val douest

How about this one? Plum and lemon crunch Serves 8-10 3 tablespoons caster sugar (à poudre) 6 tablespoons water 1 kilo plums or damsons 1 litre tub vanilla ice cream 350-400 g lemon (or ginger) flavoured biscuits, cookie type rather than wafers, lightly crushed into smallish pieces (not fine crumbs). 900g (2lb) loaf tin, lined with cling film 1. Heat the sugar and water in a pan and when it dissolves bring to the boil and add the plums.  Simmer for 10-15 mins until the fruit is softened.  Take off the heat and allow to cool a little before pushing the juice and flesh through a sieve, leaving the stones and skins behind.  You should have about 18 fl oz of puree.  Leave the puree to become completely cold. 2.  Spoon the ice cream into a large bowl and soften it slightly, but don't allow it to melt.  Stir in the biscuits and half the puree to create a marbled effect.  Reserve the rest of the puree and keep in the fridge until ready, to serve as a coulis*. 3.  Spoon the icecream mixture into the tin, wrapping the cling film over the top.  Freeze for 4-5 hours or overnight until firm. 4.  To serve, remove the icecream from the freezer about 15 mins before required.  Dip the bottom of the tin in hot water for a few seconds if needed.  Turn it onto a serving dish, and remove the cling film before cutting into individual slices.  Serve the coulis separately in a jug. *Any leftover puree can be frozen for up to three months.  The crunch can also be made ahead of time and also stored for up to three months. Bon appetit! Val

There is a beautiful longhaired black and white border collie on the SPA site at Millau in Aveyron http://www.spa.asso.fr/Animaux/EZZI/TPL_CODE/TPL_ANIMAUX/PAR_TPL_IDENTIFIANT/38600/3-adoptions-animaux.htm    He's called Ezzi and he's two years old. Hope you find a dog that suits you and fingers crossed it is one in desperate need of a home.  Border collies really flourish in the sort of space you have to offer and with a friend and mentor already there and waiting what more could a young dog ask! Val

I think you may be right, Merlin, in that the Malamute rescue people in the UK will make very sure anyone who offers a home to Skye via their organisation is doing so for the right reasons.  Let's hope they are able to help if no-one suitable comes forward through any of the appeals on this and other websites.  Please keep us posted if you have any news. Val

As Skye is a pedigree malamute and as she has a UK passport, would it be possible to enlist the help of the UK breed association?  If Vanessa is prepared to take her to the UK that would be an additional point in Skye's favour.  The two associations which came up with a Google search are www.alaskanmalamute.org.uk and www.malamuterescue.org.uk.  The second website includes information for people who need to rehome their malamute.  Maybe Vanessa has already done all this but thought I'd post the references just in case. Here's hoping for a good outcome for Skye, Val  

Yes, I think you've got it in one!  Many thanks for your help in identifying it. Val

Many thanks to you all for your suggestions and advice.  Having looked at several photos I am 99% sure it is Virginia creeper (it does indeed have tendrils) and I will persevere with the Roundup equivalent.  No, there is no membrane under the concassé - the builders were desperate to finish and it just got overlooked. However, this raises another interesting question:  the front of our house is covered with what I had always thought was Virginia Creeper but it is quite different from the pernicious weed described in my original post.  Its leaves are wider and shinier, though it also has tendrils and black berries and goes red in Autumn, and is a magnet for bees in July.  It is vigorous and we have to trim it regularly to keep the eaves and gutters free but it isn't invasive like the other creeper.  Can anyone identify it from the photo? [IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/Housecreeper.jpg[/IMG] Val

We have recently had some work done on our house and now have a carport with a driveway of concassé.  Over the last few weeks this very tenacious weed has started sprouting through the concassé - as fast as I treat one batch with Roundup another appears.  The weed used to climb on the sides of the house (though we pulled it off regularly)   and is also in the verge and adjoining grass.  I treated it thoroughly with Roundup before the carport and surrounds were constructed.  I have just dug up one patch about a metre square and pulled out the bucketful of thick woody roots shown in the picture. Two questions: can anyone give this weed a name? And if I keep dousing all the new shoots with Roundup or equivalent will that eventually kill it? I don't think I can face digging up all the newly laid concassé to remove every bit of root. Many thanks, Val [IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/weed1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/weed2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/weed3.jpg[/IMG]

Many thanks Chris and Pierre for your replies.  We have been promised a meeting in the commune soon to explain just what will be done, so we shall now be better prepared to understand what may be on offer. Val

Our broadband internet connection has always been flaky - it is sometimes down for long periods and neighbours have the same problem.  Apparently the local telephone lines are old and unreliable. We understand that under a programme being rolled out by the department (Hautes Pyrenees) we will soon be able to receive our broadband via a radio signal rather than via the telephone lines.  But no-one seems to be able to tell us at this stage whether we will need extra equipment to be able to use this service, and if so, what.   Does any one already have broadband through this kind of installation?  If so, any information would be very welcome. Val

Thanks to you both for your help; I know what I shall do now.

Thanks, Sunday Driver. I'll wait a while and watch the french web site for future developments. Yet another piece of poorly thought out legislation by the bureaucrats. Or maybe it's a concious effort on their part to remove a lot of the old wrecks from the road?

This could be a problem for us! My husband bought a moped, about 40 years old, from a local bourse d'échange for 30 euros in non-running and somewhat dilapidated condition. It would have been ridiculous to ask for a receipt since the said moped was virtually scrap. However, he managed to fix it up and get it running and roadworthy at very little cost. It is insured and he now uses it regularly. At the time (two years ago) we were unaware that it would eventually have to be registered. I see from http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/F16304.xhtml that I need "un certificat de cession ou une facture" to register it! I'll bet there are many other french people who inherited, were given or bought such a vehicle maybe 40 years ago and will be unable to fulfil this requirement. I suppose we could use our imagination, but if there is a better way perhaps one of you out there could let me know?

Could anyone please shed some light on these paragraphs on entitlements to Credit d'Impot?  It comes from /vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1222.xhtml Le crédit d'impôt s'applique au prix toutes taxes comprises des équipements, hors main d'oeuvre (sauf pour la pose de parois opaques), qui figure sur la facture de l'entreprise ayant réalisé les travaux. Il est égal à 15 % du montant des dépenses pour la pose de matériaux d'isolation thermique des parois vitrées, 25 % du montant des dépenses pour la pose de matériaux d'isolation thermique des parois opaques. Two queries: First, would you translate 'parois vitrées' as 'glass walls' ie windows and 'parois opaques' as walls without windows?  Interestingly Google gives 'exterior walls' for parois vitrées which would seem to make more sense except that it infers that 'parois opaques' are interior walls, for which it would be odd to offer reimbursement. Secondly, the first para implies that only the installation of parois opaques is reimbursable (ie not parois vitrées) but the second gives the reimbursement costs for both. Any help very welcome as deadlines come ever nearer. Thanks, Val

Could you please delete the three empty replies from me in the SW forum (re taxis to Bergerac airport)?  The text I entered just never appeared although it came up on preview.  This subject has now been covered anyway so my reply is no longer needed. Thanks Val

I just copied it and pasted it into the main Google search bar and up came 'Did you mean Le Berrigaud?' and nothing else of any help.  Usually when I insert a place name in this way I get a whole load of useful info which tells me the department, tourist info and possibly travel info which was what I was after.  But thanks, Leo, for pinpointing the place.  I was wondering if the Bordeaux- Bergerac rail link passed close enough to be at all useful but it appears not.  Any info on taxi services for the OP anyone?

Sorry - I've no idea where Le Bernagaud is and Google doesn't help.  If you can give us a bit more info on its location and in which direction it lies from Bergerac then hopefully someone can come up with some suggestions for taxi companies or alternatives.

I had a feeling there would be something somewhere which put paid to late claims - many thanks for the reference which has at least saved us wasting time on lost causes.  Interesting that they allowed your boiler claim....I don't think we have any excuse for not having submitted our claim for double-glazing last year as we have been here since 2003 and should really have been familiar with the system.  But we have a wodge of stuff to claim for this time (work done last year) so we don't feel too badly done by! Val

According to the site http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1222.xhtml, it seems that we can claim for qualifying installations between 1.1.05 and 31.12.12. ("Ces dépenses doivent être payées entre le 1er janvier 2005 et le 31 décembre 2012".).  I can't find anything stating that only expenses incurred during the tax year in question can be claimed, yet on this forum several people have described the process they had to go through to claim the rebate for previous years.  Can anyone clarify this apparent anomaly - maybe refer me to any directive that the claim should be made in the tax year immediately following the expenditure? Many thanks! Val

Many thanks to all for your help; we'll see how it goes and report any useful information.

We have just had a condensation boiler installed and understand that we are able to claim 25% of the cost against our tax bill; unfortunately not 40% since it was not installed within two years of purchasing the house. Normally we fill in our tax return on the internet and we notice that there is a section (7) where we can state the amount spent. Presumably the tax office will want documentary evidence of this expenditure. Has anyone experience of what happens in such a case, where the tax declaration is made on the internet?

There have been some previous postings on this topic which might be helpful.  Try http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1151040/ShowPost.aspx as a starting point - there are other links within the post. Good luck! Val

Might be worth looking on www.leboncoin.fr - there are some poules for sale but I don't know your area so can't tell if they are reasonably local. Val

Just as an aside - I know there is a real demand in our area for a year-round heated swimming pool as all the piscines locally are outside and open only for the summer school holidays.  Anyone who enjoys swimming, or needs to swim for medical reasons or just to keep fit, has at least a 45-minute drive to a pool during the rest of the year.  Not a deciding factor, maybe, but something to bear in mind if you do decide to move across. Val

Try the website www.leboncoin.fr.  A search for 'colombes paon' brought up several possibilities but I am not sure how far away they are from you.  Even if the ads are quite old it may be worth following them up as the advertisers may have other birds available. Good luck Val

Hi Dee I've just sent you a pm! Regards Val