idun

I know that they have been recommended on here, but have you tried frying pan pizzas? Look up Pizza Pilgrims on you tube, they do them. When I make mine I put far more filling on and actually put them on a lower grill so that everything gets melted properly. I have everything set out, the dough goes in and then all the plates and bowls with the toppings are next to the pan as it cooks and I put whatever we want on top. For a 24cm pizza I use half a cup of flour made into pizza dough. I usually make up three or four cups of flour into dough and then when all these pizzas are cooked, I halve those we don't eat and freeze them and then defrost and re cook exactly how I cooked them in the first place....... as good as it gets without a proper pizza oven...... IMO naturellement[Www]

I bought a couple modal light summer short sleeved night dresses from M&S,  and they are OK. The rest of my night dresses are Landsend, all cotton and lovely. Love it when I can get them in a sale. I have pyjamas, because I bought them to take camping, thought it would be better, but I really have a problem with the legs. I have never bought them with ankle cuffs and so they are just straight legged. I move a lot when sleeping and I wake up to find that the hems of the jammas are up above my knees cutting my circulation in my thighs. I have no idea how anyone else manages, but I cannot be doing with them.

Rouvir, yes, look I did it yet again. Rouvrir, is in the Bescherelle and that works in all conditions. [:)] I use the word 'works' very loosely, as I have no idea what a lot of the headings mean and don't care either. [Www] I was never any good at written english, so what hope with very complicated french eh! 

And there is Amazon France https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B075TZ7S35/ref=twister_B075TZ9M6B I like this because it is cotton. But there are all sorts: https://www.amazon.fr/Ensemble-de-pyjama-chemise-boutonn%C3%A9e-pantalon/s?k=Ensemble+de+pyjama+chemise+boutonn%C3%A9e+et+pantalon...&rh=n%3A436559031%2Cn%3A464702031&dc&qid=1590862934&rnid=1703605031&ref=sr_nr_n_2

https://www.fr.landsend.com/femme/pyjamas%2C-chemises-de-nuit-%26-peignoirs/pyjamas-13013 Link should be live There seem to be traditional ones on this site. There are summer ones and winter ones, is this what you are after? I love Landsend night wear, chemises not pyjamas though. edit, looks like there is a lack of sizes on the french site, quite shocked, thought it would be better.

Loiseau, as I always have to look up conjugaisons, I did look up rouvrir, and whatever I looked at on the web it said pouvoir. Even to me, it looked odd, but what do I know of such things! Usually our Bescherelle is next to the old dictionnaire, but wasn't, otherwise I would have looked in there. Found it now, so that is a good thing, and ofcourse it says 'couvrir' which makes more sense, to even me. And frankly I didn't find it 'important' enough to double check,  when I do consider things  are important I double check even triple check stuff.... but the complexities of french grammaire, well, it just leaves me cold.

Yes Loiseau, an R in the middle, my spelling is, as always, lousy.

Both sound wonderful.

 I like Chancer...... and what he did or didn't do...... the clue was in the name he chose. Bit like you calling yourself A Little Bit French...... and me, maybe I should be called 'Mid Channel' because that is how I often feel. Clues are in the name. Would I do what Chancer has sometimes suggested, not necessarily.  I would give anything he said some consideration though..... I have just looked at our Larousse, which was the only dictionnaire moderne we  had for many a year...... bought in France............ 1981 and it says reouverture and rouvir. Rouvir, the verb to reopen part of 'pouvoir'.

You should never have been receiving other than a gross state pension, as that is how it is paid. What happens is that they would have adjusted your tax code taking that state pension income into account prior to deducting the tax on the public pension. So, 1) have you been declaring your state pension in France, because you should have been.2) Get in touch with the HMRC and ask to speak to a technician, and say that you think that you are not sure if things have been done properly, could they explain.3) Also explain that your husband always dealt with this and you are trying to get to grips with what he had done.4) If the house was in joint names then only half the income from it, would have been down to him and the rest to you. All may be well, but cards up front, I have found the best solution with them. I think that you will find that as you were already paying UK taxes, that you should have always been paying income tax on your rental, less expenses. This is because your tax allowance will have been used up. Also, please look at this link, it should be live, it says a rental of over £100 a week should have tax deducted. https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad/rent In general, french tax is less. When we moved back, as I said, we were paying french PAYE, which was much more than usual french income tax, but UK was even more, so we still had to pay in the UK too to........BUT we didn't have the mutualist to pay, so it was KIF KIF! and made not one iota of difference to our income. We just found living in England cheaper. And eventually did not have to pay the CSG type thing etc too, better still.

Anyone done anything really different or interesting? The highlight of our week.... OUR MONTH was fish and chips from a really good fish and chip shop tonight. I can only say it was a wonderful, un FESTIN. We had them with tea, bread and butter and mushy peas. Ah the simple pleasure that was so special........ and we ate hours ago and I am still well and truly repue! We have done our Boris Walks, some shopping, and I have read a lot, when I should have been doing important 'stuff', but preferred reading. I must get a grip and catch up with correspondence if nothing else this week. Tonight was our last Clap for Key Workers, and I am a little sad about it. It was obviously the right moment as I had a  sign, I have been hitting the bottom of a big pan with a wooden spoon, and the spoon broke tonight. Just goes to show.

Self assessment for 2019/2020 ie 5 April 2019 to April 2020 is not due online  until Jan 2021. Same same for the previous year, the January the following year. Only online and it all needs sorting out in advance for passwords etc. Paper declarations I believe have to be in by September following the April, but you'd have to look that up. I usually do ours early in the year, in case there are any problems and I need to call, less of a wait[Www]

My son lives in a city and when his GP changed jobs had a terrible time finding a new one, literally months. I have to say that as it is a lovely city, so it rather surprised me. Still, the amount GP's receive and the costs of living there would probably be a big factor. And then I remembered that years ago, it was said in Paris that by the time some GP's had paid for their cabinet and equipment, they were on the equivalent of minimum wage! One poster on here reckoned that GP's in France were 'rich', very well paid, they are not and never have been.

Blodwyn,  see live link below and there are phone numbers which  I have just called, so I wasn't giving you numbers which do not work, and definitely HMRC. Certainly not at all PAYE in the UK, we have done self assessment since we moved back. No choice, mainly french income. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/non-resident-landlords +44 3000 516 644 +44 161 931 9070 Still until we left France, I never knew that a sort of PAYE existed in France, so for several  years after we left France, it was deducted from the salary before receiving it, AND was more expensive than normal french income tax! So we paid that years before our circumstances changed. And in France all changed a couple of years ago, but that is what we ended up paying, retenue a la source it was called, and perhaps still is, for the specifics of people like we were, as I said, it was not 'normal' french income tax, but more costly. Yes, still exists and is not the same as everyone living in France pays:-https://www.impots.gouv.fr/portail/international-particulier/questions/je-suis-non-resident-comment-est-calculee-la-retenue-la-source

OK, yes,  Bon Coin, Paruvendu, free papers with adverts. When we bought our house, we were so busy we forgot to book an artisan to do a big job. Ofcourse by the time we tried to find one and needed to get the work done we couldn't find anyone who was not completely booked up for months and months. And then I found someone, sounded great, had all the right chat and could come within a couple of weeks. Their work needed completely replacing a couple of years later and their office had closed within a year of doing our work. So as I said, they were 'rubbish', but in real life, I use  a far worse word or sometimes an expression  to describe them. I'll leave that to you to chose which adjective or expression I use to describe them. We had been desperate to get the work done, and we were young, and hadn't realised what 'bad' people there were in the world, it was the first time such a thing had happened to us. One lives and learns and the experience was very costly.

honestly NH your post was a perfectly proper post and look what it did to it. Since when has the word p  r  i  ck had to be censured so.It is a perfectly good word. I would dearly love to know if I have had covid19, and if I have strong anti bodies, but I truly believe that it is going to be at least a number of months before there is something that I trust.  Let's face it, for future travel insurance we are going to have to have had either a vaccine against it, or prove good anti bodies, or I am sure that they will simply not insure any of us.

Have you looked in your local Paruvendu, to see if any jack of all trades is after work? Or even a proper artisan. All I can think of. We always had problems getting people to do work when we wanted. And the only occasion we got someone in who was available was because they were well, good at talking the talk and that was it. What can I say but, chose your adjective......... I shall say they were 'rubbish' but I have used really bad words about them IRL, as they cost us a fortune to have the job redone.

https://www.pagesjaunes.fr/ live link Just ring around and find a local artisan, I am sure that they will want the work.

Unless I actually take ill with something that could be covid19, then it is the only test I would want. There is ofcourse that word,'HOWEVER' with this, because the scientists in general are unsure as to whether having anti bodies actually afford any protection against catching it again. I have discussed this at length with a friend who has a very rare illness which plays havoc with his  auto immune system, and actually caught it and got over it quickly. This was weeks ago and he initially felt like he had got some immunity and is being cautious again now. As has been said, many of us get all sorts of viruses, from time to time, and having had them does not immunise us from further infection. So much for the scientists to  get to grips with yet, that for all I would want to know if I had already had it, as I had been very unwell for several weeks in mid winter, including a persistent cough. And this before anyone thought it could be in Europe.......... and yet we know that in Paris they found a case when rechecking swabs from was it December or November?

A very good age for a big dog and long may it continue whilst he is in good health for his age.

I rather think that there are not that many that have got away with doing stuff they should not during this period, whether they be in charge, rich or poor or in between. It is that relatively small percentage of what I consider ignoramuses and fools, and that little percentage have always existed. It would be like suggesting that there was no crime and no one behaving badly during WW11. These people just are the proof that 'we' the rest, have decency and concern for others as well as ourselves. I am not going to get upset about it. Politicans all too often make cockups, they always have and always will. For the most part, I simply accept that. And that is because I am quite capable of being 'incapable' and making lousy decisions sometimes, it happens.

And now to Corbyn, well, he never seemed to get past the views of say a teenager, full of ideas most of which are not viable in the real world. So sadly made sense that the very young voted for Corbyn and made him leader, a great pity really and I am so glad that he is not PM.

And there was me thinking it was Blair who is an abomination to me along with his horrific cronies. So stating that it will probably not surprise anyone that I could literally SCREAM when I see that hateful man on tv now. How DARE he say anything to anyone, beyond me. I loathe and detest him, and I am so wound up by the thought of him I wish I had some yeast in to make some bread that I could bash about. All this ofcourse is just my opinion, but I never liked Thatcher and she was awful, but IMO he and his minions ruined the UK. I am sure that he must have done something 'decent' because everyone does something decent at one point, but that thing or things will never in my mind counter the bad.

A strange mix of Playboy Club and UK Lottery Logo, don't know why they needed it, but there you go.

 NickP, please, what were the 'momentum mob'. I have my own idea as to those you mean, but I could be wrong.