Brian

Yes it does I'm afraid. If you're gites or b & b you have to pay for each tv you have for guest use. We had a lady from the impots call on us a couple of years ago and wanted to fine us because we hadn't declared the tvs in the gites. As we didn't know anything about it she said if we wrote her a letter in french begging forgivness she might let us off. We did and she did thank god as it was quite a big fine.

Sorry, don't know why the links don't work. They seem ok on the Total France Forum so you can see Sammy there or maybe someone could make them magically appear..... please!

Hello everyone, Sammy here. I just want to let everyone know that my new mum & dad picked me up yesterday and brought me to my new home. I think I may have landed well & truly on my paws here. My new home is lovely. There are lots of lovely new bushes & things to sniff and plenty of nice trees to cock my leg on. I also have lots of new friends. Katie, Surprise, Zebedee & Dillan, the horses, Dolly & Tiddly-Pom,the little sheep and Rodney, Mum, Big Foot & Snowy, the chooks. I think it may be hard work training my new mum & dad but I'm sure if I'm patient they'll get there in the end. My dad seems to learn quite fast but not so sure about mum......bless her! I didn't fancy my doggie tea last night and my new dad even cooked me some sausages instead. Start as you mean to go on........ that's what I say! I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone for caring about me and a very special thank you to my carers for looking after me so well and finding me such a lovely new home. I think my old mum & dad would be very happy! Lots of love & big sloppy kisses Sammy xxxxx http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/sammychien/SDC10337.jpg http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz36/sammychien/SDC10331.jpg

Hi Chris I pm'd you back yesterday but as I've not heard anything I'm not sure you received it. If not if you could pm me again with your phone number I can call you with mine. Regards Gill

After trying loads of times I've finally managed to log on using our old e-mail address which I'd forgotten about. Sammy is coming to live here with us and we are so looking forward to it. We just have to sort out picking him up as it's going to be quite a journey for him and the lady who is kindly looking after him wants to get him a bit more used to the car first. I can assure everyone we will do everything we can to help Sammy settle in and enjoy his new life with us. We feel very happy at the thought of sharing our home with him and we are so looking forward to many happy doggie times together. Many thanks to everone for their kind wishes. Gill

Hi Jane Thanks for your reply. The chickens were all still in the pen (24 sq.M), one had been virtually eaten, one half eaten but the other three had their throats ripped out but no other damage. We have found on the forum someone locally who has chicken families for sale so we are going to see them tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to keep the chickens secure and enjoy them, we keep them as pets not as 'eaters'. We are going to make sure the run is as secure as we can get it but still allow the chickens to be as free range as possible. Thanks again for replying it is appreciated. Brian

Has anyone got any bantams needing good homes or for sale. While we were at the shops today something got into our chicken run and killed 5 out of our 6 Wynadotte bantams. We are devastated. We built them a lovely new pen for them to enjoy but obviously it wasn't secure enough. We have put the remaining one in an enclosed run while I turn the new one into a fortress. We feel dreadful that the poor chicken is on its own so need companions for it quickly. We are in area 86 near Civray. Thanks for taking the time to read this Brian

Hello (Buzz) Jetlag We have a (buzz) problem with bees. Rang the pompiers as instructed (buzz) but they said NON look in pages jaune! Rang the Mairie (buzz) and they said they would get an apiarist to call, still waiting! They are in the roof space of our gite (buzz), in all of our shutters (buzz) and in the pool area. They even came down our chimney but we lit the fire and they (buzzed) off. Who or what is the sublim? Our first guests come in 10 days, Help! Brian 

We've only just entered the gite business, this will be our first year. Our main (expensive) advertiser, Chez Nous, has not yielded a single booking so far but one of our cheap ones has generated almost £10, 000 worth of business!  Therefore we are leaning towards the cheaper sites at the moment so I am willing to try a free year if it's on offer.                        

I can't believe people can do this, how can it be allowed.? Our signatures added and forwarded.

  Thanks so much. I'm going to the supermarket tomorrow to buy them all! I'll try the pool stuff to.If they work I should have the shinyest(is that how you spell it, doesn't look right) showers in France. I might have to issue our guests (when we get any) with sunglasses so they dont damage their eyes when they go in the bathrooms. I'll let you know how I get on. Gill (Bri's OH & little scrubber)  

Does anyone know of anything that will remove the horrible limescale/calcium deposits that the water leaves on shower screens/doors. I've tried lemon juice and vinegar but it doesn't seem to do anything. I hope there is something coz I've got quite a few to clean and I'm fed up scrubbing and not getting anywhere. Thanks  

I phoned the tunnel people yesterday to ask this very question. I was told  there is no problem taking paint, woodstain etc. through the tunnel as long as the containers are sealed.

Look forward to that Chris, speak to you soon!

Hi Chris We have a book written by David Hampshire, one of the range of survival books, with the title of "Living and working in France". Under the finance chapter and referring to income tax there is a list of items that can be offset against tax. One of the items is the purchase of forest or woodland! We do not know any more than that. By the way Chris, are you the same Chris that lives in Civray and is involved with wildlife. If so we are coming to live near you in Mauprevoir in two weeks and we are interested in learning more about the local wildlife. For instance we have a resident barn owl in a barn in our new property and want to ensure we don't scare him or her off.