Gardian

Well, it's north west-ish from here. Whatever, you're in another world. Our neighbours' eyes glaze over when we mention visitors coming from the UK - it might as well be Mars! As far as they're concerned, foreigners are people from 'Pont' (Pont St Esprit), just 20 kms up the road. Long may it continue. Going back to the eyes and toes, reckon I saw something similar on the deli counter today. Tasty!  

Tresco - must admit that I read this last night and wondered whether it was real or an excess of the old CDR on my part. Wonderful story & couldn't have been made up. Is that what you folks in the NW do all the time? (as in chopping off toes, etc?) 

Do let us know how the 'old chap' makes out. It happens to us all when we get a bit elderly. Doubt that I'll get as good treatment / tlc when I get a bit, or rather more, infirm. Ours has made a full recovery by the way - been sleeping blissfully in the Southern sun this p.m.  It's a cat's life! 

No direct help I'm afraid, except to endorse the previous post. One of our cats was poorly yesteray evening and we rang at 22.30, spoke to the vet at his practice (he was the local one 'on call'), drove the 15kms and had the little chap treated within the hour. A jab, a bucketload of pills and plenty of reassurance, all for 79 euros at that time of the weekend! Would never have got that in the Thames Valley. Best of luck 2moro.

We're not a million miles away from you. The weather conditions can make it very flakey: You just have to shrug your shoulders and accept it. Just hope that it doesn't happen when it's something impt.

Thanks v much Val. Much to think about over the coffee & brandy!

Thanks to you both. Any more advice would be gratefully received..

Our son announced his engagement at Christmas and the two of them have been making plans for a wedding in 2007. They're over for a long weekend and have just sprung the suggestion of having the wedding over here. On face value, it seems like an idea worth pursuing: apart from anything else, the cost of a reception is likely to be significantly less than the astronomic cost in the UK. The legalities though. They are both UK citizens, work there and would remain there as UK residents. The reference book that I've got gives information on the need for a civil ceremony, posting of banns etc, but in principle, are there any issues / insurmountable legal hurdles to a wedding in France? Does Inheritance Law come in to play? For the record, they were both baptised as Roman Catholics. Apologies if this one has been covered before - if it has, a pointer to the thread concerned would be much appreciated.   

Having lit the blue touchpaper 24 hrs ago, thought that it would be appropriate to say: The thread certainly wasn't aimed at you, Tresco. Have never (in my brief existance here) found your posts 'tiresome'. Miki's comment about this being the most tiresome thread of 2006 was well-aimed and appropriate! Loved 'Christine Animal's' menu - we have friends for the weekend & am thinking of serving it. The original post went typically, but pleasantly off-thread.  Point made?   

Can't speak for your neck of the woods, but around here I'm pretty sure that in mid-Sept there was a Departmental 'edict' which officially terminated the arrete (so to speak). A week or two before that though, there was a tacit understanding that it had become OK to re-commence watering, re-fill pools, wash cars etc. It had become a bit rainy, so it was blindingly obvious anyway, but I hasten to add that we're in an area where, although bloomin' hot in the Summer, we have a natural water source which gets quickly replenished as soon as rain starts. Bottom line is that there's almost certainly no ban just now, but it could come on at any time. according to where you are .......... and it can vary in it's degree from commune to commune, e.g. in this commune, you couldn't re-fill a pool, but 10kms down the road, you could. Your Mairie ought to know - but don't hold your breath!   

I'm going to light the blue touch paper and retire immediately! Is it me, or is there anyone else out there who finds some of the recent threads somewhat tiresome, if not offensive to each other's posts? Anyone arriving new to this forum might wonder what on earth is going on here. Just a thought: could the Moderator(s), one of whom has already rapped knuckles, either zap the thread, or better still, introduce a new column called the 'Bowlocks Rating'?  If the latter, then with a tick in that column, we could all ignore it. Having said that, I still find myself tuning in to the latest blast of vitriol !! .  

Brother-in-law & sister-in-law over for a long weekend. Went out for a walk with Peter this afternoon and bumped in to a couple down by the river.  They had a small bonfire going and had clearly been clearing a large-ish area of overgrown scrub etc. They were from Avignon (some 40kms away) and said that they come here most weekends for the day and a picnic in the Summer and wanted to tidy things up in preparation for the 'season'. Interested that we were now living here and weren't most Brits holiday home people? I replied that some were and some weren't. Nice chat: nice people. In their way, they are incomers, and I have no idea what 'right' they had to be doing what they were doing, but it harms nobody. (on the contrary)  My point is that some people are delightful and some people are ***holes, regardless of whether they're British, French, Dutch, German or whatever. Live and let live, I say. Everyone gets very hot under the collar about it all, but my conviction is that the French, by and large, feel much the same way. Give them the credit for understanding the economic pro's and con's of us the incomers.      

It's all very frustrating. I've posted about the problems with booking train fares up or down from this part of France before. Xmas 2004, after hours of messing around on the SNCF site, managed to get 2 round trips to London, 2nd class up to Lille, 1st on Eurostar, same on return, for E500 the pair. Thought that was excellent value and v civilised. Tried the same again last Nov for Xmas - E1200 !! Checked Ryanair and to my amazement, got 2 round trips (out 23/12, back 28/12) for about E250. If we'd been prepared to travel back on the 24th, it would have been significantly less. I guess that we're all in favour of market-driven pricing, but it can be so time-consuming. p.s. Never found anything other than silly prices with AF - are they still in business?  

Thanks everybody - it's on the shopping list!

Very boring, I know, but my wife says that I've got to ask. Can't seem to find the equivalent here. She reckons that the demi-ecreme milk is creamier than in the UK, so less than tolerable in her tea / coffee. And yes, the no milk option doesn't please her either! It's a dog's life! 

It's 'in the bag' for the French and deservedly so (though my predictions aren't all that good!) We won the World Cup because we had 3 or 4 world class players in the team (Johnson, Wilkinson, Dawson, Hill), with most of the rest of the team who were all good national-side players and who were fit and in form. With respect to Matt Dawson (who I agree is still playing well), there isn't anybody of world class in the team just now, and many of them would struggle to make it into the other national sides. We shouldn't really be surprised. For some reason, Woodward seems to have been getting a bit of flak recently. All this just shows how astute he was / is + he had that all-too-rare knack of quitting when he was ahead.    

Difficult to answer without knowing a lot more info, but on balance, I'd say "Just about". Your health situation needs to be thoroughly researched beforehand though, in terms of social security coverage. The thing that I would counsel you to plan for though is the amount of capital expenditure you're likely to get through in your 1st year or so of settling in. There are so many things to get / replace as a result of making a major move. Probably no different to what you'd have to do for a move within the UK, but the cost can mount up frighteningly. You also need to budget for those necessary trips 'back home' to see relations etc.

Don't know what's worse - having to pay money and witness it live Quillan, or put up with the (charitable) and sympathetic commiserations that I got from our builder, electrician et al this morning! Mark you, France weren't all that convincing either, were they? Just heard that we lost the Test as well, so there's no much hope is there?  

Sunday's rugby: France vs England. The locals are nervous - let's all try to make them even more so. Around here, nobody would admit to having watched their loss to Scotland the following day. I think that I entered in to a bet last Sat night over the result and that I pay for lunch if France win. Offers on the score?  I'll start it off with 20-27 (to us, of course). 

Coincidentally, our neighbour came round this afternoon to ask my, yes my advice for his Permis de Construire! This is in itself unusual, because Michel reckons that all the British know absolutely nothing about building, DIY etc, let alone French regs. On his visit to the Mairie, he was told that he had to do exactly what Will has said - 170 sq m = signoff by an architecte. He really had the hump, but could I give him details of the architecte we had used ("She seems like a nice lady"). I couldn't bring myself to tell him that it'll probably cost him E500 instead of the E50 that he thinks she'll charge for rubber-stamping his own drawings + one of his loveable hugs. 

The definition for your condition is 'ALD' (Affection de Longue Duree): other than that, only one thing to add to what Alan has said. If you do come over, try to get well stocked up with medication beforehand. Getting to your new GP over here may not be your very 1st act, then CPAM have to authorise it ......... can take a little while. Your UK GP will probably prescribe sympathetically.

Don't know where you are down here, but one of the biggest brocantes takes place at Barjac in the north of the Gard (right on the border with the Ardeche). It really is an enormous one, with dealers coming from as far as Paris for it.  Probably 300 - 400 stalls at least, Fri - Mon incl.. It also happens in mid-Aug, but this one seems better, because (presumably) the dealers have spent the winter stocking up and this is their 1st outing of the season. Of course, you may feel that this sort of thing is not for you, but there is usually everything from complete tat to some really worthwhile buys. Get there well before lunch.   

Steve ........... I'm sure you're right, but you're not married to my wife! Whatever the opposite of a hot house plant is, she's it. Definitely needs that extra 33%, but I'll sign off now and tell her that she's going to be one third too hot. You'll probably hear the ranting in Sharjah. Ian    

We've had to put in electric rads here & they're pricey to buy and to run. Can't really help with which system is best for you - there are so many factors and I don't have the technical competence. But, if it helps, here's my bro-in-law's info given to me on the watts you need. French opinion is that it's 'over the top', so if you more or less follow it, you shouldn't be cold - and you can always turn down the wick: Try this!!   1.    Lounge/Dining Room        multiply the room volume in m3 by 50.   2.    Bedroom                        multiply the room volume in m3 by 40.   3.    Kitchen/corridors            multiply the room volume in m3 by 30.   4.    Exposed site or north facing rooms allow an additional 15%.   5.    French doors/ windows    allow an additional 20%.   I have given you all the info for different room so you can see the relationship between them.  Hopefully this gives you the output required in watts.   While I have the info this is the imperial equivalent which gives output in Btu's:-   1.    Lounge/Dining Room        multiply the room volume in ft3 by 5.   2.    Bedroom                        multiply the room volume in ft3 by 4.   3.    Kitchen/corridors            multiply the room volume in ft3 by 3.   4.    Exposed site or north facing rooms allow an additional 15%.   5.    French doors/ windows    allow an additional 20%.   Please check this with your man, but I hope it is of use.  

We were asked for and paid 30% of the labour cost up-front and opened an a/c for materials to be drawn at the local builders merchant. Our architecte advised that this was normal & OK. However .............. we had the added advantage that our (bulky) neighbour, who had recommended the builder, said that he would "Cassez ses jambes" if there was a problem of any sort! It sort-of provided peace of mind. By the way, job 95% complete and builder reluctant to take any more money until everything complete to his entire satisfaction, despite delays not of his making. Happily, not always horror stories!