Doodle
-
Posts
759 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Never
Posts posted by Doodle
-
-
Mayenne was pretty unknown until one particular french magazine in January 2007 did a supplement on 'buying hotspots' one of them being Mayenne. It was classed as a passing through point for visitors on their way to the coast. In their section 'Where to Buy Now' they listed Pre en Pail, Domfront and Lassay Les Chateaux. We live a couple of miles from Lassay which was described as ' a peach of a location with a small but growing expat community' and then added that the prices on average were 20% to 30% less expensive than the surrounding departments and believe me when I say we saw the flood gates open and the brits sail in. That said, if you are buying a holiday home then the mayenne is not far to travel to/from ports which is one of the reasons we originally bought here and if you choose a place in the countryside you will possibly avoid too many brits nearby.Chris
-
I knew no french whatsoever and have found the Michel Thomas course excellent - I bought all the courses including the one that was put together by someone else after his death which I didn't find particularly interesting. I also signed up for the OU french course about 4 years ago which is very good as you have to do homework which is marked including cassette tapes of yourself speaking french to which your tutor replies back on the same tape explaining where you may have gone wrong but perhaps more importantly explains the pronunciation. You can do it by post or now via the internet. Chris
-
[quote user="tonyinfrance"]
Guys - many thanks for your comments. On our last trip to this area in May we focussed on the region around Gorron - seemed quite tranquil which is just what we want. We looked at several properties through Gorron Immobilier and liked their service: are there any recommendations for other agents in this part of the world?
We'll also widen our search to look at some of the towns mentioned by Cooperlola above. Meantime any hints and tips on purchasing in this region will be gratefully received.
Thanks again
Tony
[/quote]Not sure how you feel about being with lots of english but if you are OK with it then Gorron is a good place to be - local french call it little england! There is a good supermarket. There is also a good place to learn the french language (if you want to and don't already speak the language) at a very reasonable cost from beginners to advanced learners. There used to be/still is? a very good estate agent in Gorron 'Eurim' but I believe someone else has taken over the business. She drove us for miles when we were looking and spent the whole day with us. There is also 'Splendid Isolation', Fraser has contacts with other agents in this area so it may be worth looking at his website which is www.buyingpropertiesinfrance.com - I have no interests with this company except that we bought our house through Fraser.Hope this is of some help. Chris -
Hello all,Has anyone gone down the route of opening an account with BforBank? Did you have problems getting the account open? How long was it before you received your documentation? Thanks, Chris
-
[quote user="sweet 17"]Yes, indeed, in 61, and not the most attractive town I could think of in that departement.[/quote]Too right, the town is not the most attractive but there is some very pretty countryside on the outskirts of the town and of course it depends on how much you want to spend and how much property/land you want for your money and how 'snobby' people are about where they live (not meant to offend anyone here). That said, there are some pretty awful towns/villages in the Mayenne department, personally I think Mayenne town not particularly attractive but then I'm not not a 'towny' anyway.But then we are all moving this thread from the original question by Tony which was to do with the weather in these areas.Chris
-
'But La Ferté Macé is in the Orne.'Hi Judie, Tony said he'd been looking in the Mayenne/Orne area that is why I mentioned Ferte Mace where prices are much cheaper than say Bagnoles, Alencon etc.Chris
-
We live in North Mayenne about 7 km from the normandy border. Our french neighbours who have a second home in Laval always say that the weather there is usually a little warmer and dryer than here and we have several friends who say once you are south of Laval it is a couple of degrees warmer as for rain, not a lot of difference. Both departments are beautiful and Mayenne is the cheaper of the two departments for property. That said there are some reasonably priced properties around Ferte Mace.Good luck with your search. Chris
-
Chinese Duck with Plum Sauce450g plums2 red chillies150g caster sugar100ml white wine vinegar150ml cold water1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional)First halve the plums and halve and de-seed the chillies. Place all of the ingredients in a heavy based pan.Cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the plums are soft and collapsed.Rub through a sieve to remove stones and skins.Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.The sauce will keep well in the fridge for up to two weeks and is perfect with any Chinese duck dish.Chris
-
Plum Compote with Iced Coconut Cream100g creamed coconut chopped450 ml double cream1/2 tsp almond extract2 tbsp lemon juice75g icing sugar2 lge egg whites700g plums2 cinnamon sticks halvedfreshly grated nutmeg2 tbsp lemon juiceJuice of 1 orange50g darb brown muscovado sugarTo make the cocunut cream place the creamed coconut in a pan with 150ml of the double cream and heat gently for about 2 minutes stirring until the coconut has melted. Pour into a mixing bowl & add the remaining cream, almond extract, lemon juice and icing sugar and beat until smooth. Chill in the fridge for 15 minsWhisk the egg whites until soft peaks then fold into the coconut cream then put into a freezer container and freeze for 1-1 1/2 hrs until firm but not solid. Preheat the oven to 220/gas 7. Halve the plums and remove stones. Put into dish and add the cinnamon, nutmeg then pour over the lemon and orange juice and sprinkle with the sugar.Roast for 20 mins until soft and lightly browned.Spoon into bowls and top with scoops of coconut cream..............yummy!Chris
-
When we had our bathroom suite fitted by our local french plumber he told us that he would have to move the central light fitting as it must be 2 metres distance from the bath. As we have a very small bathroom the light fitting had to go onto one of the walls which was fine by us. I also asked if I could change the light switch for a pull cord but he said that wasn't allowed. Bizarely he then said would we like a socket putting in and we agreed it was a good idea. The socket is on the wall next to the basin! Chris
-
I can't get my head round diesel and as my mother-in-law (aged 78) will probably be staying in the loft and loft bound (hopefully) (only joking) I am sure she'd think I was trying to kill her off!! Chris
-
Cathy, I have pm'd you.Chris
-
Thanks for your posts, very interesting. It is going to be a bedroom with toilet etc so I think I've narrowed it down to clear satin varnish or linseed oil mix. Chris
-
Hi all,I've just done the woodworm treatment on the old beams in the loft and would be very grateful for any info regarding the next step ie whether to oil/varnish/wax them. I don't want to change the colour as they are a nice oak colour and I'd prefer a matt finish. The beams are a mixture of old and new so there is some colour variation but I quite like the idea of seeing the difference. also, if you have any photos..........Many thanks in advance.Chris
-
[quote user="ixy"]Hi, I too am on the contract of 39.90 + 16euros for the FT fixed line per month. If I change to this new Net plus does it mean NO fixed line at all, what if the livebox goes down?
[/quote] Hi ixy, We too were worried what to do in an emergency should the livebox fail. We were also worried about the car breaking down in the middle of nowhere so we went to E Leclerc and bought one of their mobile phone packages. We went for the 50 euros package (might cost a bit more now as we've had it two years). You can use up the 50 euros and top up. What you don't use you lose at the yearly anniversary and the only charge is just over 1 euro a month for keeping it open year on year which is deducted at the anniversary. Chris -
[quote user="ixy"]Hi, I too am on the contract of 39.90 + 16euros for the FT fixed line per month. If I change to this new Net plus does it mean NO fixed line at all, what if the livebox goes down?
[/quote] Hi ixy, We too were worried what to do in an emergency should the livebox fail. We were also worried about the car breaking down in the middle of nowhere so we went to E Leclerc and bought one of their mobile phone packages. We went for the 50 euros package (might cost a bit more now as we've had it two years). You can use up the 50 euros and top up. What you don't use you lose at the yearly anniversary and the only charge is 1 euro a month for keeping it open year on year which is deducted from the 40 euros. It suits us very well and at a cost of around 1 euro a week to have it it's not worth the risk. Chris -
Thanks DerfYou are right, I'd totally forgotten that I had changed it to 'english' about a year ago when having problems of one kind or another. Thank you for jogging the old memory. Another mystery solved.Chris
-
Hi chessfou2Absolutely no idea as to why the message was in english and agree it was very odd when everything is usually in french on Orange.fr. I would be very grateful if someone could explain the reason why.Chris
-
I spoke to NW again on Monday, all the same questions asked, same replies given. 20 minutes later I am told once again that it is a problem with Orange and to speak to them. Instead, I took the easy option and signed up for telephone banking!Here's the interesting bit. As some of you will know from other posts, I changed my Orange contract yesterday morning. Whilst geeking in the afternoon, my screen was suddenly taken over and in english the following appeared;'Livebox Software Update' the software will now install itself on your livebox. During this stage the lights on the livebox will flash and you will lose your BB connection. After about 10 minutes the lights on your livebox will return to normal with @ light on to indicate your internet connection has been reestablished. You can then continue browsing with your livebox. (Red Triangle Warning) Please do not switch your livebox off during the update process.Well I was quite impressed!Even more impressed this afternoon as I thought perhaps NW are right, so I tried acessing my account and VOILA one very happy person and I hope this may be of help to others that are having the same problems.Chris
-
Thanks Danny,I'm not interested in the Acess Voyageur thingy and was rather ignoring it in the hope that it would eventually go away - so I will ignore both items completely now!Chris
-
Thanks Mr CdL, I have been paying 3 euros per month for the livebox on my old contract so guess this will be included when they bill me.Chris
-
'I wonder how many people out there in 'Orange Land' are blissfully unaware of these changes and will continue to pay the old rate, I know I would have been if it were not for this thread'.Quillan, moi aussi. However, I did have a slight panic this morning having read the latest posts today. I've gone for Net Plus without the TV option at 34,90 and suddenly panicked that maybe I wasn't going to get free calls to the UK after all. However, having checked again I believe I am. Perhaps though you can enlighten me as to why when I check through Espace Client, ma formula, It says Net Plus 2010 Internet + Tele Vers Mobiles & Internationally and below thisI have a a box saying:L'access voyageur a la carte 3 euros p/heure with a button alongside to 'confirmer' and a box below this saying livebox 3 euros with a button alongside to 'confirmer'. As you have to have the livebox I clicked on 'confirmer' which then came back with a message 'desolate perturbation en cours'.Should I ignore these two items?Chris
-
Gordon Brown vistited Israel on government business. Whilst there Gordon had a heart attack and died.The embassy spoke with London saying:'You have two options; we can bury him here at a cost of £100 or you can have the body flown back to the UK at a cost of £100,000'.After some deliberation London decided to fly GB's body back to the UK. On declaring they would have the body returned they were asked why there was a need to spend so much of the public's money.The reply was as follows:'A long time ago in Israel a man died, he was buried and three days later he rose again and we just can't take the chance'.
-
I used to have the same problem but now I butter the paddle before I put the rest of the ingredients in - it's worked so far.Chris
Weather - Mayenne v Sarthe
in West (Bretagne, Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charente)
Posted