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herbie

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  1. [quote user="Catalpa"]Ker-ching! [I] Can you get your husband to have these discussions with your neighbour. It has just occurred to me that you are just a woman so your neighbour may be conveniently ignoring what you say because you are... just a woman. More seriously, in France (allegedly!) some men take seriously what men say... perhaps your OH may have more success with getting your neighbour to read the factsheet. [/quote] I learned this lesson very early on.  If at all possible, I get my partner to deal with men.  I tried to hire a chainsaw once but was refused because I'm a woman.  When I went back with a male friend, they agreed.  I used it and they were none the wiser, but it just goes to show. 
  2. Thanks Higgy.  There are no grazing rights, thankfully.  You make up very good reasons for having fencing which should not antagonise the neighbours.  I feel that having fencing would 'educate' the locals that this house is now lived in and they can no longer just use the land.  It's quite clear that having been empty for the last 25 years, they think it somehow belongs to them.  The children come and play in our woods for example.  Of course if anything happened to them whilst there, they try to start fires (!), we could possibly be held liable.  Having given this much more thought and from reading through all the advice, I have decided that I will entirely fence off our land and therefore stop the hunt and their dogs crossing our land, I will speak with the farmer and get him to notify me when the hunt is on and keep the cats in those days, I will give them fluorescent collars and I will allow the cats to go out at night as there obviously won't be any hunting going on then.  They should then also hopefully stay indoors during the day and out of harms way.  Apart from attaching a cage to the house, which I don't really want to do, I don't see that there is much more I can do.
  3. I've just learned that killing with dogs is in fact illegal in France.  Flushing out is OK but not killing.  It doesn't help a great deal except that I now feel in a stronger position to insist that they do not come on our land etc.  The house has stood empty for over 25 years and they are very used to just using the land.  The little boy just plays in our woods with his friends etc. and the cows are left to graze on our land.  It's quite obvious that they have used the land for a long time.  If we put fencing up and insist that the hunt does not cross our land, I hope that we can minimise the risk.  Having thought a little more overnight, I've hardly slept, I really don't think the dogs live nearby because hunting dogs howl a lot.  I've always lived close to hunting dogs so far in France and I would have heard them.  So I'm thinking these dogs belong to someone else and they are brought out just for the hunt in which case it is an organised event and we can be notified each time.  Then we can simply keep the cats in.  I will telephone today and ask for more information.  We have to be able to live in harmony and I feel that they have been used to living there alone for so long that they're just not used to having to think that way.  They are nice people and have been accommodating so far.  I do hope we can work together on this.  I'll let you know.
  4. Thanks Christine.  That looks like a lovely enclosure and I'm not being funny but it's breaking my heart to think they will no longer have their freedom.  We chose the house so that they would have plenty of room to run around.  We would have been better off living in a town at this rate.  They were house cats for the 1st year of their lives but now that they have tasted freedom and been able to hunt, I really don't have the heart to lock them up even though I appreciate I may not have a choice.  I was thinking maybe of electrical fencing again where the cats stay within their territory.  I could fence the whole lot and give them collars.  Maybe...
  5. The situation with the neighbours' dogs is much worse than we first thought.  It turns out he has a pack of hunting dogs that have been trained to kill wild cats and will kill any cat.  He said that they may be able to train the dogs not to get domestic cats which in my opinion is a ridiculous suggestion.  I'm absolutely distraught right now because I'm supposed to be moving in 18days time and feel that if I go there with my cats, I'm giving them a death sentence.  I really don't know what to do now.  I would really appreciate any suggestions.
  6. I think you're right Monika.  We tend to worry about these things and then finally, everything turns out OK.  I'll hang on to that thought.
  7. Friends of mine run gites and are chefs.  They offer meals for their guests when they want them at a set price but also they do picnic hampers for when they wish to go out for the day.  They also charge a set price for this and it's a really gourmet picnic.  The other thing they do is run cookery classes for their guests if this is what they want to do on their holiday.  On top of that, they also offer take-away food for the freezer or do catering for people's parties.  They have a thriving business and do really well.  All just from the expat community in the Tarn.  Hope this gives you some more ideas.  Good luck.
  8. Fortunate I hope to see some!  I love any wildlife. Thanks for the info Chris.
  9. Thanks Chris.  I wasn't sure but I didn't think there were too many poisonous snakes here.  I don't tend to worry about them and they usually want to get out of our way anyway.   In Puy de Dome, we'll be at 600m altitude and it will be much colder.  Will we still get them there?
  10. I could be totally wrong here but I thought there was only one poisonous snake here and that's the adder which is very easy to recognise.  I don't know why people freak so much about snakes.  They're great for catching mice and rats!  These little snakes really can't hurt you.  They're beautiful too.  I wouldn't chase it out, I'd give it an escape route and leave it be.  Do you know I've actually seen people swerve on the road to purposely run over a snake and kill it!  I get outraged at this!
  11. Marble is porous but you can buy special products to seal it and look after it, like you would with wood.  Also you don't have to have one piece, you can join it very successfully and this is done with granite tops in kitchens for example all the time.  I would suggest going to a funeral stone mason because they have all the equipment and will be far cheaper than going through a bathroom or kitchen place.  They will probably ask you to take a template and you will therefore be responsible for its size etc.  You can also ask them to bevel the edges as they have the machines to do this.  I was an interior designer and have undertaken this type of work for several clients.  I've used slate, granite and marble for both kitchens and bathrooms. 
  12. Oh Effie, my heart goes out to you.  Sadly though, heartache goes along with being an animal lover it seems.  The joy they give me though on a daily basis makes it all worthwhile.  I totally understand you not wanting any more.  Apart from all that, they are a tie and we would one day like to be able to travel.  I will definitely put the litter around the boundaries and put the picket fence up I've made, just as a bit of a barrier and then I guess we'll just have to wait and see and hope.  The neighbour's dogs are old, my cats are young, so with a bit of luck, they will be able to outrun them!
  13. I agree Effie, and I would never do so.  I would like to come up with a creative way to keep the dogs away, just like you did with the cat litter.  I thought this was a great idea.  Just sorry your cat had to get hurt in the process.  Animals are animals and will behave accordingly.  Understanding their behaviour is the key.
  14. I know this thread is a little old but I'm currently trying to find out information about which way to register.  As far as I understood it, you register with Maison des Artistes if you want to have a 'statue'.  You have to fall within certain categories, for example, artiste peintre which means you have to produce original paintings, but website designers for example can also register as long as what they produce is their own original work and they are not re-producing anything.  I was lead to believe that you could earn up to 6000 euros before cotisations were payable.  This means sales of 6000 euros, not profit.  You can register with them on production of your first invoice and they use this document to give you the necessary siret number etc.  I also know that you can work as Artiste Libre and simply register with URSAFF and declare your earning through them.  If you were just doing the odd thing here and there, then this would be the best place to register.  If anyone can shed any more light, I would really appreciated it.  This is about as much information as I have been able to get so far. 
  15. I know this thread is a little old but I'm currently trying to find out information about which way to register.  As far as I understood it, you register with Maison des Artistes if you want to have a 'statue'.  You have to fall within certain categories, for example, artiste peintre which means you have to produce original paintings, but website designers for example can also register as long as what they produce is their own original work and they are not re-producing anything.  I was lead to believe that you could earn up to 6000 euros before cotisations were payable.  This means sales of 6000 euros, not profit.  You can register with them on production of your first invoice and they use this document to give you the necessary siret number etc.  I also know that you can work as Artiste Libre and simply register with URSAFF and declare your earning through them.  If you were just doing the odd thing here and there, then this would be the best place to register.  If anyone can shed any more light, I would really appreciate it.  This is about as much information as I have been able to get so far. 
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