A distasteful question

[nonpc]

No its not a wind up

His wife Priscilla managed to keep them afloat as she was a professional table tennis demonstrater

[Collywobble]

[quote user="nonpc"]

No its not a wind up

His wife Priscilla managed to keep them afloat as she was a professional table tennis demonstrater

[/quote]

Hi Nonpc, but this does sound a bit Two Ronnies or "Carry On"

....He was a Plumber, but his pipes leaked...

...She kept the plumber afloat as she was a "professional table tennis demonstrater"   (you did say afloat?)

Sorry, but I can hear Kenneth Williams saying "Your 'avin a laugh, inchya" 

Cheers

PS

I know I've gone off topic, but nonpc, you either have a great sense of the satirical, or, um, something [;-)]

[Cerise]

Collywobble - if your French is up to it, have you thought about trying to be employed for a while before you start on your own?  There do seem to be vacancies in the building trade and whilst it is not well paid, at least it is a steady income to keep you going while you learn the ropes and decide if you are in the right placeto set up your business.  Just a thought.

[Collywobble]

Cerise, Yes, that is a very good idea. 

My French isn't as good as it was a few years back, but even then I was more of a "How much are the ...?",  "Where is the...?", "Hello Doctor, my father hit his head on the toilet..."  (real quote)[:D]  but I wouldn't have been confident to order building supplies etc.  To be more precise, I could probably form the questions, but be lost in the answers[:)]

I had actually thought about working for an English speaker for 12 months or so to build confidence and get into the swing of things.

Your bang on the money with the last comment; thinking you want to be somewhere that you have never lived/worked can be a bit of a shock when you realise that there isn't any work/too much competition/not the atmosphere that there appeared to be when you were here on holidays.

cheers

[Teamedup]

you have never lived/worked can be a bit of a shock when you realise that there isn't any work/too much competition/not the atmosphere that there appeared to be when you were here on holidays.

 

 

Add to that, an income that perhaps you aren't used to. Artisans work long hours and their pay doesn't reflect that.

[Collywobble]

[quote user="Teamedup"]

you have never lived/worked can be a bit of a shock when you realise that there isn't any work/too much competition/not the atmosphere that there appeared to be when you were here on holidays.

 

 

Add to that, an income that perhaps you aren't used to. Artisans work long hours and their pay doesn't reflect that.

[/quote]

It's almost enough to make an honest man work on the black!  [:)]

[Val_2]

Another problem being self employed here is that should you make any sort of profit one year,however tiny, your cotisations are adjusted automatically and go through the roof. Our monthly pension went up over 150% from the last payment for Dec 04 for the next one in Jan 05. I had to get them to stretch it out because it was more than we could possible afford to pay and live and pay all the others too. It get ridiculous and when your works insurance is more than 4000€/year with no claims whatsoever, you have to take that into account how you are going to pay it unless you charge a decent rate for a decent job done.

[Collywobble]

[quote user="Val_2"]Another problem being self employed here is that should you make any sort of profit one year,however tiny, your cotisations are adjusted automatically and go through the roof. Our monthly pension went up over 150% from the last payment for Dec 04 for the next one in Jan 05. I had to get them to stretch it out because it was more than we could possible afford to pay and live and pay all the others too. It get ridiculous and when your works insurance is more than 4000€/year with no claims whatsoever, you have to take that into account how you are going to pay it unless you charge a decent rate for a decent job done.[/quote]

Again, like I say, it appears to be enough to make one work on the black.

At first I thought the comments like "its expected" were only partially true, but I'm now thinking that it must be assumed everyone does it. A bit like traffic speed limits: if it say 30mph, everyone does 39 etc.

many years ago I backpacked around (pre liberation) Czechoslovakia and was told that a colour telly was almost a years wages, but everybody had one. I was told that they all got them "on the black" including the local party members and that it was expected. It's a funny old world.[:P]

[Chris Head]

The best thing you can do Collywotsit is to get your backside on the ground and talk to those who live the life. In truth, no one is going to post the information you need on open forum.

[Collywobble]

[quote user="Chris Head"]In truth, no one is going to post the information you need on open forum.[/quote]

Aye, I suspect that is a very accurate statement Chris. [:)]

BTW, I had a look at your site the other day and my wife (an arty type) said she she admired what you can do with your chopper.

I pointed out that it was a chainsaw.

She did say that the only negative was that the pics don't expand, so it's hard to fully appreciate the detail in those smaller photos. Something you might consider if you change the site in the future, so your work can be fully appreciated.

cheers

[Chris Head]

The site is complete crap Collywotsit and I'm learning how to do another one, it doesn't show any current projects. I do similar work to you and we have projected income for two years in advance, you'll be OK so long as you don't get freaked out by the number crunchers and the theorists. You'll need a good head on your shoulders, a good relationship, a better than good product and a bucket load of tenacity.

Give me a shout if you need.

 

 

 

[Collywobble]

Chris,

As a gesture of goodwill on my behalf, here is a tip. If you are looking at doing a new website, have a look at this www.joomla.org

Joomla is a FREE opensource product. You might want to see if your hosting company has it on their list of instalable products. Most hosting arrangements have some sort of menu you can use to install it and other stuff. It is becoming very popular with PLCs

I have been playing with it. It is very very easy to use. The sites below have cost me almost nothing apart from the hosting and a 20quid template or two that I have modified.

cheers