Lou

I think that should be qualified to say "some" cats hate citrus fruit.....an old neighbour in the UK used to put orange and lemon peel along our adjoining wall to deter our cat from going into out garden - the cat used to walk along the wall, sniff the peel, knock it off onto her side then jump down to play with it on the ground.... Fortunately the neighbour never tried anything more extreme!! Lou

Could she have ticked the box on the tax form for "Prime pour l'emploi" and you didn't? This might explain a reimbursement for her whilst you're paying tax. Lou

I don't know about legal definitions but this is the scenario for my husband and I. I work in France and am registered with CPAM, he's listed as my dependant and is older than me. There wasn't any question/issue with this when we first registered. Does that help? You could try the ameli site (I think it's www.ameli.fr but not sure) which might give you the "official" line, or speak to someone at your CPAM

Sort of stumbled upon it whilst channel-hopping, thought it was terrific! Great fun and very talented musicians. Must have been a hoot to have been in the audience.  

Like Rose I too am going to be "brave" and comment on this thread! [:)] Surely there are nice friendly people and grumpy miserable people everywhere ( and sometimes they're the same person on different days!), I've encountered both where we live. We get on fairly well with all our neighbours, some we just nod and smile at, others we've shared meals with.... both English and French. We attend events that we want to attend and not because we want to "integrate". I work here and speak French and I do feel that that does make a small difference in terms of being regarded as a "normal" person as opposed to the stereotypical rich, retired English (oh I wish!). Our village is perhaps interesting as neither the Maire nor the secretary are in any way local, so I think they influence generally the "acceptance" of "foreigners" (and as in many rural communities a "foreigner" can be someone from the next village!!). Many of our neighbours have lived here all their lives and frankly we are never going to have a lot in common. Those we do get on well with are those who have had similar life exeperiences to our own - eg travelling. And I've had many holidays in many parts of France and been delighted by people we have met everywhere!! Lou

Do I count as a lurker, Idun?! not many posts in 5 years, yet I probably look at the forum once a day. I agree with many of the comments already made - I really only post when I'm sure of myself (the information I'm giving), or if I feel my opinion is "different" in some way to those opinions already posted. I enjoy reading other people's posts, and I would definitely say you could make friends on a forum. I'm probably a fairly reserved/introverted person and I suppose I'm the same in the "virtual" world.... Do please keep it up though, you seven times a day posters as you give me something to read killing time in quiet periods at work!!   Lou  

They just check the items that "failed" and issue another proces-verbal, which has to be kept with the original one - together they form your CT certificate. Sticker on the window and job done. Lou

Apologies Derf, I misunderstood and thought you were referring/replying to me. I suppose we are all have experiences in France where the "rule-book" says one thing, and what happens in real life is another...!! I guess if this had a been the only contra-visite item for me I might have queried it Lou

[quote user="AnOther"]To be blunt, anyone who fails a CT or gets a contra visite for something as cheap and easy to fix as knackered wiper blades deserves it ! A CT is a check that a car IS roadworthy not a fingers crossed punt to find out why it isn't. Hidden or unforseen faults are one thing but wiper blades....................no. [/quote] AnOther - you're absolutely right. I wasn't complaining just stating facts which might help answer someone else'e questions. In fact it also got a contra-visite on some other stuff too. But wiper blades - yep, pure laziness! Derf - I didn't ask a question, merely pointed out what my proces-verbal states, and it's absolutely clear on that that the wiper blades require a contra-visite. They are in place and work, just worn. The link you quoted seems to say that I shouldn't have a contra-visite for that but frankly I'm not going to argue with the guy at the centre over it. Lou

Correction, the condition of the front wiper blades can be subject to a contre-visite - I know because mine went for it's CT  last Friday and I've got to replace them! Lou

John, We have simple life insurance policies for the two of us from MMA. They pay out on death or terminal illness. The premiums vary according to age, whether you're a smoker, things like that. Setting them up was very easy, and fortunately so far we've not had to see how good they are when we ask them to pay up! Parnsips is right - ours are definitely referred to in the paperwork as "assurance décès" Lou

[quote user="pachapapa"][quote user="idun"] I am sure that my sister in  laws mother said that she used udder cream. I thought I had misheard, now you have mentioned it[:-))] what is it? [/quote] Last week, visited Hereford and was curious that eldest daughter bought some "udder cream"; apparently the right product for cows udders. Chantal explained that it was an excellent skin cream and particularly for feet after long walks. Very reasonably priced, a large pot is only a couple of quid. Essential kit for a Defender or Disco. [/quote] It's also extremely good for those sensitive bits for long-distance cyclists There's a company doing all sorts of products : http://www.udderlysmooth.co.uk/ Probably cheaper to buy the stuff direct from the farm though!! Not connected with this company, just used their product (very successfully!) when doing a 450 km cycle ride last year. Lou

Early yesterday evening we did our Jean de Florette impression with watering cans in the potager, watching the storm clouds rumble on by without a drop......but then woken at 1 am with a BIG storm, incredibly bright lightning and thunder right overhead and RAIN! Haven't checked the rain water tank yet to see how much actually fell, but it sounded like a fair amount! Ground still damp this morning and grey and cool. We're 65 just a few km from 32 border. Lou

In fact the requirement for a diagnostic for the fosse septique only came into law on 1st Jan 2011, so wasn't obligatory when you signed the compromis in Nov. However, it's been known for a while by notaires and estate agents (one of whom I work for!) that this would be required and they ought to have at least mentioned it if it looked like your final contract would be signed post 1st Jan. I think (can't check as don't have one in front in me at the mo) that the wording of the 7 day notice letter does say from first presentation - presumably the theory is that if you weren't there to see it on that occasion it's your own fault........daft isn't it, especially when in your case you didn't know when it was going to arrive. Lou

This article from the Guardian on Tuesday says it's co-written by a police officer, and there are officers on set to advise on amking it all realistic. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/may/03/meet-spirals-feminist-anti-hero I've seen series 1 and 2 and think they were better, though still very much enjoying series 3. Lou

The difference with Easyjet is that they give you the option to select "Carte Bleue" as a type of card, thus avoiding the charges. Ryanair don't distinguish between debit Mastercard and credit Mastercard. Booked Toulouse to Paris with Easyjet last year and most chuffed that this avoided the card fees. Just recently booked a return to the UK with bmibaby who also charge a credit card fee so it's not just Ryanair making money hand over fist..... Lou

This is an interesting post - does this also suggest that your premiums shouldn't / don't go up each year as you get older? Ours always have (somewhere between a few to 20 euros per year) and I've assumed that this was because as we get older the risk of us costing more increases. Lou

There are lots of programmes that seem to do that these days - and it is incredibly irritating! I think you only get half the time on the actual topic as they're so busy recapping what they've just said or telling us what's coming up. Lou

I think publishers and in particular whoever designs the book jackets can often be held to blame for books being categorised as 'mens' or 'womens' - no self-respecting bloke's going to buy a book with a pink cover! I also thought of Lee Child as a 'mens' author, but have just read my first Jack Reacher book and loved it! It's perhaps interesting that on the back cover part of the blurb reads "Men want to be him, women want to be with him"  (him being the hero/main character). In my opinion it's perhaps not so much if a book is "mens" or "womens" but the fact that men  and women read them differently and get different things from them..... Lou

We've been very lucky in that we've always had great neighbours or friends willing to feed ours at home. We've never used a cattery and feel that at least they are in a familiar place even if the routine and our absence is a bit different. We've always had a cat flap and the cats come and go as they please. Yes, we've often come home to find furry pillows when one has taken a fancy to the bed, or dessicated mice corpses under the bed, but we count this as part of having cats! Sometimes I'll cover the bed or sofa etc with throws to protect them, but there's nothing terribly precious in our house that won't go in the washing machine! We do know that the cats miss the company though, our old cat in the UK definitely used to pine and not eat much for a couple of days - and would sulk and not speak to us for half a day when we came back. Lou

Some of the Mairie's do indeed have email addresses - but in my experience don't expect to get a reply! The site mentioned above should also give you the opening times - far better to arrange it so you can go along in person. At the risk of kicking off the "should you shouldn't you introduce yourself" debate, we did and the secretary and Maire were delighted...... Ours is a small commune of about 110 people - I think it makes more sense when you are likely to bump into the Maire on a regular basis. Lou

Paul - no snow in Boulogne at the moment (in fact it's quite sunny, but very wet as it poured all day yesterday) - doesn't look like we're forecast it for the weekend in this area - the forecast says snow at 500 m. We'll just get the rain Of course they could be wrong.....!! Lou

It's the DPE - the energy efficiency report which is affected by the 1st Jan 2011 law. Any advert - by an agency or a private individual - will have to list the energy rating on it. Also, you can't/won't gain anything by having your exeprtises done "early" as it's the date of the final "acte authentique" which determines which expertises are needed - if your signing is after the date a new law comes in, you're affected and have to comply. Lou

My insurance was renewed in July, and the green form no longer has the bit mentioned by Cooperlola above. (it did last year). I just assumed the format had changed and didn't think any more of it....   Lou

Don't worry Coops I'll save you from that decision - I'll take Brad Pitt off your hands - no, really, I don't mind at all......... Lou