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val douest

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Posts posted by val douest

    Pip - tiny, old and now alone

    in Animal Welfare, Rescue & Protection

    Posted

    To me he just looks frightened, confused and defeated...but I guess everyone interprets a picture in their own way.  He is surely a mix of breeds so I doubt if any breed rescue would be interested in taking him on.  But there may be someone who has space with their other dogs by the hearth (only a very little space needed!)  to let him live out the rest of his life in peace and comfort. And Merlin - not only are you an absolute marvel, so is your husband!  I seem to remember that he is picking up dear old Tango from Carcassonne this week, so I somehow feel he will be asked to squeeze in another little passenger...meanwhile we will keep Pip's thread bumped up this forum in the hope that someone will then give him a home.  And if you ever have the time - though how you would I just don't know! - it would be lovely to see some more pictures and updates on all the rest of the tribe including Alex, Jojo and of course Scramble.

    Bonne chance!

    Val

    Tread depth on tyres

    in Driving in France

    Posted

    Well, thanks to you all for your help.

    I don't think balancing or uneven wear comes into it in my case. The "Expert" who came to examine the car and verify the cost of repair condemned the rear tyres with just a cursory glance, so he would not have known if they were out of balance or unevenly worn. I do have a tread gauge, and confirm that the tread depth was above 1.6mm (just!).

    I mentioned the age simply because I thought that three years ago tyre manufacturers might still have been putting their "tell tales" at 1.6 mm, whereas tyres of more recent manufacture might have the tell tale further out. These tyres had done about 25,000 Ks, and were originally on the front. I put them on the back and had the fronts replaced.

    I take Weedon's point, since the local garage did not bother to balance the tyres when they replaced them, even though they have the facilities to do so. I have experienced no out of balance problems, either on the new or old tyres.

    I guess I'll ask the CT man what the rules are nowadays. If I find out anything useful, I'll post again.

    Horticultural grit

    in South West (Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées)

    Posted

    It might be worth visiting a local sand/gravel pit as they are often able to supply gravel to your specific requirements which might be small enough for what you need.  You could take a sample from a small bag purchased at Castorama or wherever to show them what you are talking about.  We have the same problem with heavy clay but can purchase organic compost from a local depot for €33 a trailer load.  This we have rotavated into our new beds and it has improved things a lot.  Spent mushroom compost is also good if you have a mushroom grower nearby - and so are processed grape pressings, so I'm told.  Good luck!

    Val

    Tread depth on tyres

    in Driving in France

    Posted

    On two occasions now I have had tyres which I thought were within the legal limit, ie not quite worn down to the little raised tell-tale in the tyre tread, declared as illegal. The first was when I took my car in to have it repaired after a rear-end shunt, and the "Expert" who inspected it condemned the rear tyres. Fortunately that had no effect on the insurance claim! The second was a friend's car, following a CT.

    I obviously haven't kept up with this, but I guess the law on minimum tread depth has changed.  I can appreciate the difference between 1.6 mm and 3mm tread depth, particularly if you need to stop quickly in the wet. However, the tyres concerned were only about three years old, so the tyre manufacturers don't seem to have kept up.

    Anyone else encountered this issue?

    Tango is giving up and needs our help!

    in Animal Welfare, Rescue & Protection

    Posted

    Merlin, once again, what a marvellous job you're doing!  I hope Tango hangs in there for just a few more days until your husband can pick him up - if only there was a way we could let him know that it's only for a little while longer, bless his old heart! It's wonderful to think he won't be lying on bare concrete any more and that he will be loved and cared for during the rest of his life.

    Val

    MOVING TO 86 CHAUVIGNY - DOG WITH HEALTH PROBLEMS

    in Pets

    Posted

    Sorry you haven't had any replies, Paul.  I can't help with the vet enquiry as I am not in your area but it may be worth repeating the post under the appropriate  regional section in case someone living locally picks it up and has some ideas.  Regarding the pet insurance, it is not as common here as in the UK but there is a thread under the Pets section which might shed some light - see http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1528917/ShowPost.aspx.

    Good luck,

    Val

    Seal of approval for bullfighting

    in Animal Welfare, Rescue & Protection

    Posted

    I have just received a message from Phoenix which I found astonishing, particularly in view of recent moves to ban bullfighting in parts of Spain.  The gist is as follows:

    >>The French cultural minister has just legitimised bull-fighting, or corrida, as part of French traditional cultural heritage.

    The Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis, one of the largest French animal

    welfare charities, have mounted a petition campaign against this

    outrageous 'seal-of-approval'. They are asking you to put your name to

    the cause and to condemn this torture.

     

    You can sign online using this link:

    http://www.30millionsdamis.fr/agir-pour-les-animaux/petitions/signer-petition/pour-retirer-la-tauromachie-du-patrimoine-culturel-francais-24.html

    Please sign and encourage other like-minded people to do the same.<<

    Disabled access

    in Gite Owners Forum

    Posted

    The building is owned and operated by an SCI formed for that purpose. The whole of the downstairs area is available for public access and has been designed, constructed, described and insured as such.  The two self-contained studios (studio in the sense of one living room and bedroom combined) are laid out purely as holiday lets but have been designed to appeal to creative people.  No business of any kind would be operated from the flats: if artists or writers or photographers subsequently sold anything they had created during their time there then that would be outside the control of the proprietors.   Thanks, Polly, for your input - hope that helps in the way of additional information.

     

    Disabled access

    in Gite Owners Forum

    Posted

    They have in fact worked closely with the DDE and the Mairie from the very start and the public space on the ground floor has been designed more as an amenity which will benefit the commune and surrounding area than as a money-making venture.  The comment about the need for a lift for the studios upstairs came from an architect who sometimes 'signs off'  buildings as meeting all DDE requirements before they are then registered at the Mairie; their own architect - now sadly very ill - and DDE officials with whom they have liaised had never mentioned such a requirement and they would prefer to know where they stand with the regulations before opening a potential can of worms.

    Disabled access

    in Gite Owners Forum

    Posted

    Friends of ours have just completed the restoration of a large derelict barn.  The lower floor will be used as an exhibition space and they have conformed to all the rules and regulations relating to disabled access to the gallery, toilets etc,  The upper floor, accessed by a wide curved staircase, has been divided into two self-contained studio units, the idea being that artists or other creative people might like to rent this space for a couple of months at a time.  However, an architect unconnected with the project has just informed them that if they want to advertise the units for rent, they will have to install a lift so they can be accessed by disabled people.  This would simply not be possible in the existing space.

    They realise that regulations applying to new-build properties may be different from those governing existing buildings.  Their studios are not 'new-build' as the barn has been restored to its original state but the purpose of the building has obviously changed.

    Can anyone give me any information which may help, or provide any links to regulations which may shed some light on their dilemma?

    Many thanks

    Val

    Unwanted tom cat

    in Pets

    Posted

    I only know one family who has one and they are very pleased with it.  They bought it to keep out next door's agressive cat after bad experiences with a catflap of the magnetic collar type where their cat's collar sometimes twisted round and so it was unable to operate the flap.  Their new one is a Sureflap and they bought it from Amazon.  Looking at the customer reviews on the Amazon page most people seem very happy with the product though one or two have had problems - everyone says, though, that the company's customer service is exceptional and every effort has been made to sort these problems out.  If your cats were microchipped in France it might be worth checking with the company that this won't make any difference, as I think the chip is implanted in a different place.  It is certainly worth reading through the Amazon product reviews as some customers have had particular difficulties which might be relevant - if their cat is very large, for example.  If you do get one we'd be interested to hear your opinion of how well it works!

    Val

    Automatc cat feeders

    in Pets

    Posted

    I agree with Charly that anything complicated is quite likely to go wrong and if you are away for a week or so that could leave the cat without food for several days.  Friends  inherited two barn cats when they bought their part-time house and made arrangements for a neighbour to fill a large hopper once a week while they were away.  This worked fine for a while but then the local feral population moved in, emptied the hopper in no time at all and drove their two cats off.  If you are going to leave any kind of feeding apparatus outside then you may find the same thing happens.  If it's inside (via a catflap) this may work better as if you are only away for a week or so a feral cat probably wouldn't have time to work up the skill and confidence to use the catflap.  But if you do buy any type of feeder, test it out well beforehand, preferably by using it every day, so you can see if it works reliably.  The simple hopper types are probably as good as any.  The slightly more refined version by Karlie  has good customer reviews and Zooplus deliver to France at reasonable cost.  Go to  http://www.zooplus.co.uk   and use their search facility for Karlie Duo Max.

    But of course it would be a real reassurance for you and your cat if someone could call round regularly to check he's OK.

    Val

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