Callie

Yes, Jane and Danny, you're right ! I've looked at the site, which says nothing about basins. All I found was this on another site : "La distance au lavabo importe peu, dans la mesure toutefois où la prise de courant n'est pas à la verticale (au dessus ou en dessous) de celui-ci."

I think you will find that EDF demand a minimum distance between the sink/basin and a socket !

Round here in 49 the Chasse dogs are tied up all year but let loose during the chasse season.  They love their owners and are over the moon (hardly surprising) when the season comes round.  The reason they are kept tied up is that most of the properties are rural and don't have perimeter fences.  If the dogs were loose, they would probably run off.  It would be very unusual to see a French farmer "walking" his dogs !   The dogs could be shut up in a barn and never see the light of day..... You don't say whether you live in an urgan or rural area.  As you say, you don't know what the owners might do with him.  Perhaps he is there as a guard to warn the owners if anyone approaches.  I would beware of trying to interfere, even with the best of intentions.  The dog may not know of any other life, but it is natural to think he must be bored to tears tied up all day.  But that is the lot of thousands of dogs in France and their owners are likely to be far from appreciative of someone questioning the way they treat their dog.  Do you feel you would have to justify the way you treat your own dog?  I do understand how you feel.  I detest seeing dogs tied up day after day, but they are not mine.  Perhaps you could ask the owner if he wishes to sell his dog.  That way you could engage him in conversation and you might find out why the dog is tied up.  There may be a very valid reason !

Choccie - I have used paint (matt milk paint) on the inside of an old pine, glass fronted cupboard and a more modern pine corner cupboard with no ill effects whatsoever.  I did them about 15 years ago !  If you intend keeping the cupboard, then I think you should do as you like with it.  If it is old, then the wood will be well seasoned and is unlikely to warp unless you keep it in extreme conditions, ie in a damp room, then in a very hot room.  The paint I used was water-based and it has really improved the dull interior. Otherwise, perhaps you could look for some sort of wood sealer, though varnish might well do the trick.  If you want to use it, then you need to do something !

I would do what others have suggested :  wipe out the inside with bicarbs and a mild solution of bleach or Miltons.  This will  kill any mould or bacteria which could be lurking as a result of the cupboard not being aired for a long time.  When you have done this, you will need to leave the doors open so that it can dry out properly.  Lavender or cedar are both good for keeping moths and mites away, as well as leaving a nice smell.  If the cupboard is very dark inside, there is nothing wrong in painting the inside, though paper (or drawer liners) on the shelves would perhaps be nicer.

[quote user="thunderhorse"] 1. Is a 7m (100mm) internal pipe run (before dropping down the wall outside) too long? [/quote] Are you proposing to run the waste pipe down the outside of the house ?  I have yet to see a French-renovated house done this way, just one or two British ones that have not had planning approval/permission.  But perhaps it depends on the commune ??  By the way, this is not a criticism, just an observation !

They showed it on TF1 last night.  What was incredible was that the patient was allowed to go straight home that day. Remember the revolution when they started doing knee/cartiledge operations by keyhole surgery ? 

Interesting subject, Quillan.   I remember that we had Jewish, Moslem, Buddist, RC and Protestant girls at school.  They didn't have to attend morning and evening prayers or go to church.  To be honest, I don't think any of us gave any thought to their religion and I have no idea whether they had private religious instruction either.  What they felt about their religions, again, I don't know, but for the rest of us, what a person's religion was seemed to be totally unimportant.  It was the person that mattered.  We didn't discuss other religions (a pity, because it is interesting) and we obviously didn't feel that any of us were any different from anyone else !   By the way, this was in the swinging, tolerant, peace man 60s !

Regrettably, I have never seen those programmes, which came out after we left the UK and we have no satelite TV.  However, I bought a brilliant book on researching your family tree, and was hooked straight away.  I discovered a part of the family that I never knew existed (old skeletons.....though I haven't got to the bottom of it all yet, and it's probably too late now) and then went on to do Mr Callie's past.  He knew nothing at all about his father's side of the family so that was a real challenge. It is absolutely fascinating to go into the social history, as Clair says, and imagine your family living at that time.  An amazing number of OH's family went to Australia in the 1800s, and ssome of mine went from Skye to North Carolina in 1774.  They had the means to avoid having to travel in the bowels of the ship, but I simply cannot imagine what crossing the Atlantic must have been like in those days..... Internet and email have made contact so much easier for the exchange of info and, best of all, photographs.  But one does really have to go to the places to get the real picture.

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]Your friend can retain his towing entitlement by producing a medical certificate when exchanging his licence for a French one.  The towing entitlement is renewable subject to annual medicals.  The medical costs 24€ - not a big deal if it confirms he's fit enough to tow 3500kg.......[;-)[/quote] I believe the medical must be done by an authorised doctor, not necessarily your own GP.

I agree, Will !  The people who don't believe France has the same inner city problems as, for example, the UK, probably don't watch French TV either !  They would soon see that St Denis and Bobigny are less than savoury places.  Mr Callie had to go and see a client there just after one of the attacks on vehicles....  Morale in the the local population is very low, and, as you say, it is unfortunate that there seems to be little employment.  I do believe, however, that the ethnic population is probably higher than in the Gatwick area - not that that should necessarily have anything to do with the last of jobs in the area.

Le_Jars - just for your info, the question of debt collecting also works in reverse !  The French courts will pursue, for example, a British person returning to the UK if he has outstanding debts here in France.

Glad to find so many Mac users.  [8-|] Have you ever noticed that we rave about our Macs - and have you ever heard anyone say "oooooh, I just LOVE my PC" ????? Interestingly, there are times when my iBook gets hot but not so that I have ever had to rest it on anything.  The ventilation is at the back by the lid hinge.  It might depend on the model.

The funniest thing I've seen here is Parisian parking - and I saw an example of it outside Saumur station.  There was a gap which the woman in her Renault couldn't have fitted into.  So she reversed into it and shunted the car behind backwards.  Then she shunted the car in front.  Eventually she ended up perfectly parked ! !  Luckily the two already-parked cars had no visible damage..... I don't know whether they were left in gear or not.... If you look at the tailgaters (we call them 'trailers'), what sex are most of them ?  I can tell you - most of the ones round here are female - young girls ! The French get terribly upset if you hoot at them to say "I am here, don't reverse out yet !".  I have received the golden fist on more than one occasion ! On the one occasion when someone cut in front of me and forced me to stop, I put on the central locking (luckily for me).  The man leapt out of his car and tried to wrench my door open.  He shouted and banged the window, but I just looked ahead and eventually he gave up.  Plus the other traffic behind was starting to hoot.  Scary, and to this day, I don't know what I did to upset him - unless he didn't like green cars.

Artois - Here, here.  You take the words out of my mouth ! We certainly don't expect our guests to do a spring clean, but we do expect them to have left the crockery and oven clean.   I also agree with those who don't want to clean if they're on holiday, after all, that's what it is - a holiday !  Yet it is often these people who insist on a washing machine - which for one week surprises me ! ! But, for example, in my own home clean the shower or bath after use, and wipe down the oven.  So this would be second nature if I were renting a gite.  And, before anyone asks, I'm not a fanatic, just old habits die hard. I am always thrilled to go into the gite and find the guests have stripped the beds ! [:D]

Hi Mishtoon We have buried 2 or our dogs in the garden.  The first one, the vet came to the house and did it there.  We had prepared his grave and we laid him in it and had a few words for him - he was 15.  For our second dog, as my OH was away, I rang a couple of friends - Ann came with me to the vet and Dave stayed behind and dug the grave.  It was really nice having someone else there.  Now we have a nice little glade where they are buried (no headstones) and when I pass through there, on foot or with the mower, I always say hello to them ! So go for it, then your dog will always be there with you.

We ask our guests to leave the place as they found it.  We also state in our T&Cs that the changeover clean is included in the price.  We also warn that an extra charge will be made if warranted (we have never yet deducted anything, though we once came close....) In the end it all balances out with most people leaving the houseclean and tidy.  It doesn't stop me redoing the bathroom etc !  (pulling the shower runaway out and removing hair - no-one EVER does it !)

Another fabulous photo, Chris.  From an ugly duckling caterpillar to this beautiful thing.

You need Chris -pp for this !

[quote user="Boiling a frog"] And your ears will be burning while I type this.Nowhere did I suggest for a minute that the owners were going to leave the place in the state it was left by the guests from hell.  It took them 7 hours to bring it back to its normal state of being clean. A damage deposit was taken and money will be deducted. Please read the question before having a rant . [/quote] Apologies,  BaF, I misread and misunderstood your post.

I think it's pretty pointless leaving the destruction by the family from hell for the incoming people, who might be the perfect guests. Personally I would find it extremely offensive and would probably make the local Mairie my first port of call, having taken photographs to show the state of the place.  The owners should retain enough of the deposit to cover the damage and time to clean up.  They could also photograph the "evidence" and send it to the family from hell explaining why they are retaining monies.  If the owners did not take a damage deposit.......more fool them.  That is exactly why we take one - families from hell probably avoid gites like ours ! ! ! The problem with walking away from a gite that hasn't been cleaned and has damaged contents, is that the owners have your money and it may be hard to get it back. It is not just the French who do this sort of thing :  I have read many postings and heard stories of British-owned gites that are a disgrace.  People spend their hard-earned money on their holiday and the deserve decent treatment.  It's a two-way thing ! Phew, my fingers are burning ! !

I am glad I stumbled on this topic - I had no idea that Oleander was poisonous.  I recently bought 3 "Laurier Rose" from Gamm Vert as I had been told they flower well.  Since reading your posting, 5-element, I looked it up on Internet and found that this plant is extremely toxic for horses. [:(] Luckily I have planted them near our gite.  Would it be over-reaction to remove them - they are still in large tubs as I haven't had time to plant them ?  We don't have children here  and I don't imagine our guests would put the leaves in their cooking ! ! !  

Whilst the OP may really want the sheds, the price seems extortionate. It should also be borne in mind that the estate agent's fee would probably be the same percentage whether the property was 50,000 euros or 20,000 euros. What the OP should perhaps think about (and of course maybe he/she has !) : If you pay around 50,000 euros plus about 10-15% in fees, would you ever get your money back should you wish to sell ??? As Woody says, this is the Somme and the price they are asking for a very small piece of ground with no utilities is what you might expect to pay in a town ! As for the other interested party, do you really ilmagine a French person is going to pay that price ? If so, I'll eat my hat !

I had a look on internet too, and like Anton, couldn't find anything at all on the French sites.  If you can visit the area, you could also try local archives or the main library in the Prefecture town.

Eeeeeeeek, isn't is just awful, especially the purple hippo.....[+o(]