Domp80

Thanks Sunday Driver - you have confirmed my suspicions - at least it wont be a surprise when I have to pay extra. Clare.

Hi The small print on a new car purchase that I am about to make says this ..... "Le tarif du véhicule indiqué comprend le tarif H.T. du véhcule, la TVA en vigueur, notre commission (de 4 à 8% selon le modèle et la provenance) et tous frais en vue de l'obtention de la carte grise française. Ce prix ne comprend pas les frais de séquestre (a), la carte grise définitive, la vignette (pour les sociétés). Le solde devra se faire par chèque de banque (chèque émis au guichet)." Anyone know what the difference is between the two types of carte grise mentioned? I am particularly interested to know because I will need to pay some 'malus ecologique' and dont know whether that is included when they say tous frais en vue de l'obtention de la carte grise française. I have asked them the question by email but wonder if anyone has any wisdom on the matter :-) Clare.        

Can anyone recommend some good builders in the Hesdin area? We have various jobs building up and would rather follow a recommendation if possible. Thanks  Clare.

Hi Catherine I looked into this about 3 years ago when I needed broadband or similar for work but didn't have adsl in my area. I don't remember the finer details anymore but I did finally end up with one direction only. The cost was just far too great otherwise with too many restrictions. I used to look at ariase.com on a daily basis hoping I would get reADSL until I finally was able to receive it. I have SO never looked back! Sorry I can't help more but I sympathise with your predicament! Clare.  

Hi Patrick Yep - there are a few of us 'full timers' around Rue/St Valery (not being holiday home-ist, I promise) although not as many as around Hesdin methinks. I have stumbled across Brits mainly though my sports mad sons - on the football pitches, in sports halls etc. At their school in Rue we were the only English speaking family until this term when another one popped up. Generally speaking we are still a novelty in this region I think but the people are mostly very friendly and tend to warm to us more when they realise we live here. I hope you enjoy your new home and like the area as much as we do! All the best Clare.  

Cher M. Sarkozy As my eyesight weakens yet again as it always does this time of year from staring for hours on end at not one, but three school supply lists, I beg you to end this misery. I idly wonder in a moment of lapse away from 96 pages or 48 pages, red ones, blue ones, pink ones or orange ones how many man hours are wasted each year across France on this very task? How many hairs are turning grey? How many hospitalisations there are resulting from fistycuffs over the last classeur with 4 binders (strictly not 2)? Perhaps it is meant as a test of character, a test of the tenacity of the parents. Supply 24x32 instead of 21x29.7 and you are not worthy. Your child is not welcome in this here ecole. France does not need you - - allez. Surely there's a better way? Just because it has been done this way for years, is there no possibility of a teensy weensy change? Radical, but could the schools not supply the stationary and bill the parents ? Now where was I .... ? 2 pochettes de 50 feuillets mobiles seyes..... Domp80      

Does a French driving license show the date you passed your test ie a valid from date on it ? Only asking out of interest as I passed at 17 (one or two years ago now). When I went for French insurance, the software they use wouldn't allow them to put the 'valid from' date shown on my UK license because (presumeably) in France you have to be 18 to pass your test and so the software is programmed to see anything less as an error. Doesnt really matter, but if I run into that situation when I change to a French license, my actual test date would then be lost for ever presumeably .....    

Hi I have drafted a short letter about wanting to make my house into a gite ready to send to the tourisme people but am loathe to send it yet because I know it has errors in it. I am wondering if any kind soul would mind reading it through (its only short) and helping me with the mistakes before I send it. I haven't posted the letter here because I dont want to be accused of using this site as a free translation service. Anyone able to help ?

I am launching into a business venture in the Picardie/Nord Pas de Calais area and need an architect for help with an industriel building. Can anyone recommend anyone, English or French ?    

Well - thanks all for your help everyone. I wrote the invitations, with a tear off slip. My son gave them out in the playground before school and by the evening we had already had one slip back ! I dont expect everyone to reply but I hold out hope that I may get some idea of numbers ! I too am going for the radical this year - I am taking the kids to a play place which I think they will love ! My experience of parties given by the childrens' friends have been exactly as already described - nothing organised at all and no food as such, just lots of sweets. My 10 year old had a party earlier this year and I couldnt believe how easy it was - no sandwich preparations, sausage rolls etc - - I felt like a real fraud !!    

Another of many challenges on my hands - My son is going to have a seventh birthday party so I am in the process of scribing the invitations. I am ok with the first bit (I think) which will say something like (with the accents which I havent yet figured out on my keyboard!) *********** Jonty t'invite a feter son anniversaire ! Le xxxx de 14h30 a 17h00 Lieu : xxxxxxx  résponse souhaité avant le mercredi 25 octobre *********** BUT - its the next bit I am stuck with. What I want to do is provide a tear off slip at the bottom saying Yes I would like to come or No I am unable to make it (please indicate) and return to Jonty. Question is - does anyone ever do that in France (none of the party invites my children have received so far have asked for a response on them) and if its ok to do, what French equivalent should I use ? I would give my phone number on the invite but I absolutely hate the telephone and so can't bring myself to do it ! Thanks in advance for any help you can provide !      

Ok - apologies everyone. I am of course more than happy to hear other people's experiences and thoughts but I am hoping the Poolguy can help too. We have been looking after a salt pool for 18 months and have experienced many different problems.  This one is bugging us though ..... The pool hasn't been generating enough chlorine for some time. As a result we have (several times) given the chlorine cellule a thorough clean, after which the chlorine generation seems to pick up for several days but then slows or halts again after that. We have enough salt (have tested) so I am happy to make the assumption that we need a new cellule (well - not that happy because I gather they are expensive!). Now the problem - - I have rung Bio Pool who are the makers of the electrolyse de sel but they have advised me that I cannot buy direct from them (needs to go through a pool supplier). I have spoken to our local-ish Desjoyaux who are not helpful as whilst the piscine is Dejoyaux, the various elements (pump etc) are various makes. In addition, I am wondering once I get the cellule, how I fit it as there are of course various wires involved. Pleeeeeeease can you help ? For info we are in the North (80). Clare.            

Hi Is there anyone in the Hesdin or Rue area who loves dogs and is in the area from 10th - 28th August ? Basically, we are going away and were going to leave the dog with the in-laws. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law isnt very well so I am looking for a kind soul who can take the dog in their home during that period. The dog is an ageing, docile choc labrador who takes very little looking after - just one short walk every morning is all she wants these days. If anyone is interested, pleeease send me a message. Thank you ! Clare.  

Ok - the tax forms have finally defeated me ! Does anyone know of any reputable companies who can offer assistance with filling in the tax forms and advise on tax in general ? Ideally I am looking for a firm who have knowledge of both UK and French tax for advice and guidance. Please PM me if you know of anyone !   Many thanks

[:D]Thanks everyone. A couple of doses of hydrochloric acid did the trick

Hmm -not sure how old the cell is - only moved in last summer. I have tried cleaning it today with "chlorihydrique" acid and can confirm that it did look pretty crusted up. I will check the chlorine level again tomorrow to see if theres any improvement. Fingers crossed !  

Hi all We have a saline pool which had been stable for the last 6 months or so. However we noticed some growth on the bottom and so added a few bags of salt and some algae treatment chemical. We have now managed to clean the bottom of the pool but know things aren't right. PH tends to be around 7.4 but doing the chorine test tells us that it is way too low. We have a bio-pool duo system pictured here at the bottom http://www.piscinepassion.fr/acc_traitement.htm with the electrolyse value on the highest option (100). I am fast running out of ideas - could it be some kind of electrode problem ?      

Hi Vicky I moved to France last June and was devastated when I found that adsl wasn't available in my area (although like you I was led to believe it was) as I depend on it for work. You may want to double check www.ariase.com/fr to make sure that you definitely cant even get readsl or that its not planned. At the time I looked into my other options. I found that AVC broadband do satellite services through a sky dish so if you have sky you dont need to get a second dish www.avcbroadband.com. You will need a double (or quad) lnb so that you can run a second cable from your dish. You can get either one way or two way satellite but be warned - two way is very expensive. As a result I decided on one way (which gives download only) and I chose the 256 offer. I gave a UK address because it seemed simpler (the address is of course totally irrelevant as far as the actual technology is concerned). I also bought myself a usb satellite tv decoder which was about £65 as I recall and also doubles up as a gismo which lets me watch the free sky channels on my PC or laptop. Now the downside ! You do still need a dialup ISP as well to send the the signals out (I went for a Tiscali package costing 10 euros per month). So was it worth it ? Depends what you want to achieve. If you download from the internet regularly then definitely. Otherwise, probably not. Some days there was an improvement in surfing speed but other days it was still frustratingly slow. Happily in the last few weeks they have activated Readsl in my area and my life has been transformed. I hope this help you ! Clare.            

Hi Does anyone know what you would be charged when ringing a UK freephone number from France ? ie  00 44 800 XXX XXXX    

French Novice is so right ! We moved last June and the children (then 4,5,9) started school in September. The first two or three weeks were terrible. As a parent you dont want to see your children upset at any time, but day after day crying as soon as you get to school is heartbreaking. Normally happy children standing in their class lines looking so alone and miserable questions your judgement on a daily basis. Things got slowly better (no quick fixes I am afraid !) and now all three are doing well, have loads of friends and speak reasonable French (not fluent yet though - dont expect miracles !!!). Having said that the older two still talk about their old school in England and their friends there although much less wistfully than last year. In summary, anyone who tells you your child will be fluent and completely settled within a couple of months is leading you up the garden path. But they will get there and we have found the other children in the school to be very friendly and accepting of Les Rosbifs !          

Children in the playground this morning were handing each other cards wishing a bonne fete de St Catherine.   Why do they do this in particular for St Catherine and do they celebrate in any other way ?

Does anyone use one way satellite broadband ? If so what ISP do you use and would you recommend them ? I have decided to bite the bullet (I know about the negatives of one way satellite connection but am desperate for better than dialup !). I am tempted by Silvermead at the moment - any experiences ? Many thanks  

ReADSL is basically extended ADSL. If you do an eligibility test on http://www.ariase.com/fr/ this will show you whether you may be eligible for ReADSL or when in the future ReADSL will be available to you. Essentially those with an Affaiblissement of less than 70 DB are likely to be able to have ADSL if available. ReADSL then comes into its own if your affaiblissement is betwwen 70 DB and 75DB. Provided your exchange has ReADSL you are then quite likely to be able to have a broadband connection. Many communes throughout France were due to have ReADSL available from 1/09/05. On the day, France Telecom then put this back without explanation to 1/11/05. Then, again without explanation they have now postponed to 1/3/06. There are many people (myself included) who are very frustrated by this.   On Ariase website there is info on this, dated 31/10 and also some forum threads. Makes interesting reading !!      

I think it is very difficult for the children, especially in our case whereby English school wasn't that long ago (they left end May). The long days are definitely the hardest thing especially, as you say, with then having to do the homework in the evening. My nearly 6 year old seems to have loads of homework (he is in CP) and it HAS to be done that same evening. The one day he only did half of it because he wasn't feeling well, the teacher gave him a dressing down at school the next day ! For my daughter (CM1) she has a lot of rote learning to do in the evenings which is especially difficult as she is still in the early stages of mastering the language. As a result they both long for their English school and their old schoolfriends but I am hoping this will be cured with time !

Hi Still early days for us - my three went to schools for two weeks last term and have been back at school for a week so far. They are in a private school in Rue. We looked at the local village school and infact all three were enrolled initially. But they simply weren't equipped to take non French speakers although they were very helpful and would have given it a go. The school was split between three villages locally and each of my three children (ages 4, 5 and 9) would have been at a different one. Each class had 2 or three years in it and the teachers found that hard so really not sure how they would have coped with English kids as well ! So far, we are pleased with the private school (whose fees are nothing like UK private school fees) and they have already discussed with me various ideas on how to help our 9 year old. Inspite of the number of Brits in France, we are still a novelty at the school. Please dont expect it to be easy though - there will be tears, lots of tlc as well as help with English grammar, learning to read in two languages for younger ones etc etc. Good luck !