Scooby

I'm not sure I follow the logic of what you're saying Tony?  If you are saying that being sick and on incapacity benefit would prevent you employing anyone to do work for you - surely that would mean a disabled person would never be able to employ decorators to decorate their home, tradesmen to effect repairs etc..?  Some illnesses have active phases and remissions (e.g. Lupus, RA, MS - which may mean that the person has the capacity to do some things for short periods but couldn't hold down a full-time job. Without knowing the facts regarding the medical condition of the OP's I would not presume to judge. The link you need for information on IB payable outside the UK is: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/sa29/benefits_05.asp

[quote user="caramac"][quote user="BP"] And I especially do not allow shopkeepers in France to have a superior sneering attitude - I am the customer and I can speak gobbley-dook if I want to, if they want my money, they earn it by understanding what I need...most people back down pretty soon and start being helpful (I think it is my no-nonsense attitude but the OH says it is my sweet smile) [/quote] Extraordinary...[:(] [/quote] Nope just a good business head - oops sorry, the french don't do good business head / customer service do they......?

If you look back you will see that I use crutches not a wheelchair - which makes a difference.  I'm glad your friend had a much better experience than I did.

Not all airports have adequate seating at the boarding gate; some only have a couple of seats which are taken on a first come first served basis.  The staff supervising the queue at the gate and the boarding of the plane are employed by Ryanair and could alleviate the access problems by being  little more compassionate.  By enforcing a 'first come first served' approach coupled with making disabled passengers wait until last Ryanair staff create great difficulties for disabled passengers which could otherwise be avoided.  If other passengers were more thoughtful then the problems wouldn't exist but, unfortunately, very few people will give up their seat for a disabled person.  In fact, on the way back from Limoges a few months ago, I even saw one man swearing and shouting abuse at a member of ground staff at Liverpool airport because he pushed a disabled person through passport control ahead of the queue. Disabled access is nothing to do with the price of the ticket.

[quote user="Ron Avery"]there is also such a thing as the DDA in the UK which requires businesses operating in the UK to make accommodations for disabled people.  My experience of Ryanair is that they fail to do this How?  They have full DDA access in the UK,  where that law applies, to their planes.  For safety reasons they only allow up to 4 disabled or wheelchair bound passengers per plane and make special arrangements for getting them on and off planes at foreign airports.  What more do you want for £20? [/quote] They don't make special arrangements - there was no seating for passengers waiting to board and disabled passengers have to wait til last - making their wait longer.  I suggest Ron, that before making comments about the adequacy of disabled provisions, that you try travelling when using a wheelchair - or worse still crutches.  It will be a real eye opener!

To be fair, I think the wording on the Ryanair website was changed some weeks back after quite a few complaints - it used to be hidden away.

Whilst I agree with the comment that you get what you pay for there is also such a thing as the DDA in the UK which requires businesses operating in the UK to make accommodations for disabled people.  My experience of Ryanair is that they fail to do this.

I think the issue with Ryanair is not the charges themselves but the misleading way the charges are presented.  Certainly, unless you read the small print very carefully, the multiple bag options and their attendant prices suggest that you pay according to the weight of the luggage you wish to take - not how that luggage is subdivided.  Unfortunately, unlike the other additional charges, you may not discover the additional baggage costs until after you have paid for the tickets - or worse still after you have tried to check your bags in. I agree re the disabled facilities - I use crutches and last time we flew I had to stand - and was required to wait 'til after everyone else had boarded (still standing!) to board the plane.  Another disabled passenger on the same flight was told she had to stand in queue and collapsed before boarding the plane.  She ended up needing medical assistance and a wheelchair to get to the plane.

Our experiences with HIFX have been pretty dire - they twice lost our money (once for 6 weeks!) sending our French account overdrawn and incurring us fees .  We had no refund of costs, apologies or anything.  Last time I checked rates HIFX were offering 1.38 - compared to 1.41 with the Co-Op and nearly 1.42 with Nationwide.  This was for a transfer of £5k.  Ok there was no fee with HIFX but for that sum of money the difference in rates was significant. We would never use HIFX again.   

The novels by Marc Levy are good - very easy reading.  Marc is a french guy who now lives in the US so books are often set in the US.  His books are pretty popular in France I'm told.

My sister and I booked flights a couple of weeks back for the grand sum of 4p for the two of us - return.  We travel with hand luggage only, use on-line check-in and use an electron card to book the tickets.  For those sorts of deals I can live with the scrum [:)]  

So if I am not resident until I have been in France for five years....then I do not have to complete a tax return or pay French taxes for five years either.....[;-)]

They should work just fine.  You will still have a vacuum seal once the contents have cooled down.  The raised lids were introduced as a safety feature so shoppers could tell if the seal had been broken by pressing the raised area on the lid.

The reason for the civil ceremony is probably because of the residence requirements - one of the parties to the marraige must have been resident in France for at least 40 days prior to the wedding (30 days prior to the bans being read and then a further 10 days for the bans) - and you have to provide evidence of this - rent book, utility bills etc etc. Most people can't take 40 days out pre the wedding to meet this requirement - hence the civil ceremony in their own country and blessing in France.

Well we're towards the bottom of the bottom list but I don't think I'll be moving to France permanently any time soon.  France is nice in short bursts (to recharge batteries) but I couldn't cope with long periods there: I would die of boredom!

[quote user="P-D de Rouffignac"] - mountain guide - [/quote] Actually 'mountain guide' is one of those professions that only individuals with a french qualification are allowed to practice - regardless of your international qualifications / experience.  The issue has been taken up by the Association of International Mountain Leaders on behalf of its members.

[quote user="woolybanana"]Being qualified and legal (French or otherwise) is not a guarantee of good work. [/quote] We used a properly registered artisan, spoke to other clients, looked at work already done etc etc...and, still, the quality of the work done for us was terrible (the bill was not insignificant - 25,00 Euro +).  Most now needs to be redone.  The artisan had appropriate insurance (we have a copy) but, for us, its not worth the paper its written on because we would never let this guy loose in our house again.  Ironically my brother-in-law (fully qualified and experienced english tradesman) had offered to do the work in exchange for a free holiday but we thought we should 'do it properly' - particularly bearing in mind the deductibility of the works from any future french capital gains tax and all the scaremongering on here and other forums about the works being 'ripped out'.  To be honest it would have been cheaper to have taken the risk;  had my b-i-l do the work and forfeited a tax deduction.  In the end we are paying twice over.

We used HIFX until they lost our money three times in succession - despite being told about the previous mishaps.  Our French account went overdrawn as a consequence causing us alsorts of nightmares (and financial costs).  When told about this HIFX didn't seem to give a hoot - no apology, no compensation nothing.  When we contacted them this time the rate they offered was appalling - so we asked our own bank (The Co-Op) for their rate - which was better and then our building society (Nationwide) which was miles better.  So we ditched the brokers and are now transferring direct from our Nationwide account.  Transaction is simpler, quicker and we are getting a substantially better rate (1.42 with Nationwide cf 1.35 with HIFX at the time of our last call to HIFX).  Okay we pay a fee to Nationwide but with the amounts being transferred the fee is miniscule.

Pas de problème!!

Not sure why you should automatically assume its working on the black - some people have second homes they only use for themselves and their family!!  We don't let the property - she simply does bed linen etc to help us out as we can't always get sheets washed before we leave. And why the aggressiveness towards someone posting for the first time???  Oh and i haven't replied earlier because I have a life and don't spend every waking hour posting on a forum!!  

I've 'shopped' people on several occassions - for tax evasion, breach of Health and Safety regulations etc...  Being caught is part of the gamble they take. Re key holders - having a key holder who changes sheets doesn't necessarily amount to operating a gite.  A neighbour has our keys and changes sheets, cuts grass, does washing for us and generally keeps an eye on the house.  We repay her by gifts (DVD's, CD's, kids clothes)  taking her and her family out, babysitting etc.