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Kate

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Everything posted by Kate

  1. [+o(]Veggie in France, beer Not moved to France yet, but when I'm there I miss very little UK food. What I do miss, as a veggie, is Quorn! I'm trying to wean myself off it, in preparation for the eventual move. I've recently discovered alcohol-free beer in the UK ( handy if you fancy a drink but also want to go upstairs upright, not on hands and knees). I thought it wouldn't exist in France, but it does, and I've found some much cheaper than in UK - 10 x 25c bottles at about 21 centines each, in LeClerc. I don't normally drink beer or lager, but to me, this tastes of something, whereas British stuff doesn't. I expect serious beer-drinkers out there are groaning! Sorry.
  2.  [blink] Someone once said that Tescos was in existence to keep the rif-raf out of Waitrose Alan Coren said that Sainsbury's was invented to keep the riff-raff out of Waitrose. Seems that Waitrose is responsible for the setting-up of many other supermarkets!
  3. More useful info, ta again. I've decided to hang on until I need one in France, and get it there. That way, at least if it goes wrong I can go back to the shop!
  4. Thanks for that. I'll certainly hang on. I'd like to be able to watch (in France) as much as possible - choice, not quantity - of both UK and French TV, but if France is going digital as we are, I imagine their terrestrial TV will vanish as ours will, so I could get an HD ready TV here, if I've read your post correctly. I now know more than I did before, so ta again.
  5. Bought house in July 07, paid pro-rata T fonciere then and each year since, no probs. but still had no demand for TdH! On 1 Jan 2008 I walked into the local Tresor Publique, all prepared to hand over some dosh, and was waved away with something about all these things being handled in another town, and not yet anyway. Friends resident in France (I'm not) said the bill doesn't come until autumn anyway, so I waited. Still waiting. Have been advised by other local residents to keep waiting, "they" will catch up with me eventually. One problem is that I have no idea how much it will be - my estate agent couldn't tell me when I bought the house (despite my being constantly assured in house-buying articles that estate agents will be able to provide that information). Shall I keep hanging on? If not, where do I go to get this moving?
  6. "Things move so fast that whatever you buy may suddenly look as though it came out of the Ark!" As the last post I can find on this subject was in Jan, I'd like some really up-to-date info, please! (If the original info still stands, fair enough). I need to get a TV which I can use here in the UK until I move to France- probably next year. I don't need all the bells-and-whistles, just a useful digital HDTV which I can take with me when I go. And a reasonable budget, too. All help much appreciated!
  7. Blimey! Are you telling me that if I pop my clogs in France, I'll be dug up again after 25 years if there's no one to pay for my last resting place? I'm divorced (so the ex won't pay!) and my nearest relative is my first cousin. I can't expect her to pay. What happens to my remains once I'm dug up, anyway? Actually, I wanted to be cremated, but even that looks like a costly option. Maybe I should just slink off into the woods when the time comes...   (When I say I wanted to be cremated, I'm not looking for that any time soon.)
  8. Kate

    apple trees

    Trees raised from seed won't come true to the original variety, but you may just find that you have a super new variety! That's how Cox found his Orange Pippin. And anyway, you'll have all the fun of growing something totally new. Can you still access the old trees? If so, you can send leaves and fruit to the RHS at Wisley, where they will set their experts onto them and idientify the varieties for you.Dunno how much the service costs now, sorry. I did this years ago, and was embarrassed to learn that one of the tress was just a humble old Bramley! No less tasty, though. The other tree was something I'd never heard of, called Ingrid Marie, a super apple which fruits in September and has to be eaten up as it doesn't keep very well - what an excuse for a feast! Anyone out there ever come across it? But I digress. Enjoy your trees!  
  9. Aaaargh! NOT Russian vine! Yes - don't stand still near it. I had one in the UK and it grew like crazy - into next door's garden and trees. We never saw a flower, and in the end were so embarrassed by its prolific invasion of next door that I cut through the roots and let it die off. It's a monster. (Unless of course you want  to go the Agatha Christie route and use it to cover a body... hope that didn't spoil the surprise.) But really - if you're going for a monster, try the Kiftsgate rose. It'll get up to at least 10 metres, and give you pretty flowers too. And you'll never need to purne it cos you won't be able to get near enough. Personally, I like the virginia creeper/ honeysuckle options. And rosa Banksiae is nice, as it grows strongly but has no thorns. Long bendy shoots you can tie in without getting scratched to death, little buff-yellowy flowers.
  10. Dunno about coffee, don't drink or grow it, sorry. Raspberries -  cut back the fruited canes once you've nejoyed the fruits; you can cut back any surplus canes, too. Train in the other canes - i.e., tie them in to their supports (I'm assuming you're growing them on wires strung across between stout posts, but if not, tie them to stakes). If you chop anything down too hard it will respond by coming back with attitude - after all, it thinks you tried to kill it. Your raspberies should settle down if you don't give them another severe haricut. Lucky you, having all those raspberries!
  11. If you think about where olives normally like to be, it's poorish well drained soil, with sunshine, not wet claggy/ rock hard stuff (that sounds like clay - at least, it sounds like the garden I used to have; you could make pots out of the soil!). It probably hasn't put out much in the way of new roots, and is not establishing itself. If it hasn't put out roots, it won't tolerate the wind, either - it can't get moisture or food to its leaves, so it's dropping them. An olive, like any tree, will put up with exposed conditions best if it starts out small and can anchor itslef well in the soil. Try digging it up, putting it back in a nice comfortable pot with well-drained soil, and nursing it back to health. Then look for a better spot for it. Or get yourself a really small tree and start again, keeping your potted one as a pet. Hope this helps.
  12. I'll stick with it, no worries. You guys seem to know what you're doing, and I'm going to need some support too when I get my house. Can't wait! But why are you all Kentucky Fried Chicken Men?      
  13. Been reading this thread with some alarm! Why the aggressive reaction to poor Big Mac? We all have to start somewhere, and he was only asking for advice.Nice to see it did come along, but maybe you  guys don't realise how scary you can be. It would really put me off asking, I have to say - it's as bad as being in school!
  14. Kate

    Taxation

    [quote user="Benjamin"]£11k plus £4k..............sorry but that's far from being considered a low income in France. The thresholds for claiming benefits in France are way below anything you could ever imagine in the UK. [/quote]   Thanks, Benjamin,. Well, it wouldn't be a low income in the UK, either - wish I had it now! But it will be taxed if I continue to reside in the UK after the age of 60, and that's what I was wondering about France - how to compare. Does one get an allowance before one's pension is taxed? (In the UK the pension is taxed, but the personal allowance goes up a little when the pension kicks in. I know there's no personal allowance as such in France, but don't know if that's still true of over 60s receiving a pension). I wasn't considering claiming benefits, just wanted to know how I could work out my possible tax burden before I move.
  15. Thanks to all; I now have an idea of what the CV is, though it seems I can't apply it to a given model until I see the advert. My cunning plan is definitely to buy a French car - possibly a Peugeot, something with a 1400cc engine though I don't know how to identify one - maybe that'll be clear when I see some adverts... Thanks for the info about cam belts, etc., too. I'm not a DIYer when it comes to cars - just do the normal oil-water-tyre pressure checks and leave the technical stuff to the garage. Interesting to see how much cheaper servicing costs are, though - I don't know how South Wales compares; bet it's cheaper than London, but no idea how it would compare with France. My neighbour used to look after my car, but has now given up doing cars, so I'm about to join the ranks of those who depend on garages... gulp!
  16. Thanks, everyone. Er... what's fiscal horsepower?
  17. How much does this doofah cost, please? Is it a saving on the normal tolls? (presumably some saving, or do people get them simply for convenience?) And can you buy one if you aren't resident in France? I have a friend in Switzerland who has to drive a lot in France and would desperately like to save some money (not being a rich banker but a poor retired teacher). come to that, I'd like to save some  money, too!
  18. Could someone give an idea of the approx costs of owning a car in France?  I've tracked down some info on this site and now know there is no Road Fund tax, hooray! But I'd love some concrete info about the actual costs: for example, if I bought a 1400cc car, would that automatically cost X Euros, or would it also depend on the make and model - would a Peugeot cost the same as a Renault? How can one find out before laying out money for a car? Is insurance cheaper than in UK or about the same? Are secondhand car dealers reliable (they've improved hugely in the UK) or does one buy from a garage, not a dealer, anyway? Ta.
  19. Thanks, Cooperlola, that's really helpful. I did a search about pensions, too, and found info I'd have missed if you hadn't pointed me in the right direction. In fact, this is the second time I've said thanks to you for your response to my postings.
  20. Kate

    Taxation

    Hi folks, Been reading this thread with keen interest (thanks to Cooperlola for referring me from a previous posting, or I'd have missed it) and have squirrelled away the info for future reference. Does anyone know what a "low income" might be? I'll have a small private pension plus my state pension in 2 years' time, amounting to perhaps £11K before any tax, but will also have something coming in from money I inherited about 3 years ago - curently about 4K (which is taxed) and which is helping to support me now after my (not very lucrative) divorce!I'm hoping all this will enable me to live in France, so any info on what constitutes a low income would be very helpful. Ideally I'd like to move to France next year, before the pensions kick in, but would then have to live off savings, and interest from the invested money. My tax/social fund liabilities would affect how much  I could afford to pay for a house in France - it might be better to spend! And there's a lump sum, but I've noted the comments on that.
  21. I've decided buy a house in France next year, with a view to moving in permanently  - a year before my occupational pension and State pension become payable in the UK. So for about a year (maybe a bit less, it depends how soon I can make the final move) I'll be living on my reserves, including income from an inheritance I received three years ago. How do the French taxes compare to UK ones, when one is not earning but using unearned income? And does anyone know how much tax I'd have to pay on the pensions, when they finally kick in? Part of the occupational pension will be in the form of a lump sum - will this attract tax? It won't be liable for tax in the UK, as it's part of the pension settlement - at least, that's my understandng at the moment.
  22. Thanks, cooperlola. The prospect of the State grabbing my meagre legacy had been bothering me. I want to leave money (if there's any left, of course!) to two particular UK charities - does anyone think that would be a problem? (i.e my executors would sell my property in France and divvie up the proceeds between the charities). And can I have British executors of a French will, or does the notaire do it all? Gosh -  more to think about! I'll happily consult a notaire, but there aren't any in the Welsh Valleys, as far as I know - hence the appeal to you guys. Before I move to France I'd like as much info as possible - imagine if I went under a bus the day after I moved, before I could sort out a French will!
  23. I can't find anything (and I have looked, honest!) about the position of someone like me, who is divorced, has no children, no parents living, and the nearest relatives are first cousins, none of whom need or want my property, even if I intended leaving it to them. How would I dispose of my assets? I have a UK will in which the benfeiciaries are charities - can I do this under French law once I'm living in France?
  24. I thought that the vendor paid the estate agent's fees? As a buyer, what fees would I have to pay, then? (I know about the notaire's).
  25. As a brand new member of the forums I was attracted to this posting, but dismayed to find that the very useful information in it ends abruptly with the word "highligh"! Is there any more? How can I find it?  
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