val douest

Apologies, Margaret, if you have already looked at all these references with no success but if not, they may be worth investigating.  The most interesting one appears to be the first as it says it covers UK and EU residents and has a special policy for those with pre-existing conditions.  (I have no personal knowledge of any of the companies.) http://www.mrlinsurance.co.uk/travel-insurance.aspx http://www.expatfinancial.com/travelinsurance.htm http://www.jsinsurance.co.uk/travel_insurance/faq/health/pre-existing_medical_condition_cover.html (the companys offer insurance for french residents) http://www.the-insurance-surgery.co.uk/index.htm?ref= There are also a few insurance companies offering travel policies listed on the AngloInfo site. Good luck! Val

Gosh - that seems a lot!  The Trailfinders premiums are quoted in £ sterling whatever European country you are resident in and their standard annual policy works out at £144 for a couple under 66.  But after that it doubles...(and after 70 it triples!).

Trailfinders does a very competitive annual multi-trip policy for anyone residing in Europe - see http://www.trailfinders.com and go to insurance (among the headers at the top). My daughter had occasion to claim last year; I remember her saying they were very helpful and the claim was paid promptly and in full.

Many thanks for all the information.  I was especially interested in your granite worktops on an Ikea base, Irene, and think that may well be what we decide to do.  Unfortunately we are too far from you (borders of 65 and 36) to use the same suppliers so I shall have to try to track down someone local.  I would feel much happier if someone came and measured up once the kitchen is installed - any discrepancies are then down to them, not me!. Thanks to Sydney and Huggy, too, for the English-speaking Ikea France helpline.  I was mystified as to why none of the Nutid ovens shown in the (current) catalogue appear on the website.  The helpline informs me the whole range is due to change sometime in August so all my research and heartsearching over what to buy has been for nought....ah, well c'est la vie! Val

One of our cats is very prone to fleas so I switched him from Frontline to Frontline Combo - even pricier than the standard stuff, I'm afraid, but it kills the eggs and larvae as well as the fleas themselves.  So far it seems to be working: I have to stick with the Frontline because as far as I know Advantage doesn't tackle ticks, which he also gets from time to time.  The other cat has never had a flea problem but is Frontlined to be on the safe side.  The cats are very aloof from one another (and don't sleep in the same places) so their little visitors don't have a chance to socialise. Val

One previous thread which may be useful is  http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1586868/ShowPost.aspx under the Getting Married in France forum.  One of the posts on this thread mentions that the British Embassy in Paris keeps (or used to keep) a register of English speaking ministers in France.  There is a link to the Embassy site in the thread, and I think you have to e-mail the Embassy for the list. Val

 I have already had very helpful advice via the Forum on ovens, and our Ikea kitchen is gradually taking place, on the drawing board - or rather via the planning tool software at this stage.  Now I am in a quandary about worktops.  I rather like the stone composite ones from Ikea, or possibly quartz or granite from somewhere else.  I phoned Ikea UK twice today and had completely conflicting information: one operator said it would be impossible to buy an L-shaped worktop in stone and that they could only supply lengths (up to 3 metres) which I would have to join myself or hire someone to do.  The other woman told me I could have any length and any shape made to order, delivery 4-6 weeks.  Has anyone had worktops of this kind from Ikea?  The other possibility is something from the huge range at www.plan-de-travail-direct.com, which look to be well priced - again, does anyone have any experience of dealing with them?  I can't find anyone locally who just supplies and fits worktops as they all seem to be part of a package kitchen; Castorama, LaPeyre and Leroy Merlin don't appear to offer quartz, stone or granite.  Any information appreciated! Thanks,  Val

Many thanks for all the info - we shall now go and have a good look at the range in Toulouse. Val

I am thinking of buying an oven from Ikea (the one with pyrolytic cleaning) to replace a similar French one (Sauter).  I was very happy with the Sauter but it needs a couple of new parts, the cost of which would go a good way to buying a new one to put in the Ikea kitchen soon to be installed. If anyone has any experience of the Ikea pyrolytic oven, good or bad, I would be very grateful to hear it.  It seems to be considerably cheaper than other brands of comparable models. Thanks Val

Yes, every good wish for the future Mooky.  I'm so glad your two very special cats have gone to such a good home so you can say goodbye to France with no regrets, and be ready to greet the future with enthusiasm. Val

Babbles - have you tried putting notices up (with photos) on the board at your local supermarkets and other stores?  Also local vets often have a board in the waiting room where you can advertise for homes for animals that need them.  They might even know if someone is looking for a cat or kitten (maybe to replace one which has died).  Using this route we had two enquiries for a gorgeous black cat who was dumped over our fence a few years back, although in fact he had already been rehomed by the time the responses came.  Good luck!  I do hope you manage to find them all a new owner. Val

Fantastic news: it must have been such a worrying time for you with the move so close.  They look such a characterful pair and after all the work you and your son put into bringing them up it would have been heartbreaking to have to leave them at a rescue centre.  I hope all three of you will be settled in your new homes very soon. Val

Many thanks, Hoddy - that was exactly the sort of information I was looking for! Val

Does anyone have any experience of these cookers, which I gather are quite popular in France?  I am looking for a cooker with two ovens, at least one of which should have pyrolitic (very high temperature) cleaning and ideally a gas hob with one electric plate for simmering, and 'La Bocuse' is the nearest I can find.  The hob  is actually all gas, but the large area on the left appears to have some kind of plate which might be good for simmering.   I can't find a local stockist, but am hoping Rosières will point me in the right direction soon so that I can go and have a look before I buy.  It's a lot of money to spend sight unseen...I also need to know if it will run off bottled gas. If anyone has used 'La Bocuse' and can share their experiences I'd be very grateful. Thanks Val

We are having building work done and want to match the new french doors to the existing ones.  However, I can't find any similar ones and don't know exactly what to ask for.  The ones we are looking for are standard white inward opening french doors with double glazing. On each window, inside and outside, a white wooden frame is attached with hinges and clips, giving the appearance of a panelled glazed door.  One advantage is (probably, if I could track them down!) they would be cheaper to buy and the other is that they are easy to clean as the frames open away from the glass leaving a single large clear panel.   The frames may come separately as kits - I just don't know.  Any information gratefully received. Thanks, Val

Many thanks, Pierre.  We did try that site but we came to a shuddering halt as it wouldn't let us have 50cc as an option for a Peugeot moto - probably because the model is 30 years old. We should of course have phoned for an individual quote but at that stage we were just ploughing through everything that the google search had thrown up and after 20 or so similar quotes we had assumed that the others would be the same. But we have good news!  When our insurers heard that we might take all our business elsewhere they discovered an 'error' in their original quote (which they had twice confirmed as correct) and this morning e-mailed to inform us that it has now been reduced to €80 for the year.  So we have accepted, and when the paperwork arrives the moto will become the household's official bread-fetching transport (at least when the weather is fine!). Everyone's help and input is much appreciated, as always. Val

Sorry not to have responded to everyone's helpful replies before now but we have been away.  It appears from the regulations (can't find the reference but my husband looked through the small print in French) that insurance is required for any motorised means of transport on a public road, though an electric bicycle can be ridden without cover.  Pierre - if you can remember which company thrown up by your random search produced a €47 quote, we'd love to know!  We have so far tried 20+ and they mostly come out around €200 - 300.  Most insurers also insist on including such things as 'get you home cover' (though if it breaks down on the way to or from the boulangerie it would just get pushed home!) and personal accident cover for all the family (though my husband will be the only person riding it). But we are making progress!  We recently had a quote for €168 and also one of €108 from our bank provided we move all our insurance (house, car etc) to them.  Like Lehaut, armed with this info we have now gone back to our own insurer and suggested that if they want to keep our business, they might like to provide a revised quotation.  Response still awaited..... It appears it is not just us who are being offered very expensive cover.  Several french neighbours tell us they have had the same experience and that the only way to obtain cover at a 'reasonable' rate is to go through your general insurer (and if necessary threaten to move the whole lot elsewhere). Anyway, thanks again for all the input, Val

The following references might be useful.  I've never used them so can't say whether they are any good or not, and I don't know how much work they could offer in France, but it could be worth following them up. http://www.housem8.com/become.html http://www.professionalpetsitting.co.uk/becomeandangel.htm http://www.safehandssitters.co.uk/work-for-uk-petsitters.html http://www.mindmyhouse.com/index.php Good luck! Val

Yes, exactly the same problem.  The code came by post last week but the www.ameli system refuses to accept it!  We will call in at the CPAM office next time we are in Tarbes to see if we can sort it out. Val

Hello Braveheart, I have sent you a pm. Best wishes Val

Many thanks for your suggestions but we seem to be getting absolutely nowhere. We have tried Mutuelle des Motards and Nexx (plus many more via the internet) but the result is always the same - an annual premium of around €250 (though we have been quoted a lot more).  We have asked French friends to enquire too, but they come up with the same answers. The problem seems to be that because it is the vehicle which is insured in France, it would be possible for my husband's little moto to be ridden by an inexperienced youngster and the accident rate for this age group is horrendous -  there also seems to be no differentiation in insurance rates between big powerful machines and motorised bicycles.  But most accidents at the speed this machine can travel wouldn't result in much damage to another vehicle or even a pedestrian, and it is only third party cover which is required. We are quite happy to have an owner-only-driving policy or to have a restricted mileage limitation but these don't seem to be available. There is a company that offers cover at 1cent per kilometer but that is measured via a milometer which this machine doesn't have. We seem to have come to a dead end unless there is someone out there who has a 49cc moto and has found a company which doesn't charge silly rates to insure it; if so, please share the info. The old Renault 5 which we had until last year cost less than €150 per annum to insure and we could go a lot faster and do a lot more damage in that! Val

Having bought a pre-1970 moped for €30 at an autojumble and against all (my!) expectations restored it to good running order, my husband was aghast to receive a quote from our insurers (AGF) this morning of €250 per annum for the most basic insurance. The moto is 49cc - in effect a motorised bicycle - and while the real pleasure and challenge was in getting it running he was hoping to use it instead of the car to fetch the bread, go to the post office etc, clearly an uneconomic proposition at that price. Can anyone suggest any companies which might offer cheaper cover? Many thanks, Val

I gather that http://www.eurasie-bordeaux.com which is an Asian grocery store sells sake.  Otherwise you might be able to get one of the UK groceries/shopping services which seem to operate out of many of the local markets to buy it for you in, say, Sainsbury's and then bring it over for a reasonable mark up.  Or you could have some delivered in the UK to http://www.sterlingshopping.co.uk and they would bring it over for ten per cent of the order.  I guess it really depends on whether you want a bottle or several cases....also worth checking out any Asian grocery stores local to you. Good luck! Val

Sorry, Lou - it was meant for Shropshire Lass so I will send her a copy of the message. Val

I've sent you a PM, too! Val