts it !) for the dog, he would be happier to let it go to  a home where the people are at home all day and have land for the dog to run.    his situation has now changed somewhat as he is getting divorced and because of his work spends some time away from home.     we will of course do what we can in regards to caring for the dog when neighbour has to be away, but i think he is now seriously looking for someone to take the dog.     the situation is not by any means desperate, as he has no intention of abandoning the dog or taking it to a pound, but he really would like to find a nice loving home for him. anyway sorry to ramble so much, but i thought it might be worth posting here just to see if anyon is interested.     a few details about dog.   i believe him to be a springer spaniel and he is around 5 to 6 years old.    when he was first taken away from the garage he had a habit of running away, but now he doesnt do that anymore.   he has a tendency to chase cats but does not hurt them (my neighbour has many cats and apparently he tolerates them).     he adores going on walks with us and our dog, and seems to get on really well with all other dogs.    when we walk him he is so good (better than ours in truth !) and if we call him he immediately trots back.    he is now a very affectionate dog and if we wanted another dog ourselves we would have no hesitation in taking him.      he is in region 87.      if anyone is interested please let me know.   thank you for reading this, as i say situation is not desperate but it would be nice to see such a lovely dog finally go to a loving permanent home. oh one more thing as to breed i am not entirely sure but he is one of those little hunting dogs that everyone has in france - some kind of a spaniel.

ive often thought that if you could find a way to harness them into little teams, and lead them up and down a field, you could do away with rotivators etc etc, and make a fortune out of them!!! (yes ok sometimes i get bored digging and my mind wanders).    I often go around collecting the earth they dig up to put in my flower pots because its so fine.    having said that i havent started work on the (laughingly referred to ) 'lawn' yet, and suspect i will turn into an intolerant psycopath (spelling ?) once i have finished regrassing etc and they are constantly messing it up !

dont disagree ref robbie williams personality - thus my thinking that a statue would be even more perfect than the real thing cos it wouldn't open its mouth and spoil everything! you have some interesting ideas - i now feel conservative in the extreme with my thought of the odd palm tree blowing in the breeze !   you must send me some piccies when you get going - ive always loved copying (even as a school-girl !)

in 87 haute vienne - was thinking of perhaps slightly more - err - conventional landscaping that naked statues !!!!  unless anyone knows where i can get hold of life-size robbie williams perhaps (statue that is !).     seriously though, statues had not crossed my mind at all, but its certainly something i should think of (in a non-pervy way !)

hi wasnt sure whether to put this under pools or gardening but  thought i would try here. i am having a swimming pool in march or so this year, and no amount of staring aimlessly at the area where it will eventually evolve is inspiring me on the gardening front.      tried internet but predictably just end up with hundreds of sites wanting to landscape my pool area for me (cant afford that, and no fun anyway letting someone else do it). just wondered if anyone else had had a similar dilemma and found any helpful websites or inspirational pictures when they went through the process ?  

i can confirm this - i contacted ms heaphy when i had to obtain a certificate some months ago and it arrived  within around 4 days, at no cost - fantastic service on the part of peugeot (and no i dont work for them or have anything to do with them whatsoever).

not quite the same, but my dog appears to recognise different languages very well - if i speak frrench to her she runs outside and looks over neighbours, even if i deliberately use words that i dont think my neighbours use to her (they all have a chat with her on the way past !).    other day we had some il divo on stereo and she went ballistic, barking at it and cocking her head from side to side, something she has never done before with stereo.   i can only assume that it was because it was italian rather than english or french ?    anyone else have pets who react to different languages as well as tv pictures.    

thanks all - i guess its the wiggle it around a little option then ...

hi after yet another storm we have totally lost signal - does anyone else have this problem in 87 (close to st yrieix la perche)? have tried unplugging skybox which worked last time, but this time no joy - have no signal strength or quality and other box says 'unlocked' not sure what that means.     any suggestions (within reason !) gratefully accepted. thanks

I am not an expert at all, but i do believe that we all over-vaccinate our animals (myself included).     I did however (previous life as scientist as well as HR manager (thats if the man who hates HR managers is reading !), do research on feline flu for a while, so have done some reading on animal antibody reactions.    Its is quite likely that your cats will anyway retain suffient antibodies from their last innoculations for considerably longer than the one year period recommended.    Thus, if you choose not to give them boosters at their stage of life, then you will probably not have an issue, in the circumstances you describe.   If my cat did not go outdoors, i would probably only vaccinate him every 2 or three years to be honest.   But, again i have to say i am not an expert, so this is a personal view rather than an expert one.