Quillan

Part of your post was something I asked about yonks back but never got a straight answer so I went to the French vet and sorted it myself.   Firstly, if you have not already done so, you must register your dog in France. Mine was already ‘chipped’ so I presented the paperwork and the Vet scanned the dog to test the chip and confirm the number. I then paid a nominal fee (about 15€) and the dog was registered with the Ministère De L’Agriculture et de La Pêche, After a couple of weeks I got the Carte D’Identification la Chien, Sam was now a registered French dog.   The next step, the previous having been done first, is to get the official vaccination document. If you already have a Pets Passport (and it’s valid) and have the test certificate to say the vaccination worked from the UK lab then the booster vaccination is given and there is no need to have a test. If not then the full vaccination is given and 6 weeks later blood is taken for a test to see if it is working. The only difference is that to go and return to/from the UK you must wait 6 months to return to the UK as stated in the Pets Passport. If you go to another EU country then there’s no problem, there and back on the same day as you get the lab report (assuming it passed of course).   The French jab, which is the same vaccine as the UK one is good for 1 year and a booster must be given no later than 364 days after the first. If you go over the date by even 24hrs then you go back and start again. The bit that interested me was why do the French give the jab one year and the UK two, what do the French know that the UK does not?   This can run in tandem with the Pets scheme so if you went back to the UK for any reason you just have to do the tick thing.   The French system is part of the general EU system which is valid in all EU countries except…….. yep you got it, the UK, you need the French Vet to use UK forms as well as French/EU forms, it’s just more paperwork to carry round.   Good news is that France was declared free of rabies last year.   Hope this helps.   The above is what my French vet told me and carried out. In the unlikelihood of this being in-correct then take it up with my vet.

[quote]After various problems with the SP1 on my Dell Laptop (and many frustrating hours!) i was advised by Dell NOT to install any updates, disable the auto update option and leave my computer as it was whe...[/quote] I was wondering, did Dell also inform you that MS won't give you phone support unless your PC is up to date? If you contact MS for help the first thing they do is ask for the build version and s/n then ask for a list of installed updates. Normally they will tell you to bring it up to date and if the problem still exists to call them back for help. Mind you it's Dell so I doubt it.

Interesting to note that in their ‘Vote’ the results were as follows.:   I've installed it, and I had no problems at all. 40.0%   I've installed it, had a few minor glitches, but all is now OK. 11.2%   I've installed it and had major problems - I'm hoping to solve them. 3.5%   I tried, but it caused so much trouble I had to uninstall it. 6.5%   I'm leaving it for a while, until I feel more confident. 30.5%   I'm not going to touch it with a barge-pole.......ever. 8.4%   I had a look in their forum as well. The best I can make out is that those that had problems were with third party software and fix’s were available from those companies (except one who admitted they had a problem and were looking in to it. Outlook Express required the accounts to be re-entered again before they would work although the full version (which I use) had no problems. Overall most people seemed to give the impression that it installed with no problems. I suppose it’s the old question of is the glass half full or empty. I think the above stats and their forum give a resounding thumbs up.   Well it works fine for me on 4 PC's and the pop up stopper is much better than the freebee one I downloaded.

Thanks for the offer Boghound, my machines are in English and I have already installed it. I have to say that it all went really well with absolutly no problems. A few tips, if you have a popup stopper and firewall then remove them first, as they are no doubt they are kosha copies you can always re-install them from the CD's after. The install time is very long (3hrs seems about right) but the download on ADSL is not that long, about an hour. Some 3rd party software may well have to be reinstalled after, you can check this via the TID's on the MS site. Likewise if your PC crash's after installing and you were using only MS products (like it happened using Word or IE) then check with MS website as there are service packs for individual packages. Office XP is on SP1 but SP2 will be available shortly, not having these already installed may cause problems. If you install and then deinstall remember to look in Installing and Removing Software in the Control Panel after removing it as you will find that as part of the install it removes all previous updates as it is a cumulative patch and they are re-installed under the SP2 program. So basically if you do remove the patch you must go back and install all the individual patches by hand which takes for ever. Incidently if you have auto update on it will attempt to install SP2 at some stage. Once installed there is no reason to turn off the firewall (Control Panel - Security Centre) and then install your own version but do check to see if it is compatable with SP2. I notice it 'plugs in' to McAffee AV (it's what I use) to ensure it's updated and that you can turn the McAffee auto-updates on and off via the Security Centre. I don't know if this works with other AV's but it could help automate ones that require a manual download, worth looking in to (not by me). Finally, don't get me wrong guys (and girls) I am not a great fan of MS and at times (in my previous life) it has send me in to rages of unprintable realms BUT it is what we all use so one has to live with it. Before anyone says I used to be very active in the London LINUX user group but it never really caught on in the desktop world. Good luck.

[quote]Instead of rushing to download it. It's well over 4 hours on dial-up. Wait till the end of this month and a lot of computer mags are putting it on their cover cds. Pcadvisor are doing it and also givi...[/quote] I agree with the download thing on dialup but you can run it over night. You could get somebody to download it over ADSL for you and make a CD. Do you know if any French PC Mags are doing the same and if so is it language dependant? I did notice having installed it on 4 PC's now that the download size varies from between 75 to 117Mb depending on type of unit (I believe it's different for laptops than desktops for instance as their are changes to power management) but this could be a way of saving download time.

For all you ‘lucky’ people with Windows XP both home and Pro versions.   Service Pack 2 is now available and as well as installing all up to date security packs also installs some nice features that you might find useful like a ‘Pop up Stopper’ and a ‘Firewall’, it also has enhanced ‘Spyware’  protection all of which can be controlled via a nice new Security Centre available in the Control Panel.   AS already stated in FAQ it is important to keep your PC up to date and for XP users the new ‘Windows Update’ program can be set to update at a specified time which means not having your PC tied up updating when you want to check the forum.   Visit www.microsoft.com and click on the Windows Update on the left under Product Resources. You can order the update on CD if you wish, just follow the same link.   Windows Updates are very, very important and I can’t say strongly enough that you should install them.   Good Luck

[quote]I would imagine that it is the same as in the UK, that is if you have any sort of TV receiver, you must have a licence. This is regardless of whether you actually use the TV. There has been lots of di...[/quote] Bob, You are a hundred percent right, it's for the TV, nothing to do with what you use it for and it's only 116.50€ which is cheaper than the UK. What never ceases to amaze me is thet people come to France and continually try to find ways to 'beat the system' with health, car, tax and even a thing as stupid as a TV licence. If they are not stupid then they must be skint so why come to France. Does it never dawn on them that in the UK they have to pay these bills so why do they think that they don't have to here. I reckon at the old Tresor Public they have a right laugh when the brits phone up trying to get out of paying. I wonder if they have a book of excuses, you know, like they used to have for driving accidends in the UK "I swerved several time before finnaly hitting the tree" etc. Moan over.

Computer ‘scamming’ is on the increase and getting much, much, more clever. The two most popular scams are the ‘Boys from Lagos’ and the ‘International Lottery’ the latter being made more famous by recent TV advertising.   The ‘Boys from Lagos’ scam (it’s called this because it is believed to have originated from there) involves a promise of a percentage from a very large sum of money that a person wants to get out of a country, bank etc without anybody knowing (would be illegal in it’s self anyway). They will offer you 20 to 40% of something like $20M for your help. You may well laugh but you would be amazed that some people actually believe it and pay the $10 to $20k ’legal fees’ and still have not seen sight of their money. I recently had one from Lloyds Bank in London; I have also had one in French.   The ‘International Lottery’ is an email telling you that you have won a considerable sum of money on a lottery and to contact them by phone. When you do there will be a 600€ processing fee and guess what, you never see the money. Even worse the phone number is premium rate.   The new generation of scams are even more cleaver and involve what appears to be genuine emails from banks or Ebay. It usually tells you there is a security problem and that you should click on the very genuine looking link below and follow the instructions, failure to do so will mean your account will be suspended in 72 hours. The link then takes you to a web page that asks for your personal details including your bank/credit card details to verify your account. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU EVER DO THIS EVEN IF IT APPEARS TO BE A SECURE LINK. Contact your bank immediately and check with them, they will tell you that they never, I repeat never, send these type of emails out.   Unfortunately there is not much the police can do about this as the website is often outside the country and therefore their jurisdiction. There is a good, and very funny, website called http://www.scamorama.com which deals with ‘The boys from Lagos’ where you can see samples of their letters and shows you how to have some fun with them.   Golden rule, if it looks to good to be true, it probably is. No bank ever asks for personal details via an email.   You have been warned

As we come near then end of one season we look to the next and where we might consider advertising for next year and to decide which advertising companies we wont bother with again. My method of market research is somewhat simple. I search on B&Bs and Chambres DHotes in my area and see which companies come up. One that keeps coming up is a company run by Thomas Cook called BAB France with a website called bedbreak.com. They are quite expensive but then appear to give your B&B good exposure so I was wondering if anyone has used them and what they thought. So as not to create any problems perhaps we could say give a rating from 1 to 5, 1 being I would never use them again and 5 being absolutely wonderful, dont know how I would manage without them sort of thing. I you have something really nasty to say can you email me direct, saves all the grief under the naming and shaming rules. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

I don't know about plants but when we arrived at the property after signing we found the owners sun throwing the last of the carrots in to the back of his car. My understanding is that unless otherwise once you have signed whatever is at the property is legally yours, this includes any rubbish they have left behind. Not so silly as it seems, the removal of the rubbish is then your problem and I have read here (on the forum) of people having to hire several skips to get ride of it all at their expense. Being France of course what really happens after the signing is anyones guess but apart from taking the carrots our house was empty and clean (the owners wife even scrubbed the inside of the kitchen units and they left us 'critical' lampbulbs in the toilet and alike). We bought some light fittings from them but paid in cash after we had signed and checked they were still there. Can't be of much help otherwise. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

Well I want to stick up for French paint which I now use exclusively. Shutter Paint I know you can buy it from Wicks and its cheap and the French stuff cost 3 times as much, covers in one go and the one I use has a 9 year warranty. Cheaper UK ones are not designed to take the long exposure to direct sunlight and heat and you often have to repaint every year or so and need more than one coat so in the long run the French stuff is better and cheaper. Internal Paint I use Leroy Merlins own paint. I was put off to start with by what appeared to be the lack of colour choice till my neighbour told me that they mix paint here so you pick your colour and they mix it for you. I had maroon pain on two bathroom ceilings (dont ask me why they came with the house). Six coats of Dulux professional emulsion on one and it still showed through, one coat of LMs paint and job done. Most of the emulsion paints are designed to be watered down typically adding 30% water. So whilst they are more expensive by the tin they cover far more than UK paints. I cant comment on gloss paint as we only use varnish which seems to be much better than the UK version. Tip Ask your neighbour here in France and they will often tell you what is best for each job. As for bringing it from the UK, I had a 2.5ltr tin of white gloss split in the car and it cost me over 1000 to have new carpets and the seats recovered. The paint here is different because the conditions are different and I have learnt that the French do know what they are doing. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

We were told in two different areas in France that a good guide is 10 weeks (70 days) per room. Hving said that we have gone beyond this for this year but were under last year but then that was our first year. Accountants apparently use this figure if you are looking to buy a up and running B&B but can't get hold of the books straight away. Hope this helps. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

Don't know how the Gite side is going but on the B&B side it's poor. Early estimates are down 60% in Aude. Due to some shrewd advertising we have been mostly full but if we had to rely on passing trade we would have been better of closing as it's just not around. To put this in to context , last year we had no advertising in place as it was our first year and had only passing trade and we were full all summer until mid Sept. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

After following through with some of the things mentioned last year about registering your B&B and making yourself legal I have now started to receive official documents and requests for payment. I have to say so far they dont seem to be that bad (at the moment). I have two questions really. Firstly, I have received a document headed Renseigements Sur Le Paiement De LImprt from which I notice we are registered as a Micro Bic which is what we wanted. However on tapping away at the old calculator I see we are getting the 72% allowance yet we only sell a service i.e. Chambres DHotes. I was under the impression that we would only get 52% as we dont buy and sell. Any idea which one we should getting and if it is wrong should I tell them (so it does not catch up with me latter)? Secondly, when I went to register I got the impression that my tax regime may depend on the number of days/months we are open for. Is this correct and if so how long can you stay open for? Look forward to the repies. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

I believe you can also get syncronised swimming..... solo! I'ts true look out for it during the games. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

If you have to resort to Frogs and Froggies then what can one say. I'm supprised nobody has taken him to court for his rudeness. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

If he is a Ltd company in the UK you can do a search on the internet 'Companies House' website to find out who is the director and write to them direct. Send the letter registerd post and give them 14 days to respond and mention legal action if you don't get a response. I can't remember what the limit is (money wise) but if your claim is under the limit you can do it yourself via a small claims. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

Thought I would give you guys an update. My friends wife has now been operated on as the thing was getting bigger and bigger. She came out of surgery yesterday and has started to recover. Next she goes on to Chemo for about six months and fingers crossed she will survive. So it would seem very positive at the moment. Thank you Peter for the email, we will hope that you may be able to help them a little with the other business. Thank you all for your good wish's which I have taken the liberty to pass on. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

Very sorry to hear your bad news, I don't think there is much else to say really (what can you say) except thanks for the warning. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

To be quite honest we were with BritLine to start with mainly because they spoke English and I had to move money to a French Bank to pay for the house. Once I got to France I realised my folly. We are down south and CA Britline are up North and they are like two separate banks in the real sense of the word, quite different to UK banks. Paying in cheques was a problem, it was better to post them to Britline than deposit at a local bank. Even putting cash in at our local bank meant a delay in registering on our account. To cut to the quick, we toured to local banks and asked if they had English speaking assistants, there were two CA and Banque Populair. We noticed there were more people in BP than CA so we went with BP. Setting up the account was very simple and took about 5 mins and required our passports and a bill (EDF was fine). Our cheque books turned up 6 days later and our cards about 8 days later. I have no problems with my branch, we do our private and business banking with them, I can move money around over the phone, its just like banking used to be back in the UK 30 years ago. Our personal banker knows us by first name and is very helpful and always drops what he is doing to say hallo when we go to the bank. So my personal advice is to forget CA and pop round the banks locally till you find one that speaks English and that you like. It makes life so much easier. Hope this helps. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

Please accept this wonderful gift from us down south; it should be with you shortly nudging by the speed the clouds moved. It hit us about 3:00am, the dog is still recovering (he hates thunder and lightning) and its still raining but then POH and crew will be here shortly and it always rains for the Brits when they come. Makes them feel at home. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

When you finally move to France you always meet some fellow Brits at one time or another who know the system. You dont have to do this, you dont have to do that etc etc. Their pearls of wisdom include things like Dont bother changing the reg on your car, get a CT and French insurance you will be fine, Ive done it for the last X years. Then theres Dont bother telling the French Tax chaps, what they dont know wont hurt them. Then there is the matter of health Get a E111 and travel insurance to cover the rest, know body knows how long you have been here. Well I want to tell you about a tale that is unfolding as I type. Its a sad tale, I know the people personally and they are very nice polite people, the sort that you would be proud to call your friends. I had a call from a distraught husband tonight to tell me they hadnt been in touch as his wife has been rushed to hospital, she became pregnant over night and in a week she was not only in great pain but looked as if she was about to come to term and produce very large twins. Apart from this happening in side a week the wife is 50 odd years of age. After extensive tests in the hospital it appears she has ovarian cancer in a highly progressive state. They have tried to operate but cant remove it as it is so big and is firmly attached. Radio therapy is about to start with the hope it will shrink it to a manageable size and it can be removed. It is now a race against time and the success rate does not look good. Some time ago we had a conversation about getting our Carte Vital and paying in to the French system. My mate said that a chap he knows over here told him not to bother, go the E111 and travel insurance route, saves you loads of paperwork, grief and more importantly money. Well the French Hospital has told him that the E111 covers her for the initial emergency treatment and has now run out. Well he had the travel insurance so he contacted them. They in turn contacted her UK GP who informed them that she was successfully treated for breast cancer some 7 years ago. The result of this is that the insurance will not pay. If you ever have heart problems (I know about this personally) or cancer they amend the policy so as not to cover this in future. Not informing them invalidates the insurance. Some companies will give limited cover and a document is available (my mother in-law who is currently undergoing treatment for lung cancer (she was a none smoker by the way) was given one by the McMillan nurse) that tells you who will give you holiday insurance. So my friend who is very distraught over his wife is also distraught over how he is going to pay for all this as it would seem to have to come from his own pocket. His wife will not be leaving hospital for at least another six to eight weeks and the bills are racking up (by about a thousand Euro a day almost) at an alarming rate. The hospital is getting a bit agitated about how the bills are going to be paid and what with him not speaking much French and being so distraught with it all does not understand whats happening half the time. They have already told him that he may have to sell his house if he has no other way of raising the money. It is good to know however that they have not stopped any treatment, I am sure there must be some ethical code that means they will continue to treat her and sort the money out after. Now before you read my next comments dont get me wrong, there are lots of Brits here who give excellent advice, I have met one or two myself and have even received excellent advice from one or two members of this forum. There are one or two Brits out here who get on the ferry as a mini cab driver and get of the other end as experts in all maters legal and the French system. I have learnt that you MUST get in to the system here properly if you intend to live here. You cant rely on E111s and travel insurance and sit there thinking it doesnt matter anyway, it wont happen to me and carry on in ignorance. The systems are good in France, expensive, well yes in comparison, but well worth the money. So I hope this little story makes those of you who have gone down or are thinking about going down the E111 route and alike to think again and get legal and join the French system. Should my Friend read this although I am sure he wont have time at present I hope his wife makes a speedy and full recovery and our thoughts are with them both. PS If you are reading this Peter got any ideas what he can do? Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

Saw the local butcher sharpening his knifes with glee and they have that massive big (takes a whole cow) BBQ contraption set up in the square. Mmmmmm 'T' Bone tonight. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com

A post has been deleted from here as it broke the advertising rule as described in the Code of Conduct. The author has been informed Chris Moderator

Never mind 42 deg on the terrace, 51 indicated on the mayors new toy in Quillan. Dropped to a chilly 21 deg last night, gosh it was cold in the morning. Chris http://www.chambresdhote.com