plod

Albi is a lovely town, quite touristy, and not too far from Toulouse with motorway all the way. We lived nearby. The Tarn can get very hot in summer and very cold in winter, albeit short-lived cold usually. Gaillac is nice, even closer to Toulouse and has a station too. Too much choice!

I have to query your numbers - both the Grauniad and La Depeche say that 90 odd complaints were received but only nine were allowed to proceed.

Don’t build it too big. We made the mistake of having one which was far too grand for our needs. Get a good cover. I can't advise on other matters as I have only the experience of owning one rather than practical knowledge. If you are not permanent residents beware of not being there to get it all going in the spring; green water can be a pain to get rid of. It was lovely having a pool, but they are hard work, and as it got older ours began to get expensive. I eventually found a local man to help look after it; I think if I had known him from the moment we had the pool it would have made our lives a lot simpler.

I have been embarrassed on a number of occasions when I have asked somebody in a supermarket:”Excusez-moi, aves-vous etc” The reply always begins with a rather icy “Bonjour”.

I wish you good luck; I’m not saying don’t tell anybody, but be prepared for those you do tell to ignore you. It has taken us about 18 months to shake off the claims for TdH, or payment for a Carte Bleue without a bank account attached to it.

You obviously don’t know Albi very well. There are plenty of restaurants; I agree with the tenor of the rest in that it is very quiet, especially in the evening.

Thank you.

I am returning permanently to the UK with my car which is at present registered in France. I presume i need to inform the prefecture. Can I do this on-line?

And there was I thinking that Ron in the Aveyron had made a comeback.

Yes, they are available now.

Mid-August, but I tried some random dates in April and May. I’ll have another look now.

Looking to next year I examined the Rodez schedule but any dates put in came back “sold out” and all the nearby ones were “no flight”. Anybody have any information about this? Anybody succeeded in booking a flight next spring/summer?

Very true; I heard a Frenchman the other day saying that most villages and small towns used to have bars and cafes but that now they had closed and there were pharmacies in their place!

I suffered the same fate with ITV4 and don’t know how “The Interpreter”ended! I also find I have lost my local BBC (West) but can get BBC 1 on other regions. BBC 2 is also breaking up. I am in the Tarn.

I am indebted to you, Louise and Gary, for your message to me. I had thought the thread had died a death. I have been in touch by e-mail with my local office and they appear to acknowledge my case. I say appear because in their reply they say: "Le principe de l'imposition de vos revenus perçus à l'etranger est correctement appliqué , cependant vous recevrez une imposition corrigée ultérieurement . " Seems to be a sort of "we weren't wrong but we were wrong". I wonder how long "ulterieurement" will be?