lavorgere

Where will you be staying - perhaps we can now reccomend ( spelling ? ) some areas to walk and places to see ?

Him -  ' I'm not as stupid as you think I am ' Her - ' Oh God I hope not ! '

Could you clarify for me please Clair ? We have just started the renovation of a very old property which we bought in 2003 - does this mean that we will only get a 25% credit for a heat pump etc after 01.01.10 ? We may have to bring some work forward in that case ! Thank you - your posts and links are always so helpful.

I had a long chat with P&O customer services before buying and was definitely told that you could buy the smaller numbers and also that you could allocate them to friends and family if you wanted to.

Why not check the P&O season ticket offer currently available ? From £26 a single and you can buy 3, 6, or 9 returns to be used within 12 months. Not too many restrictions provided you don't have to travel at peak times and then you can pay a surcharge if necessary.

We booked these just recently and I had a long chat will the customer service dept to find out the details. From memory there are no restrictions between end of September and beginning of April - after that weekend travel is restricted and certain holiday periods. However, you can also book 3 or 6 returns at similar prices for use during the same one year period.They give you the booking references and you just book when you are ready - they are obviously subject to availability.

Please pm me with details as we need 4-5 Saturday night stays over the next 2-3 months. Thank you.

We will be spending a few Saturday nights near Herisson over the next 2-3 months and wonder if anyone can recommend a nice B&B or small hotel nearby. Please pm me if you can help. Thank you

If you're interested in wine and wine production try the two books by Patricia Atkinson. I have just re-read these and have also read the following more than once ( it's my age - I forget things easily ! ) : A House in the Sunflowers and the two sequels by Ruth Sylvestre, Tarte Tatin and On Rue Tatin by Susan Loomis ( great recipies and anecdotes re restoring an old house in Rouen where she starts a cookery school )and finally three books by a Lady Fortescue who moved to Provence in the 1930s and restored an old ruin - but still had               ' domestic help' ! I think all these are well written without the French farce element.  

Very obvious but what about hollyhocks at the back and perhaps Bergenias ( for Winter interest ) at the front ? Or a perennial geranium like Johnson's Blue for Summer colour ?

I had my first baby in London but still felt completely paniced when I brought the baby home as I felt very much on my own. I found Penelope Leach's book ' Baby and Child ' absolutely invaluable - very practical and sensible with a very useful ' when to call a Doctor and when not to ' section at the back of the book. I used to read up about each stage of development in advanceso that I'd have a rough idea of what to expect.Find a copy on Amazon or ebay - I'm sure you'll find it reassuring - it all seemed so obvious when I read it. good luck !

I'm sure the rose Zepherine Drouhin is often recommended for a north facing wall.

We are at 1000 m and I'm establishing a garden, orchard etc. No real problems so far  - look for late flowering fruit varieties in order to minimise the risk of damage. With us the cold / snow seem to be less of a problem than the deer and the free roaming sheep ! We're on acid soil so azaeleas ( ? ) and rhodos do well and so do some heathers and conifers. Roses are happy - so are peonies, lavender, iris and catmint. Daffodils and other bulbs are fine too. A windbreak might be a good idea - how sheltered / protected is the garden ?

We use the Francillienne regularly to avoid Paris at peak times eg May and August holiday times and anytime we think we might hit the peripherique at a busy time.Going south we cut off after Charles de Gaulle and take the Francillienne down to the A6 - there are some poor stretches of road surface but traffic usually moves well.It might take slightly longer than the peripherique but not much I don't think and at peak times there can be horrendous jams on the approaches to Paris.

Good luck - I'm sure you won't regret it. Do keep posting - I'd love to hear how you get on although I'm being told off for letting other people in on our secret part of France !

Winter temperatures can go from 14 to -14 in the space of three days ! Yes you will need to take clothes for very cold ,snowy weather but you may end up gardening in jeans and a tee shirt ! Ambert is a reasonable sized town not a village and it has everything in the way of shops and some very good restaurants - try La Chaumiere or Le Relais. Very, very good market on thursday morning - enjoy !

We are up in the hills north west of Ambert - holiday home ( but permanent in a couple of years ) since 1994 - you'll love it. We go through Sauxillanges on the way to Issoire.

Normally the Livradois Forez has exactly the weather you are looking for - with spectacular Autumns thrown in ! ( Spring can be wet and miserable but can also vary from 32 degrees and sunny to 6" of snow in the space of two days.) This year however we had an English summer - but that's very unusual. We are in Puy de Dome near Ambert and it's about as rural and unspoilt as you get !

Hi Clair - yes, it's important that they are dry and ventilated so that they don't go mouldy and rot. The dark may not be important and the box is just for compact storage and so that they don't get caught by the frost .If you think about it it's not that different from moving them inside and not watering them over the winter.

In England I have successfully over-wintered geraniums by pulling them up when they are dry, shaking off the excess soil and layering them with newspaper in a cardboard box - one with holes in. Come the spring when they show signs of growth you just plant them out again. Believe me - it does work.

We are trying to sort out our finances and need some expert advice.I know there are firms who advertise in Living France but I would be very grateful for any personal recommendations by PM and also for details of who not to use if you have any experience of such firms. Thank you.

We were about to have some preparatory work done on our water supply and some drainage problems sorted out when we discovered that ' our ' spring may not be located on our land but comes to our house via our fields. I assume in this case we could still capture it properly on our land ( and install a reservoir etc ) and re-pipe it to the house although ' Jean de Florette ' comes to mind ! At the moment it does not come into the house but fills old granite bacs in the courtyard. However, we did find out that mains water is nearer than we thought and we are thinking about having this connected as well. Does anyone know how much per metre it costs to get connected - even a rough idea would help ? Also, how would I find a water diviner - I'm asking around but not having much luck ? Thank you