Sybil&Basil

Thanks Peter We are off to France tonight and signing for the house on Friday.So excited cannot believe we have actually done it. We skied at Super Besse and Mont Dore two years ago and it was frightening (blizzards etc) but determined to try again. We have a wonderful view of the mountains from our little village and just looking forward to chilling out for a while. Hope you are able to return to France soon. Cheers Sybil

Well done Jonny. Bonne chance. BRING IT ON. Basil. (On behalf of English rugby) We still love la belle France, obviously...

Oh Dear. Problem. We are signing on the new house this Friday. What happens if we beat La Belle France. Should I leave my rugby shirt at home? Am I tempting fate. Mon Dieu, qu'est-ce que nous avons faites? Bon chance Jonny and the boys...   Basil

Thanks, Pierre and the rest of you who have replied. I'd rather not use Nitromors; although it does a fantastic job of removing every type of paint very quickly it needs a lot of washing away and is dangerously caustic. I would strongly recommend wearing long sleeves, goggles and a mask. ( Good grief, I sound like a tedious 'Elf an' Safety officer), but Nitromors doesn't half sting. Never mind, this sounds like a perfect excuse to wander round the Aladin's Cave that is Brico Depot and buy another power sander, or, for that matter, anything with a plug on that makes a lot of noise. It's a bloke thing... A bientot, Basil

What are the winters like in this area? Hoping to go out again in New Year, will we need our thermals? We are hoping to visit Ambert when we go over next week, I hear it is a lovely village, are there any large shops etc.

We know Brassac very well, our friends have a holiday home in Jumeaux and we often stay with them. We will be staying with them prior to the completion. We have eaten in Sue & Alans (English tea room) on many occasions, hopefully we will have time for another meal, (they are wonderful chefs). whilst we are out there in 2 weeks time. We were looking for a house in Brassac but at the time there was nothing suitable (in our price range). No, we did not buy from Tracey VEF but from Arcades Immobilir Issiore, through Anita & Brian Pickering who are agents and it has been a godsend because our French is basic and she speaks fluent French. This will just be a holiday house but we have also bought the renovation project next door and hopefully be able to turn that into holiday flats because the area is perfect for fishermen, hunters,photographers etc. Sorry to hear you are selling but quite understand, it is stupid leaving it empty for most of the time. If you want to speak to Anita re helping you to sell I can let you know her number. Will chat soon I hope, Regards Denise

We have heard there is a train from Issiore for skiers in various areas: Monte Dore, Super Besse; Lioran - anyone know of this?  

[:) Hi Katie, thanks for the welcome. We started looking for a holiday home in France 3 years ago, we wanted: 2/3 beds; small garden; in a a large village with all amenities ( I do not drive) and we fell in love with the Auvergne. We have bought; 7 bedroomed ex-hotel; tiny village; no ameneties except a Relais; no garden just a large courtyard and with an attached same size renovation project, in the middle of the Livradois Forest. We must be mad! Fell in love with it from the start, it does not tick any of our boxes but is has the WOW factor for us. It will be used as a holiday home for our ever growing family. We have been told there are 4 English families living in the village which we hope will be a good thing to help us integrate, as our French is adequate but not great and obviously the locals will be used to the English and there strange habits by now. Will let you know how we get on after our return from signing and our short holiday afterwards.(why are our posts coming out in double spacing?)  

Bonjour, tout le monde.  Does anyone know of a 'Dip and Strip' service anywhere near Issoire/Clermont/Ambert? We are buying a place in Echandelys (near Sauxillanges) and have a lot of shutters to renovate. Although I would obviously love to spend my entire holiday wire brushing and sanding them, but every time I look across the road Mme. Gorgeous who runs the Relais is cooking something that would make even the divine Nigella throw a hissy fit. Therefore I need to find someone to help me spend more time doing what we have bought this house for, i.e. become even more French. This does involve being in the Relais for a major part of the day. Apparently. Merci beaucoup, Basil  

We are signing l9th October for our house near Sauxillanges (63) It will be a holiday house for some time, anyone out there live near us. Hope to chat to you.  

Signing on l9th October, little village near Sauxillanges (63) Anyone on this forum live in this area? Love to chat to you[:)]

Thanks Ron, perhaps if we visit Issiore we may find a suitable local shop. Ryanair are indeed very naughty, our eldest boy lives in Chelmsford and it would be so useful for him and family to visit by plane rather than dragging 2 under 3's on a long car journey. The house has wood central heating, do you know if this is efficient enough or does anyone out there have any helpful hints ( the house if very large but will only need to heat part of it for a very long time!!!  Also, the kissing thing, do we kiss on a first meeting, if so is it 2 or 3 times or not at all - help please, do not want to make too many faux pas in our first week. Best regards

[:)] We are signing for our house l9th October, it is near Sauxillanges. Has anyone heard if Ryanair are definitely starting to fly into Clermont from Stansted - I have been told they will begin in April. Also, we need to buy fridge,washing machine and possibly dishwasher (depends on funds), is Carrefour the best value or Conforama or can anyone suggest elsewhere. We will need delivery.  Soooooooo excited, our dream house at last, although is has 7 bedrooms it only has one loo!!!! The house has no number is this the norm. Looking forward to keeping in touch with you all.   .