Beryl

[quote user="Will"] It's not exactly unknown for one official to demand more than the basic information while another is quite happy with less. It happens all over the world, not only in France. Though if there was a world championship, France would be a serious contender... [/quote] I shouldn't have counted my chickens! I sent off the completed CMU form, a copy of my E106 and the tax form. I had a phone call this morning stating they need my RIB and copies of Birth and Marriage Certificates.  I stated that they took copies all of these when I first registered my E106 with them but NON , I have got to go and see them on Tuesday.[:@]

I would think that maintaining an empty house in the UK would be far costlier than joining the French system.  Also it's a bit hard to make a dash back to the UK for treatment if you get hit by a bus in France.[:D]

I am very pleased with myself today in that I spent the whole morning in a situation that I had to see through and I did OK. Infact, I did better than OK [:P] Yes, I did get stuck a couple of time when I started a sentence and thought I don't know how to finish it, but I back tracked and phrased it differently ( simpler).  I got the ball over the net everytime to paraphrase Michel Thomas. It has done my confidence the world of good, and speaking a foreign language is as much about confidence as anything else. Right I've finished patting myself on the back now.

I just add grated gruyere to the cream and pour over and put a bit more on the top.

I have been trying to follow events re Sergolene Royal. Is this a fair assesment ? My understanding of French does not always allow me to get the full picture from the French news. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6310557.stm

Thanks all. Have done it now. Another first and quite painless so far.[:D] I have put the lower 2005 income on now,  I was just being over cautious but I didn't want CPAM to think I was trying to pull a fast one.

Do you get Incapacity Benefit  too?  If so you can continue to renew your UK cover. If not have a look at this thread http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/853459/ShowPost.aspx

Thanks Ron I have chased it up, I had read conflicting stories about how important this sign off letter was. I would rather post all the documents and forms off as I don't like driving that far [:$] I have printed off the form but I am, as ever, confused. I completed a tax form in May 06 and have my revenu fiscal de référence. That was for my income for the previous year. The form asks me what my income was for the period the year 2006, this amount being higher than the income on my tax form. I will put the higher figure down obviously and send the tax document off too. That should suffice shouldn't it?

Thank's Betty. I will keep my eyes open for that.

I haven't pickled them in that type of vingear but I do serve cooked sliced beetroot that way and with a tad of sugar.  I am quite partial to a cheddar and beetroot sarnie, when I can get the cheese.

[quote user="sexysu0"] , my partner would go tomorrow but i just little bit more worried about making a big leap like this, [/quote] As well as looking at all the practical information re mortgages, schools, health and jobs. Take time to read the personal experiences both good and bad. Why would your partner leave tomorrow? Does he love France or dislike Britain?  It's not all cheap housing and sunshine [:D] and I am saying that as someone who loves France and is generally an optimist.   

I don't like the BBC French langauge courses ( programmes are good to watch) but I don't like their course books. To me, there seems to be too much emphasis on learning a phrase rather than the make up of the sentence eg grammer. They are great if you having a weeks holiday but not if you really want to master the language. Michel Thomas was a revelation to me and introduced me to the grammatical aspects on French in a way that I could understand and learn quickly. I have also bought French work books called Grammaire Progressive du Français published by CLE. They are inexpensive and user friendly.  I would recommend buying the Niveau Débutant even if you have some French knowledge as I am sure you will still learn something from it that you didn't know before. You can get them from Amazon.fr.  

Is this the correct form please? http://www.cmu.fr/userdocs/2124-1.pdf I have to sort this out too but I was waiting on the letter from the UK stating I was no longer entitled.

Thank you. I've got it . Might just run to some baked beans [:)]

Well that's better than me, I sound like Officer Crabtree[:$]

Thank you very much I can now work out if I will be eating egg and chips for the foreseeable future.[:)]   Edit. Sorry if I am being really thick, but doesn't that webpage just tell me what the standing charge is?

I am attempting to calculate my end of year electric bill with EDF and having looked at their website I cannot find the exact info I need to do this. I have 9 KW and my option is heures creuses. I need to find the cost per whatever for heures plaines and heures creuses. Can anyone tell me what it is please?

Didn't know whether to PM or post here [8-)] I agree Miki that you did not say Domy's post was racist, I just came to that conclusion reading between the lines of your post , which is always a dangerous thing to do. So we hopefully are all 'sweet' as they say.[:)] I did not intend to cast any aspersions at Wen either. Back to the topic as it is now. Learning a second language ( indeed anything) can never be classed as a waste of time.However, teaching French and German in UK schools despite those countries being our almost nearest neighbours and in the EEC too,seems to me to be outdated in today's world. I believe that France is under a bigger threat from Americana than it is from a couple of thousand Brits not speaking the lingo. The elderly and not so elderly retired without offsping in France will eventually fade away and leave little trace of having been here. Those with children, may learn to speak a lot or a bit and always retain their Britishness however their children will, to all intents and purposes become French . Unless these families go back to Britain or the US etc, there is every probability that the children will marry French people and stay in France. 

I didn't perceive Domy's comment as being racist, I really didn't. My perception of it was more along the lines of ' if this is what you want ( English speaking everywhere) you are not going to find it here so go back home ( where you will find English being spoken). I found Wen's comment "This attitude only perpetuates the ignorance of the French people" far more offensive. But it may have been badly phrased. IMO there are lots of times when telling someone to 'go back home' is clearly a racist thing to say but not this time , for me at least.

Have you been retired a long while? I can't understand why you haven't got a E106 from the UK which would cover you for 1 or 2 years, possibly longer if you are in receipt of UK Incapacity Benefit.  Why pay for something that you can get free ?

This http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/2002_03/non_res_etc/ir302.pdf should be able to help people decide where they are resident.

I don't find them very tasty on their own. I add them in small cubes to stews and things or I slice them and add creme and cheese aand either rosemary or bits of cooked bacon and cook in the oven.

I am grateful to any French company that has a website or helpline that is dedicated for us English speakers but I don't expect it . I am glad in many respects that I am forced [:)] to speak French even badly, as I have said before I didn't want to live in an expat community because it would make me lazy with regard to learning the language of the country I live in. Numerous dedicated English helplines would make have made me lazier still. Though I agree it is nice to have a little help when you are struggling.    

I am having problems posting today, so I will have to post a bit and then edit it. Contact http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/sa29/introduction.asp#dwp  and see what cover they can give you. If they give you cover, take the form to your local CPAM and register ( take proof of ID, residency etc) Government pensions ( civil servants, teachers, police etc) are all taxed in the UK however you still have to declare this income on your French Tax form in due course. You won't get taxed twice. If it is not a government pension then it will be taxed in France. So you will need to contact the Inland Revenue centre for non residents and tell them that you are no longer in the UK etc, so that they don't take you.  This link will take you to the form but it's dated 2005 -2006 but at least you can see what they want to know. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/sa109.pdf It would be advisable to get a top up insurance cover as well. Have your parents' sorted their health cover out?

It rather depends on the precise type of pension you receive. Did you not apply for reciprocal health cover before you left the UK?