londoneye
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Posts posted by londoneye
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honestly i have searched site for names of products suitable for cleaning shower/sink etc which are fosse friendly. i have also asked at my local supermarket but was advised by employee that they dont do such products, only those suitable for cleaning the toilet.
i thought of all the people who are probably most fanatical about their fosses it would be you guys ! does anyone have a brand name i can look for in another supermarket please ?
also, out of interest, do you supply the cleaning products in your gites or do you trust your guests to use the correct product ?
thanks for any responses - i have posted something similar on general but cant find it now, so apologies (again!) if anyone has read something similar elsewhere - bathroom is looking a little grubby now (yuk!)
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WASP STINGS
in Pets
I do understand what you are saying, and certainly dont disagree - normally i am quite a balanced person (I think !) but i do sometimes have a tendency to lose it where my animals are concerned and over-react - eg cat with paw cut off to vet's (couldnt bear to watch that pathetic limping!) - of course when we got to vet's cat leapt out of basket and made dive for window - vet thought i was demented. (again!) - no sign of limping whatsover..
currently i would be more than happy with 4 times a year ! perhaps its teething problems, cat in a new environment, puppy - well being a puppy !
thanks
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thanks - are you really moving in less than 10 days - how do you have the time to answer these -i am sure i wouldnt have done before our move - seems an age away now, although only 3 months or so !
good luck with your move anyway - hope it all goes really well for you - which region are you coming to ?
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The last two postings are quite correct; i had gall bladder disease for many many years but never really knew i had it, all i knew was that i was sick as the proverbial dog every time i went on holiday, reason being that generally i eat a very very low fat diet (not for any reason, i'm one of those naturally skinny ones i am afraid) and it was only on holidays when things went awry because i was eating very differently than at home. finally diagnosed in middle of night in greece - wanted to take me in for emergency surgery but the morphine was good enough for me ! did have GB removed about a week after return from hols privately as insured through work (in those days!). however, my doctor was willing to arrange an immediate hospital scan appointment for next day, even on nhs, and he never mentioned any kind of lengthy waiting list, so perhaps its the severity of the situation which defines the immediacy of the operation. if it needs doing then there is no point in waiting - i can assure you in a full blown attack, considerable pain doesnt begin to describe it ! It took two morphine and one methadine shot to stop the pain for me! Perhaps your OH is playing down the pain he/she is in. otherwise, reasonably easily controllable by changing eating and drinking (alcohol doesn't help either as previous posting said). and as per another posting, because i was undiagnosed for so long, after op i felt better than i had felt for absolutely years - now wouldnt that be a good way to start a new life in france, feeling like that rather than like s***good luck
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Could anyone please help me with some information on crane hire - rough cost to be expected per day -i am researching on internet too of course, but any personal experiences would be useful. Apart from cost, are there any other particular factors i should be taking into consideration when doing research please?
the crane is for removing a-frames from a roof.
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please does anyway go to a doctor in st yrieix who speaks some english - need to register with doctor and of course it would be simpler if we had one that spoke some english ?
thanks
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we have a fosse and used to have a soakaway also. due to problems with soakaway and as our fosse is tout eaux (not sure of spelling) we have diverted our bathroom waste to our fosse now. no problem with toilet cleaner, no problem with toilet paper - used to all that. however when we went to supermarket to look for general cleaning products i couldnt find anything at all which was suitable for fosse. when i asked a supermarket employee she looked at me as if i were demented - no she said, we dont have anything in cleaning range which is suitable for cleaning showers and sinks etc, only for toilets. anyway since then i have been using a bucket of water with small amount of cif and washing everything with bucket of water then tipping bucket outside. i can do without it to be honest and i have to say my bathroom is looking a little unloved currently. i have searched site honestly but if anyone knows a product name and a chain of supermarkets which sellit i would be very grateful. currently i go to intermarche by the way.
thanks
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WASP STINGS
in Pets
sorry not strictly french i suppose, except lots of them in france (does that qualify?)
my puppy recently found a ground wasp's nest and stuffed her nose down it - the inevitable occurred -no idea how many stings but by time i had finished typing in'wasp sting' on internet for guidance i turned around and lower jaw size of a balloon and stuff running down her nose. naturally we heaved her in the car and drove like maniacs to vet who saw us immediately and gave two injections (the stings were inside her mouth), one anti-histamine and one anti-biotic. 27 euros later we left vets, puppy with non swollen face and yet another 'vet friend' to add to her two others (dont ask!).Anyway, i thought that would be the end of it, assuming she will learn a lesson that wasps are not to be tampered with (I should point out that we had no idea the nest was there otherwise of course we would have dealt with it/kept her away). Sadly she has not learned her lesson and she now has what can only be a personal vendetta against anything flying, particularly wasps. so far she has escaped another sting but i cant run round all summer shouting 'no - dont touch the wasp/bee/fill in the blank' like i have been doing.
so, question, call me really heartless but i can see never ending 27 euro visits to the vets if she carries on like this. does anyone know if they really need to go to vets or if i over-reacted? or, is it likely that she will have less of a reaction either second time around, or as she gets older. sorry i know it sounds really mean but we have a cat as well and so far we have now been to vets around 6 times in last 6 weeks with oneor other of them - i think i must be over-reacting about some things - they love me down the vets mind !
any thoughts/past experiences anyone ?
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Just a quick update and to say thanks again to everyone who was kind enough to respond.
Wouldnt say puppy and cat are best of friends now (although puppy would like to be i think, and when she hears the cats bell she starts wagging her tail and looking around!), but my lovely cat is back with me so to speak, chatting away to me again (no idea what he says tho) and occasionally when they are both indoors the cat will go up to the puppy and rub his nose against her nose. other times, especially outside where he probably feels more vulnerable, he will hiss at the dog !
have to say i found it all quite traumatic and wouldnt want to do it again - thanks all for taking the time to give me your views/experiences - it helped !
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sorry if i have wasted time of anyone who has read this - when i say stove i mean cooker ! and we have now managed to remove flue through brute force/ignorance.
when we do eventually get new flue fitted, next problem is working out how to use it, so i would still love to hear from anyone who has one - its brown and cream at front (quite an ugly thing actually) - looks 1950's ish in style.
thanks
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thats the one. thank you so much.
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its a long shot but does anyone have one of these? looks quite old but not ancient - we need to put in new flue but although stove is pretty much in bits around kithcen at moment we cannot find how to take out old flue? don't suppose anyone can help but if anyone has one and would like to describe it, and has changed flue, perhaps i can establish if same model. can't find a model number on it?
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hi
just had my new puppy micro-chipped etc, and have received through post above. there seems to be one part which requires despatch to ministere de l'agriculture but i am not clear on whether i send this now, or whether this is intended to be sent only in event of new owner or address. could anyone please clarify for me?
many thanks
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part of both Ron! i think i am trying to say that a nice attitude is going to benefit you in any country, and to get frustrated by what seems officious probably will work against you.
Was not aware of requirement to have carte grise with you for such issues as changing tyres, not been my experience in uk, but i will learn from it!
gosh dont we all get up early in france!
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This is a observation more than anything! perhaps it more rightly belongs in french culture but i wondered if anyone else has had similar experiences. C'est obligatoire must surely be the most popular saying with french officialdom! We recently went to register for CPAM. Other half doesnt have sufficient contributions. all was going quite well with very stern lady at CPAM until second visit when she asked for OH's bank RIB - he doenst have one yet i explained. VERY stern look - c'est obligatoire. Gosh I said sycophantically (spelling!), well thats our fault, if thats how it is, i completely understand, giving my most charming smile. Slowly the hint of a smile crept over her face. What can he do now in your opinion I tried again with a smile. 2 second pause - no problem she said ! and carried on with paperwork - all complete within 5 minutes.Few days later, new tyres required on car - go to nearest tyre place, have tyres fitted, nice lady at desk asks for log book of all things. I looked at her in amazement - to have tyres changed! C'est obligatoire en france she confidently announced. Same routine, gosh, so sorry my fault, how stupid am I - just don't happen to have it with me... 2 seconds later, nice smile from lady behind counter, not to worry she said happily, whatever you have with you (!!!) what does that mean - dragged out insurance documents, and was told, that would be sufficient.Sometimes they are not as bureacratic as they look !
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We moved three months ago, and i brought with me multiple photocopies of various documents; normal things passport, birth certificate, driving licence. Its amazing how many of them i handed over to various places in first few weeks. Of couse photo-copying is quite easily available here but can you find o ne open when you need todo that essential copy?Not sure if you have phone installed in france yet; if not arm yourself with a copy of the phone number (freephone) from the english speaking france telecom site; if you are all set up then dont bother, but if not it will take you some time to get on line, so you wont have access to the information you want. Similarly if not all set up make one of your first purchases the largest phone-card they do; you can expect to spend some time at side of road in phone box, scratching your head in a demented way at the very fast speaking options as to which number to press for which service. If you dont understand options press any old number, thats what i do - person that answers normally takes pity on your efforts at french and puts you through to correct number.finally; very large bottle of alcohol for arrival ; once pets are all fed, forget allthe unpacking (unless you have to put bed up of ocurse!) and have a drink - everything else can wait til next day!!!
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thanks both !looks like brico depot it is !
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heh heh are you the only one who reads my trivial questions!i can think of many ways of disposing of them - thats once i have ripped the baby mouse out of cats mouth (currently running around with) and my jumper out of puppy's mouth (ditto).perhaps i will just buy lettuces in future, after all they are not very expensive, or wait for neighbour to take pity on me again (I think she saw my veggie patch and couldnt believe the sad state of it!). Is it only lettuces they are partial to, if so i am going to give up - if its everything else as well then its war!
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Cassis
We need:
118 x 114
78 x 98
55 x 78
cheapest options !
if you wouldnt mind ! Also, we have a lovely peugeout (spelt something like that!) 106 - she is my baby but sadly not up to carrying large items - although i have been surprised at what we have managed to stuff/tie/balance in the back since we have been here! Do they deliver or do van rental do you know at all?
sorry for all the questions.
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my neighbour handed me the most magnificent example of a lettuce a couple of days ago, large, colourful, intact !!
Thinking to return the favour i went skipping down to the vegetable patch, to collect a couple of little gem lettuces, thinking she might not be growing those herself .... only to find that they are well shredded is the only way i can describe them. After spending the day mumbling to OH under breath about my show-off neighbour (who is actually a very kind french lady!) I calmed down and inspected my miserable efforts only to find what seems to be an ear-wig infestation - what can i get please to get rid of the little b*****s?
sorry to post so many things.
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thanks cassis i can compare now as castorama site is the ultimate in sophistication in french web sites - it even has (god forbid) prices on it doesnt it !!
ta
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ah well i can safely say i am expert in everything then - but only cos he wouldn't know how to access this site if his life depended on it!
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thanks - its seriously bizarre isnt it ! that you cant order one on-line - and i am not being ultra british about this (well perhaps i am) but what's the point of having a web site!
A friend of mine in dordogne says he gets a catalogue through his door via postman - wish our postman would do that!
We are trying to find out if castorama or brico depot would be cheapest for sky-light windows if anyone knows by way
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chris, how much time do you have?!!! My top job currently is wheelbarrowing tiles down an acre of land - managed 60 barrows a day so far -but i am a wee 7.5 stone female so its probably not so bad! Funny thing is my OH things i am a bit of a gardening expert - hah -if only he knew he would lose confidence in me entirely!
thanks
weed killer
in Gardening
Posted
dear all
we have a large (about one acre) plot which i am clearing - a lot of it is brambles and nettles; i had read that if you cut down brambles and kept cutting the new shoots you wouldnt need to use weed killer. well i have given it a try and yes i would say it works ; however, it seems to be turning into a life-time mission for me and now i am afraid i have decided that i cant keep on top of it that way. i have also read that regular mowing will keep down brambles, but at moment there is no mower that would cope with the state our land is in - until we have pool put in and whole lot diggered-over (sure there is no such word !) then the only option we have is strimming, which takes a fair bit of time.
does anyone know of a heavy duty weed-killer which you can buy in large volumes, at reasonable price and which is not toxic to animals please? I have had a look at garden centres etc but the weed-killers seem to be in rather small quantities for what i need (!) and consequently very pricy. I was wondering if there is some local brew, so to speak, which i could buy? any thoughts?