minnie

I can verify that mogs is really a cat lover. Two years ago she fostered a kitten which arrived on our doorstep just a few weeks before we were going on holiday to New Zealand for a month. I put a plea on this forum for someone to look after him as he was too young for jabs and, hence, catteries. She immediately volunteered despite the fact that she had no idea who we were. The kitten had a wonderful time and they even sent us little video clips while we were away. She also took in a cat who was being mistreated. Theirs is a house where their 3 or is it 4 cats and dog rule the roost. I'm sure, Mogs, that time will heal the scar and your feelings about cats. Just think that he didn't really mean it.

Strangely enough, without intervention, most of our channels have just come back. One or two are still missing but nothing serious....Can't understand what happened!

We have 3 acres and more than 100 trees as well as endless hedges. We have no alternative really other than to have bonfires. Obviously we don't have these in July and August or anwhere near crops in the adjoining fields. After the storms of last night we've had a few fallen large trees. Today has been spent clearing the debris and preparing bonfires. We do burn with caution and a hose pipe to hand.

Thanks Mint. It's strange as we get BBC News perfect but 1 & 2 break up. If nobody else is having ongoing difficulties we are now wondering if our satellite moved marginally last night. We ccertainly had a few trees which were destroyed!

Is any on e else having a problem with BBC TV reception. It's only since last evening and keeps on breaking up. Seems to be BBC1 and 2 whlist BBC news is perfect.

We had them dig up quite a large area of our grass one summer. It was dry and I suspect that they were after water. We have a pond but it's dry in the summer. It was as though someone had just lifted a large area of turf which, fortunately, we were able to replace without to much damage showing.

The prune d'ente were first discovered by the monks at the abbey at Clairac, a small town about 40kms from Agen. At the time of the crusades they crossed other varieties to come up with the prune d'ente. To answer your question Mint - no they are not the same. We have a number of prune d'ente trees in our garden.

Would it work if you just printed it out, then scanned it and saved it to documents? We don't have Adobe DC.

Congratulations. As Rabbie said it's all very personal to you. For my mind I like the following http://nameberry.com/babyname/Amelie

You've got that right too idun. I've always said to oh if either of us borders on dementia of any sorts then it needs to be an english speaking community. Generally, I can converse comfortably in French on a day to day basis, but if I'm under pressure e.g. the twice that I've been in hospital, then it all goes by the wayside.....Any sort of dementia where you're in a foreign country is likely to create isolation.

Idun's spot on here. My oh and I have made power of attorneys here in France with the notaire, each for the other, in case one of us looses mental capacity. However if we needed to activate it we'd still have to go through the French courts to have it authorised. When making these, whether in UK or in France, the signatory, i.e. your father, should still have mental capacity. You do need advice from a French avocat I reckon, unless you can get them back to UK even for a prolonged holiday.

Can you not at least try to get them to move into a small property in a village/small town with facilities. Perhaps you'd find that if you had a chat with your Mum on her own she'd see the sense in it. You could all then work on your Dad. You'll probably find that it's only one of them who is resistent to change and the other doesn't want to rock the boat. I can see that getting them back to UK is impossible. We live out of town and I'm now saying to my husband that if either one of us couldn't drive there could be problems.

Yes mogs. Until we finally decide on where our long term future lies and pass through all NZ hoops (including health checks) things will stay as they are. If and when the house goes on the market we'll either advertise it very cheaply or go down the auction/tender route at which point we'll get the experts sorted.

Thanks AnOther. That immo interactif looks OK too. Briefly our circumstances: only child (now 40) lives in New Zealand. She can sponsor us so we have decided that now might be the right time. Any number of hoops to go through before residents visa obtained. Once approved one has to move there within 12 months. The way house sales are in France it could take years...However we have decided that if we do go and want to sell quickly we have to be prepared to sell for whatever someone is prepared to pay. Whether we get that far is anyone's guess!

Thank you Loiseau - just what I needed to know. Thanks everybody else for your contributions.

Thinking of you Victor and wishing you well for the PetScan on Monday.

We had the email today and when I checked the website all was as it should be - ever grateful!

Thanks Eurotrash, a very helpful reply and what I was hoping for. If we were to move we'd be going to the other side of the world and would need to sell relatively quickly at whatever price. Our visa would require a permanent move within 12 months of acceptance. Basically the price of the house would be whatever somebody might pay for it. I wonder if auction of houses is an option anyway....

Early days yet but just wondering. I know that when one sells in France one must obtain the various experts reports in relation to termites, asbestos, lead and electrics prior to selling. If any of these fail, and with the agreement of the buyer, can one sell the property at a reduced price to accommodate failings or is it obligatoire to have the work done before the buyer can finalise the purchase. Just thinking that there are some old properties around which have been empty for years who are quite likely to fail. Anyone know the law on this?

There's a new one in Clairac. This is between Villeneuve sur Lot and Marmande.

When we first arrived about 10 years ago we too went to the Mairie and were told thta they didn't need to know about us. Not did we have a carte de sejour or the like. I reckon that having been here permanently for 10 years, paid our bills and all taxes imposed etc should be sufficient to determine that we are residents. We also have our carte vitales dating back to that time. Yes Mogs, no point spending the money because even if they don't come to you for it next year they might come the following year. It's a shame that you can't even earn any interest on the money these days...

Either way you'll lose out on the postage. With amazon fr it looks as though you can get delivery to a point relais. This may be your best option in the circumstances - see link https://www.amazon.fr/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200364600

Glad you've managed to make the transfer at least....

Good for you Quillan. It does seem a shame though that you felt pushed into this course of action. From my view point it seems that things have never been the same since cooperlola's days....I don't know if it was just the health issue or what but she seemed to gel with everyone. Nevertheless Happy sailing into the sunset with Mrs Q.

Just looked and saw that mondassur seems to be a "comparison" site.