val douest

The new Wimax aerial in our commune is now operational and so we have the chance to use it for accessing the internet by subscribing through one of several  service providers.  Virtually all the required hardware and set-up costs are covered too!  Our broadband via Orange is often slower than dial-up so we are very pleased we have an alternative. We have e-mail addresses with Orange which we are not much used but I am also secretary for a local association and send and receive many e-mails via Orange on its behalf, with an address which is registered to our Orange account (the association was only set up a couple of years ago).  I assume that when we no longer have an Orange broadband service we will lose this e-mail address, which will be a real headache.  Is it possible to re-register the same address to another Orange subscriber?  And does anyone know the period of grace - if any -  that  we will have after the changeover?  Fortunately my e-mails, both sent and received, and contacts, are stored on my computer in Macmail so I won't lose those. Thanks, Val PS I've just caught up with the thread below on changing from Orange and I gather it's not possible to keep an address though the period of grace seems to differ enormously.  What about the second point, though, of handing over the address for use by another Orange subscriber after I have cancelled it?

A friend of mine living in France was widowed a couple of years ago and is still living in the home they shared.  She owns over 60% of it and the rest is now owned by her two stepchildren.  The house is far too big for her and she wants to sell it but her stepchildren (one in the UK, one in the USA) do not acknowledge or reply to any correspondence.   I seem to remember that there is now a procedure in France which covers this situation so that where minority shareholders refuse permission to sell - or ignore all demands to make a decision  - the courts can be approached for a ruling which gives permission for the sale to go ahead.  Does anyone know if this is the case, and if so is an advocat the best person to approach?  Is it one of these things which would be dealt with fairly quickly or is the case likely to be  in a queue for several years waiting to be heard ? Any help or comments appreciated…. Val

Ah, sorry about that.  I thought you were referring to Johnsond4fleas which is what I used a while back and looking up Capstar on the net I see the makers also  recommend that as part of a flea control programme  in the same way as Johnsons4fleas.  I haven't been offered any flea-control tablets by our vet but it sounds as if the ones you have are based on lufenuron which is indeed a longer-lasting treatment - Program seems to be the most widely available brand. Incidentally my daughter's cat in the UK has a Program injection every six months (one of them when he has his annual booster vaccines so it only means one extra visit) but I haven't seen that offered as an option here.  I shall ask about the long-lasting tablets when I am next at the vet as I am sure that spot-ons are not as effective as they were. Val

I used to use the tablets from time to time on a feral cat that we were feeding; he was totally unapproachable so spot-on treatments weren't an option.  I have also used them on a newly acquired cat which needed quick action to kill off fleas before it came into the house.  I think they work very well (although they can make a cat scratch frantically for an hour or so while the fleas die off) but they are not a long-term solution as they only kill the fleas present when the treatment is applied.  If the cat picks up some more fleas the next day then the new batch won't be killed by the previous treatment.  The tablet doesn't interfere with the breeding cycle or stop eggs hatching out in carpets and upholstery.  The manufacturers recommend using the tablets in conjunction with spot-ons plus household anti-flea sprays for the best results. I tend to vary the spot-ons I use as the cats became immune to Frontline for fleas though it still seems to tackle ticks which many of the others don't.  If I'm giving any kind of tablets to the cats I simply put three or four 'Dreamies' cat treats (sold as 'Catisfactions' in France)  in a saucer and rub another over the tablet until the treat crumbles; all the cats wolf these down without a second thought though like yours they turn up their noses at any soft food which has been 'doctored'.  I have yet to meet a cat who wouldn't sell his soul for a couple of Dreamies, which was very useful last month when one of ours had a 10-day course of antibiotic tablets, night and morning! Val

Many thanks for the link, Théière; I used to have it a long time ago but had mislaid it over the years.  I have now joined their forum which has a veritable mine of information and I will also post my own questions.

Sorry - I was reading the instructions on how to post a picture under 'photography' and posted this there in error! For the past two months or so we have been visited each morning by red squirrels.  The first one arrived during a spell of cold weather and tucked in to the sunflower seeds in the mix scattered under the bird table for the ground-feeding birds.  He was quickly followed by another and now some mornings we have five of them together - not actually as nice as it sounds as they spend most of their time chasing each other away rather than eating.  I have tried adding other nuts and seeds to their feeding stations (now under two well separated trees, to prevent squabbles and leave the birds in peace) but apart from very occasional pine nuts which are far too expensive to be more than a treat, they seem to prefer the sunflower seeds.  Any nuts in shells are immediately taken away and secreted somewhere for a rainy day….and talking about rainy days, if it is very wet then the biggest and boldest squirrel simply climbs on to the bird table and eats his fill from the sunflower seeds in the hopper!   Does anyone know whether they are likely to keep coming through the Spring or Summer months, and whether the female is likely to bring her young with her before they become quite independent?   I don't know very much about their behaviour and habits through the year.  They are so pretty to watch and although not at all tame they are becoming a little less inclined to rush off at the slightest disturbance.  I will try to add a picture though this is my first attempt at posting one, so here goes…. [IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/Redsquirrel1.jpg[/IMG]

For the past two months or so we have been visited each morning by red squirrels.  The first one arrived during a spell of cold weather and tucked in to the sunflower seeds in the mix scattered under the bird table for the ground-feeding birds.  He was quickly followed by another and now some mornings we have five of them together - not actually as nice as it sounds as they spend most of their time chasing each other away rather than eating.  I have tried adding other nuts and seeds to their feeding stations (now under two well separated trees, to prevent squabbles and leave the birds in peace) but apart from very occasional pine nuts which are far too expensive to be more than a treat, they seem to prefer the sunflower seeds.  Any nuts in shells are immediately taken away and secreted somewhere for a rainy day….and talking about rainy days, if it is very wet then the biggest and boldest squirrel simply climbs on to the bird table and eats his fill from the sunflower seeds in the hopper!   Does anyone know whether they are likely to keep coming through the Spring or Summer months, and whether the female is likely to bring her young with her before they become quite independent?   I don't know very much about their behaviour and habits through the year.  They are so pretty to watch and although not at all tame they are becoming a little less inclined to rush off at the slightest disturbance.  I will try to add a picture though this is my first attempt at posting one, so here goes…. [IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/Redsquirrel1.jpg[/IMG]

Looking at the Tooway website (satisfied customers section) I came across the following, which might be of interest to two-home owners: >>>Shirley and Eric are in the fortunate position to own two homes, one in France and one in Spain. They spend an equal amount of time in each home during the year, meaning each of their homes remains empty at some point during the year. With traditional broadband providers there has been a lack of flexibility in allowing them to only have the home they are currently in, connected to the internet. Over the past four years, their broadband internet bill has totalled over €1300. Eric and Shirley said… We now save literally hundreds of Euro’s a year. The concerns Having already been connected to the internet, the main concern was quality of service along with requiring an alternative solution to the requirement from traditional providers for a 12 month continual contract at each location. In addition, many years ago they had a bad experience of satellite in trying to locate the old Astra TV satellite – so wanted to ensure installation was a pain free process! The solution In fact, all concerns were alleviated with ToowayDirect. Firstly, two installations were made, one at each home – Shirley said “The equipment is very strong and well engineered, installation was easy with the inbuilt assistance for tuning to the perfect direction for the satellite”. “Although we remain on a 12 month contract, what ToowayDirect allows us to do is ‘suspend’ one system when we are not there and ‘activate’ the other – meaning we have one 12 month contract, with two minimal activation charges each year. We now save literally hundreds of Euro’s a year”.<<

Yes, I quite agree with the remarks about SuperU plants.  They look wonderful when they arrive and are excellent value but no-one seems to look after them and in a few days they start to look very sad.  However at the end of the season they often sell things off (including big shrubs and roses) for a fraction of their normal price and last year I bought a car-boot-full on the principle that if even half of them survived they represented a bargain.  In fact I had about a 70% success rate so it was well worthwhile. PS for PatF.  Yes, I have heard the news - very worrying.

I was delighted to find a selection of Davis Austin roses for €7.95 each in our local SuperU this morning (Dept 65).  There were several varieties on offer and it seemed a very good price. There were also many other types and colours of rose at the same price, including old french roses and hybrid teas, plus lots of shrubs, perennials and herbs.   Maybe worth having a look if you have a big SuperU within easy reach. Val

In several postings recently the point has been made that when a person dies in France, the cause of death is not stated on the death certificate and that the main concern of the powers-that-be is that there is no suspicion of suicide. In the UK there seems to be more interest in whether a death is suspicious, in other words if the deceased died at someone else's hand rather than their own. This made me think - what happens in France if there is any suspicion of suicide?  Is there an inquest, or an autosy or both?  If suicide is established as the cause of death can there be a normal church burial service and commital (remembering that in former days - maybe still - the Catholic church refused to allow suicides  to be buried in hallowed ground). Some years ago an elderly chap in our village was found drowned in a lake.  He was known to be suffering from mild dementia and opinion was divided as to whether he had taken his own life or just become confused.  I don't know what the outcome was, who would have decided it and what the consequences would have been.  Just curious as to how the system works… Val

Thank you, Parsnips, very helpful. So, since the online process gives you the option of seeing how much tax, CSG and CRDS you would pay for various "scenarios", I have finally opted to put them in rentes viagères. Maybe the tax authorities can "see" what I'm doing as I try juggling the numbers. That doesn't worry me since they have given me conflicting advice in the past, ie they don't know either.

Thanks, sweet 17, I understand your point. As a result, I have persuaded myself the annuities should be placed in the pensions box.

This concerns the old question of where to put income from annuities on the tax form. I have looked at the FAQs, but the link for further information there doesn't show anything; maybe there is no further information. I did consult the local tax office, with no useful result. I have read what I think is the relevant section (page 6) of fichedescriptiveformulaire_7575.pdf, and, as far as I can see, if the contributions to the annuities were exempt from tax (in the UK in our case) then the pensions would be added into the section "Pensions, retrait etc". Otherwise, they would go into "Rentes viagères". It does make a difference, particularly to the CSG and CRDS contributions, since we are exempt from these on our pension income, but not on rentes viagères. Any comments or help very welcome!

Many thanks, Parsnips - spot on and to the point as always! Val

I have just been reading the thread from last tax year on declaring assurance vie contracts.  There was advice to enter the basic details required in Box 8TT on page 4 of form 2042 - but looking at that box  it  seems to be for AVs set up via non-French banks ("Si vous êtes titulaire d'un contrat d'assurance-vie conclu auprès d'un établissement établi hors de France ou de comptes bancaires à l'étranger, vous devez les déclarer sous les rubriques 8TT et 8UU").  Where would we declare a new AV taken out with our French assurance company?  And does it have to be declared every year? Thanks in advance, Val

Just to emphasise what came up in a recent thread on this subject - cats can become very ill if they are in close contact with a dog which has been treated in the previous 48 hours with Advantix or any other product containing Permethrin.  So if you have a dog and cat that are inclined to cuddle up together then Advantix is a definite no-no for the dog!

Many thanks to you both - I'll check out your suggestions. Val

Can anyone give me an idea where to hire a portaloo(s) for a day and any idea of the cost involved?  Our association is having an event in the gardens of a private house.  The owners are quite happy to open their grounds to us but apparently on the last occasion 60+ visitors put an overload on their fosse septique which caused them considerable problems for a while afterwards! Any advice welcome! Val

I remember our vet telling us once (and I checked again this morning on the internet) that the formulations are different and that the cat version is excellent against fleas but doesn't treat ticks.  This is because Advantix contains permethrin, a synthetic insecticide, which is toxic to cats. Dogs and other mammals metabolize permethrin effectively, resulting in a perfectly safe product for them. However, cats cannot metabolize permethrin and will suffer from toxic effects - which can actually kill them -  if exposed to the insecticide. Permethrin toxicity in cats can happen in a variety of ways, including direct application or close contact with a dog that has been treated within the last 48 hours.  So the cat version is called Advantage and doesn't have the anti-tick ingredient. We have the same problem with Frontline which many cats and dogs (or rather their fleas) have apparently now become resistant to.  We tend to use Advantage or Advocate on our two cats and I occasionally use Frontline between treatments on the younger active one who picks up ticks while out hunting.  We do inspect him regularly though and then remove the odd couple of nasties with one of those little tick hooks. Val

If you are not completely set on having a Cof E service, have you considered a humanist officiant?  We arranged a humanist funeral service for my aunt  and quite honestly I don't think many people noticed the difference, and those that did just assumed it was a modern variant.  Most humanist ministers are very flexible as to the content of the ceremony but I am not sure what the rules would be about actually conducting it in the church, or if it would even be appropriate.  Maybe you could have the blessing somewhere nearby, even in a garden.  Anyway, if you think it's worth pursuing just put 'humanist minister france' into Google as it brings up a selection of relevant entries. Good luck! Val

That's a thought, Pip - thanks. I'll have a look next week.  If they are good enough for fish I'm sure they must be OK for a hungy robin! Val

Does anyone know anywhere in France where I can buy live mealworms (by mail), for feeding to wild birds ?  None of the UK suppliers can/will mail to France. Thanks, Val

There is a new flight Manchester-Lourdes, running from May until September, being advertised at the moment.  It is a charter, Saturdays only, and the prices aren't particularly cheap but it's direct, the times are civilised and for those of us with friends and family in the north of the UK it could be very useful.  The link is http://www.pyreneesdirect.com/english/manchester%20to%20lourdes%20direct%20flights.html The prices include taxes, hand baggage, and one piece of checked-in luggage and there is no charge for paying with a debit card. Val

As Norman says, a follow-up appointment is usually scheduled (in my husband's case for the week following) so the results can be discussed even if  - as in his case - there is no need for further treatment. Val