mint

twinkle thanks for sharing the story of titine with us.  a life well-lived, i believe the vicar would have said if the funeral had been in the uk but just YOU wait until you had grandchildren of your own and one of them is as cheeky and full of mischief as you!  what'll you do then, hey?

[quote user="Pads"] There are no faries in my kitchen.............I to use the eco stuff wouldnt want to poison the birdies[:)] Whats a Peniche? and why are you coming back from Nabonne on one????[8-)] I have booked the sun for end of April so it will be warm...............it will be[:@] Looks like I will be driving from Toulouse as the cars already been booked, bricking it a little but , I have to do it some time I guess[8-)] Just make sure your off the road that day[:D]     [/quote] pads, i have seen his peniche!  it is quite a work of art.  if you asked him nicely, he might show it you too

thanks, guys.  sounds like 20 footer is a definite no-no.  it's not anything like large furniture or white goods.  it's more cases of books, bookcases, dressers, garden furniture.  i have been surprised in the past how much these people can cram into a container but i shall be even more surprised if, in the 13 years or so we have lived in this house, we have not acquired loads more "stuff" i am being as ruthless as i can be and giving things away or junking them.  my original plan was to just go over to france with dog and husband and come back to sort things out in my own good time.  however, the situation changed somewhat when the wished-for buyer arrived and wanted to move in pdq! i now know to go for the family firm because they have assured me that they do not go by "volume" and will transport all our stuff AND store it for 4 weeks at the quoted price valleyboy, i think all of us (me, husband and dog) are probably a bit overweight but not to the extent of 1.5 tons! steve, you've given me an idea about taking photos so, if the firm does not offer to do it, i shall be out there with my camera doing the shooting 

thanks for your replies.  it is as i feared.  when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! i thought long and hard about dumping everything and buying new (there is another thread on here precisely about this dilemma).  really, my most treasured possession is probably my piano. we are, obviously, taking the dog in the car and my husband's violins.  everything else is just "stuff" we have rather than anything of great monetary value on the other hand, it feels somehow wrong and very "ungreen" to just get rid of everything.  can't be doing with ebay as time will be of the essense and i can't handle anything extra in addition to what i already have to do within a tight schedule.  it's taken us a year and a half to get a sale (after 3 lots of people pulled out just before exchange of contracts) so that by now we determine to go at whatever timescale the purchaser dictates.  all of a sudden, this last purchaser needs the property in a hurry.  sod's law isn't in it i am glad in many ways; no time to get cold feet and just have to get on with it thanks for taking the trouble to talk me through this one  

does anyone know what 25 cubic metres look like?  let me explain myself.  my appeal is to anyone who has moved or who are in the removal business. i am in the process of obtaining quotes for our move.  we are ditching quite a lot and leaving even more "stuff".  i think the remainder (to be moved) would be the equivalent of, say, a 2-bedroom house. i have had 2 quotes which are pretty close (only about £300 in it) and one WAY below these.  the only problem is, the low quote (obtained through a broker) specifies 25 cubic metres. i have tried to compare like with like, that is, whether insurance is included, storage for 4 weeks, VAT, cartons provided, packing or no packing.  so i am making due allowance for these variables. the 2 higher quotes do not give any "volumes" but this lowest quote does.  now, if i were certain that 25 cubic metres is all we need, then the choice would be obvious.  after all the difference is about £1500 can anyone remember or indeed know the cubic metres of their possessions when packed?  do you mind just posting, please, and saying the amount. now i am perfectly aware that your possessions would not necessarily equate to ours, but just so's i have an idea of a fairly typical household.   alternatively, does anyone know what volume a removal container is?  would a typical container be 25 cubic metres? sorry to go on a bit about it.  this is getting near to crunch time and i can feel a sore throat (and worse) coming on   

but, sd, you don't look a day over 75!  joking apart, HAPPY RETIREMENT!

nicktrollope knows his onions (or his renovations).  his is the figure that has been provided to me also

yes, tell us WHY.  if it's special, then i shall want to wish sd all the best.  he has always been marvellously helpful to me (and everyone else on the forum)  

cassis well done, you!  and thank you for describing your experience to us.  i suppose you'll get used to the noise, even if the neighbours don't now i am more sold than ever on the idea of one of those

cassis i think your shop is too many miles away for us to contemplate driving it home!  but will go to the bricomarche nearer to us and, hopefully, they will order one for us if they don't have it in stock let us know how you get on with it, won't you?  and watch that you don't tilt it more than 10 degrees, ok, because i wouldn't like to think of you under that great big machine and waving your sausagey legs in the air and unable to get up!

bobh may i ask what exactly it is that you are drinking?  whatever it is, i suggest that maybe you have had a glass or two too many!  i can only work out SOME of what you are saying and i know I haven't been drinking this evening

cassis thank you muchly!  have made a note of the model, etc.  when i told my husband you were picking yours up today, he said, "ask him how heavy it is!"  sorry, i don't think his humour is ever much above primary school grade! but thanks for your trouble

cassis may i ask how much?  if you don't want to say, that's ok.  not being rude or nosey but we are moving next month and i know our land will be like a wilderness.  if you prefer to pm, that will also be appreciated

but bugbear, if it doesn't fit in one hand, it's superfluous

pierre yes happy 3.14 doesn't quite sound the same, does it?

coco 10 YEARS!  the wine keeps for more like 10 DAYS in our house! tritanspeed i like pouilly fuisse too; nice on a warm summer's day.  i still think it's a bit "thin" though.  i know i am a peasant, but i really like the chardonnays and collombards (not so much the sauvignon blancs) from oz and chile.  you know, nice, fat body, smooth, slightly oaked and a lovely bright golden (i won't say "yellow") colour! but, wait a minute, isn't it a bit early in the morning to be talking like this?

"the bafut beagles" by gerald durrell and any other gerald durrell books and, sometimes, gabriel garcia marquez (in translation as my spanish is only elementary)

tresco take no notice and carry on as normal.  after all, you don't want to bother with "other ranks", do you?

i do know about tefl because i have the qualification.  you will need a first degree, usually, as it is a post graduate course.  however, some universities will accept students with other relevant experience, for example in business or, as in your case, IT. i don't know about employment in france, however, because i have no intention of seeking work and therefore have not looked into it. when i was in spain, however, they were offering me jobs left, right and centre.  the course itself (for the certificate and not the diploma) takes 4 weeks.  it was very intensive but SUCH fun.  i had never had to dredge so much knowledge about english grammar from my distant childhood memory as i did in those 4 weeks. if you are going to do the course, best find one quickly as, in some parts of the country, they are very over-subscribed

have you considered putting a cat net over the cot and pram?  at least that's what we used to do in the old days.  i have personally not heard of any cats sitting on a baby (and i was a health visitor)

perhaps they mean something like "recce", as military terms have been bandied about?

am i in the right thread for the wine buffs amongst you?  i have a HUGE confession to make and i am soooooooo embarrassed you will have to promise not to laugh or even snigger and most of all PLEASE don't come over all superior and make me feel small, ok? we are going to be moving for definite next month and, although our house is less than an hour from bordeaux, we have yet to find a claret that we like.  it's true and it doesn't bear mentioning.  imagine, right near medoc, st emillion, etc etc and yet NOTHING to drink!  how can that be?  mind you, it doesn't help that i don't like paying more than 5 POUNDS £ for any bottle and that could explain it.  but, here in tesco or majestic, i can find new world stuff that i really really like. do i need lessons in wine appreciation or do i just need to up the wine budget?  helpppppp...............!

thanks tony f and tu will certainly make a point of asking.  i'm asthmatic and OH has glaucoma.  neither of us "ill" as such but he needs his eye drops and i will be needing my drugs in the short term if there are lots of tree pollen about. i already have a couple of contacts (thanks jonzjob & les lauriers) and i will sort it forthwith!

what i did was set up appointments to view the properties that i had seen on the internet and had extra information about (wherever available) with both agents and private sellers.  i was VERY clear about our budget and our requirements, eg, at least 2 bathrooms or capacity to build them.  i was most specific that we did not want to do major works. once we got to france, we confirmed all appointments; usually with one agent or private seller in the morning and one in the afternoon.  we aimed to view between 2 to 4 houses daily.  we either went to the agent's office or met up on site or, quite often, in a prominent public place such as the local church. we found that all the preliminary efforts, emailing, speaking on the phone, etc paid off in terms of time saved and number of properties we managed to view. we did this about 5 or 6 times over about 2 years in different regions and at different seasons.  finally, when we struck lucky, we had viewed over 60 houses and had a good idea of what we were willing to pay for different types of property (obviously, NOT what the properties were worth, just what we wanted to pay, taking into account necessary minor works, alterations, extensions, etc) it was altogther a VERY enjoyable experience - not really stressful at all.  and we got to see all sorts of places that we would NEVER have seen if we hadn't been househunting. once we had viewed a property, we would give it an initial yea or nay.  then, i scored the properties we liked using a matrix that i had drawn up and, eventually, we bought the one that we thought would be the right choice.  mind you, we changed our criteria a couple of times in the course of the 2-year search and we also had to take into account a couple of glitches such as our potential purchaser for the house here pulling out 2 days before signing the contract! i don't seem to do straightforward very well, so perhaps you should ignore completely everything i have just said! good luck in any event

does anyone know whether, once you have done all the initial things as listed here and you have bought your mutuelle, you need to wait a certain period of time BEFORE you can be reimbursed by the top-up? in other words, is it like some types of insurance here in the uk where you need to let a period of time elapse before you claim?