Chrissid

I am on Thyroxin as well, but my docotor handles this just the same as in the UK, i.e. test once a year and prescription for 6 months. However, the pharmacy will only give me a one month supply at a time as the caisse maladie will not re-imburse otherwise. It might be different where you are or it might have something to do with the actual condition as I don't actually suffer from Hypothyroidism, but from an enlarged thyroid gland. Christiane www.francesw.com

Once the devis has been agreed and signed and the work stays the same as quoted in the devis, i.e. there are no unforeseen problems or you change your mind about certain things like appliances, the price is binding. Christiane www.francesw.com

The Fte de Bayonne happens every year on the first weekend of August. It starts on Wednesday night and goes on until Sunday night, and it opens and closes with fireworks. The traditional dress is white clothes with red foulards round the neck and every year there are about 300,000 visitors just for the fte. During the daytime there are a lot of people with their children and I tend to take my kids on a Thursday. There is also a little funfair as part of the fte. There are Bandas playing all over the centre of town, all the time and there is a display of floats etc. All in all, it's a HUGE piss-up and comparatively little trouble. This year there was one death (somebody fell off the Ramparts), one rape and a few minor disturbances with people having drunken fights, two guys falling into the river etc. Christiane www.francesw.com

Hi Bex, I've had my horses for quite some time and, frankly, I've got more stuff than I need (at least that's what my husband says). At the same time, I've got a Decathlon and various saddleries, like Devocoux, very close and can get most things from them. However, I've only today placed an order for some things with www.equiphorse.com , and that's the first order I have placed in 2 years. I did try to compare prices on the Internet though and found it difficult for the lack of suppliers. So, to cut a very long and boring story short, I think that if you set up a mail order business you will have to either be specialised or cheaper than others like the above. Let me know if you go ahead and I will check now and then for the odd thing that I REALLY DON'T NEED, but tend to buy anyway! Good luck! Christiane www.francesw.com

If you type 'Marriage Regime' into the search in the Legal Forum you will get all the threads that have been discussed recently, and, hopefully, your answer. Christiane www.francesw.com

I just made sure that I got my facts right and I forgot one important point: The cooling off period. So, if the Compromis has been signed and exchanged, the deposit paid and the cooling-off period is past, then the inheritors are bound to go ahead with the sale. The only snag could be if the seller was not on his own, i.e. if there was a spouse/co-owner of the property who, in this case, would be allowed to change her mind. Christiane www.francesw.com

I agree with Soprano1 in that the inheritors are bound to proceed with the sale if the Compromis has already been signed and the deposit paid. Christiane www.francesw.com

Hi Gail, click on the following thread, there is some very useful information there. http://www.livingfrance.com/dcforum/DCForumID43/235.html Christiane www.francesw.com

Before you buy a trailer in the UK you should check if the company sells to France or has a French subsidiary or representative. Why? Because you will have to register your trailer here and in order to do that you will need a Certificat de Conformit which is easily supplied by the company if they are used to dealing in France. I only see two types of trailers here: Ifor Williams and Fautras. I own an Ifor Williams and they charged me 100 for issuing the Certificat de Conformit, however, it only took 30minutes to get the Carte Grise at the Sous Prefecture. I don't know anything about resale values as I've had my trailer for 8 years and don't intend to sell it yet. Christiane www.francesw.com

I did Portsmouth/Caen with Brittany/Truckline, but we took the early morning crossing as, at the time, it was shorter. I travelled with 3 horses, one of which was a yearling who had never travelled before. The staff were absolutely brilliant, as they loaded us as the last lorry and immediately lowered the ramp once we were stationary (to give the horses more air). We checked on the horses twice during the crossing and they were very happy. In the end it was the mare, who had done quite a lot of travelling before, who took it the worst, i.e. she hardly touched her hay and didn't look at me with her back-end for a week after, but they all came out of it none the worse for wear. Regards, Christiane www.francesw.com

The marriage regime is important in France because it defines your rights in case of divorce or death of one partner. The two regimes in France are: 1. Separation des Biens, which means that all assets acquired before the marriage or through inheritance during the marriage remain the private property of each partner, and assets acquired during the marriage belong to both partners. and 2. Communaute Universelle which means that all assets are owned jointly. French people tend to declare their regime in the Carnet de Famille. As the UK legal system doesn't recognise prenuptial agreements these regimes don't apply there. However, everybody who got married in the UK is regarded as being married under the regime of Separation des Biens in France. The whole question of Marriage Regimes becomes interesting if you are a family with young children in France and one of the partners dies. Under Separation des Biens the surviving spouse pays inheritance tax and has to share the inheritance with the children. If the children are under age, the surviving partner would have to obtain a court order in order to sell the house. If your regime is that of the Communaute Universelle the surviving partner gets everything without paying any tax. I hope I have explained this well and no doubt, if there are any mistakes someone will correct me. Kind regards, Christiane www.francesw.com

Unless you've done major work to the property which required a Permis de Construire, or you have actually made the property smaller due to whatever reason, I would just send the form back as is. That's what I've always done and they have continued charging me the same amount in tax. Christiane www.francesw.com

Friends of mine are looking for a gite to rent for 7 to 10 days from 17 July (04) onwards. They are a couple with a 1yr old child. The area they are most interested in is the Luberon area. Can anybody help? Christiane

I can't see why living in France should make any difference to your worming program. I worm all my animals regularly as they can get worms here as well as in the UK, and even though you don't have children, their worm-infested faeces can still pose a danger to other children. Apart from that, worms can do an extraordinary amount of damage to the animal's gut. I too use Drontal and you can buy it at the vet's or in a pharmacy that will sell animal products (most around here do). On the other hand, you must be even more vigilant with your tick and flea treatment in France than you might have been in the UK as the ticks here can carry very nasty diseases. Regards, Christiane

It depends very much on where you live, i.e. how warm, cold or wet it is all year round. I have problems with ticks pretty much all year round and I never stop treating any members of my menagerie. Christiane

I think there is a slight misunderstanding here. L'Assurance Vie is in fact similar to an endowment plan or a PEP or ISA and not a Life Insurance policy. As far as I know, L'Assurance Deces is the equivalent of a Life Insurance policy in France. So, which one do you want information on? Christiane

In order to prevent access and hunting in your forest you will have to fence it and put up sign saying 'Chasse Interdit'. If the forest or any land for that matter is not fenced and signposted the public and the hunters do have automatic right to roam. However, you will probably make yourselves very unpopular if you just go and stick up signs. My suggestion would be to talk to the president of your local Chasse and a) see how much they actually go through your forest and b) ask him not to if it really bothers you. If he says no, then your option will still be to fence it off. Christiane

He might mean that you have to register with the Mairie, in order for them to adjust your council tax bill. We pay an extra amount per year for rubbish collection etc. as we have two gites which create a lot mor rubbish during the season. Christiane

Margaret, apart from No.2 (the hottie bottie in the bed) I find your demands very reasonable and would not turn you down as a tennant! Christiane

I've eaten at the Waterside and I must say that I think they don't deserve the 3 ***! The decor is very early 80's and tacky at that and the food was nothing to write home about. The Fat Duck on the other hand has always been known for their experimental approach to food, i.e. garlic flavoured ice cream etc, but I have never eaten there. Regards, Christiane

Hi there, >Does anyone have experience of installing >an outdoor school in the >south of france? I'm just about to build one 30x15m, as it is only for myself and for lessons, etc I go to my club 30min away where I have a 60x20m at my disposal. I'm interested >in knowing the cost involved >and whether there are specialist >firms as there are in >England, or whether it would >be better to get it >done ourselves with plant hire. There are specialist firms but they tend to be located more towards the Paris area and the centre of France. Check the back of magazines like L'eperon, Cheval Loisirs etc. > Also is the climate >more conducive to a simple >sand school without the attendant >costs involved of extensive drainage >as we have to do >here - or is that >just wishful thinking on my >part? It depends on where you are and what your ground is like. I will have to install drainage as it rains quite a lot and the ground is clay.However, if you just have sand there is only so much drainage you want as it gets too deep and dry if it's drained too well. The most difficult thing here is deciding what sand to go for, and you can forget things like rubber, as it doesn't exist AFAIK. I will have mine installed by a company that does terrassement and it is done according to my specifications. Let me know if you want any more info. Regards, Christiane

>We have been told that our >daughter (7) has to have >the BCG jab a.s.a.p for >school enrolment, where would we >go for this? To your local GP who will give you a prescription for the vaccine which then has to purchased at the pharmacy. would this >be possible to do with >an E111 form? No, as it is not an emergency or do >we need to do this >privately?. Yes. > >Anyone have any experience of this? >any advice appreciated. >Thanks in advance. I've just gone through this. I called the doctor who then left a prescription out for me for Monovax, which costs 5,56. I then went back to see him, as the children were free of other bugs, and had them vaccinated. Monovax is applied to the skin on the inside of the upper arm and then the doctor presses the spot firmly 2 or 3 times with a little gadget in order to just pierce the skin a bit. Your daughter will probably not like this very much but it is better than an injection. The only other thing I had to pay was the visit which was 20, so all in all, it didn't break the bank! Funnily enough, I never had to do this for the school but for the creche I've booked the children into during our skiing holidays. Regards, Christiane