Angelite

Whilst en-route to Caen along the E401, in the area of Villedieu les Poeles, I noticed some extremely large pylons completely dwarfing the existing ones next to them. Are they for the Ligne THT?

Brian, apart from exagerating her health problems, she is entirely legit. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. In fact, current neighbours have twice denounced her, she has been investigated and apart from maybe the Income Support being reduced slightly, she has been exonerated. If people know what they can claim for, and do so, they are better off than the workers.

Well said, Braco - it takes a brave man to say that. I think the first step might be to start taxing benefits at the PAYE level. I know from an ex-neighbour that she gets untaxed money from so many different sources, together with no rent, no council tax, free optician and dentist, motability and an allowance for a cleaner! that she can afford a car, foreign holidays, laptop and save under the mattress at least 2k per year. Mind you, she claims benefit on the basis she can hardly walk to get out of the door. And some poor devils are working all hours to keep their heads above water. It just ain't fair.

Braco: The real issue is to wean the indigenous population off the nanny state. Whilst many people on Benefit have more disposable income than the non-professional workers, how will that be achieved?

Oh Benjamin, your post reminded me how relaxed French life is. We're due back out in a couple of weeks - I can hardly wait!

Belle You have my deepest sympathy - varifocals can be a nightmare.  After my second pair of varifocals, I had to give up playing short tennis because I couldn't see the ball if it went to the side of me. Good luck with your trip to the UK opticians, I hope you get a pair which really work for you. Bonne chance. Angelite  

Thanks for that info, Sue.  It certainly will be worth changing. Do you, or any other Forum member know, can you just ring up and change the tariff, or does the meter have to be changed?  Angelite  

When we bought our cottage in December, EDF transferred us to the same tariff as the previous owner - the Heures Creuses. We pay by prelevement, and after the initial contract charge, received a statement for E47.07 to be taken this month (25 Feb),  for two months at E23.35. However, at the bottom of the statement they say the next facture will be about the 28 March.  We are on 12 Kw, 230/400 v. Before I ring the EDF English-speaking line, does anyone have any ideas on whether E23.35 or E47.07 would be the more likely? Thanks  

Thank you very much Val for that link.  They stock Nutro, which is quite hard to find in local shops even in UK.  I shall now use them for UK and France.  

I think this could be a sign of the times.  Having just received my cheque and Reinstatement Certificate from the FSCS for the ISA I had with Icesave, I tried to invest it with Nationwide, with whom I have a Flex Account and an existing ISA. However, they said they are not taking any transfers at the moment.  I explained I was an existing customer, and this was a little different from the usual transfer, but the assistant was adamant. Luckily, Halifax were happy to do it for me.  

I notice on the Teletext financial page that they put the bad news at the top in large letters.  If there is any good news, it's at the bottom of the first page in the morning, and soon shipped off to the next page. I also feel that some reporters seem to relish giving us bad news, whatever the topic.  When they almost gloat over lost jobs, I always think "it doesn't need all that many of you to present the news ...".  

Christmas is one of the Christian celebrations that have been superimposed on our old Celtic/Pagan festivals - Yule.  Even today Pagans believe in giving humble, home-made  gifts if possible, as the effort is far more important than their cost.  

Correction : should be Brest, not Roscoff!  Getting my flights and ferries mixed up.  

I thought some of you you might be interested in the following: My friend had been waiting for Flybe to publish their new summer schedule so that she could book to fly out from Manchester to Roscoff at the end of April. However, this service has been discontinued and she is having to fly to Southampton and change there for Roscoff.  Because of two take offs/landings, it is costing her considerably more than if she could have flown direct.  And even this service is only available on certain days.    

Thank you, Clair and Cat - the thread was most useful.  I have a cousin who used to teach French in school, but even she can't understand some of the words on the forms etc!  

We've just received our Facture Contrat from EDF, and apparently we are on heures creuses. One section "Autres Prestations" says :  "Forfait acces electricite part."     Montant HT = E20. I have tried a couple of translation engines, but with no success. Is it the charge for being on heures creuses?  And if so, will that be E20 per month or per year?  Thanks  

Thank you both so much.  So I'm 1,350 euros better off than I thought - phew ...  

We are going over to France next week to sign the Acte, and have just received an e-mail from the Notaire with details of the balance owing. This is followed by: L'Agence nous versera le trop perçu, soit la somme de 1 350 euros, le jour du rendez-vous de signature. I presume this is an extra amount due on the day, but I'm afraid the dictionary and I couldn't quite work out what it's for! Any help gratefully received.  

The Bank of England are not ruling out interest rates falling to 0% next year.  How can that work?  What is the point of anyone having savings if that is the case?   

I read that you can only cancel the line to your residence secondaire when not in use if France Telecom provide both lines. Is this correct? 

I think PDR's father's dislike of suede shoes may have something to do with their being called "brothel creepers" in the 60's. (Sorry to lower the tone of this discussion!).  

Nothing so grand - just north of Callac.  But we fell in love with the area the first time we saw it - the lovely rolling hills and although in less profusion than further south, still lots of megaliths to find and explore.  Not too far to bring the cat and dog, as well (they have had their rabies vaccination and are due the blood test this morning, but the cat has disappeared, hope the vet can fit him in later today when he comes back).    

I have been dreaming about owning a property in France for many, many years, and earlier this year I was finally able to raise sufficient money to follow my dream. Am now in the process of purchasing a property, and I would like to thank the people on this Forum for all the invaluable advice they have provided over the years.    

Thanks again for all your help, the thing is none of us knows what is round the corner.  One of my concerns was that my sister-in-law's new husband wouldn't get his hands on our hard-earned money!  Daughter is no problem.  But we will definitely consult with a Notaire when we find a property (hopefully in the next couple of weeks)  so that we get things right at the start.   

Thank you parsnips, that has answered my question.  Neither of us has any parents living, so things should be quite simple.  We now know what to tell the Notaire we want!