Chas

We did ours a couple of weeks ago and also had to provide a copy of OH's birth certificate to prove her "nom de naissance."

Have you tried Dell? We bought a laptop with UK XP and qwerty keyboard last year. The website didn't appear to allow overseas shipping but having identified what we wanted from the website we ordered by phone and it arrived about 5 days later. 

It may be too far for you but we went up to Strasbourg for the weekend last year and it was excellent.

[quote user="Bugbear"]Brilliant or what...............................................[/quote] Fantastique!![:D][:D]

Perhaps someone with 17 minutes to spare would like to come and see ours! [:D]

[quote user="sweet 17"]Coops, I too have just been to the dentist for the first time.  I did remember to take the Carte Vitale.  I paid the amount they requested.  I was given a form with "JULIE" in the top left-hand corner with the full amount shown.  Does that mean the Caisse will refund all of that or do I have to claim some of it from our mutual mutuelle Exclusive Health? [/quote] JULIE could be dental imaging software. Have a look at this link. http://www.owandy.fr/

Figs, yoghurt and honey are outstanding!

Just received our reimbursement.  Not sure if the scheme applies to cooker/heaters but for a heater the claim must be supported by a single invoice from the retailer for supply and fitting. Combinations such as a brico buy and self fit or getting your own purchase fitted professionally are not acceptable. 

[quote user="maureen"]Sorry to have to tell you guys, but a warning triangle is an obligation in all transport! If new legislation comes in it will be compulsary to have two triangles and a fluo jacket for each person in the car. [/quote] A triangle is not obligatory in all vehicles. Here is the link, from which you will see that for vehicles unde 3500kg signalling is either by hazard warning lights or a triangle or a mixture. For vehicles over 3500kg a triangle is obligatory http://www.code-route.com/code_presign.htm

I have seen both cord and heat resistant adhesive on sale in M. Bricolage etc and the woodburner retailers.

[quote user="Alan Zoff"]Isn't it great when you get "expert" advice that says exactly opposite things? Has the Foreign Office been taken in, too?[/quote] I would rather take anaesthetic advice from an anaesthetist than the foreign office!  As Sunday driver says look for the caveats - apparently/reported to have been etc.

This crops up periodically on the UK Motorhomes facts website, which is where I first saw the report from the royal College of Anaesthetists debunking it.  As has also been pointed out it looks a lot better on your insurance form to say "been gassed" rather than "had a few beers and went to bed and forgot to lock the doors".  I have not seen it reported in the French camping car press and I for one chose not to believe it. 

0892 79 27 73 is the English speaking helpline for AOL. I have always found them to be helpful.

Having had another look at the receipt for the poele I made a mistake in the original calculation. The rebate received is what we expected  - 50% of the cost of the poele excluding accessories and labour.   

You need to be completing a tax return in france and to provide a single receipt for supply and installation with your tax return from the supplier of the stove, who must also be the installer. You do not have to pay tax in  France. The fact that you declare your worldwide (UK) income in France is sufficient. Although I understood the rebate was supposed to go up to 50% from 40% this year we have today received a cheque for 40%  - most welcome. [:D]    

[quote user="thehydes"] 'We have three phase and want to go to single phase- more amps that way' Contact customer service to confirm 'Yes no problem, all free, no payment' Two friends in the Charente 14 kilometers away have there's changed, only waited a week, free!!Still nothing from EDF now end of July- yes really p**sed off. [/quote] We had three phase and 6Kw when we moved in and it tripped out on a fairly regular basis. Apparently the main problem wasn't the level of the incoming supply but the fact that the demand from each of the three phases was not balanced. Most of the high wattage kit came off one phase and it was this which was causing the trip out. It was 7 years ago but we did change to single phase and upped to 9kw for free and at the same time they (EDF) put in a new external meter.

[quote user="londoneye"] In the meantime, have other WaterAir chemical users found a problem with the build up of chemicals and had to regularly empty water from pool?   I confess that I haven't yet tested  the cyanuric acid levels, as we haven't yet had the pool operational for a month.   I would have thought that we may not get too much build up as we of course do (or will) be regularly emptying some of the water when we back-wash, or am I deluding myself? [/quote] I have been using the Waterair chemicals for 4 years now with no adverse effects to either pool or users. I do replace 1/3 of the water each season to dilute the cyanuric acid build up.Whilst appreciating all Poolguy's advice surely if there was a major problem with Waterair products it would have come to light by now. They are after all quite a large international company. 

I took the route suggested by Waterair and used concrete with grillage reinforcing.

Don't forget that, provided that you submit a French tax return, if you buy from and have your poele installed by a recognised professional you can claim back 50% of the costs excluding labour.

Difficult to believe that is the nearest. we have at least 6 or 7 suppliers within about about a 10km radius. Happy hunting.

I would suggest that the easiest way to find out is to ask around your neighbours or to look in the local free ads papers which always seem to have "bois de chauffage" for sale. 

[quote user="Ron Avery"] There was another much more detailed thread than this one but I cannot find it, but in this thread, SD tells you where to put the claim on the tax form.  What may catch the OP is that the date.  If it was installed in 2006 it has to be claimed in that tax year, so it is too late, however, if it has just been installed then it can be claimed for next year with the 2007 tax return [/quote] The claim goes in section 7 WF of  the 2042 tax form. you fill in the cost of the poele minus the labour charges and The rebate is 40/50%.  We await ours with bated breath.   

HSBC seem to be thin on the ground.  Our nearest is just over 1 hour away in Bordeaux.

Although there are lots of cheaper options about I started with Easy Pool and switched to Easy Pool2 when it was introduced, purely for the convenience - particularly for the house sitters when we are on holiday. 

[quote user="maison poppy"]What do the flowers look like?[/quote] There are lots of examples at this link http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=artichoke%20flower&w=all&s=int