Pun

jpe, Afirst class reply, the information you have given is of help to both the owner and renter, well done.

Hi Teamedup. I understand what you are saying and I did say the same thing, we do need some  sortof  way of   knowing or at least asking if a person or persons   are known to have any bad form (for the use of a better word) I do know that in the u.k. if you apply for a loan with at least one large building society (Halifax) you are checked out to see if your sound ref outstanding debt ect, As Ive said many times in the past this is France and the Laws are not the same, but perhaps such a register could be worked from a U.K. site ? But we really do need to have some sort of protection.

The brits who try to bring all the head aches they tried to get away from in the U.K. here to France, and the Brits who have not got the bottle to up and move to France but keep on telling us ex/pats how and why  to live here. And the Brits who do not want to learn and live the french way of life but come here just for cheaper housing.

And will really  get you on good terms with the locals, its called stealing.

First things first, make sure you wear gloves when dealing with any ivy and the second thing is as allan  titchmarsh says no matter what it is or looks like if you dont want it remove it and start again, I had and indeed still do have a few trees down our track and last year I cut from the lowest point (almost ground level) and as has been said the ivy has died and as Im writing thid you can see all the way up to almost the top of the tree's Ive done the dead and dieing ivy and that work was only done this last 6 month ago, so its no great task ,but I must pull down the higher dead stuff in one of those wind less days. (just cut it now and let the winter do it's worst)  

Dear Josephine, Many thanks for your post,  it was nice to have my comments about the big differences between long term lets and gite rentals substantiated - I got seriously slated for making this point in my previous posts - maybe some of those who chose to berate my points may read your comments and learn something!!! I still believe that 'long term rentals' would be better served in a separate section altogether on this site as they are nothing remotely related to 'gites' as the laws in France regarding responsibilities are very clear. Once again, thank you for your interesting post. Regards, Pun

Good morning one and all, first things first, 1, this call that I should give an apology  " What for" I stand by all Ive said, and if you want to remove me from L/FRANCE so be it. I gave my honest true thoughts on how I felt at the time the subject of letting and using all the correct legal ways of letting. and the gite side of life. and Having had a good nights sleep I stand by all I said, and that is this, you let long term ? then all the bills insurance/ rates etc, etc are all in the hands of   people who are now ln the property, if they dont pay the verious providers do the collecting and all tax ect is paid along the line by all concerned. 2, gite and gite matters are my concern and thats all Ive invested in at this time of writing this thread, and Ive spent on the best of every fitting/every bit of work ive had done and all for my customers to fully enjoy a good holiday, the only thing I cant look after is the weather but the inside entertainment has also been given the very best thought I can give, Ive not taken the simple way out and chucked a package together and think now I'll hold my hand out for the fee's and wait to see what comes up on Living -Frances gite page ref complaint after complaint section as we all see far to offten, ie should the place be heated, should I charge for cleaning, we found live wires sticking out the walls, the owners would only let us use the pool at certain times of the day!! When I read remarks like this its a bit like telling your kids on christmas eve father christmas wont be coming he's had an accident and is dead, so no gifts. All you have to do is look  at some of the complaints from the past and the last ones, "they are a load of repeats" and I dont and wont go down the road of the customer comes last, As I told Betty, I ran my own company for many years with a good result because I didnt run with the crowd, I didnt need to see a customer smile to know I was giving them the service they paid for, I soon found out by repeat after repeat orders for my services year after year and I was'nt in the funneral trade.   I feel that any new person's who may be thinking of going into the gite or long term let's and have followed this thread, will have had the warning of what not to do and the price you will pay if as FUMANZOKU will I'm sure tell you "you do it wrong" and if this fact and warning alone is the one good thing thats come out of this topic? It's been worth the fight, As I said yesterday Ive felt like Simon Cowel must feel of X factor fame and so in keeping with my new image, I dont feel I should say sorry, Not one of you can sing, a few of you are a mess and If you feel you owe your self a good gite (ready by summer 2008) holiday and you want to learn how to make a gite feel home from home,  Then let me know, "book early" Regards Pun, (Buy cheap today ,"buy again tomorrow"  or    (two guarantees in life (1) you',ve already had "you were born, the second "you one day will die. Its what you do between times that really count, so do them well..                                                                              

But betty  Ive not hanged anyone today, have you?? Regards your loving hero Pun.

Hi twinkle,   simons not suppose to be a singer, he's the one that makes the stars by doing all the planning and pleasing all the customers (ie record buying public)  

Hi  ,CHRIS  HEAD, I did wear a flack jacket for more years than I care to remember and I will say a few hail marys if it makes you happy. You know I feel like simon cowel of X factor fame must feel. Folk dont like it when you tell them what they dont want to hear "ie you cant sing, you look a mess, and your gite skills dont work" I think you'll go a long way. By chrishead, keep praying for me.

Betty, if you want to have ago first make sure you know  what your talking about, Ive said time and time again plan and plan and by doing your home work and having a plan you may do things better than if you dont plan, I said in september (look it up if you think Im telling you a porky) that i was doing a gite up now and it will be ready in one years time, (planning) this time scale so far has included full centrial heating oil and all fixed in "not plug in radiators , full pool ,again all to be fitted in, gates fitted, patio , bar.b.q. heated tub, all this is for the gite and the customers use . ref my experience without going into to much detail, I retired at 53 years of age having owned my own company for many years, and I can assure you Im no fool and I dont take any prisoners ref why me brigade, If you want to find fault with people you dont know, then your dreaming or hiding behind the keys of your P.C. I,ll leave it up to you to decide how you feel, ?but for me, I dont like one sided situation's and Id like to hear all sides ref this situation pre making any remarks ref respect for one side or the other. For all we know these people may have a complete different story as to why they didnt (infact if they didnt pay on time or the last 2 months rent) you,ve hanged them on the word of a so called gite owner who,s telling all this stuff when we dont know the full story. Do you feel this is right? Would you sooner have a load of people on this thread who all say how wonderful every one or thing is when infact the truth is some people cant take the truth or a different view, if it's not  what they want to hear they get all up set. You make your own mind up Betty as to the person's you want to respect, but I'll say this if I tell you something you can bet your life it's complete and true and I'd say it to your face if need be and not hide behind a P.C. I do hope I dont make to many mistakes,but as you have said I dont plan to make any and if I do I,ll not hide them from you or anyone. Well Betty for someone Ive never met Ive said enough to you so I'll wish you a good day and hope to speak again maybe with yet one more Gite topic. regards Pun.

russethouse Ive not shouted at you as you think, and Ive never been told by anyone that I have but if you really feel I have then dont bother getting involved, you didnt reply to the question I asked you months ago ref how many gites did you run, If you feel Im getting at you just dont bother getting involved again. and any suggestion ref running the LivingFrance Im sure I wouldnt need your help in finding the direction to aim at. I stand by the points Ive made, and Im not one of these people that need to be liked to please,  as Ive said Im only interested in the customer and giving  the best service on offer, not listening to one side of any storyand then making a judgement. regards Pun.

I agree  100% these people if its all true should be named and shamed It might be the time for an register or something such as this so we all both gite owners and customer alike could refer to ,so both parties could protect themselves from problems such as this last thread has come up with, at least if we did have such a body to refer to we would have something at the moment we have no way of  knowing the good gite owners or the good customers from the cowboys. do we?? Regards Pun.

Hi  RUSSETHOUSE, The Law for letting is not the same as for gite, ie the person who takes a long term let has a lot more rights than a short term gite (2-3 week) as Ive said we're talking about a holiday let and a long tern let and this site is for gite, not long term lets or B/B Whats the point in having a section to deal with a subject if it,s going to be dealing with all subjects.? I wouldnt dream of asking motoring questions in this section would you? The problem with some people is they have no plan, make mistake after mistake ,and wonder why people like me who do spend both time and money to do the chosen task to a good level, tell them it's no wonder your upside down and in a mess. Im into the task of providing a gite holiday with as much comfort as I have at home , ie heating when needed, furniture worth having, a safe area for children pool with all the safety requiued by law and on hand in the same country if needed, and thats why I pay attention to this site, Im not into long lets but the gite side of things.  Ive asked for and got advice ref Insurance details for this venture, also fire alarms, bush-bike advice from people who have and have not tried them with the gite holiday, all this info and a lot more Ive got not through looking at the rose tinted glass idea but through the Interest of providing a top of the range holiday to my customers, All this is with the help of knowing the section I need to be dealing with and PLAN /PLAN AND PLAN AGAIN. and all for the gite not letting. I hope RUSSETHOUSE you have a better idea as to my idea's ref this subject and why Ive said 2 year letting shouldnt be in this site. regards Pun.

How are you going to send "e" mails to the gite owners in the place you think these rip off  tenants are without naming anyone????? Do yours self a favour and try reading your post pre sending them. you talk a load of rubbish.

Hi  Eslier, I had'nt read your reply when I just sent a second reply to our friend Famanzoku, but what you've said are my words perhaps put in a better way, This is a thread for the people both wanting gite info and people who do operate gites as you have said, renting is a complete different ball game and in my mind should have its own site, maybe the living France editor would like to think about such a site, but thank you for your comment on this subject. regards Pun.

Hi Fumanzoku, Who's the one with the problem ? you or me, and whos the one that wanted the 2 year easy rent when as you said you could have made more money by giting the normal way, and who'' is crying about being ripped off?? Whats your goal in the giting world anyway, two year renting is not this thread, and as far as I know we dont have a landord thread on living France. if your going to take the easy way out by letting, then seak legal advice on how to do "letting" and not use this thread for your mistakes. this is a gite thread not a renting for 2 year one. regards Pun.

Hi  Hoddy, I didnt know you couldnt name and shame, it's a pity as it once again lets the wrong doer walk away and the person trying to make an honest living ending up picking the pieces up. Thanks for your info ref this matter.   regards Pun.

I read your comments and again find it one mess from start to finish, how you can go on how a person looks to do a long term let  really is just the last straw, did they have a ref from the pope? did you know anything about these good looking people? And if you really want to give this warning to all the gite owners in France WHY wont you name these people??? You are about to make yet one more big and costly mistake by phoning/ writing to all the gite owners in Coulonges. Landlord and gite are two very different ways of earning a living and by law two year lets in france have a protection system that is very different to 2or3 week gite lets. If you had a plan to gite then you would have lost very little money wise (if a deposit was taken .) but if you go on the Ive now rented for two years without any legal system being used you left your self wide open to a con, and sir you have been well and truly conned hook line and sinker. So if you feel you want to warn every gite owner , lets have the names and at least we all have a chance of  doing something about such people.

Hi Jane and Danny, nice to hear from you both, not heard from you for a while, Ive just got back from my meeting place (the bin-tip) freezing cold and no brits in sight, "they've got more sense than me" But I did see as the tip got further away from the summer tippings that some laurel that had been tipped had rooted and was growing away full of the joy's of "well winter" so they do seem to root o.k Well must go and have a nice hot coffee and thaw out. good gardening..  

Hi  WJT. Nice to talk to you, now I dont know if you can take cuttings of the laurel, but Im sure one of our gardening army of friends can help out here. Its now 6pm here and Ive been in the garden for most of the afternoon doing I hope the right thing, (Ive cut down a peach tree) Blame Alan titchmarsh. he's always saying if it's not wanted chuck it out and start again, dont be afraid to change, "well when we bought this house 6years ago the prev/owner didnt have much idea ref gardening but lots of enthusiasm for plants /trees etc. she lived here alone and spent many hours planting things in the wrong place and without thought as to the size of the plants etc when fully grown, ie we had a peach tree approx 3feet away from a lilac tree 6inch away from the edge of a raised wall and the rest of the garden continues in this way, it seemed that the lady just went out and bought the plant and when she got it home just planted it without any thought as to it's size when grown. so  after all this time I decide to remove the complete tree and start again in this part of the garden, Its going to be all flowers in this part, But as I said, winters is here, Ive got my long johns on and I dont care who knows it, the air is cold, and for the past 2 nights we've had frost on the car windscreen,   The good thing about this weather is I myself can do a lot more gardening than when it's boiling hot, In this part of France we can use the local bin tip 3 days aweek monday, friday &saturday, So after todays tree removal you can guess my first job 9am tomorrow, Ive met some of my best english friends at the tip, so lets hope I meet a new one tomorrow. nice talking to you and I hope you get the reply ref the laurel. Good gardening. From Pun dept 23 limousin.

I did mean to ask this first pre my last post ref prune/ect. Feed the wild life in the garden, birds, The birds will if fed give you hours of pleasure by just being there, they need your hepl with feeding due to less light hours in the winter day, and the bugs ect just are not there,   RICE, MASH-SPUDS, RAISINS SOAKED BREAD, CORN, AND SHOP BOUGHT BIRDFEED PEANUTS, All of these and water will really help the bird life throught the winter, we do need birds in the garden, they help with the pest by eating them in the spring/summer, they provide the back drop in the spring /summer by the singing, All we have to do is direct the waste we no longer need, to the bird table, this can be an old bin lid on four bricks to stop it falling over, the birds will soon know the food supply and wait for your visit daily, or spend a little time making your own feeder,   and what a fantastic present to both someone you do or dont like, a bird feeder or hanging wire peanut holder???? Hope you've got the message.

Hi Folks, I hope your all well and looking forward to the winter evenings in front of the fire, this is the time to get nice and relaxed and plan the spring / summer ideas, Its also a good time to have a look now before the trees have shed all leaf, by looking at the trees with the leaf still on it gives a better idea the wood you want to remove in a couple of months time, I mark the wood I want to take off with marker paint or you can use masking tape, by doing this it makes it simple to remember the wood you wanted to take off  as the trees look a lot different when nude of the leaf,   Its also a good time now to have a look around the garden centres as they have all the trees and bushes in ready to plant before the hard frost appear, make sure any newly planted trees/ shrubs have the best start by putting a base slow acting feed in the bottom of the hole your going to plant in, leaf mould/ compost ect will all help and a good strong stake for the taller ones, if the new plant is in a windy part of the garden try to help it by also as well as the stake use a windbreake ie hessian or sacking staked around the outer area of the tree base. It's worth the extra effort and the reward is two fold, (a) you'll not waste your money by seeing the tree die due to no effort on your part, (b) you'll have a tree/shrub that not only looks good but will give you pleasure for years to come. If your thinking as I am of doing some hedging and you've a rabbit problem, use Laurel, it has a chemicle in the leaf that the rabbit wont go near and this hedging will soon spread and show its self, it can be pruned to keep it at a managable height.   And last but by no means least, if your thinking of buying new gardening books dont, until youve looked in the charity shops ie Oxfam ect, the have a good selection most of the time due to people both giving the books and people leaving the books when they die, Ive found some very good out of print books that are much better than the modern ones of to day and for a fraction of the price, So have a nice evening thinking and planning the next springs garden. Happy gardening.    

Hi  surgeonnofsteel, many thanks for your reply ref mole/traps. Ive just had a look at the info @ roottrainers. and very interesting it sounds, Are you going to give this product a go ?  if so could you let all of us know the results after say 12 weeks trying ?   The market seemingly is flooded with products and its finding the ones that work is our problem hence we are all hoping for that one and only one to come along and as given the thumbs up by a user and not a company rep. We do need a product that will work in an area surounded by miles of fields and we are in the middle and so its a product that keeps on doing the trick because we all understand that these little sun shaded darlings are just waiting to return as soon as they feel the lawns looking to good.   So how do you feel about the request to let us know your results?? regards Pun.

Hi  Hoverfrog, I f you want to really do this job once and only once then this is the only way to do it , cut all the top growth down to ground level, this can be done by using a sythe or a electric hedge cutter , Once all the top stuff is removed  you now must get all the roots up (no root no top growth) if you leave any roots they will grow in the spring very quickly. I did this method last winter using a rotovator to get the roots up, I turned the soil over several times until I could not find anymore roots and the results are first class but you really must get the roots up.and the soil is now getting a good airing at the same time and you can smell that fresh soil. as a form of  a bonus, when the land is cleared you 'll see a hell of a lot more garden than you thought you had the brambles make the garden look a lot smaller than it really is. I did my garden during the winter it was the best time as the growth slows down then and I got an old oil barrel put holes in the bottom outer edge and kept burning all the brambles all day as I worked, by evening I was ready for a hot shower and a night in front of the log fire but a job done once and well worth the work. Good luck, Pun.