ajuk

Cheers for the info - will get it all ready for our return in May! Thanks aj  

Thank you all for the info - can I just clarify something.  I went on the link and not being successful in completing the application for the maison secondaire on line I have printed the application.  Fine so far - but can you confirm that if you are using the UK line as the primary line the "evidence" they require?  Is it a UK phone bill and passport perhaps - or something else.  I think this is a brilliant idea and I want to go armed with the right "stuff" for our next visit. I also assume I just trundle off to the local FT in the local town? So now I am on a roll - has anyone tried purchasing a French Sim card and used in their "unlocked" uk mobile - does it work - I am really trying to cut down the cost of the "in and out roaming charges" I am being hammered with - and uk providers all seem to charge a similar amount so this was a suggestion - but someone has told me it won't work in a uk mobile?? Look forward to a response Thanks aj    

Hi Can anyone advise of where we can get rid of some corregated asbestos roofing sheets (intact) - the dechette used to take them some time ago, but this morning - il a dit NON!  We are department 79  - so the closer the better. Thanks    

Thanks for the links/companies - I will pursue them and try to find a good deal aj

Hi Does anyone know of a cheap and reliable car hire company - pick up from Poitiers airport - all well and good getting a 19p deal from ryanair - but so far the car hire makes the ferry and the journey down seem more appealing - financially! aj

Hi   I was trying to find gluten free products in October and found a shop just down from the station in Parthenay selling a range of "alternative" wheats/grains etc.    aj

Thanks for the info - I will check the web site suggested - here's hoping the rains do arrive. aj

Hi  - I have heard a rumour that the water situation in parts of Deux Sevres is reaching the point where the authorities are contemplating putting stand pipes into operation.  Can anybody confirm this and if so when. Also is there a good web site (ohter than this one of course) that I can log onto to check for information like this as I am back in the UK at present and don't want to be caught out when we return later next month.  I have tried finding the local newspaper web site but not been too successful. In anticiapation that the rumour is unfounded. aj

Thanks for your help - we'll load up and check it out. aj  

Help - I am fed up with being continually "flashed" by motorists when driving a RHD volvo V40 (1997) in France - we have followed the little diagrams that come with the stick on reflectors or used masking tape actually - but doesn't seem to matter - I have rang volvo and had a diagram - but it does not seem to correspond to our head lights. Can any one advise - kerb side or road side to mask??? (volvo say both???) Leaving for France Monday (in the dark) has anyone any experience of the best masking option?? In anticiaption    

Thanks aj

Thanks for all your help I'll give it a go. aj

At last I have set up an old computer so we can keep in touch via e-mail with family etc. - as this is a second home I don't want to get caught up in monthly fees for interent connection and have tried - unsuccessfully - to get the equivalent of "pay as you go" or "dial up"  which is available in the uk.  Can anyone advise where I might be able to get the equivalent in France and if available what they call it - as my attempts at explaing it seemed to confuse.  Le dial up and Le pay as you go don't seem to be a known phrase! Thanks aj      

Hi I recently tried to find details of "car boot"/brocante style markets but failed - tourist information gave only details of brocante shops which I have found can be a little pricey. Can anyone point me in the right direction to find out what markets are around the Pathenay area in Deux Sevre department - or slightly further afield?  I need to accessories the house now it is starting to take shape!! Thanks aj    

Thanks for all your help - that clarifies it - looks like we will be paying the tv bill.

I hope this is the correct area to start this question. I have just received a request to pay for "redevance audiovisuelle" - we are new to this game and we do not live in France for more than 8 weeks a year (mores the pity) - could someone advise if you do not use the television to receive french televison whether you have to pay because an aerial is on the roof of the house even we have disconnected it inside?  This then prompted me to question the other taxes and charges being applied for a maison secondaire - we get the following - and I have been told that in some areas second home owners do not have to pay all - could someone help? >Taxe D'Habitation ?? (some houses are being sold stating no habitation tax due plus I am aware of some who have not received bills to my knowledge) >Taxes Foncieres >Redevance dechets menagers et assimiles - 41,22 euros x3 pewr year approx - (this seems high considering the bins are only collected every other week for the most part of the year - and it always seems when we are not in reseidence and also the dechetterie will only accept 3 trailer loads of DIY recycling per week if we do go there) It may well be correct but any advice would be useful - thanks

[quote]I have started looking around for cheap line rental and call cost for a second home and found some info about tlk2.com - has anyone had any experience of them especially with regard to a good deal on ...[/quote] Thanks for the extra info - I will look at the other providers as well - if anyone gets to hear about talk2.com as an operator it will be much appreciated before I commit. 

I have started looking around for cheap line rental and call cost for a second home and found some info about tlk2.com - has anyone had any experience of them especially with regard to a good deal on price?

Thanks for the replies - sounds safer to book the trailer on the ferry with us for the next trip out.    

I am try to fax a "brico" place for some items to be delivered when we return to France - so not wanting to order the wrong stuff - could anybody advise the equivalent name in french for the following:- pea grit (gravel to cover areas of the garden/used in trenches) pressure treated wood (to repair the verandah) Any help welcome Thanks