betty

I have recently had to use the services of the vets at Chef Boutonne. The 3 that I have seen all spoke fairly good English especially Docteur Million. One of the receptionists (young blonde haired girl) is actually English.

How long are you going away for? Could you not get someone to house-sit & feed the cat at the same time while you are away? Our cats hate the cattery but we do use one if we plan to be away for a long weekend. We know that they don't eat very much if anything at all when they are there but at least we know they are safe. If we are going away for longer then we have my parents come to stay but this does cost us an arm & a leg as we have to fly them down from their local airport in Scotland to Gatwick or City airport. We then load up the Pay As You Go travel cards so they can get around the surrounding area and we also buy in some shopping for them too. We also go out for a meal with them before and after our holiday so all in all it turns out to be very expensive. Enough to be able to go on another holiday! It would be far cheaper to hire a house sitter but at least it gives my parents a break as they do like coming to visit even if we are not there ourselves!

Quillan He is an absolute cutie!! That's a good photo. Hopefully you can post some more soon.   Betty

This is the only one of mine who was brave enough to venture out in the snow. His main purpose in life is to patrol the back wall of the garden and there was no way that any white stuff was going to make him desert his post!! [IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/souness_bucket/Ginge%20in%20the%20snow/CSC_0043_edited.jpg[/IMG]   [IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/souness_bucket/Ginge%20in%20the%20snow/CSC_0044_edited.jpg[/IMG]     [IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/souness_bucket/Ginge%20in%20the%20snow/CSC_0045_edited.jpg[/IMG]   [IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/souness_bucket/Ginge%20in%20the%20snow/CSC_0046_edited.jpg[/IMG]   [IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/souness_bucket/Ginge%20in%20the%20snow/CSC_0047_edited.jpg[/IMG]   [IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/souness_bucket/Ginge%20in%20the%20snow/CSC_0048_edited.jpg[/IMG]      

Sadly, yesterday we had to put our French dream on hold . After putting our house on the market just before the Northern Rock crisis last year, we have struggled for over a year for our house sale to go through. Afte the house chain collapsing twice during this time, our buyer who put their house back on the market a couple of weeks ago, accepted an offer at the weekend on their property but came back to us yesterday wanting us to drop £50k from what they had originally offered us. Unfortunately we cannot drop that much and they wouldn't meet us half way. The thing is, they will find it virtually impossible to buy something in our area for the price they are now offering us. We are also not in a position to rent as once the mortgage etc is paid there just wouldn't be enough left to afford a place in France. So I just have to keep working for a couple of more years, although the pensions I have must be worth much less now so it might be a bit of a long wait for things to pick up again. Never mind we can start planning our next holiday and keep visiting different parts of France while we wait!  

[quote user="sweet 17"] You seem very philosophical about this matter, Betty, and it is the only way to be. [/quote] We were obviously still feeling a bit down and feeling sorry for ourselves with the news yesterday, but just before my last posting here this morning, I received a call from my best friend, who is in her mid 40's and  is very ill with cancer, with the devastating news that it has now spread to her brain. So it really all needs to be put into perspective. I can move to France later this year, next year or whenever once the house sells.  You just don't know what's round the corner so there is no need in getting upset about a silly old house sale falling through. Sweet 17, I hope you find your new house soon. Best of luck. Dexter, you and I both replied to ColinE, the OP, when he mentioned a bridging loan to warn him against it. I don't know if he did or not in the end. I hope everything went well for him. But your posting today just goes to show what would have happened to you if you had gone ahead with the house that you wanted to buy. Sorry to hear that you are still waiting for a buyer. Best of luck to you too.   Betty

[quote user="Jacqui Too "][quote user="betty"]  We have not lost any money ourselves [/quote] But unless you solicitor is working for free you will have lost money on the fees they charge for the aborted sales! you probable won't get charged until their final bill when you do eventually sell. [/quote] Thanks for that info. I will call the solicitor after lunch to find out what the situation is with his fees.   Betty

Luckily we did not have our hearts set on any house in France, other than liking the look of one or two on the internet, but that's not to say we would have liked them in the cold light of day. We were/are planning on renting while we househunt so there are no plans to look at anything to buy until the money is in the bank. Sadly we are not in a position to buy in France and keep a property in the UK at this moment in time. Everyone in the chain did have their money in place, it wasn't the fault of any lender, it was just one guy who changed his mind right at the last minute. As I said earlier, he had signed the paperwork and paid the deposit. According to our estate agent, the guy doesn't lose his money, because although the contract was signed, it had not been exchanged. We have not lost any money ourselves as the deposits for the removal company and the rental property in France had not yet been paid even though the completion date was going to be a week tomorrow. This is actually our third disappointment since putting our house on the market at the end of August last year but this is the furthest that any of the sales have gone. The first buyer pulled out after 2 days (a bit of a timewaster), the second buyer pulled out right after the Northern Rock news hit the headlines (they were buying to let) but our third buyer still wants to continue with the purchase of our house, as does their buyer with theirs. So we will just have to wait and see what happens next. Funnily enough, our buyers buyer is an MP so maybe he might start campaigning to get the England and Wales house buying process changed as it was his buyer who pulled out! It's all really been about bad timing. We could have put the house on the market earlier last year and sold long before the credit crunch ever started but we planned to have a winter let in France rather than trying to rent during the summer months. We had no end of interest in our house with at least 6 acceptable offers prior to the financial mayhem that started so it was not like our house was not popular. We actually thought at the time that we would not get a long let during the summertime anyway hence the reason for going for a winter one.  But after having to start searching last week due to the news that we might be moving quickly, I was inundated with offers of rentals so there seems to be some people in France who must be struggling to rent out their properties this year either short or long term. Maybe some things were not to be. At least it will give us more time to get our French language skills up to a better standard than it is at the moment! We also didn't win anything on the lottery last night but we did have a good time down the pub! Betty    

After being in a house chain for 9 months, and having had a previous buyer pull out on us prior to that, we finally received a phone call from our solicitor this morning telling us that we should be in a position to exchange contracts this afternoon. That is until our estate agent has just rung to inform us that the buyer at the other end of the chain has 'got the jitters' and pulled out! They had even signed their contract, although not exchanged, and had also paid the deposit. To say we are gutted is an understatement. Let's just hope our numbers come up in the Lottery tonight! Oh well, we're off down the pub to drown our sorrows! C'est la vie.   Betty

My OH and I have both received one each, although he did received his a few weeks before me. I vaguely remember Nationwide saying that all Visa Debit customers should receive their new cards and the readers by May. Think you might need to contact them to see if it has been sent to you and has gone missing in transit. They do say that if you need a replacement there will be a charge but if you've never received it in the first place can't see how they can do this.   Betty

Friends of mine are due to run a half marathon near Abingdon (Wantage) which is due to start in a few minutes. If it was 2 inches at 6.30am then they are going to be having lots of fun!! Maybe they should have taken their skis instead of running shoes!! Can't believe I was sitting out on the patio eating a lovely fruit salad in the beautiful sunshine on Friday afternoon after having done a bit of gardening!   Betty

Got up this morning about 7am, bit of grey day but thought I would go for a quick run after breakfast. But I don't think so now!!   [IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/souness_bucket/Winter%20Wonderland/DSC_0043_edited.jpg[/IMG]   [IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/souness_bucket/Winter%20Wonderland/DSC_0045_edited.jpg[/IMG]   (Hope these photos have worked as I have never posted photos here before).   Betty

Hi Ian Were you running in the Paris half marathon yesterday or were you just visiting Paris? If you did run how did you get on? Betty

Having looked again, they have only got the details for the first 8 stages listed. Looks like they are slowly working their way through the list.

Hi raindog   if you click on the red arrow in the details column of the stages listed on the page from the link above, all the time schedules, profiles etc are there if that's the sort of info you're looking for.

Although I haven't bought a property in France yet, I was under the impression that you had to, or are advised to, view the property on the morning of the final signing to ensure that nothing was amiss. Is this not the case?  

I've just managed to get in now to check emails for the first time today.

Hi ErnieY   It wouldn't have anything to do with Nationwide replacing everyone's FlexAccount cards, would it? When I signed onto their internet banking last Friday there was a notification saying that anyone whose cards had been issued prior to November 2007 would be receiving a new one sometime between now and early May. My OH's replacement card arrived in the post the next morning (we are still in the UK) which would have been a bit of a surprise because if I had not seen the message on their internet banking we would not have known anything about it and wondered why they had sent a new one as the one he had had not expired. I went into town on Friday afternoon as I had to pay some money into my account and asked the cashier if it was possible to pick up the new cards from the branch as I do not like these sort of things being sent in the post and she did not have a clue what I was talking about! She was not aware that the company that she worked for were replacing everyone's FlexAccount cards so she was no help whatsoever. The letter that came with my OH's new card states that the 16 digit card number is different from before but your PIN stays the same but if you've given your previous 16 digit card number to an organisation for any regular payments etc it looks like you need to inform them that your number has changed. Direct debits and Standing Orders are okay. Edit: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/security/news_and_alerts/ Betty

Many happy returns! Yesterday's great news must be one of the best presents ever. Have a great time tomorrow. Betty

After reading the metro link I have just looked at the contents of a household insecticide spray that our uk vet gave us back in 2006 (we have 5 cats and had quite a bit of an infestation that summer) and permethrin is listed. It definitely did the trick with the fleas and we haven't had to use the spray since. Certainly don't remember any of our cats becoming unwell after using it as the rooms were properly ventilated afterwards but don't think I would chance using it again after reading that report. Betty

Hi Rose I have just played this and my poor cat has just shot of the sofa and is hiding under the coffee table!! She's now staring at me with her big wide eyes and wondering where this other cat is!! Don't think I should play it again when she is around!   Betty

Hi Weegie Thanks for your response. Yes we do know which region we are planning on moving to so that is not a problem. I was also aware about some banks being regionalised but thanks for the reminder.   Betty

Hi James & Dolly Daydream   Many thanks for your replies. I will take our passports (and photocopies), plus our UK bank statements and various UK utility bills and hopefully that will do the trick. I suppose photocopies of birth certificates would probably be useful to have too.   Regards   Betty

Hi James My OH and I hope to the same as you very shortly. Could you possibly tell me what paperwork etc you had to provide to do this.   Regards Betty

Sorry but don't like mince pies nor shortbread. Am definitely more a savoury food person although I have started eating more chocolate than of late but I think that's my hormones playing up!!