Gardian

Went to Barjac today for the Grande Foire d'Anquities. It's quite a big event - for anyone down this way, worth a visit & it's on till Monday. Loads of junk, but one man's junk is another man's ......... Anyway, couldn't believe my eyes. There was an IKEA round glass-topped table held by a curvy aluminium stand - they wanted €60 for it. My wife reckons that we paid twelve quid 4 years ago for the one that we've got down in our garage. Any offer over €20 secures! By the way, a new series of 'Grumpy Old Men' starts in 45 mins. Required watching for many of us - perhaps some of the regular Forum correspondents will feature?   

Just had a look on the internet and one site showed a Marten's tracks .......... and they're exactly what we saw. Although I said an Oak forest, there are some coniferous areas close by as well. If I'm not careful, I could easily get in to this wildlife thing. Cats, however, remain unimpressed.  Have a good Easter weekend.   

Oscar - take everyone's word on it and open an a/c over here. Just like the UK, each has it's +'s and -'s. Having done that, open an a/c with your local builder's merchant. They'll want a RIB (can't remember what it stands for, but its a slip of paper that you can print off confirming your bank details) and probably want to look you up and down to see if you're a decent looking bloke.  Really! It just makes it a lot easier getting your materials - or having someone else getting them for you. Best of luck - you'll need it. 

Chris - many thanks for your reply. Being 'the man' in this field, I was hoping that you'd respond. I've just told 'Sammy' that she's still nifty, but she wasn't impressed. It was never like this back in the UK.  From your information, will now be reading up on our unwelcome passer-by!  Thanks again.

We live right on the edge of a very dense Oak forest, which is full of sangliers. Been here 18 months and never seen one, but I've heard them and during the hunting season (mercifully over, for now) there are plenty of shots being fired. The other night, one of 17 year old cats went out for a late-night 'constitutional'. After about 20 minutes, there was an enormous racket outside, with brooms being knocked down etc. I eventually got the cat in after about another 20 minutes and she was well and truly shaken up. Off her food for a day or so, didn't want to go out, very wary of the outside world. No injuries though. Today, we found some dried up mud prints on the patio. Big stride - nearly a metre and of the size that I found in the fresh snow one morning at the end of Jan. We're told that the boar go down to the stream at night for a drink. The prints don't seem to be cloven, which presumably a boar's are (?) Seems to be 4 or 5 'pads' in shape, so more likely a big dog, one would have thought. But if a dog, wouldn't I have been more likely to have heard a bark - there was no animal sound at all. Any ideas anybody?   

All good advice. If in Paris, be sure to visit the Musee d'Orsay. Wonderful building (a former station) & wonderful works of art, even for a Philistine like me. Whilst over here, think about taking a TGV down to Lyon - 2 hrs max. Nice city, quite compact, with a pleasant old quarter which is cheek by jowl with the new. Relatively unknown to most Brits, because most of us have previously passed it by in the pele-mele dash to the deep South.  

The rest of (this small) world must think that you're all absolutely 'barking' - for non-Brits, that means, mad! Come back in your own time Twinkle - no rush.   

Dick Smith - are you at Wal ? (WCGS in my day).

"Tough" - as used every other word by professional tennis players ............ and Sue Barker. Keep them coming Gluestick - looking forward to your next contribution.

Danny - doesn't sound too bad to me. We've just paid more or less double that for 20sqm of floor tiling, but a screed was required, hence 2 days work. TVA was paid, so not 'on the black'. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Our job was a full 2 days-worth & immaculately done. Imagine our 20sqm x €14 = say £200. That's £25 / hr. You'd be lucky to get someone to walk through your door for that in the UK, wouldn't you?    

"Going forward". Only to be used every other sentence in order to add gravitas. For me, probably because a former (hated) boss used it all of a sudden. He got it off of his new boss. Sends me apoplectic (I think that means angry).  

Teamedup - I think that I said "Reasonably OK" rather than "Good", but no matter. I suppose that as was said, I can understand most conversations and get 90% of it, even if I don't register every single word. Difficulties arise with slang, local accents and speed of delivery. Telephone conversations are the hardest. As for my spoken French, it's undoubtedly accented, but as for whether it's a reasonable accent, other French say that it is. My neighbour says that he'll begin to believe that I speak really well when I get all my genders right! Eighteen months over here has improved my vocabulary umpteen times over. The key to it for me is that I was taught properly at school. It had a strong Languages Dept and you were taught how to conjugate verbs properly. Having done Latin as well, it tended to come a lot more easily. Students were encouraged to spend 3 weeks 'on exchange' and I did that for 3 years running - that sort of total immersion makes you learn very quickly. 

You're absolutely right, Sprogster, but it's a truism, isn't it? My French (incl accent) is reasonably OK, but most other things in life .................. Certainly not music, and though I like what I like, I could never play it. For most, "Learning French to a high degree of fluency etc, etc" isn't realistically achievable. Works the other way too. There was a French guy on the Today prog yesterday morning - he was interviewed because he wrote an article last week about French life (strikes etc). He could speak English, but was virtually uninitelligible. Just one of those people: a mumbler. 

KKK seemed to be 'fishing' for a role! If she were to be proposed by some poor unsuspecting soul and there were to be a vote - how many? Nul points? No, I'd vote for her - wonderful chaos would reign. Just an (inflammatory) thought.

This has got sfa to do with the original thread, but it has just a hint over the 25 min turnrounds & seat allocations. Friends travelling back recently. Scrum had duly taken place and everyone mostly settled. Loud Brit, wife, babes, pushchairs and all the usual excess cabin baggage - late boardings. "I demand to be seated!" (meaning, "We want to be all together, despite turning up close to the wire") Result: poor Ryanair F/E's trying to cajole people to move for this cretin and his brood. Late departure. In truth, it probably wouldn't be any different with the so-called flag carriers & seat allocation, but don't you just hate people like that?

The 'normal' deposit is 10% I think, but as with all things in life, this is negotiable. We said that we would put up 5% and there was no quarrel (but doubtless because we were buying from another Brit and he probably trusted us). The question really (as the politicians would say) is how much the property is, that you are buying. Remember that you lose that deposit if you bale out after signing the compromis, so it's a balance: minimise your deposit (just in case), but make it big enough to demonstrate intent. The other thing is timing. If you've got borrowings to arrange, there can be delays (equally and more so if there's a property to sell in the UK). Try to agree a 'long' date for the Acte de Vente, just in case. You may not need it, but ............  Negotiate: there's nothing set in stone.

"One X-ray, then an injection to make him sleep, then a plaster on his leg, to stay there for a month." What a way to treat Mr SB, just because he'd been on a few trips!  

Apologies 'Sprogster'. You're quite right - just had a quick look on the Ryanair website & the Flt Info shows them as operating in & out of France, but there is a separate list as long as your arm of the cancelled flts, including ones which appear in the other bit as 'on time'. 

I have a feeling that the actual impact on Ryanair's services down here today was less than initially broadcast. Their website suggested that (by mid-afternoon) only a handful were being delayed or cancelled. Certainly, the effect on the Nimes services over the last week or so has been zero. The tower is run by the French Navy and the ground staff employed by the local Chamber of Commerce. The latter know, given the threats to the continued operation of the airport, 'which side their bread is buttered'. Provided Ryanair can get an ATC slot down through France, they will always get in to Nimes. Usual media over-dramatisation I suspect, though there will doubtless have been some problems.

Going back to your original question, we gave our 2 removal guys £120 + €50. Doesn't seem like a lot to me for people who were involved with our move for 6 working days. They made life very easy at a traumatic time. As someone said, it was a small fraction of the total bill. 

Chris' post is reassuring & informative. Have seen one grass snake emerging from our bedroom one Summer morning - wife less than ecstatic! Our neighbour says that in 10 years of living here (and he's retired, so out and about all the time), he's seen just one adder. Commonsense says not to walk around in the long grass / undergrowth in 'bare' legs. Truth is that you've got more chance of being injured on the rural roads by a Parisien now that we're in to the tourist season, than by one of those guys. 

Not the happiest outcome, but from the initial sounds of it, sadly inevitable. You did the right thing. Best therapy - find another (or 2!) young cat(s) to cheer you up. You undoubtedly will.

Sorry - not long distance flights, but UK down to Montpellier when we moved down here 18 mths ago. We consigned our two16 year olds to a professional carrier prior to the house packing process. Five days in the cattery, then 'club class' (the aircraft hold actually) down here, and picked up by us from the cargo area on arrival. Cost a bomb, but better for us and them. Best way. Cats v p***ed off on arrival, but like all cats, they didn't bear a grudge for more than about 6 months! Still going strong.

Thanks for the cheery thought Gay. Still, at least the grub in a Care Home here would be better than the swill served up to my poor late M-in-Law.

My wife needed treatment for 'hard skin' on her feet - probably nothing near as troublesome as the other problems posted here, but needed dealing with nonetheless. Our GP recommended a podologue in the nearest local town (who was also in the Yellow Pages), rang for an appt, visited, superb.  Spoke good English, though we didn't especially need it, was charming, and charged 20-ish euros for half an hour. Moral of the story - get a recommendation, pick up the phone, see someone, chances are that they'll be at least as professional as anyone you'll find in the UK. If not, try someone else. No different what you'd do in the UK. All the best.