Helen

I agree about many restaurants in France. Typically we find that the restaurants locally in Normandy are very traditional and somewhat unimaginative in their cuisine.We may be fortunate in the UK that we have many good pubs locally serving excellent, varied and good value food but to be honest we prefer to eat out in the UK than in France (not that we can afford to do either very often!) It gets a little embarrassing when our French neighbours ask us, somewhat smugly, if we find the food in France much better than in the Uk. We tend to politely answer yes, but make a mild comment about how much British food has improved in recent years!

We took out our euro mortgage four years ago (so at the peak of the market and before any extra safeguards etc kicked in, so there may be differences now). We found that most French mortgages were offered on the basis of fixed interest rates, but with no flexibility to change the amount paid each month, pay off early or switch providers, without a large penalty. We managed to find a variable rate, more flexible mortgage. Whilst the interest rate varies our payments are fixed, so the rate of repayment is currently increased due to the drop in interest rates (although it could go the other way of course). All the French people we talked to about it seemed surprised that we were doing this but it suited us as it means we can move / pay it off quicker if we want to do so. With the wonderful benefit of hindsight, we are glad we didn't fix the interest rate at the time, but wish we had taken out a sterling mortgage in the UK for it (though at the time that seemed to be just adding complexity to the process). But we weren't to know what would happen - and as they always say, the past is not a guide to the future... We did end up using (and paying for) an overseas mortgage broker in the UK to help us negotiate our way through the system. That is out of character for us - we are normally quite happy dealing with bureaucracy and financial issues - but it proved to be a good decision. She helped sort out all sorts of minor (and less minor) issues along the way and was able to offer a lot of very helpful advice. Good luck whatever you decide to do - despite the change in the exchange rate etc we have never regretted for one second our decision to buy a holiday home in France.

I think you'd do better on The Student Room forum - they have a forum about international study and some of the posts on other topics are from students who've studied at the schools you are looking at. http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=116 You will also find plenty of posts from people who are not d'un certain age and who won't be phased by your lack of punctuation! (Not sure if I've posted the link right but I too am of a certain age and haven't tried to do this before!) Good luck! Helen

I support the Red Cross, for obvious reasons given my previous post! Because it works through local volunteers working for their national society in each country (Red Cross or Red Crescent), they have all the local experience and knowledge to know how best to help. You can give on line via either the British Red Cross or the Croix Rouge Francaise.

That's a really kind thought and one that many of us share, I'm sure. I worked for the British Red Cross during the 2004 tsunami. I remember many people phoning up asking how they could send goods but we always explained that we only took money, not goods. This was for two reasons - first, the transport costs and challenges of getting the right things to the right places made it a much less cost-effective way to give, and secondly because giving money means that it be used to buy the goods in the local economy, which helps the country and local businesses recover. When you give money to a specific disaster the money goes to help that disaster, not their general running costs. Sorry this doesn't answer your original question - hope you don't mind. Helen

Thanks - that sounds reassuringly the same as we do with our system in England. We wondered if the pressure in the system would prevent the valves from closing properly (or even at all) but presumably not. New bathroom here we come! Helen

A couple of years ago, at considerable expense, we got the local heating company to put loads of antigel into our heating system (fioul-fired). We now want to remove one radiator in order to re-tile the bathroom wall on which it is sitting. In England we are well used to removing a single radiator to decorate and then topping the circuit up again when we replace it. But is it possible to do the same thing in a closed system such as we have in France? We really don't want to drain down the whole system, given the cost of the antigel. Thanks Helen

I would question the Amazon marketing for 3G. Do you really need to be able to download books anytime, anywhere on the go? In my experience, shopping for books on the Amazon site on the computer is a lot easier than trying to use the Kindle directly. If you know precisely which book you want, then ordering from the Kindle is OK but if you want to read reviews, consider pricing etc then the Kindlestore on Amazon wins hands down. So if you have access to WiFI at home, then I don't think the 3G is necessary. You can always buy a few books ahead of time if you are going away. Of course if you are going to use the browser on the go, then that's a different matter, but again the user interface isn't that great. I'm a complete Kindle convert for reading books but I wouldn't see it as an alternative to a computer.

I've found that the exchange rate for a one-off transfer via the internet with HiFX is very competitive, especially if you can transfer a minimum of £5000. It's certainly much better than the rate for a regular monthly transfer. The internet transfer is also very transparent - you can see the effect of fluctuations in the exchange rate on a near-real-time basis.

We've got a residence secondaire, 135sqm, stone built in Normandy. We've been with Hiscox but they suddenly shot up in price this year and so we are now with Schofields for £327 pa. No mention in the policy (and I've scoured it!) of any requirements about either shutters or draining the heating system in winter / leaving the heating on.

When we were buying 3 years ago, we had two offers from the same bank, (UCB) one that allowed for inclusion of notaire's fees in the total sum, and one that didn't. There were slight variations in the terms and conditions so you need to consider the pros and cons. Of course the situation may well have changed since then. But it was certainly possible in the recent past, so worth asking. Good luck!

Many thanks - I should have thought of that myself. Unfortunately, as I like to be able to use several rings on the hob and two ovens at once (Sunday lunch!) it looks from the spec as though it would need far more power supply than we will be inclined to pay for. Guess we'd better stick to the gas hob and think again about the oven. Helen

We have a pretty new, full size electric fan double oven and hob in the UK that we don't need and a basic electric convection oven with gas hob that both need replacing in France. We have a 6kW monophase electricity supply and are wondering if this would be suitable for the English oven? We have a dishwasher but no freezer and our heating is oil fired. However, we notice that the lights dim temporarily from time to time, usually when another appliance (eg the oven) starts - which is what set us wondering. Any advice would be welcome before we start looking for a French electrician. Thanks

The first time we saw deer in our garden, a week after moving in, we called the children to see them and told them to be quiet so as not to scare them off.....a week later we realised the error of our ways! Whatever barriers and deterrents we've tried they still get in. So after many years of frustration we've given up trying to keep them out and now stick to plants recommended as deer resistant - the Royal Horticultural Society has a list here   They aren't all guaranteed but at least we've had some flowers this summer.

[quote user="Cathy"]Are schools in the UK being automatically closed?  If so, what are the criteria for closure? [/quote] No, schools aren't being closed automatically in the UK, though there could be individual closures if, for example, so many children and/or teachers were off sick in a particular school that it wasn't viable to keep it open.  Just the same as normal flu seasons.  Some special schools might close more pro-actively, if they had a large number of pupils with other health conditions that made them particularly vulnerable, but that is a special situation. It will be interesting to see if there is a surge now the schools have gone back - history would suggest there will be.

[quote user="tenniswitch"]Is it possible to do that for TF and TdH for a residence secondaire? We pay only property taxes in France.[/quote] We're in the same position and managed to sort it out last year, no problem.  And we've just received this year's bill which says we don't need to take any action as it will be taken automatically.  Much easier for those of us that prefer to keep life simple!

In our experience 2 years ago, we had two different (French) mortgage offers.  One allowed us to include the notaires fees - but not the agency fees - the other allowed neither.  So it must vary from bank to bank and deal to deal. Naively or not, (so far no adverse effects) we did not use a lawyer.  The notaire insisted that we had a translator for the actual sale, even though my French is pretty good, because the whole contract had to be read out in the presence of both parties and the notaire had to be sure that we had understood what we were committing ourselves to. However, I would strongly recommend getting a survey before signing the compromis - not the standard practice in France and not necessarily easy to find someone suitable, but persevere.  We have come to realise just how much DIY building is done by people in our area and you can't be sure that they are aware of either safety regulations or basic structural requirements. Most houses seem to be on the market for ages so don't worry that you have to snap up a property in case you get pipped to the post! Hope you enjoy the experience as much as we have done. Helen

We have just spent two weeks (first time ever we've managed that long - wonderful!) in our own corner of le paradis, getting no rest at all but recuperating wonderfully!  There is something very therapeutic about beating the brambles and nettles, even if my arms are torn to shreds as a  result! Hope you enjoy your time as much as we did ours.

For those that want more information about what's happening with swine flu (in the UK at least), Fergus Walsh has a very good blog on the BBC news website.  The link below is all about how to make sense of the numbers, but all the entries are very informative IMHO http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/ferguswalsh/2009/07/how_to_track_swine_flu.html

[quote user="tom.daniel"]I am based in London and although i have had a property in France for a while i have never learnt the language properly, as has been mentioned i am more keen on face to face tutoring or an evening class rather than the liguaphone style. Can anyone recommend a good class in London?[/quote] I'd recommend the Institut Francais at South Kensington.  They have lessons at many different levels, with a range of types of class (conversation, general French, cultural-based, etc etc).  They make you do a test before you start which is a bit daunting but it does mean that you end up in a class at the right level so you don't get held back or left behind. I've studied there for a couple of years and always enjoyed it - and my French has improved alot too!

I don't know the track that you will be using but our local velorail is on a single track railway.  Which means that whenever you meet someone coming the other way (as you almost inevitably do, even when it is quiet) you have no choice but to lift one of the velorails off the track - and they are seriously heavy, needing four people on average.  But it does make for a very social experience as everyone helps each other!  We have done it a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Hope you do too.

Sorry to hear you are in the same boat as us. We are getting contributions-based JSA at the moment for my husband.  He was told very firmly by the Job Centre that he could not claim for the time when he was in France, even though he argued that a) it's EU - freedom of movement etc and b) he would continue to job hunt from France and still be able to get back to the UK should it be necessary, in time to meet the interview availability requirements. He didn't ask about signing on in France but it seems unlikely, given the other rules. Moreover, when he signs off to go to France, he has to contact them the moment we set foot back in the UK to restart, and then they don't pay for the first three days of that new claim. Of course, it will all be academic in a couple of months time because contributions-based ISA only lasts for 6 months (182 days).  

Speaking as a current public sector employee, I entirely agree that the day has to come when the current disparities in pension provision will be addressed - it isn't sustainable or acceptable to have such a two tier system.  But I don't see why people need to make snide remarks about those employees who, as other posters have said, made one career choice  whilst others made a different one. Like everyone else I know in my area of work,  I did not base my career choice on salary potential and pension benefits but on where I felt I could make the most contribution to society.  I feel no need to defend the terms and conditions that came with that job.   And what makes you think public sector employees and their families aren't suffering from the crunch? OH's redundancy and a failed pension mean that my salary is all we have now (or will do in the future).  With two teenagers to support as well, we don't exactly feel like we're in clover right now.

Can you help - I'm looking for a recipe.... When eating in a restaurant in Thury Harcourt in the Suisse Normande we had a delicious spiced apple accompaniment to go with our cheese course.  The apples were quite dry (unlike English chutney), in little cubes and were soft and spiced - mustard? a little vinegar? some spice (possibly, but not exclusively, cinnamon) Unfortunately the restaurant wouldn't give me the recipe.  I have had various attempts at reproducing it but not succeeded in producing anything half as good.  I also haven't yet found anything similar in the shops.  Does anyone recognise it or, better still, have a recipe? It went brilliantly with all the Normandy cheeses.

The 4-digit telephone numbers that are listed on the FT website do not work from outside France and it has proved incredibly difficult to find an alternative number.  However, at last I have had some success and thought it worth sharing for posterity:   +33 800 10 14 21  gets through to the French language customer service line - which includes reactivating residence secondaire numbers, subscribing to a new line, bill payments etc etc.  Of course you need to speak enough French to get by. The English language customer help line is +33 1 55 78 60 56 but I have never yet succeeded in getting through to an operator.