[Car breakdown and personal Health Insurance]

Last time I hired a car from Hertz, after a couple of days it developed a problem. So I tried calling their helpline on my mobile. Their helpline does not take calls from mobiles. I nursed the car to a land line and they answered at once and got a mechanic out to me.

The lesson is, with a Hertz car, do not break down unless you are near a land line. Simple really.

Check if your insurers helpline accepts calls from mobiles.

[Harvest mites]

I suspect that these little beasts - aoûtats - are the reason that the French have moved into the towns and cities and left French country properties so reasonably priced for the unwary British.

We are re-thinking the idea of leaving part of our land as a ‘wild garden’ - tarmacing it over to be a skate-board park for our daughter seems strangely more attractive.

My imperfect translation of a French web posting suggests that the French traditional methods consist of using ‘Verveine Citronelle’ as a spray for the grass every day and sloshing essence of Citronelle on those parts that the aoûtats go for as a precaution. (What is this stuff)? Dabbing bitten areas with vinegar 4 times a day for 5 minutes also recommended.

I found antihistamine tablets worked for me to stop aoûtat bites itching. Next time I venture in the long grass, I will try Tiq'aouta as a repellent, (thanks Patf). I am told Synthol dabbed on bites alleviates itching. Keeping legs covered up with trousers tucked into boots when in the long grass seems a good idea but if the aoûtat get to you, they aim to get you where your clothes are tight against the body. A shower and change of clothes immediately after exposure seems a good idea to wash the aoûtat off before they get round to biting.

But the aoûtat pale into insignificance against the tics ...

[Harvest mites]

Following the Acte de Vente we drank champagne and strolled around our new grounds whilst the harvest mites strolled around our ankles and drank our blood. A month later they are still biting ...

Any ideas on how to ease the suffering and indeed deal with these unfriendly locals. Saturation napalm bombing?

[La Communaute Universelle (marriage contract)]

The communauté universelle is a sort of post-nuptial agreement through which couples jointly own their property and can specify that, after the first death, the surviving spouse inherits the property without having to share ownership with the children or paying any inheritance tax. The children inherit after the second death and pay inheritance tax.

However it seems to apply best to couples who are married, where neither have been married before and do not have any children outside of their marriage.

Ideally the notaire can organise it to be signed at the same time as the Acte de Vente. The notaire who re-married us under this arrangement, wanted to be sure that we understood the implications. When his English and our French ran out, he whizzed off to reappear with a stat of an article in French Property News (April 2004).

[Irritating posts]

Growing-up as a dyslexic, if I was at a loss at how to spell a word, I would ask. The least helpful reply was to “look it up in a dictionary” - which is the one thing you cannot do if you cannot spell the word.

So, what irritates me is people who could help but choose not to.

Buying a house in France it took quite a while to get from enthusiastic dreamer to the Acte de Vente. I am grateful for all the generously given positive advice we have had, from myriad sources, whilst buying our house. Nobody held back.

The Living France archives are great, thanks Living France. However it took me a while to come across them. Likewise Google is good but often you have to know the question to ask in order to get the answer.

So all you seasoned posters who are irritated when somebody asks a question that you feel has been answered many times - try and remember what it was like for you when you were starting out.