Vignobles

Diane, just one final thought..................? We like most dog owners love and I mean love our dogs. We have two, one a wonderful Basset the other an equally lovely Staffie. They know and I mean know when we are going to our home in France. They accept that something nice is going to happen and they can chase and chase all around the garden fresh smells all of those sorts of things. we have pre-determined stops, have the water bowls that allegedly do not turn over. The regime is something they understand. They have treats in the care plus pigs ears which they would die for. When I come home from shopping from Tesco they make absolutely certain that I have the pigs ears with me. Pse believe me great for dogs teeth, a bit unpleasant for us humans but not too much On the ferry they settle down very well and once off the ferry we stop very soon for all the necessaries and carry obviously the means to make sure we do not leave any remains. It is natural to worry very natural, but so far so good. kind regards

I am having two velux 78 x 98 installed at 543 euros each. Tax is at 5.5% hope this helps, rdgs

We live in Normandy. Our gable end wall faces the Atlantic. We were offered fibrous as against conventional slate. I visited certain houses that had fibrous and conventional slate. In the end we went conventional slate. Slightly more expensive, but certainly a better job. Fibrous tend to be in the larger format, slates in the smaller format. That is where some of the extra costs come in. However, I would really not touch fibrous, but that is a personal opinion.........after all it is not my capital that is being expended? rdgs

Our work was carried out by individual carpenter, plumber and electrician who were almost friends from school. they worked on an individual basis but collectively if that makes sense. I would recommend them without any fears or favours. However, they have just informed me that Carentan is too far north for them!!! However, from our standpoint we had slightly cheaper devis from artisans outside our area. We opted for local guys on the basis that in the height of the winter we are more likely to get local guys out than someone who hails from over 30 miles away. This to date, has proved to be the case. sorry

can someone please firm up for us on the question of velux windows. We currently have two in an newer part of the house. However we are having the attic converted and the window supplier (his showroom is opposite the Mairie!!) says we do not have to have approval from the Mairie. We live in an isolated area with the nearest house being say two miles away. Obviously we are not overlooked and do not overlook anyone. The current veluxs were carried out by the same supplier? please help for the work starts next week!

We had to buy ours in the UK. Again and to make sure no damp got through we also purchased the metal foil rolls, they went down first, then the lining paper then the paper itself. rdgs

Dear Mike, similar position: early retirement, commuted lump sum payment, reduced pension. However, the acid test is where one's permanent home is viewed to be (or at least that was our legal advice, and here I obtained it from the in-house Barrister at my then very major Plc. Based on his advice, we took the lump sum payment in this country and then waited for a suitable time before moving to France. I cannot be 100% sure but the question of where ones permanent domicile is the straw that could break the camels back. take advice