Athene

Well I have rung and been told to e-mail! So I e-mailed twice and have real paper and pencil lettered once and still no answer as to why we were not offered a letter to apologise or a replacement ticket! Today I have had a trying day at the chalk-face (teacher!) and I am going to ring Speedferries again this afternoon! I am in the right mood for them!

So sorry for you, Anne, it is a terrible loss. I cried reading the piece on burying a dog that you wrote Nettie. I have elderly cats whom I love dearly and know the day will come soon when they are no longer with me. I dread it and know something of what you are going through.

£30 is standard whether you go by ferry or through the tunnel! Personally I get so much pleasure from having my cats with me it is well worth it! They make the difference between just a house and a  home!

'Though not perfect, Transmanche is definitely a better all-round deal.'   I agree with you on this! We had our crossing on 29th March cancelled and we were not e-mailed or rung! I just decided to check at 5.30pm on 28th! The Speedferry lady was not at all apologetic and said they had contacted nearly everyone! She did not seem to understand why I was upset! We were lucky as the tunnel was able to take us but it was not cheap!

No amount of standing on metal legs will help dissuade a hungry termite! Yes I am sure when you buy this house it will have treated wood but that will not last forever and you will have to keep it up. You have to treat both the wood and the ground it stands on. Treatment is not cheap but it is effective! I just added what I did as it would be something to factor into the cost long term.

Yes, an interesting tale there, thank you for that. I do hope you find somewhere in France to be happy and where the sun will warm your bones! We nearly bought a lovely house near Spalding in Lincolnshire 10 years ago but at the last minute discovered it was in a flood plain and bought our French house instead! We are still pleased with our French purchase.

You do not say where you want to site this house! I would NOT recommend a tmber framed house in France as termites are a real problem and you always have to keep up the treatment. If I built a new house it would have as little wood as possible!

Hello Tresco! I too am always tempted with these posts but our two aged cats would never ajust to a dog, it would not be fair! I was tempted a while ago with an offer from a couple who were parting with two cockers and I had a word with the English vet about it. He said it would not be an easy process getting them to accept the dogs and he did not advise it as they are so old! What he did go on to say was that two cats will accept a puppy more readily than one as they have each other and thus feel they are not so much threatened by a canine interloper!

We always travel with out two elderly cats to SW France. They are mother and daughter and are not always the best of friends! We house them in a large dog cage and they have a litter tray between them, so seperating it out into two territories. We have no problems with them and the long journey passes with no problems from our 'girls'!

[quote user="Alan Zoff"] Well we were booked on the 29th and we did NOT get an e-mail! It was just that the OH is careful and rang up tocheck the reservations at 5pm the night before we were due to sail that we found out! AND we have not had any apologies or offers of another crossing! We took the single passage thro the Tunnel and paid £100! We have pets who travel with us and a long PO crossing is not best for them. Just received email from Speedferries to say opening of new Dover centre has been put back a day and that there will be no sailings from Dover on 29th March - the day I and my trailer were due to go out of course. And they do not have reciprocol arrangements with other carriers out of Dover.  So it's a refund, or I can use ticket to travel at another time - but of course they are fully booked for all days around 29th. Or anyone been offered something different?   [/quote]

And Ben.... We now have a French member who when she is in the area wants to play, she learnt her bridge in the UK, so you will have a partner!

Thanks Mrs Lizzie and Mr Lizzie, we will count you in!

Hello Ben! well I have already been to the Jonzac bridge club and my experience is akin to yours! LOL!  First of all they play 'Ancienne Systeme' (maybe this is your Double Swiss by another name????) and you are not allowed to use any other bidding system. I asked the Director of my English club and he said that this was often the case around the world in different places he has played or in any big competitve event. Anyway, 'Ancienne Systeme' is totally different from Acol or SAYC, both of which I am used to, this is not to say that I will not get the book and teach myself if all else fails on the bridge front! However, the Jonzac club is VERY different from an English bridge club, more formal and, even though my French is very good, I found bridge in French a struggle! Even with bidding boxes! It was the post mortem after the hands that proved difficult! I can't say the people were very welcoming either, maybe because I had gone wearing a flowery trouser and shirt set - smart and would have been perfectly acceptable in any English club - but they were all dressed very formally and, in fairness, I did look too garden party-ish! As well, they were totally amazed that someone foreign had crossed their doorstep and said so continuously as I moved from table to table! The reason I had gone was in response to a flyer in the local bread shop appealing for new players and they had guaranteed to find you a partner. It had started at 2.00pm and I was still there at 7.00pm! My husband thought I had got lost! My idea now is to set up a relaxed, social bridge circle that even players who have not much experience can come and play in a friendly atmosphere, wearing whatever is comfortable. (We might even play outside in the garden in summer, now that would be pleasant!) My husband is one of these inexperienced players, he says he plays a version of bridge akin to Snap! LOL! By this means he means he does not always remember every convention and point count but he can play the cards well if he is declarer!  So come on you lot, reading this, if you play and we are near you, why not give it a go? .

Good luck with your search Rita! Maybe a new build would work well for you as they do carry builders' guarantees and you can have as many extras done as you wish to get it as you want it!

This is good advice you have been given on here. I suppose it depends where you are going to live but in our area, Dept 17,  there are all kinds of pedigree breeds you can buy plus places you can adopt. Good luck with it!

Thanks David! There are 8 of us so far, so we are getting there! Like you another couple are 50/50 residence.

We will be in France permanently soon and  I would like to meet other people who would be prepared to travel to play. We live in the Jonzac area.

Shame there is not a site where people could put on property to sell and then buyers could contact the sellers directly!

You obviously do not shop in Waitrose, they have a lovely selection!

There are lots and lots of wonderful British cheeses as well! I bought  Cornish Yarg this weekend! It is a moist cheese from Cornwall with a fresh, creamy taste and a quality all of its own - derived from the hand-applied covering of nettles.  A great-looking, great-tasting and - let's say it again - a unique cheese.

We have had all manner of problems with our DeD boiler and a succession of  the local plumbers have all scratched their heads, messed around, put in a big bill and the thing was no better! THEN I had an inspiration.... I rang DE D's offices in Paris and asked who they would recommend and they gave us the name of a man who understood the problem! I am in Dept 17 near Jonzac, so he might be too far away from where you are but I am sure if you will be put in touch with the right man in your area. Fabricant d'équipements de chauffage et de production d'eau chaude sanitaire 57, rue de la gare 67580 Mertzwiller  - France Contact : De Dietrich Info Service Tel: 08.25.12.05.20 - Fax: 03.88.80.28.60   Good luck with it!    

What a horrible experience and thank you for your warning! There always has to be some element of trust in a rental situation and no-one would want your experiece!

The vet in Pons is very nice we have used him once when he was the emergency vet. We use the vets in Jonzac and they are to be found in the road that goes down by the side of the post office in the direction of Leader Price. The Jonzac vets are good too and a lot cheaper than our English vet! Good luck with your pup! If you ask they will chip him and I prefer it to a tattoo, don't know what you think.

We are transferring our main home to France and intend to rent out the UK house. Is there anyone out there who could speak to us about earning money in the UK and then paying tax in France? We really could do with someone,like an accountant we could pay who could help us with the filling in of French tax forms etc.

Your house sounds lovely! Whereabouts in France are you?