Chrisb

[quote user="Miki"] Sorry but I just think it would make a far better post, if all was totally explained and not just what length of time one gets. It has long been documented how one can receive UP to two years with an E106, anyone getting more than that, couldn't they, for the benefit of others, explain how and why, one can get a longer period of cover. [/quote] Sorry, you are right, not much use at all!!  [:$] In fact, I have no idea why we got an E106 for 5 years.................I won't post the fact again!![:)] Regards Chris

[quote user="Dotty0"] I would encourage as much after school activity as possible.  To help them intergrate with their peers and it also gives them less time to dwell on what they may be missing in the UK. All the best Dotty   [/quote] I would agree with this, especially as it doesn't seem to be the norm for kids to go round each others houses after school or even at week-ends. My 2 play Table-tennis in the local team, and one plays the Trumpet in the Junior Orchestra and  the other the Guitar. There are also an increasing amount of children who use MSN messenger and my eldest 'chats' to both his old English friends and his French ones. Regards Chris  

Hi There My 2 boys were 11 and 9 when we moved over here 2 years ago. It really has taken them all this time to become what I would call reasonably fluent - yes, they could chat with their friends before, but their grammar etc wasn't very good (perhaps if I spoke no French I would have thought that they were fluent before now!!). Even now, they are lacking in vocabulary, but are both doing well at school and my eldest son's SVT teacher said that his written French is better than a lot of his classmates because he has learned it ''properly'' from scratch, whereas alot of the French children in his class write as they speak at home ie familial rather than courant. The eldest still also has private lessons once a week to re-inforce things that he has learned in French lessons. I would say that it is a very good idea for them to have private lessons and to let things progress at their own pace, I used to get really worried that they weren't 'fluent' after 6 months, then stopped worrying when I realised that other peoples definition of fluent wasn't the same as my own!! [:)] Regards Chris  

[quote user="Teamedup"]Sorry forgot to add that a standard double bed in France is 140, king is 160 and superking is 180. Singles are usually 90 wide and my son has a three quarter bed that is 120.[/quote] ...............................and a lot of the old beds that you find in the Depot Ventes are 130, for which mattresses are not readily available, so take your tape measure !! Regards Chris

..................and we were issued one for 5 years when we first moved over here!![*-)] Regards Chris  

[quote user="Teamedup"] I am quite curious as to what is different about french musical notation, apart from them saying do re mi fa sol la si etc instead of A B C D E F  etc. [/quote] Well, that's about it really....................it's just that it took my son a bit by surprise when he found out that it wasn't exactly the same, and it took him a little while to remember what was what!!!! Funnily enough, my eldest son's electric guitar teacher (who is the Solfege teacher at the music school), doesn't do solfege with him, as he teaches him privately!! Regards Chris  

Hi there, Sorry, can't help in your area, but I suggest that as a starting point,  you contact your nearest Ecole de Musique - you will probably find an Address/Phone Number in the Pages Jaunes. They should be able to point you in the direction of any Bands/Orchestras in your area. This is what we did when we moved over to Normandy (50), as my son plays the Trumpet, too. He has lessons at the music school, and also plays in the town's Junior Orchestra. He also played Christmas carols last year on the streets of our local town with 5 or 6 other Trumpet players! I don't know how long your son has been playing for, but do be aware that if he continues to have lessons, he may well have to take Solfege (music theory) lessons as well, and French musical notation is not the same as we learn in theUK - but you may well have known that already, and he may be passed the stage of needing lessons, so excuse me if that is the case!!! Regards Chris  

I would be happy to tip the Firemen and the Postman 20€, but neither have called this year - instead, I have had the Retired Club, The Old Soldiers and the Blood Donors, all of whom were (or seemed to be!) quite happy with 5€. Regards Chris

.......................but watch out when you take the night-time tablet, they really space me out, so much so that the last time I took one, I was still so woozy the next morning, that I took half my car off on the gate-post coming back from dropping my son off at the school bus!! Regards Chris    

I live in the middle of the countryside, and am often here on my own with the children, as my husband is away during the week. Every night I take the dogs out for a walk along the roads in pitch darkness (I carry a torch, but hardly ever turn it on).............I love it, it is so still and peaceful, apart from the owls,frogs,foxes,planes etc, and the sky with all the stars is a joy to behold. I often find myself walking along with a big smile on my face!! I am far less scared on my own here than I used to be in the UK when my husband was away. We were surrounded by houses, but I would never take the dogs out for a walk in the dark, and frequently used to wake up in exactly the same way as TU, imagining all sorts of depraved individuals creeping around the house!! Mind you, having read this thread, I will probably go out tonight and be absolutely petrified!! Regards Chris

I didn't receive a Tax d'Habitation bill this year, so rang up, to be told that I didn't owe anything because we had 'zero' revenue. We fill in a French tax return but my husband works in the UK and, as such, we do not pay French Tax. I asked about the TV licence payment and whether we would get a statement saying we didn't owe anything and she said 'No'................not being very happy about the reply, I asked to speak to the Chef, who said that there had been an error and that they would sort it out and I will get a bill sometime in the future! So, things do go awry, and I agree with Baz, rather than waiting and worrying, give them a ring and check!! Regards Chris

Hi there I've just had my 2 German Shepherds vaccinated, 60€ for the 2, including Rabies......................we were in the vets an hour, both dogs given a full MOT, plus horse and goat care also discussed  and relevant medication issued. Total bill (including Metacam and a flexi-joint product for 1 dog (can't remember the name)) 110€.....................Bargain!!! Regards Chris

Unfortunately, cows, having 4 stomachs and not being able to vomit are a bit prone to bloat, where they blow up like a balloon - you can try 'drenching' them, but if all else fails, one solution is to puncture the stomach through the ribs - but as every other Frenchman goes around with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, this probably wouldn't be a very good idea, as what hisses out is methane, and the pair of them could go up in a ball of flames!!! Regards Chris

Hi there Chris I am up in Manche (50), and Christiane has pretty much answered your question, only to add that silage has to be properly made, tightly packed and kept under anaerobic conditions (to promote the right sort of bacteria which ferment the maize, and prevent the wrong sort), otherwise you get either a mouldy or a slimy, foul smelling product, which has little or no nutritional value - hence why you see large mounds in farmyards, tightly covered in plastic sheeting and covered in hundreds of old car tyres - to keep the air out!! Regards Chris

Sorry, but round here they are harvesting the maize at the moment, and they chop it all up finely as they harvest it, then 'clamp' it under anaerobic conditions to create Maize silage to feed the cattle with when they are over-wintered inside - it is definately silage, and is a very popular winter cattle fodder, to go with the big-bale 'enrubannage' (haylage) and hay, all which go to provide the fibre part of the ration, which is then topped up with concentrates, for growth or milk-production. Regards Chris

Hi there My husband buys his cartridges from the local Armurerie (You should be able to find one in your Yellow Pages - or on-line). I can't remember the price exactly, but I think he said that to buy 200 at a time was around the same cost in euros as it was in pounds in the UK. I'm sure that they sell clays,too, but my hubby doesn't buy his own, he just shoots at the nearby Ball Trap Club. Not exactly what you were asking for, sorry, but hope that's of some use to you. Regards Chris

My husband insured his bike with MMA without any problems, but the hassle of trying to register it in France became too much, so he took it back to the UK and sold it!! Regards Chris

How on earth could the poor girl have been in France for 18 months already without learning any French at all.........hasn't she been going to college? She really doesn't stand a chance, does she. Have the school suggested to the parents that she have intensive private tuition? (I read that if you pay French taxes, 50% of the fee can be offset on your declaration). Also, can students go to Lycee without a Brevet or equivalent? Chris

It doesn't half get confusing......as I recently posted in another topic on this forum, my husband does the working in the UK, returning at weekends thing, and we both have Carte Vitales, (via an E106 - issued valid for 5 years - that's what DSS said we needed), Mutuelles and TDS's, and fill out a French tax return. As we are all in the health system using the E106 until 2008, I'll wait until then ask for an E109, if that's what we will need to continue our health care. No-one has ever questioned my husband's right to a Carte Vitale, and nor am I going to start questioning his entitlement now! Chris

I have a Trotteur, there are tons of them for sale every week in the local paper up here in Normandy, he is the kindest, sweetest, most gentle horse I have ever owned - yes, it has taken a while to get him to canter, as, you are quite right, Ian, they are not allowed to canter or gallop, but it is really just a case of treating them as 'green' horses, most of them are still young when they 'retire' anyway - especially if they don't make the qualification 'cut', my Farrier says the Trotteur breed in general has a wonderful temperament, and I would have a dozen more like him if I had the money, time and space! Chris

Sorry, can't help for your area, but you could try asking asking at your local 'Ecole de Musique' - these are normally well signposted and will be found in most towns, I am sure that they would be able to give you details of any Orchestras near you. Good Luck! Regards Chris

That's exactly our situation - I live here with the children and my husband works in the UK and returns for long weekends every week. He fills out an annual tax declaration in France and we do not have to pay any more tax, we both have Carte Vitales using E106, Mutuelles and TDS's (non actif: ni pensionne, ni etudiant ie.not working, nor pensioner nor student!) Chris

Hi there We renewed our children's passports in April. I tried to phone the consulate several times, but was unable to ever speak to anyone who could answer the question about whether childrens' passports need countersigning, I kept getting transferred and then cut off!! In the end I sent the forms via registered post to someone in the UK who then countersigned the photos and sent them back to me. I then sent them to Paris and the new passports came back in about a week. Regards Chris

.................there are other forums, you know, and I saw your, sorry, his post,too!! Chris

We have found a couple of good kennels here in Manche (50), for our 2 German Shepherds. True, they get a fairly limited leg stretch each day, and are in kennels with tiled floors and small outside runs, but, these are kept very clean, and the dogs are fed twice a day and have automatic waterers and raised sleeping platforms. I can see that some of these kennels might seem a bit lacking in home comforts for smaller, possibly more pampered dogs, but my boys are pretty adaptable and settle down in most situations quite happily, and, of course have each other for company. I normally pay around 8€/dog/day which includes food, which I think is good value. Regards Chris