Doodle

Hi Blodwyn, If you have your prescription which can be up to two years old you can order from glasses2you.co.uk. I have just received a pair having emailed my prescription as an attachment and I had my new pair within 2 weeks with free delivery to France. I am exceptionally pleased with the quality and service far better than one that I 'should have gone to' and there is a good choice of frames and added options and I got a very good discount. Hope this helps.....Mrs KG

Hi ALBF, Thanks for the info it has been copied down and it really is appreciated. I hadn't realised how long the walk would take which is not a problem but I might have started to think I'd taken a wrong turning and headed back from whence I came!

Thanks again for your info/research Gardian but I am only going to Ashford. Originally I was going with some friends in their car. They were going to visit family and drop me off. However he is now having an eye operation at the beginning of December so they wont be going but his wife has kindly offered to drive me to the station in Laval.

Many thanks Gardian for the timetable. I will be going on a weekday hopefully Monday or Tuesday intending to be on as early a morning train as is possible so looks like it's the 11:13 from Laval to Paris as I may if possible return the same day or the following day by car so not so worried about the return journey.

Thanks to all for the speedy response. ALBF I'm heading for mid 60s! I'm young at heart and OK on my feet just the grey matter that may be of concern!!

Hi all, I need to get to Ashford Kent 2nd week of December. I am not taking the car so will go from Laval via Train to Paris and then via the eurotunnel - I think? or is it the shuttle I need - I have not done this trip before neither have I been on a train in over 14 years and am slightly apprehensive about it so would be very grateful for any comments for where to go once I get to Paris infact any information whatsoever would be good. Thanks in advance.

Got this idea from Gardeners' World years ago and solved our mole problem with 6ft hazel twigs poked in the ground in various places which seemed to do the trick - wind vibrating the twigs and also smaller twigs with plastic perrier type bottles dropped over each twig which the wind then rattles the bottle vibrating the twig in the mole run and again this seemed to work - some other poor b***er must have got the mole but at least it wasn't murder on our part! Mrs KG

Sorry to hear about your cat. Some years ago we discreetly cut out three small square holes at the bottom of our grillage one at each end, one in the middle so that our cat could nip through quickly when she was being chased by a local tom! Worked a treat. Mrs KG

Re the financial black hole, in our and the surrounding villages we have the new communal bins where from next year we will pay by volume for the amount of rubbish we dispose of. Up to 18 x 60 litre sacs they assure us will generate a bill that will be a saving on the usual yearly bill and will be a set charge but put sac 19 in the bin and the charges kick in. A lot of folk in our village ie older/singles/ holiday homes and some large families didn't have a dustbin and made use of the local dechetterie so had a much smaller bill so I guess there is a fair bit of money to made here for the local finances now that everyone has to pay up. This year we have not had the usual flower tubs dotted around the village so that must be another saving not forking out for plants and as we don't need the daily plant watering chappy one less salary although I have seen him working in the dechetterie. No doubt we will lose the 3 x 3 etoiles flower signs but that means the chappy that comes and washes them wont be needed either - it may not sound much but 'every little helps' the local finance pot! http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance-forums/cs/images/emotions/wink.gif Mrs KG

sorry Sue I think my post was meant for Judith?

Sue - is this any help below? I got it from a well know publication. I've read the red & blue 'how to' that arrived with the forms and read it as all company, private and OAP pensions are lumped together in 1AM/1BM so that's what I've done. Mrs KG From the publication: UK government pension income There is a new box in section 1 of the main 2042 form, for pensions from abroad that attract tax credits including government pensions. in other words to make sure that if you insert these pensions on the main 2042 form there is no confusion between foreign ‘tax credit’ pensions and other pensions. After declaring these on the 2047 form as usual the appropriate box on the 2042 is now 1AL/1BL (not 1AS/1BS as for French pensions). Other UK pensions Other UK pensions, assessable in France, are declared in a new foreign pension box on the 2042 (after declaring on the 2047 foreign income form) at boxes 1AM/1BM (not 1AS/1BS). NOTE: Page 1 of the 2047 asks you to cross boxes to say if pensions are public and/or private. Tick public if your foreign pension income includes government (‘tax credit’) income. If you have other kinds (eg. a state old age pension) tick privé (tick both if appropriate). Total up the foreign pension income in the Revenu en € column.

Hi, I posted the same problem here (post 4/4). I still have the problem you are quoting ie momentanement indisponsible. I am using (imac) sierra 10.12.4. In the end I emailed EDF who replied with a copy of my latest bill but no explanation as to why I couldn't access the bill on their site. Guess it will be an email to them every two months for a copy. Mrs KG

David, re the RIB question. For the first time this year on the 2042 under Coordonnees Bancaires it says Joignez obligatoirement un RIB. Scratching my head as I always pay by cheque, on reading again and seeing the very small print against the title it says 'si ces coordonnees sont inexactes, joignez obligatoirement un RIB' I take this to mean if you require a refund you must join a RIB hopefully some kind person will come along and confirm or correct me. However you are doing it on line I am not so re how you attach a RIB on line I have no idea. In fact maybe I have totally confused you now - sorry I did try to delete my post as it's irrelevant but it was too late. Mrs KG

Thanks Sue. Yes the pink form has changed as I checked against last years but my interest last year wasn't from PBs so I don't know if they go elsewhere and I have no other interest this year as my BSs on the Isle of Man and Guernsey have close their operations. Mrs KG

Thanks Mint much appreciated. Mrs KG

Hi CT, The reason I'm declaring is due to this article written in a well known newspaper. I'm risk averse anyway and having read this article...................Mrs KG Limoges tax office boss Pierre Vergne, who has dealt with Premium Bond queries from Britons in France, said they were aware that there was no direct income from them. However he said they were seen as an investment and the winnings from them were deemed taxable. He said: “They are a financial investment just like any other, what is called an obligation à lot in France [prize bond]. “These used to exist in France but no longer do.” NS&I describe Premium Bonds as a kind of investment where you enter a prize draw instead of getting interest, and winnings are not taxable in the UK. However in one sense interest is involved: the prize fund comes from a (currently) 1.5% interest on the value of all of the money invested in bonds. This interest is put into the prize pot instead of being paid individually. It is ultimately the French tax authorities who decide whether the money should be declared, and in this case they have decided they do not compare them to an ordinary lottery win. The winnings should be recorded on tax form 2047, which is for income from foreign investments, under section A. This section is also for UK stocks and shares dividends and ones from PEPs and ISAs.

Hi all, I need to declare a very small premium bond win from last year (I mean small) but I'm not sure on which lines on the pink form I should be inserting the amount. I believe it transfers into 2TR on the blue form is that correct? Thanks in advance. Mrs KG

Hi Hereford, Thanks for the info. No, I don't do a UK tax return yearly. I have already had the 25% tax free so know that the UK tax man is going to take some and I will have to reclaim. I am not taking a monthly income I am just going to draw some out as and when. It is a small pot and if the 'gov' decide to change things yet again I would end up with yet again some pathetic monthly amount. So I've decided to reduce the pot bit by bit whilst keeping an eye on the french tax side of it ie keeping the overall revenus under a certain amount. I know I could take the whole pot and just declare on the french tax return over 4 years but that seems a bit of a fag so that's why I'm doing it as said above. Mrs KG

Hi all, If I decide to drawn down some of my UK pension pot I know that the UK will take some tax on it so my question is what form do I use and where do I find it to reclaim the UK tax. Thanks in advance Mrs KG

Well I couldn't get to download the pdf from the site so I sent an email saying I wanted to download a copy said the system wouldn't oblige and asked why as I've always been able to get a copy in the past. I got a reply today to say please find attached your last facture and that was all it said. So I still don't know why. Mrs KG

Hi Idun, Guess they would think that I'm very happy with my hard coque day and night! Myself and friends are still having hysterics over it and all the puns you can guess - do you think this is where the term 'cockeyed' came from? I'm sure Mr Izzard could make something out of this. Mrs KG

I know that health issues are not to be laughed at but I can tell you that this has done me a power of good. I had to have emergency surgery on my eye on friday due to a detachment and a hole in the retina. Yesterday I had to get all the gubbins from the pharmacy wearing my coque as supplied by the hospital. How do you keep a straight face when the pharmacy asks you in front of lots of people 'would you like a soft coque for the night'! I couldn't get out of the chemist fast enough as I thought I was going to choke on my laughter. Mrs KG

Thanks for the info. I have had a go this morning but the box for the PDF bill that wouldn't work yesterday today says to try later as it's not functioning - so I am guessing that it's them and not me after all - I will let you know. Mrs KG

Thanks for the reply, no, I never do links in emails, should I have done? I have deleted the email! Mrs KG

I had an email from EDF today to say the facture is available on line. I've been trying to look at the bill as I usually check the usage but once logged into EDF I click and double click to open the facture but it does not open. Anyone else had this problem or am I doing something wrong? Thanks Mrs KG