BJSLIV

I assume they said that the would offer a transfer to the Portsmouth service, as the nearest equivalent. It's a bit mean not to allow you to transfer to St Malo with a couple of overnight seats. I guess you would have been happy with that, even if you had to pay the extra if you wanted a cabin.

I agree. But as someone once said to me..... " In The UK you can do anything, as long as it is not forbidden by the law. In France unless the law specifically allows it, it is interdit"..... Now that is clearly an exaggeration, but in the highly codified structure that governs life in France WWoofing doesn't fit into any clearly defined pocket. Hence it will always be vulnerable to attack. The same applies to any other volunteering which at any time could be investigated by the Inspection de Travail, especially after any accident! Like any other high tax regime, the French social security charges encourages potential contributors to seek out creative means to avoid the levy. For it's part the State becomes ever more vigilant in stamping out what it is able to define as evasion.

I think this recent newspaper report makes it clear that WWoofing is considered to be illegal in France.   http://www.tribunedelyon.fr/index.php?actus//21609-le-wwoofing,-du-benevolat-illegal   It all revolves around the concept of a "lien de subordination". In essence this says that if there exists a hierarchical relationship, where one person gives orders to another person, specifying such things as which tasks are to be done, then this creates  the famous lien de subordnation which can turns a volunteer into an employee.   

LD Lines appear to have cancelled the Arrow's sailings for the rest of the season. That might well mean it has sailed it's last trip from Portsmouth to Le Havre, IF the larger capacity of the Norman Leader actually arrives early next year.....  

Why?  Maintenance / tides ?   Why any other reason than the usual one? En Greve!  

And I notice 'Pierre's Blog' (contact their chief exec) has disappeared from their website. Pierre has retired , yes seriously, so presumably he has taken his blog with him.  

Ryanair are currently blocking all bookings to or from Tours after the end of August. Its supposedly about the local council delaying payments that Ryanair says are now overdue. The council says that Ryanair have acted precipitously and the money should be paid by mid August. I guess we will have to wait and see. However it's also a symptom of the long running tensions between the airline and the authority which faces growing budgetary pressure, and an electorate which is becoming increasing dubious of subsidising  foreign visitors.      

We were with Neuf/SFR and downloads varied in the 3-6 meg range against a nominal 8 meg. Degrouptest forecast 5.6meg As we aren't around all the year it seemed excessive to be paying 34 Euros a month, but I couldn't face going back to their 512k service. So we transferred to the base 8 meg Orange service  expecting to get the same 3-6 meg service. I was surprised to find that thanks to Orange's ADSL2 system we in fact get a rock-solid 8 meg, day in day out. I assume that this is  we now  a 20 meg service but capped at 8meg.    

  Does anyone know when that new regime is going to start? The article says ...... Nationwide says the new charges, effective from 1 November, will still mean customers withdrawing cash abroad are better off than those from other banks, but some may see it as a betrayal.    

Question     So what does the new EHIC do for us if we are visiting (say) Spain or Latvia? Answer       All the things that an EHIC normally does! I think the problem is that the UK websites have only been partially updated. The new rules complicate the old simple split Resident in UK                       UK EHIC valid No longer Resident in UK      UK EHIC no longer valid. There is this new category Not Resident in UK , but entitled to a UK EHIC because the rules have changed.......... But the pages that have been slotted in explaining the new rules don't help if you find yourself on one of the unamended pages still trumpeting  Not Resident no UK EHIC. Its a really good example of how websites are great, but everyone underestimates the effort required to continually review whats still on display.          

http://www.livingfrance.com/expert-advice-finance-tax-expert-advice-social-charges-in-france--29953 Sets out the logic behind Dave's comment.  

no engagement time period and 45 euros to cancel the contract at any time. Plus the grief, time , and costs associated with cancelling (registered letter) and returning the ADSL box. Not forgetting any additional months charged after cancellation and the fees for alleged non-return of their  kit.........

The only  charges of 7,50 that CA Centre-Ouest list are overdrawn fees at 7,50 per item with a max of three charges per day. http://www.ca-centreouest.fr/tarifs-particuliers-quotidien.html Remember most French bank cards are actually  Debit rather than Credit cards. Perhaps you need to top up the account.  

No the cost of electricity used during the day remains the same That's no longer true for EdF where there is is a very slight increase in the cost of "daytime" units if you switch to the two rate system. The change was introduced with the last price increase in 2009 when the discount  on "night" units was also reduced, along with some alterations to the standing charges. You can play around with various scenarios of day, day/night rates using this comparison website, which also shows how the competitors prices stack up. http://www.kelwatt.fr/ Even if you aren't temtped to change, it saves building a spreadsheet! PS   DirectEnergie have the same standing charges as EdF  but their units are 10% cheaper than the regular EdF price.  

Are you resident in France? Is it your main residence? If the answer to both these questions is yes then you will have nothing to pay. If you are resident in the UK you have a taxable gain of 30,500 Euros, the exact amount will depend on how many full years you have owned the house. I have assumed nine full years. On basis this you will be required to pay 16% tax  4880 Euros. On top of this you may have a further liability for UK CGT depending on your other gains for the year, and the outcome of the budget on June 22nd. You may be able to reduce the gains if you have receipted expenditure for work carried out on the property.          

 Are you saying that you are legally obliged to pay the bill? Yes. and if you don't pay they will add further charges for late payment.  

A boiler is a long-term purchase and I would have real doubts about saving a few Euros by buying some obscure kit rather than a major brand. Short-term savings will soon disappear if you have to repeat the exercise in five years time. I might even question whether a plumber who sources the boiler from secondary brands rather than the mainstream is truly "serieux". Similarly unless the house is mainly vacant during the winter I would do some careful comparisons of the potential savings to be made by using a condenser versus traditional boilers.  

Sending drugs to MSF ended a couple of years ago. La redistribution humanitaire des Médicaments Non Utilisés a été, par exemple, une exception française qui s'est arrêtée le 31/12/2008. En revanche, la protection de l'environnement et la sécurité sanitaire font consensus pour tous les pays. From http://www.cyclamed.org/index.php?page=dossier&dossier=5&PHPSESSID=86991ade02bee20963a44b6f4d47945b  

On some routes  (Portsmouth) you do have to select seats or cabins , but the seats are a no cost option. On other routes .(Newhaven) you just click through without selecting accommodation. I have just checked!  

Things should get even better on this route now that they have introduced a second boat . As Will says I think they are quite satisfied with the way things are shaping up.  

In effect while the company is trading it holds it's stock net of tax, as the VAT paid out on stock purchases can be reclaimed. Once the company ceases to exist the stock ceases to be sheltered from tax and is sold to someone, IE you,  at a price including VAT which then has to be paid to the authorities. In effect you are returning  the VAT  that was refunded on your remaining stock.      

From this year's return onward furnished rentals only qualify for a 50% reduction unless they are categorised as Gîtes Ruraux Meublés de Tourisme Chambre d’hotes So it will depend on the precise nature of the appartements to determine the reduction which can be claimed.

insurance didn't want to know Any particular reason why?  

While I was on the phone to Orange earlier this morning I asked if it was possible to suspend the ADSL service,I was told that it was possible but it had to be done by letter, which in France always means registered letter, and with 15 days notice. On the other hand reactivation could be done by phone and this would be immediate. This seems to bear out the experience of the previous poster. Are we in danger of finally arriving at the true situation?    

Not sure of your particular details, but it's quite possible, as the local council own and are responsible for extensions to the local distribution system.