[Cost of heating oil]

We had our tank filled this morning & it was 0.52 cents a litre.

[RECIPES - STARTER / MAIN / DESSERT]

Thank you sooooo... much for this scone recipe.

I have never had any luck with  them so today I tried this recipe & they were FAB-U-LOUS!

It took me more time to clear the worktop than it did to make & cook them.

I have a fan oven, but I cooked them for 8 mins at 240 and then the last two mins at 220, they were just perfect.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Anyone phoned tax office for exchange rate yet?]

We went into the tax office this morning as I felt happier about getting it right than doing it online.

The lady didn't seem to have a clue about it.

Last year a lady there wrote down our weekly pensions in sterling, x 52 & then used an exchange rate from somewhere in her desk to convert it.

So i gave this year's lady the same information & she had no idea what rate should be used. I said that I had seen 1.04986 mentioned & she attempted to do the conversion with her calculator ... 5 times! In the end, I suggested we use 1.05 as it was easier, which she did.

If it's wrong, then the tax people will have to let us know, I don't know what else one is supposed to do!

[Retired & totally confused!]

Thanks Gosub, nothing is ever simple is it!

[Windolene equivalent]

Ok, you can use Brasso or equivelant, go to the garden centre & see what they sell for obscuring glass in greenhouses in hot weather, OR.....

try this

Epsom Salts and beer. That gives the opaque look and also

came out really nice. I only recall pouring enough beer into

a dish of E.Salts to moisten it gradually. Then 'paint' it on!

[Retired & totally confused!]

Thank you so much for a clear & easy explanation.

They didn't send us the 2047 form this year, so I think we will turn up at the tax office again & get her to help us out.

I will also get in touch with the Uk for the other form.

It's a shame really, because if it hadn't been for some interest on the French bank account that we received before we bought our house, we would have been excempt for tax again this year.

C'est la vie!

[Retired & totally confused!]

Can anyone help please?

I am retired, live permanently in France & filled out my tax return for the first time last May.

The lady at the tax office filled out my UK state pension details on the 2047 form & told me that I didn't need to apply to be taxed in France under the double taxation treaty.

I have now received the 2042 SK form, already filled in with my details & French bank interest, do I put my UK pension in the Pensions, retraites, Rentes box or should I ask for a 2047 form?

Also, will I need to complete the double taxation form that she said I did not need?

Help!

[The Taxman Cometh]

With apologies to any taxman who may read this!

THE TAXMAN COMETH

At the end of the tax year, the Tax Office sent an inspector to audit the books of a Synagogue.

While

he was checking the books he turned to the Rabbi and said, 'I notice

you buy a lot of candles. What do you do with the candle drippings?'

'Good

question,' noted the Rabbi. 'We save them up and send them back to the

candle makers, and every now and then they send us a free box of

candles.'

'Oh,' replied the auditor, somewhat disappointed that his unusual question had a practical answer.

But on he went, in his obnoxious way:

'What about all these bread-wafer purchases? What do you do with the crumbs?'

'Ah,

yes,' replied the Rabbi, realising that the inspector was trying to

trap him with an unanswerable question. 'We collect them and send them

back to the manufacturers, and every now and then they send us a free

box of bread-wafers.'

'I

see,' replied the auditor, thinking hard about how he could fluster the

know-it-all Rabbi. 'Well, Rabbi,' he went on, 'what do you do with all

the leftover foreskins from the circumcisions you perform?'

'Here, too, we do not waste,' answered the Rabbi...

'What we do is save all the foreskins and send them to the Tax Office, and about once a year they send us a complete dick.'

 

 

[Our Baby birds have flown!!]

Whilst on the subject of baby birds & nests, can anyone tell me if we should clear out our nesting boxes in the Autumn?

They are occupied with blue tits at the moment, but I wasn't sure if we needed to clean them out once they vacate!

[fish & chip van]

[quote user="NormanH"]This thread is a good example of the what I like to call  "Spain must be full up" peo

[/quote]

I have to tell you that there is an English Fish & Chip van in our area. We do go about once every three months as a treat, but guess what, last time I went, there were as many French families enjoying the food as there were Brits.

[Sorry but the French are c r a p drivers]

[quote user="Bugbear"]The way to deal with tailgaters on minor roads is simple.

When it is impossible for them to overtake, slow down safely to a stop. Get out of the vehicle, open the boot/tailgate and, with a hand-gesture, ask them if they would like to get inside.[/quote]

How many teeth have you lost so far then Gary?? 

[Can I just say a big thank you to everyone....]

Nice to know peoples efforts are appreciated.

I bet it won't be too long though before you are passing on your wisdom to others.

Good luck to you.

[fabric]

There's a fabric shop behind Carrefour at Boisseul just of the A20.

[Taxe d'habitation]

We are retired & last year our income was not high enough to pay French Tax.

We did not receive a Tax d'Habitation demand & I phoned up the Hotel des Impots who told me that as we did not pay tax, we were excempt this year.

[Translation please?]

Souquet is also a place name in Aquitane, so perhaps it's the way they cook the steak?

[Films you recommend]

For the ladies, I would recommend.....

Pay it Forward (a big weepy!)  Shakespeare in Love, Dear Frankie

For the men I would recommend....

Swordfish (John Travolta & Halle Berry)   Kingdom of Heaven (A Ridley Scott movie) and Dejavu (Denzil Washington) all of the Bourne Trilogy

& as suggested previously, Man on Fire is a must see.

[dormice - loir advice please]

The only advice I can find is to put them in a box that has a warm towel in it & they should then go back to sleep until May.

You can't force them to do this though!!

[Unwelcome visitor]

There are many methods you can employ to remove unwanted Stone Martens but the kindest

and simplest way to deter or evict these beautiful creatures is to spread a

liberal quantity of good old fashioned mothballs in the area that they have

inhabited, the poor old Fouine can't stand the smell and will often move out

straight away.

French for the Stone Marten

In France the Stone Marten

is known as La fouine - which translates as the long pitchfork

[English food shop ?]

Hi ValB

We love boiling bacon & have always pressure cooked them.

I now get mine vaccuum packed from our local Attac supermarket & they are really superb. They are demi-sel, so I don't have to pre-soak them & they come out as tender & tasty as you could wish for.

I've also bought them from Champion, Leader price & Carrefour & they were all very tasty.

[How to write in French?]

Thank you Sue.

Who knew it would be so complicated!

[How to write in French?]

Thank you so much Clair, you are a star.

[Chanel 5, fiver etc off air]

Ours are all working ok via Sky.

[How to write in French?]

Can anyone please help me word a letter to our Mutuelle Insurers.

We need to cancel the current contract that expires at the end of June & I'm not sure how to word the letter.

I know we must post it Recommandee, anything else we should do?

[How to approach this]

Could you get a brochure sent to him direct from the company or do you think he might realise it was you?

We knew someone in the UK in this situation & once he got his, he was off on the slopes all the time. It really gave him a new lease of life again.

[Oil prices]

[quote user="Scooby"]LOL - Ernie just noticed my typo!!

  Any suggestions as to how we can 'fix' the boiler so she can't come and switch it on?? 

[/quote]

We bought a cheap timer & put it between the boiler plug & wall socket. You can set it to come on for five mins a day if you want & if they keep putting the boiler on, it will only fire up between the times you have set!