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Nicole

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  1. I have just returned from our local shop / café / bar / post office. This village shop is run by a husband and wife, in their fifties who make am excellent team and have always welcomed us since we arrived 6 years ago. After all my letters had been weighed and stamped, the lunchtime baguette purchased I settled myself at the bar with a small cup of deliciously hot strong coffee. Not long after, a woman breezed into the shop giving Joelle four kisses, quite normal practice for close friends and family, but her husband received just a nod of the head, which to me seemed a bit odd. The woman and Joelle chatted for a while and after she left I asked why Yannik had received such a cool reception. They both laughed, and Yannik replied ‘Although I have lived here for thirty years, I’m a foreigner like you… my grandmother isn’t buried in the village cemetery !!’
  2. A new bin has arrived in our small commune. Until Friday, we had one green topped bin for general rubbish, and one yellow bin for recycling. All glass and paper waste (i.e. newspapers and magazines) must be taken to the dark green and blue recycling bins in the village. A couple more houses in our hamlet are now being inhabited permanently so now we have an extra green topped bin !. It does take a little getting used to, to remember to take the rubbish to the bins at the end of the road and then to sort it by the roadside.. and there are no secrets !!.. everyone know what breakfast cereal you eat !!. But be careful..to ONLY put the recycling rubbish in the yellow topped bin. Dustbin men in France have huge powers to humiliate those who abuse the recycling rules !!. I once put a crème fraiche tub in the recycling bin and on the way back from taking the children to school is was taped with red and white hazard stripped masking tape to the top of the bin for all to see !!.. I screeched to a halt, hoping I was the first to see my error. I tore the crème fraiche tub from the bin and put it in the green topped bin.. Why can’t crème fraiche tubs be recycled anyway ?
  3. This is one subject that the French are quite relaxed about and the English conversely get very hot under the collar whenever suppositories are mentioned. After a trip to the pharmacy I am convinced that there is a suppository for every ailment. Initially, I wanted some paracetamol and naturally I was given it in the suppository form. I asked if there was a tablet version. ‘But why’, the pharmacist asked,’ the suppositories work a lot quicker’. This, I do not doubt, but could I please have paracetamol in a tablet form.  There is a farmer who lives on the outskirts of the village, whom I am told has never been ill and the reason for this is his daily garlic clove suppository !!
  4. Over the last two or three years I have become increasingly aware of the moons’ presence. A couple of years ago, I leant over our garden fence to ask our elderly neighbour when I should plant my potatoes. Don’t you have a calender showing the moon cycles, was the reply. I feared my Woolworths calender probably didn’t include such information so I sheepishly replied, No, still not realizing what this had to do with my potatoes. The elderly man put down his spade and disappeared indoors. He soon reappeared with a spare calender which clearly showed all the moon cycles. This information he told me was more important than the standard calender. We then sat down under an apple tree and he explained when I should sow and harvest my potatoes. The moon also affects children’s behaviour. They appear to be louder, excited and more uncontrollable when there is a full moon. It is also very common practice to give children a syrup, readily obtainable at all pharmacists, for 5 days after a full moon, to get rid of the ‘worms’.
  5. A fabulously cold morning, minus 6 degrees and a very very hard white frost. The very impressive orange sunrise has now slipped and in its place a bright blue sky. Everything looks so beautiful. I have just returned from walking our dog, and I remarked on how breathtaking the sunrise had been to an old man who was on his way for his morning coffee. He merely shook his head, leant on his stick and replied, 'It is going to be a long cold winter, the ants have already gone undergound.'
  6. French plumbing.. the occasional whiff of a bad drain, toilets that are so unreliable that little taps are built into them to stop water constantly running through the cistern and regularly blocked drains are but a few of the many problems. In an attempt to improve the drainage problems, a law was past a couple of years ago to tighten up on the installation of septic tanks. (Mains drainage is still not available in most rural areas) One of the aims of the new legislation is to prevent septic tanks discharging directly into the rainwater ditches, which up until now has been very common practice !!.. Following this new legislation every septic tank is being inspected, regardless of when it was installed, and if it doesn't conform to the current regulations, the homeowner must carry out the necessary works too ensure that it does. Today, was Inspection Day. A shortish man with blonde hair in a pony tail arrived in his small van, armed with shovel, crowbar, auger and laptop. The inspection was very thorough, and then he completed his report, asking questions as to the location of the run off pipes, the filter and noting all this information on the land registry plans, who installed the tank, when, what was its volume... Thankfully our tank passed his criteria, and he was soon gathering his now muddy equipment from the kitchen floor and was on his way to our neighbours. From the raised voices, I can now hear I don't think that inspection is proceeding as smoothly as ours !!...
  7. Hi I want to buy a large building plot (field) of 20,000 metres and divide it into 6 building plots. The geometre seems very uncertain as to if I can do this. He says it will have to be turned into a lottissment which I don`t want. He says I can only divide it into two if I want to build houses on it. So I can only build two houses and I`d like six. He seems to think I may be able to apply after a few years to re-subdivide the land and build on it then. Does anyone know if this is true ? Or can I re-sell a plot of the six without a house on it and then the new owners be allowed to build there own house in addition to the two I`m allowed ? Thanks Nicola
  8. Hi I want to buy a large building plot (field) of 20,000 metres and divide it into 6 building plots. The geometre seems very uncertain as to if I can do this. He says it will have to be turned into a lottissment which I don`t want. He says I can only divide it into two if I want to build houses on it. So I can only build two houses and I`d like six. He seems to think I may be able to apply after a few years to re-subdivide the land and build on it then. Does anyone know if this is true ? Or can I re-sell a plot of the six without a house on it and then the new owners be allowed to build there own house in addition to the two I`m allowed ? Thanks Nicola
  9. The local shop/ bar/ café is the centre of village life. I watch the greeting rituals. For some its four kisses (very fast precise head movements required to ensure that the cheeks are in precisely the right place), for others two kisses and for some just one kiss, and then of course the more formal handshake. Just as you think you have mastered who gets four kisses, who gets two etc etc.. the rules change. As you launch the top half of your body towards the left cheek for the kissing marathon, of someone that has been getting four kisses for the last six months, you are presented with a hand, so with a backward stumble you try to return the composed handshake. A man, an acquaintance, has just arrived, as I am paying for my baguette, for his morning aperitif. I passed him a few moments ago as he was relieving himself by the side of the road. Bonjour Madame, he says as he firmly grasps my hand.. I pick up my baguette in the other hand and politely say, Bonjour Monsieur….
  10. A decision that I have been mulling over for the last three months is just about to come to a head. Should I, or should I not volunteer to take an active role in the Parent Teachers Association (Amicale)?. We have two children (aged 4 and 6), the eldest whom has been going to the local village school for four years. My french is slowly improving but is not up to the complex political issues that naturally occur between parents and teachers...maybe this is a positive thing ?. The education of our children is important and if I can help to support the school I am more than willing to do so. But do I have, as a newcomer (and English) to this very rural community, the right to become part of this potentially volatile organisation, or would they (the other parents and teachers) appreciate my support ?.. The first Amicale meeting, is being held at 8.00pm on Friday, and it is at this meeting I have to decide whether to volunteer or to remain firmly in the background... Any views gratefully received ?
  11. Don and Pat, If you are still looking for a property in Southern Brittany, please see our website or email me. Kind regards Nicola
  12. Chris, I agree with JJ's comments. We also have 4 gites and market 50 or so others in Brittany and we have found the free websites to be a waste of time. To get decent enquiries you do need to pay to advertise your Gite, Chez Nous and French Connections are both good. Basically these adverts will promote your website so the better the website the more lettings you will gain. We have found that the websites with the best photos and with lots of details about the surrounding area are much more successful. Good Luck !!
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