Cendrillon

Do keep your ear to the ground and please keep us posted if there's any more news.

Thanks Christine [:)] this is now saved in my "Favourites"

"Old wife's tales if you ask me." Probably so Gardian but think where the word "lunatic" comes from, the full moon certainly seems to have affected them for hundreds of years. Re. the plants, doesn't the moon have an effect on temperatures and high tides? It's bound to affect plants and people. Wonderful stuff, all this nature and folk lore.[:)]

"I have just returned from a visit to the house, then little beggars have been eating my tea towels!!!!!"   Jo Those big metal trunks which you can buy in Carrefour are excellent for storing towels and bed linen etc. when they are not in use.

Having said that such a paltry sum is not going to change my life when (if) I ever get it. Andy It probably wouldn't be enough to make you stay permanently in the U.K. but £200 a year for perhaps 20 years is not to be sniffed at imho! [8-|]

"Fair or unfair, what do you think?"   It  does seem unfair and perhaps this along with the health cover problem, is another point that people should consider before making a permanent move to France .  

"Our English neighbour moved over here in the November after the September before his 59th birthday so gets his heating allowance for life (unless things change of course!)."   Surely, and AFAIK Heating Allowance is paid when one reaches the 60th birthday, where does the 59th birthday payment  apply?

Can you contact the person who does the TV Selling House Abroad programme? (Andrew Winter ?) he seems to be good at getting result for this type of problem.   Good luck

"Any how I was never allowed off the plane until all the other passengers had left and then one of the stewards would walk with me to the pick up point and wait until an adult met me, I was never allowed to wander off into the airport by my self . But I guess times have changed and airlines arnt as responsible now as they use to be. "   It certainly used to be like that. Many moons ago I worked for an airline (one of the goood ones![:)]) and had to spend a night in a hotel looking after a young French speaking girl because her flight was cancelled due to fog.  

[quote user="Catalpa"]British. [:P] And that's the problem. At a village do - and we have lots of them - there is a tendency for the non-French to be seated together. The organisers allocate table seating that way because they're being thoughtful... well naturally, we will want to sit mostly with our fellow countrymen, won't we? But that means that the people you'd rather be some distance away from (in the next department at least) are frequently a few seats away. Every soddin' time. [6] So as I said, I don't mind... have no opinion on... people who visit France as tourists.  Just a problem with a few of the "permanents"... [:-))] [/quote] Catalpa My (tried and tested) solution to this problem is to get to know the organisers (or even help with the organisation) and quietly explain that you would prefer to sit with your French friends.[:)]

  "What's wrong with the little devil traps you get at brico for a couple of euros, very effective, very cheap." Simon Quote from original question: "We are not overrun, but sometimes when our cottage has been closed for a few months, mice have caused some damage to furnishings and it’s not very nice to open up the cottage and discover dead and decomposing mice as a result of the poison we put down doing its deadly work." Simon, If he is away for a few months at a time the OP would have the same problem with mouse traps .

[quote user="Ron Avery"] [quote user="Cendrillon"]I hate it when Super-U start their announcements in English but then perhaps some of our clients like that[;-)][/quote] A friend of mine actually complained to Hyper U about the "we welcome our English visitors to our region and wish etc" announcements, they always seemed timed when the French school people went shopping after classes.  He demanded to know why no similar announcements were made in Dutch or German and why just "our English" friends. The answer was that there believed that were more English tourists than any others and the idea was really to advertise their English products section with bargains like Heinz Baked Beans at 1,24€ a tin and Tetley tea at twice the price it could be found in the normal tea section. Personally I found the announcements highly amusing as it was recorded by a Chinese bloke with a strong accent, sounded more like Benny Hill doing it.[:D] I agree with SD, a lot of people round here depend on tourism for their living so the more the merrier, whether they can speak French or not [/quote] I have nothing against visitors from any other countries it is the Supermarket announcement that I loathe although ours is recorded by someone with a "nice" home counties accent![:D]   [blink]As for "Oiks" I don't want to be with them anywhere, home or abroad.

[quote user="Sunday Driver"] If French people living in the UK heard that their local Tesco's were providing French announcements to help visiting French tourists, do you think they would object?  What about the French announcements on English ferries or the Tunnel? Or is it solely the English language that we seem to be embarrassed about?   [/quote] S.D. When I am shopping in France I want the French experience and not have shop announcements translated, especially when they (S. market) are wishing me a wonderful holiday in their region or telling me how to benefit from the loyalty card which the majority of holiday makers would not need anyway. Travel information announcements are different IMHO If I wished to be surrounded by my fellow countrymen / women and English cafês and announcements then I would have chosen the Costa Brava as an alternative. [I] Anyway, have just realised I am not qualified to answer this question as I don't live in France full time[Www]  FWIW I do have a Super-U card though LOL[:)]

Yes, I agree and would always help them out with the language it they are having problems but don't like the bi-lingual announcements.

I hate it when Super-U start their announcements in English but then perhaps some of our clients like that[;-)]

Last year I exchanged my points for the Emile Henry "Cocotte", an excellent cooking pot which can be used on the gas flame, electric ring or in the oven, just the thing for those slow cooked recipes.

"just wait until you do phone numbers!" [:)] Was anyone else on this forum a French telephonist in London for the GPO?

"And English makes are a curiosity."   We bought second hand bikes that had been checked etc. from a good bike shop in France. When we took one to a local repairers he was initially worried  in case it was a  foreign make and he would not be able to get the right spare parts etc. As it is a Peugeot there was of course no problem. I have to say that if like Cathy we had had a stock of English bikes then we probably would have taken them with us.  

 "The first night is the worst so make sure you have hot water bottles and bed socks etc."  Electric blankets are great for warming up cold mattresses. Do a search on here as there was lots of discussion a while back on closing up houses for the winter.

I sincerely hope that Jon (always thought she was a "he" but never mind!) is now devoting her  time to adapting to  her new life /  getting her business in France off the ground, learning French and integrating with the local community.[:)]

In our area I have seen some lovely looking homes for the elderly but have not been inside any of them . I suspect that moving into one these is not a cheap option. (is it ever!) There's also a place for the elderly with little pavillon type houses, restaurant etc. which looks interesting it is in the grounds of an old chateau. Language could be a problem. I know of a Polish relative (age 102!) of friends of ours (in U.K.) she is in a home in London and will now only speak Russian. Luckily some of the staff are Russian so it is not a serious problem.[:)]   Since the Canicule of 2003 I have noticed that the Mairie issues warnings each year telling the elderly how to stay well during very hot weather. I think it gets mentioned on TV news as well.

Thank YCCM Betty and RH for sensible answers. Now perhaps we can all get on with something more exciting![:)]

I think your answer was on the other posting about this (there were two)  and is probably still there.

alors, au revoir Jon[:)] Toys and Pram spring to mind here![;-)]

  Jacqui Too said "Jon Jon Jon ............................................ If you feel the need to tell the world about your 'Story' why don't you start a blog, then you could completely indulge yourself without the fear of others giving you negative feedback!"     [I][8-|]Excellent idea. [Www] I'll second that suggestion Jacqui Too