Bastet

Could someone definitively tell me whether or not one has to declare ALL income to CPAM, including that which due to its non taxable nature, is not required to be declared on the tax return?   This means that our RFR is low, as it just reflects our income from rental.    I am confused by the form.   Sorry to be so dim.. Last year, we had an unscheduled inspection from a CMU agent after I followed the advice of someone who seemed to know what was what, and just declared the RFR. We are still waiting on the result of an appeal as he miscalculated our total income.  The last we heard, CMU were verifying our RFR with the impots office. 

[quote user="ninahookins"] Am I right in saying that to buy glasses in france you need an appointment with an opthamologist first in order to obtain a prescription then go for an appointment at the opticans.[/quote] I, and several people I know have had glasses made up here, very succesfully, with UK prescriptions. The format of the prescription seems to be universal.  The downside is that you don't get anything reimbursed by CPAM.

Thanks Clair, that's perfect.

...to a french friend that a weekend/evening is 'booked up?'  I can't work it out, especially as in English we say it in the passive.  I'd guess that 'weekend' isn't the subject in the french equivalent but that's as far as I get....   

This is such a strange decision  for even Mr O'Leary to make. The flights are constantly full, whatever time of year. I think there must be a less obvious reason for him amending this timetable, I'm guessing maybe something to do with subsidies and Poitiers airport itself?  In fact, if you go into the Ryanair website, it seems to be possible to book for the months when the service is allegedly being stopped. Bizarre.   Are they intending to take people's money and go to all the trouble of refunding ?   Has anyone actually made a booking November- March?  

Yes, my basil seedlings were munched whilst in a plastic seed tray; now they're transplanted into pots I'll have to keep an eye on them. Sorry, haven't raised any in polystyrene to compare them to.    We have the "billes d'argile" around the hostas and I still regularly pick off snails from the leaves and I think there are slugs which were in the pots before we added this.  This is why I wanted to try the liquid - hit them while they're asleep....

If you can get some liquid slug killer(slug clear) that works on the slugs & snails as they breed and hide in the soil, that should be safe. Unfortunately, I've yet to find it in France.  I've seen it on UK ebay.; it costs £5 to buy & £3 postage to France or if you have anyone driving over from the UK, you could ask them to bring you some.

I've found it! It's called "Vere Novo"  from the collection "Les Comtemplations"

I've looked up Andrew Lang, and apart from writing a poetry book in 1872 called Ballads & Lyrics of Old France, there is nothing to connect him to Hugo.  At least it confirms there was an original french version, but I'm no closer to finding it.... Thanks anyway.

I'm going mad; I've found a poem in English by Victor Hugo & I'm trying to find out if he wrote it in English originally or it's been translated, in which case, I'd like the original. I've scoured the internet and can't find this poem in French, but neither is it listed in English, on the websites which give full lists of his work. The name of the poem is " The Genesis of Butterflies".  The only poem about butterflies listed on the french sites is "La Pauvre Fleur Disait au Papilon Céleste", not the same one. Are there any Hugo scholars who could help put me out of my misery?  Thanks.

Just to let you know that I went to CPAM and have been told that as I don't work with my OH, I will continue to be covered by them & not RAM.     

[quote user="bevvy"] Hi All I have a similar query. We have just received an income tax document from our french bank (with whom we have a mortgage); we are currently having a house built to use for holidays and do not intend to rent it out at any time in the future.  So far, since purchasing the land 3 years ago, we have only paid money out and received no income in France.  We already pay income tax in the UK (solely on PAYE) so surely we do not have to declare anything in France or fill out a tax form?  Any advice would be much appreciated. [/quote] Is this not similar to my recent posting, on behalf of a friend ?  It sounds as if the document is the same.

Thanks. So as far as the French tax office is concerned, they are not expecting a tax return from her. Sorry if I'm asking the obvious; I just want to be entirely clear about it.

We used LTP a few years ago to insatll a new fs, on the recommendation of friends, (and unofficially by Lezay water authority) and found them helpful and efficient.

A friend of mine, UK resident, opened a current and a savings account with a bank here in France last September. I'm not sure exactly what type of savings scheme it is, other than it's under the "prélèvement libératoire" regime.    She did this in anticipation of buying a house in France and has only the minimum amount of money in each. She hasn't yet bought a house here. The bank has sent her the attestation on the "opérations sur valeurs moblières et revenus des captiaux mobiliers" with an entry for line EE on a tax form.  Does she really have to complete a tax return for this?   The first year we moved to France we opened several bank accounts between May & August but on the advice of the tax office, didn't have to declare anything on the tax return for that year, we just had to sign it and send it in.  If she does have to fill in a tax declaration, I presume this is the only line she is obliged to complete ??  Thanks.

Thanks, will do.    Do you happen to know what they're called in French; boîtes des chauves-souris, boîtes aux chauves-souris?  There was mention of 'gîtes' on the website; is that the correct term?

Does anyone know of anywhere near Melle/St Maixent/Niort which sell bat roosting boxes?  I know they're probably not too difficult to make but I don't know one end of a hammer from the other & my OH is too busy.   Or a french online supplier?   We already have bats somewhere close by (they've moved from behind the shutters, thankfully) and I'd like to help them more.

Ditto; I've also searched everywhere; they appear in some muesli mixtures but never separately.   I always ask anyone going back to the Uk to bring me some.   I probably hanker for them more cos I know they're like hen's teeth.....and I'm sick of walnuts.... It's a mystery........

Feel very jealous of you guys on the ride today; what cracking weather for it.  Previous commitments stopped us from joining in this time but am hopeful for the future.......  

Well who would've thought such a small adjustment could make such a difference; (obviously not me, before now.) I deleted the "tr :" in the subject line and it went straight through. Thank you  BJSLIV     .

I would like to forward an e-mail from our wanadoo account to our yahoo one but it comes back as undeliverable saying " Recipient address rejected : Access denied (in reply to RCPT TO command.)  I've tried twice. My OH, who is the techie, is at work & incommunicado; can anyone help please?   Is it something in the set up of either account that I could change?    I'm sure we've successfully done this before.... Thanks.

I bought a small noise machine a few years ago, on the recommendation of a specialist I'd been to for tinnitus, and it did eventually help after a few months.  I had to  leave it on low, all the time, in the place where the tinnitis had most impact, so I kept it in the bedroom.  I quite liked the option of the waves crashing on the shore, or the babbling brook, but the OH said it made him want to get up & go to the loo all night, so I kept it on the white noise. The specialist told me that one of the causes is, (and this is somewhat over simplification) that if the brain can't hear anything, it's a primeval sign of danger, as in the calm before the storm, so it "invents" noise to fill the gap. Recently though, the tinnitus has become intense enough to be added to the many factors whch disturb my sleep, so it's back to the machine.  (how my subconscious brain can discount the sound of snoring emanating from the other side of the bed, baffles me.)

very funny, thanks for sharing Bugbear!

We were warned against doing this on the stage. If you need other trades on a project get them to deal direct with the client. If you take responsibility for finding other tradesmen & start fulfilling the role of project manager/ maitre d'ouvre (spelling?) then you become responsible for their work. Your insurance typically doesn't cover you for this, so you become personally liable for any defects discovered later. Depending on the scale of possible problems you could end up in a world of trouble! I stick to my own trade & only recommend local artisans whom I've worked with and so personally know the quality of their work. Even then it's only passing on a phone number to the client to take from there. Local rate seems to be €35 an hour, but as others have said it's only a figure used for building up a quote & the time taken to complete the work can be something else ;-) good luck with your endeavours

Thanks Nick. OH registered in Jan 07.  I don't want to register as a conjoint because from July this year, that will require separate pension contributions and I don't add value to the business and already have pension arrangements. I was concerned because the attestation from RAM doesn't mention me, so I wondered if somehow, I will still be covered by CPAM and not RAM. Because I had no reply earlier on and I was anxious about the situation, I subsequently posted a similar query in the Health section, the answers to which have also helped.