andybear

Many thank Folks,sorry Betty - no offence meant- just me being a bit sesitive! Not a usual occurence. Shame about Tescos, we have lived in France for nearly 7 years now, and we love our life here. There are some things that you miss though, and abottle of 'ginger wine' for 'whiskey macs' at christmas would have been good - ah well. As for my vist to Ypres. I have been before and it is the most moving ceremony, it's a shame they have 'tarted up' Ypres I remember when th buglers used to meet in a great little bar opposite the Gate. The last time we went it had been coverted into a shoe shop ! I know it will be packed but I want to go on 11/11. I am not sure that we should be celebraying the beginning of an event in which so many people were killed. I may start a thread seeking out peoples feelings on this. Again thank you all for restoring my faith in this Forum Andy

Thanks - but see what I mean - the comment about google. I know I could have spent a lot of time but I hoped for a personal reply it is always kinder

OK, I am one of the people who visit this site most days and find it very helpful. I don't post because in the past I have tried but have been 'bullied' by the cliques who think that forum belongs to them ( not this forum) I must add I am a 187cm 120kg ex rugby playing Police Office and I know that face to face these sad people could not cope but I cannot find the time to argue over the ether! On to matters more important. In November I may travel to Ypres for the 1st war memorial. On the way back I was intending to visit the 'Cite de Europe' ( on other sites I would get a hard time for not using the accents!! ). As I havn't been back for about 5 years can anyone tell mr if Tescos is still open> It would be nice to get som bits from the 'old country' such as Ginger Wine as presents (me !! ) Thanks Andy

Last evening while taking the cat for a walk ( Yes !! ) my wife saw an otter, here in the southern Cantal. Previously we have had coypu and also seen a genet but an otter!

Having owned lots of different cars and holidayed in the Alps we have used different types. Thule are good and you may be able to fit them in 12 seconds on a warm day but it is usually freezing cold and dark !! Also you often only need them for a short time before hitting cleared roads. While I have real chains for my truck we have some Michelin 'Easy Grip'' for my wifes car which are excellent, several friends here also have them and swear by them ( you can even buy them to fit on your boots !! ) A good tip also is to cut the sleeves off an old thick shirt so you can slip them on - it stops your jacket getting all mucky under the wheel arches

We have a fairly new Dell that is also filling up albeit slowly we have tried 'cleanup', 'defrag' etc but it seems not to make any difference. I think it may be that there are a lot of duplicate update files but we are not sure how to remove the unwanted one without compromising the system

Seious answer to a reasonable question - AVOID THE PERIFERIQUE LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! our experiences range from taking 4 hours ( rabbits overtook us on the verge at one point) to a frightening traffic jam at 100mph, and I'm an experienced confident driver. We always do as most people 'in the know' and use the Rouen , Dreux, Chartres route and have always found it to be free running.If you choose that route you will be amazed by the number of brit cars. They havealso in recent years upgraded the roads so most of it is Duel Carriageway. Also as it is a Sunday = No Lorries, well very few Good luck and bon voyage  

Does that mean that hob-nobs and mars bars would be good !! ( sorry could't help it - things seem to have been getting so serious lately)

Yup, also other things, and did my time. But as I made the point in my first post - the pension contribution for some of us was as much as 11.6% so the idea that we get something for nothing is not quite true. I also know of people who have 'worked the system' but  I also made the point about those people who had many years of non-contributary schemes, not many posts from them.

Just to rub salt into the wounds of the poor unfortunats who chose to follow a career in the private sector where they could sit safely behind their desks and never be threatened, shot at, abused or be expected to put their lives on the line for others - I had a letter today informing my pension has increased by2% ! 

I've been watching this with some amusement. As a former public servant and having  taken early retirement I feel obliged to make a few points. Firstly - my money that I paid as National Insurance for 30+ years is now being used to pay for others as the UK government will not make any payment towards my health cover and it's costing us to be a part of the French system. Secondly - my pension contribution to the local government scheme was 11.6%. Unlike many people in the private sector who had non-contrbutary or pension breaks. I genuinly feel sorry for people who are in trouble but life is like that - for many years I had to put up with the c**p that the worst end of society thtew at me for not a fantaatic wage and now I am getting the benefit!

Great news but I bet old 'Jane' on the sat-nav gives me some stick next time I use it- 'turn around when possible'etc!!

I would guess that most people on the forum would probably agree with me in saying avoid Paris. We always use the aotoroute to Rouen then via Evereux-Chartres-Orleans and onto the A20, its a good route with mainly duel carriagway. (about every other car is a brit!)

Don't be frightened to let it out. I'm 6ft 3in 20stone of ex policeman and I broke my heart when our old cats had to be put to sleep. They were both good friends and it was the kindest thing for them if not for us. My old cat was a great hunter and we used to always watch him stalking in the fields at the back of our house, when the light is right I still see him there. You gave Jean Claude the greatest gift - love- and at the end respect and peace. Our thoughts are with you, lift a glass to his memory and try to remember the great times you had.  

As well as th CG and driving licence you should also carry the insurance certificate that comes with the windscreen sticker. I have been advised of this by a local gendarme (penalty 90euros and three points for non production). You are also lucky to get away with a photo copy. If M. Gendarme is having a bad day he can penalise you for not producing the origional. Different from when I was a UK policeman as there is no facility for you to produce upto 5 days latter, if you ain't got them with you you're nicked!!

Get a 'Jonsered' all the locals 'round here use them ( pro and the rest ) despite having a certain way of getting it to start it is robust easy to maintain, easy to use.and getting bits for it is a piece of cake. Also they are reasonably priced - the ford' of the chain saw not the 'merc 

Do not fear! I can be more or less certain that you are seeing Common Buzzzards, whuch are as common as chips around here. They will not take a normal sized cat, we have to my knowledge at least three breeding pairs here and we also have had cats since we have been here with no problems. I am a member of the 'Hawk and Owl Trust' and have contacted them in the past about this. Despite it being a size thing there us also the fact that the average cat could do severe damage to a Buzzard rendering it incapable of hunting and they a'int stupid!! When we lived in the UK, one morning my wife went into the garden and was suddenly aware that she was being watched by a very large owl. We contacted the local Raptor centre and when the girl came 'round she said it was a Bengali Eagle Owl ( bigger than a european one ) that must have escaped from captivity, we were worried about the cats and she said the same thing, Believe me the average 'moggie' can look after itself.   

Don't forget to claim your tax rebate when you complete and submit your tax forms. If you had it supplied and fitted by a Frech aretisan you can claim back 50% of the costs!!

Any complaints that I have are more concerned with the 'pickey, pedantic' people that post message on the various forums rather than accepting that we live in a foreign country and have to accept that things are different from the good old(!!) UK. Which is why I have not made posts before. When I read about other peoples problems I realise that we are blessed living in this department and any difficulties are more to do with genuine misunderstandings not malice and do not feel inclined to make waves which could come back to haunt me in the future

We have now lived here pemanently for nearly two years, and have found the forums, this and others!! very helpful - sometimes. However if there is one thing I have learned is that every Department is different and have different ways of doing things. The change of druving licence is a prime example - being Diabetic my UK licence was only for 3 years and would have expired last August. In January I got nabbed for speeding and therefore had to change to a 'Permis de Conduire.' My wife decided to change hers at the same time so we presented ourselves to the Prefecture in Aurillac together with every bit of paperwork we could find!! The very friendly lady there didn't really know what to do so 'lumped' us in with all the disqualified drivers and elderly and told us we had to get our EU style licences translated ! - visit to the 'Halle de Justice' for the address of the official translator ( name address date of birth!!) Had to visit Maire to get copies of documents 'stamped' and sent them off = came back with a bill for €32.Returned to the Prefecture with said 'transductions' Now decided that we also had to have medicals! Had to visit approved Doctor for this - no problems ( in my case I could understand this but my wife is perfectly healthy ), in fact the medical was a joke - breathe in feel if you are warm - OK! - cost €48. Returned to Prefecture and 4 weeks later the Permis came through. There was no anti Brit element to this simply that they did not know what to do and as there are so few expats in this department in the same position fried uo fit us in to a part of the system they did understand. I post this to reinforce to people that there is never a definitive answer to French Bureaucracy  Also I will get my point back in January!! Also my licence is now for life!!