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Cranachan8

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Everything posted by Cranachan8

  1. No, you can't claim for the cost of the installation of windows / doors.  The booklet you would have received with your tax return form says that you can only include installation costs for insulation of your roof and walls.  Anything else is materials only.  We've had to ask the company who supplied and fitted our windows and shutters, in February last year, for a breakdown of their invoice to show cost of materials and cost of labour.  I would love someone to tell me that I am wrong!!!!!!  
  2. [quote user="ebaynut"][quote user="Quillan"] I have been trying to remember the name of a TV program I once watched but I can't, I think it was called something like 'How English are You'. Anyway the general gist was they selected a group of people and asked them how English they were. There were two people that I remember, a mature lady and Ian Wright the footballer. Whilst the first, who held opinions only very slightly to the left of 'him' and was ranting about the population being diluted by immigrants etc whilst Ian Wright was sure he came from Africa somewhere in his dim distant past. The then took DNA samples from which they could work out the region of the world their family line originated from. It turned out that the 'white' English aristocratic ladies DNA originated from Romany Gypsies in norther Russia and that Ian Wright had far, far more  English DNA in him that she did. Of course she claimed it was a setup, a fiddle etc, etc. The point I am coming to is wouldn't it be interesting if they did the same for 'him' and wouldn't it be a real scream if it turned out he came from some obscure coloured Jewish or Muslim part of the world or someplace similar. [/quote] It COULD be suggested that anyone who is truly English will know that they are, and other English people will also know this. ( like Masons know when they meet a fellow Mason, it would not take long to realize) People who keep calling into question what makes someone English  it could, be also  suggested are not English and know they are not, but would soooo love to be, but NEVER can. [;-)][/quote] As someone who has posted on the thread questioning another poster's definition of "truly english", may I respond without receiving vitriole? I am not 'truly english', I was born in England and lived in England until I was 33, at which point I moved to another country. I have never asked anyone to call me "English" and I certainly would not like to be thought of as "english" given some of the posts made on this thread. I would probably pass your "mason-like" test on sight / conversation but I don't really want to be in your club. I am not truly english; my husband is not truly french; our children are......... human beings? Very confusing!
  3. I have several thoughts on this! Unfortunately some of my thoughts are not always congruent with my other thoughts! Thank goodness I am not a politician! Fundamentally, I believe that all state benefits should go to those that need it and not to those who don't. There lieth the problem. Define "need". Clearly, those on and beneath the poverty line "need" the benefits and people like those in the article who are "saving the child benefit for university" or spending it on "spa trips, Joseph and mini-boden" do not "need" it. The problem is how the government can differentiate between the two. It's not quite as easy as just setting income thresholds for benefits - a net income of £x,000s in London is not going to go as far as the same net income in many other parts of the country. Another problem is that if the threshold for receiving child benefit is too low then it may work out cheaper for one of the parents to not work at all - the UK has seen this happening with other benefits over the last 20 years. As the journalist has pointed out, this is not just about child benefit but other benefits like winter fuel allowance. I do believe that winter fuel allowance should be means tested (net income) as I believe that it is ridiculous for the government to be paying my grandfather a winter fuel allowance when he has more monthly income than he knows what to do with in his old age. The same goes for my late grandmother who lived until she was 90, recieving winter fuel assistance since its inception. Again, it's down to define "need"! Back to Child Benefit and you ask if "paying benefit for, say, the first two children only in any family set-up"? France only pays child benefit (Allocations famialle) if you have 2 or more children. France's approach to an ageing population is to encourage larger families. woolybanana, it's a complex question and I'm so glad I'm not a politician.
  4. tegwini wrote that the definition of being English is: "Clearly wanting and able to speak English (not necessarily grammatically correct!) Able to relate to the country, its history, its values, its culture and to wish it well, able to fit in and contribute to society and etc. (My thoughts)." So. therefore, I am french then?! Or does your reasoning just apply to 'England'? I am one of those people Jack Straw referred to when he said that not many people in England are "truly english". On behalf of my non-english ancestors, I would like to thank all those who are "truly english" for your hospitality over the last 9 decades.
  5. Hi If the French Government will generate more income (than they currently do by the 8% contribution made by non-french EU inactifs) and this money will go towards helping France and her people, then I think that it is an excellent idea to insist that any inactif newcomer to France be expected to take out private healthcare insurance (and be financially self-sufficient). However, to state the obvious, as things stand at the moment, the difficulty arises with those people who are already in France with E106s and also those who are tying up things in the UK (or elsewhere) having already committed to making the move to France (let's not forget this population).   It seems that this difficulty is exacerbated for people who have / had pre-existing medical conditions prior to their arrival in France e.g. diabetes, cancer, heart disease.  Pre-existing medical conditions also include psychiatric / psychological diagnoses such as ADHD, Depression, OCD, other Anxiety-related Disorders,  Psychosis, etc.  As a Clinical Psychologist, this concerns me immensely. Forget arguing for retrospectism, we should be asking the French Government to put a future date on this change, i.e from 29th September 2009, all EU inactif immigrants will be expected to take out private health insurance following the end of their E106 cover. (This should cover all those who have already made plans to "retire" to France early) I'm asking for the moon..... Cran       
  6. We prefer B&B Hotels to Premier Classe.  We have found them much cleaner and the breakfast better - although eat the scrambled eggs at your peril!  (They are also ideal for families like ours where we can get all four of us into one room - finding a room for 4 people can be near-on impossible, no matter your budget!). We have stayed at the B&B at Boulogne - which is right next to Premier Classe off the A16.  Had no problems with noise or anything else. I'm pretty sure that they also provide the code for the gate if you get there after hours. Have fun Cran  
  7. Cooperlola, Thank you for your reply. I hadn't thought of contacting the UK to give up my health care rights under the E106.   I will certainly explore this with the DWP, and hope that CPAM accepts it! Ty Cran
  8. Hi If this news proves to be correct, then I'm in the ridiculous position of now regretting ever applying for my E106!  I'm married to a French National and we moved to France in April this year, all of us under my E106 (since MOH didn't have a job to go to).  He found work and has been working (CDI then temping) since May on SMIC - he can't decide what he wants to do now he is back in France. Our local CPAM office have told us that while my husband is covered for health care because he is working, mine is being funded by my E106.  (Our dual-nationality children are covered by either of us - e.g. if I use my Carte Vitale, the UK pay (under the E106) but if my husband uses his then this is covered by his affiliation to CMU). This all sounds absolutely fine, albeit a little strange, at the moment because as soon as my E106 runs out (Jan 2009), I would be become his dependent as far as CPAM, CMU etc are concerned.  However, given what the CPAM lady has told me, this implies to me that, should he die the day before my E106 runs out, then I will be regarded as a non-french-national "inactif" (despite looking after 2 children, 5 and 2yrs) and have to find private health care for me (my children will be covered by CMU as they are dual-nationality)! If I had never applied for the E106, I wouldn't be in this position.  In hindsight, perhaps I should have taken the risk with my family's health and moved with no healthcare provisions until MOH had found work, then I would have been affliated to CMU! BTW If the news proves true, I am happy for those "inactifs" that are already affiliated in that they don't need to worry about this anymore! Rant over....sorry Cran      
  9. This may be due to the poroposed national transport strike tomorrow.  I haven't had any luck with the sncf website either! [blink]
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