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Caz<H2><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=3>Carole (87)<FONT><H2>

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Everything posted by Caz<H2><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=3>Carole (87)<FONT><H2>

  1. We call them ginger slugs in our house but I remember fondly last October half term being able to encourage the kids to go for a walk only because we could see who counted the most ginger slugs.  There were loads of them and we are in 87.
  2. Thanks for that info Liz.  Excuse my naivety but who collects the Tourist Tax i.e. how would I find out whether this has to be paid or not?  This is the sort of thing Im thinking about in that if taxes have to be paid then I would rather pass this on in the first place.  Cheers,  
  3. Thanks Clair.  We are not French residents no and Im still unsure as to how much I want to dip my toe into the rental market but you do get some pressure from those close to you so Im tempted to give it a try next year if I dont run into too many complications. I will try the website you gave to start with.    
  4. Can anybody point me in the direct of a decent contract for holiday rentals please?  I know Ive seen a link in the past but cant find it on a search. Also, if we do eventually rent out it will be just to family and friends for a nominal amount merely to cover costs i.e. water, gas etc., does this need to be registered or are we likely to get away with it on an informal basis?  If we are going to get stung for any type of tax then I would rather pass this on to begin with than end up out of pocket. Thanks for any advice.  
  5. Thanks all - looks like the favourite way is the one I have been doing.  It is only getting round Paris that can be difficult and, as you say, on a good day it can be easy.  I guess I have just returned from getting round it on a Saturday in August and it has tarnished me somewhat.  I think the mentality at the Paris toll queues had to be the highlight this time although usually I have to say that despite their manic crossing over of lanes and motorbikes haring up between them, the French seem a lot less inclined to blow on their horns for nothing than we do in the UK.  I prefer their tolerance for making faults if not their driving. Im also delighted that I am on a par with most others driving times   The only thing that would please me more is if the French would decide to move Paris about 100 miles to the East and I would have a straight drive down then with no problem Cheers,  
  6. Hi Linzi, That's okay.  It takes me about 7 hours from Calais to do about 435 miles which usually combines two or three short stops for loos, bite to eat, wake myself up etc.  Im sure there are people who do it a lot quicker (especially men who love telling you how much faster they can do it ). Its bad enough with two children in the back - cannot imagine what it will be like with ducks quacking and parrots squalking! Best wishes.  
  7. I know this has been on the forum in the past but I cant find it nor can I remember the replies so Im risking 'going for it' again. We always use the autoroutes down from Calais going round Paris on the East side (A86) and finishing off on the A20.  It always seems the most direct and straightforward journey, however, the delays around Paris are gradually wearing me down a tad.  Can anybody suggest some good alternatives?  My brother in law is also travelling by car to our house for the first time later this month and his only worry is the bit round Paris without satellite navigation so Id like to be able to offer him a more leisurely route. Thanks all.  
  8. Id love to be able to help more but we are in much the same position as you.  In the second year and spent most of the first either working on the house or just enjoying being there without wanting to go out much.  Would love to get hold of more places to visit and restaurants have been a bit out of our league (and our wardrobe) but can start you off with a few hints of nice places near us.  Our house is near Bellac which has taken a bit of a pasting from people but is in fact very lovely if you make the effort to get off the lorry choked up main road and into the old back part.  There are several nice shops, restaurants and views.  Le Dorat is also a nice slightly smaller town near us with a good Limoges Pottery outlet that is very reasonable.  We had Chateauponsac recommended by a neighbour which we visited last time and that is very scenic with the river running through, a good museum apparently althought we didnt go round it and probably some good walks.  Mortemart is a small village near Blond which is one of France's pretty villages and worth stopping off at for a look round and a coffee. I would be really interested to hear of some more lakes worth visiting as we have only been to Lac de St Pardoux and I get the impression that there are probably lots more smaller prettier lakes to visit in the locality off the beaten track.  Anybody know of any? Out of interest what is La Souterraine like to visit as we havent been that way yet?
  9. Thanks very much for the advice.  I hadnt given the gendarmerie a thought and I would so much rather settle it with the help of the notaire and the bank but with these things and as I am the only one with an 'interest' any more the assistance doesnt seem to be that forthcoming. I looked at my paperwork again last night though and the cheque was for over 400 euros so I really think I do need to keep pursuing it as its not small change. I will start with the bank statements and asking CA to check their records. Thanks again. Caz
  10. I wonder if anybody has experienced a lost cheque before and how to handle the situation.  We completed on our house nearly two years ago and a year ago I received some sort of refund from the Notaire for an overpayment on completion.  It was more than 300 euros so worth having and I sent it off to Britline to be credited into my account. Apparently, according to Britline, it never arrived and I have pursued the Notaire with the help of the Agent who sold us the house for a replacement cheque for a year before he said that the reason he wasnt issuing me with a replacement was that it had been cashed. Now what?  I hate to think that somebody else has had the nice gift of a cheque arriving in their bank account and are keeping quiet (why doesnt that sort of thing ever happen to me).  If it has taken me a year to find out the cheque has been cashed then how long is it going to take me to get any more information from the Notaire if I continue to pursue it in that direction?  Can I ask Britline to make enquiries without having much information to go on?  It frustrates me on an irregular basis as I forget it in between times but its too much money to write-off without more of a battle I think. Any suggestions gratefully received. Caz
  11. Excellent.  We are getting quite sophisticated in the rural Limousin these days arent we and people think we are still in the back of beyond Caz (87)
  12. Is the new terminal up and running yet at Limoges Airport as a matter of interest? Havent been through the airport since Christmas and I remember it being scheduled to complete in Spring this year. Just idly daydreaming en francais and wondered how it was getting along. Caz (87)
  13. We are just having our house re-wired in 87 and the quote, although very detailed, seemed curiously inconsistent between rooms but I think a lot of it must be to do with distance of running cables etc., and other technical stuff that I as a woman cant possibly appreciate Our house although not big is quirky and spread across a wide distance and EDF also have to come out and do a fair amount of work in moving meters etc. (all this is in addition to the electrician's costs).  When we first received the quote I thought it was very expensive (works out over £5500 inc a new hot water tank) but it had taken us 18 months to get a quote after being let down by some and others not contacting and we were delighted to receive one at all.  It was suggested that we should blank out the prices down the side and get more quotes from other electricians to compare but we couldnt face it and impatience got the better of us. I have to say that now he has started the work I can begin to see the reason why it is so expensive as there is loads more work than you think to begin with and just chiselling out stone walls is hard work.  Anyway our electrician although not speaking a word of English couldnt have been more obliging and helpful and at the end of the day that is worth its weight in euros...... (I think but he hasnt finished yet). I am just excited that I am actually getting some work done as it is the most frustrating exercise ever trying to get local artisans out. Havent got the devi with me so Im afraid I cant give you the price of individual switches, sockets etc., but Im not sure it is broken down into that precise detail in any case. Caz (87)
  14. Thanks very much for all your responses for me to mull over.  Im tempted to try just one more letter pleading to their sense of justice and then pay up.  I hadnt realised that it becomes part of the tax d'habitation next year anyway so I guess Im only paying one year in advance of having to. All this bureacracy x two countries Carole
  15. It all seems a very grey area and Im not sure whether to go down the route with the authorities on the grounds of 'not receiving a signal' (even though we have a receiver that doesnt pick up) or whether to block it by saying the tv was brought back to the UK (which I would do rather than pay the fee for not receiving anything).  I just feel rather persecuted by red demands for a poxy £100 portable tv I bought to keep the children amused with videos while we do the diy . You know that feeling you get with authorities that once they have you on their database....... Carole (87)
  16. Well I have been told that you do still officially need a licence to watch dvds and videos apparently but Im happy to stand corrected if anyone knows different  Carole
  17. We would like to stop and have a two day whirlwind tour of the Champagne region on the way to our house in the Limousin this summer. Is there anybody on the forum that can recommend (or has) a nice little B&B or Auberge? Many thanks. Carole (87)
  18. Can anybody offer some advice on payment of the 'redevance audiovisuelle' please. Initially we took a british tv over to France as we only wanted it for playing videos and dvds while we there.  Unfortunately it exploded during our second stay so we decided to buy a small portable in France.  I really wish we hadnt because we are now being pursued for payment of the redevance audioviselle which amounts to 159euros.  It really isnt worth us paying it for as much as its used and we cannot get a reception for french tv at the moment.  I thought we might be able to get a reduced bill for the fact that my husband is registered blind but apparently this only applies if it is your main residence (which it isnt). Does anybody know whether they will accept me now writing to say that we have taken the tv back to the UK?  Only they seem to be bombarding me with bills followed by red bills as if its a compulsory payment. Would be most grateful for any advice or any experiences that other people might have had on the forum. Carole (87)
  19. Do they have one in Bellac? Id love to know the date if they do.  Anyone?! Carole (87)
  20. I sent a cheque early in September for our tax as I have had problems with the postal system in the past.  I kept checking bank account on line and the money never went out so eventually (and as it got nearer the deadline) e mailed the department.  Received a response saying they hadnt received it so tackled the on-line payment system.  As others have said, I got the response saying that it had been successful etc., but attaching documents to send to bank for future payments. I didnt send the bank authorisation documents to our bank for some time as I didnt necessarily want to authorise future payments, however, the money still didnt leave our bank account so I thought that maybe it needed these signed documents to pay the tax for this year. Big mistake .  Checked bank account on line last night and it has now been paid twice which was of course my dread as I now have to chase up a refund.  Should have gone with my gut instinct and trusted the french culture in that they are just incredibly slow at most things which is of course why we love the place most of the time.  I was just worried about being a late payer but I didnt really want to be a double payer   Carole (87)
  21. Wonderful stuff I have trawled the Pages Jaune under vidange thanks to previous replies and found one called 'Allo le Petit Vidangeur' (Hello, little drainer?!)  Seems like the most embarrassing job to have done right outside your house, a bit like having your catheter bag emptied in public, but in this case its the catheter bag of I dont know how many previous owners. It is all arranged now for next week and I am tempted to stand outside with a banner saying 'its not mine' (in french of course).  If anybody has any idea of how much roughly this drainage is going to cost that could save me further embarrassment.  The thought of not having enough euros and what they might then do with what they have drained doesnt bear thinking about I have no idea of the size of the fosse for costing purposes having inherited it a year ago but its a two bedroomed house so I guess its not big especially if it was put in donkeys years ago.  
  22. Phil Would appreciate it if you can let me have the details of your architect near Bellac so that I can have a choice (and its not very often you are privileged enough to have a choice of who you pick in France, more often its a case of begging!) I know we have exchanged details in the past as your place must be close to ours.  Have sent a message to your inbox if you are around at any of the same times as us and fancy a chat about rural life and renovations en France.  
  23. Thank you. My french is pretty poor (I was going to use another rude play on words for poor but thought my topic might get pulled). I think I get the jist!  
  24. Can anybody tell me who you look up in the pages jaune to do the unpleasant task of emptying a fosse septique? We have been trying to extinguish the source of unpleasant odour for a year and trying all the hints and tips given on the forum only to be told by our neighbour that he couldnt remember it ever being emptied in the last 20 years. Maybe I need to look up 'strong stomachs'  
  25. Thanks for that Alcazar, its so much better getting personal recommendations to choose from rather than put pins in the rather lengthy list on pages jaune  
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