Discussions

Hello. I've only just been made aware of the new law now in effect banning new and replacement oil boilers in France.We have a holiday home heated by a now 20 year old Franco Belge boiler which is a non condensing boiler and has been problematic for a few years now. It really needs replacing. Additionally, when we are in the UK I occasionally run the boiler when it is cold to protect the house. It is not realistic to have to drain everything down when leaving France.I had planned to bring a new efficient boiler from the UK and install it. However, If oil is on the decline I guess the price could increase as oil heating is phased out.If new boilers are to be banned from 2022 there doesn't really appear to be a viable alternative. Pellet boilers are very expensive, can jam and the ash has to be emptied. You also have to have space for a huge hopper.Air and ground source would probably be too low temperature for old houses with a lack of insulation.Electricity would be expensive an necessitate the purchase of new heaters and a rewire and make existing pipework and radiators redundant.The only viable option I can see, given that people may not want or be able to spend thousands on holiday / second home heating systems, may be bio fuels. That may only require a new nozzle or burner on an existing boiler.I assume that if you are a non resident you will not qualify for a French government grant for any replacement.I wonder what others plan to do? Are there any viable alternatives to oil?Thank you. 

Hi, I have looked on various websites to try and find out limits and what meat and cheese products I can and can't bring from the UK to France post Brexit. (It was difficult for me to type that word!)I have founds lots of sites that deal with businesses that import goods to France, but I can't find anything that relates to private individuals (with a passion for strong English cheddar and gammon steak).Can anyone give me a any idea where I will find the info please?ThanksJim W.

Hello& Bonne AnneeI would be most grateful for your thoughts.  We have been in France since early summer & have used our Intermarche Card for every supermarket shop.Our accumulated points total Feb 2020 onwards is markedly different from last year - only here on & off for 4 Months which earned us nearly 60 euros We redeemed this in January 2020.  This year our accumulated Total is  9 Euros???  to be redeemed by end of Feb 2021. I'm at a loss as to why this is.  Has the Points system Changed & is only awarded for the Monthly Promo Offers &  not the whole shop.  I was expecting a sum greater than last years & have been really disappointed with the low amount.  Any explanation for this really welcome.

hi we have been given a pc which runs unbuntu, the problem we face now is that it won't load the internet, we are not very pc minded people so is there anyone out there that may be able to help? Many thanks

Hi - I wonder if some kind person can give me advice!I am living in UK, but have a holiday home in Brittany (not far from Dinan in Côtes-d'Amor.) Because of the various COVID-19 lockdowns in UK and France I have not been able to travel to my home in France since last August.  I am getting very nervous about the place. There is no-one in France who looks after it, so if there is any problem (burglary, storm damage, flooding, infestation, etc) I simply wont know about it.  I am therefore very keen to travel to France for a few days simply to check all is OK (and if not, to rectify).  Is this travel allowed or will I be turned away at either Portsmouth or Caen? And if I do go to France, where could I get a Coronavirus test before returning back to UK (which I believe is now a necessary UK requirement).Many thanks in anticipation!Peter O'Sullivan

Good morning lovely people, I hope that you are all well and warm this beautiful morning !I thought that I would put up a wanted post in discussions as it is of a fair level of urgence as I will very soon be needing a new home/vehicle as mine will soon be dying.As a lot of you know, I live in a van so when mine is about to give up the ghost it becomes fairly urgent if not essential for me to find another one quick smart.I have popped up a post in the wanted section on here and on other expat forums but have not heard back from anyone yet and normally I would buy something on a uk visit but due to Brekshit and covid a trip to the uk to find a vehicle is certainly not an option for me at this time.This is where I ask you all if you could keep your eyes and ears open for a van or a camper for me that is under the three and a half ton limit. I need a british reg vehicle as do not have an address in France so use my family address in wales to keep me legally on the road. I am willing to look at anything from a few hundred to a few thousand euros. Around 4 thousand would be what I will be willing to go to at a push,but would like to find something nearer to the 2 to 2 and a half value range. It needs to be both long wheel base and hightop so that it makes a comfortable home.My gearbox in my ldv convoy is about to give in and I now am trying to get by with using the van as little as possible and when I do I have to try and use just first,second and fifth gears which does not make for a good drive !! There are also another couple of faults on the van meaning that even if I change the broken gearbox,I will still need to change the vehicle soon afterwards so a repair will only be a viable option if I can not find another van.If you happen to know of any vehicles that may suit me whether a base van or a camper then please email me on gerdweller@hotmail.co.uk. I will be in my woods throughout the week so will not have wifi or a good phone signal, but am limping over from brec’h to near baud every weekend to check my emails for any responses so please anticipate a delay in my getting back to you if you send me mail.Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope that you are all cosy and well and despite all that is being thrown at you at this moment that you are keeping positive and enjoying the beauty around you.Love and light to allJamie xxxx

Ordered some biking gear late December from a company in UK it was sent out by Parcel force on the 30th December economy delivery,  I read a few of the horror stories about other people allegedly being asked to pay customs and import duty to the delivery company, must admit I was a little concerned due to the high value of the materiasl but I was also a little confused as why this would be the case, the stories continued but then hey ho delivery made yesterday no extra charges, it appears social media bullshit reigns again.

Now I could be wrong here but every job I have ever applied for I have has to be suitable and qualified, even road sweepers or bog cleaners have to be of a certain type to be suitable and by the way before anyone thinks differently I think those jobs are as equally important as the top jobs in life.Anyway my point is: Is not a fact that goverment ministers (And Im talking UK) do not have to be qualified for their misiterial roles, OK take Gavin Williamson for example he was minister for defence, and now is secutary of state for education I struggle to see where he qualifies, he is no military person nor has he a background in education apart from when he went to school, what about Matt Hancock what is his background in health, he was a economist at the bank of England and cheif of staff to the Chancellor previously, and the rest of the so called ministers, I ask who is actually qualified for the jobs they hold ?? it is no wonder that they dont appear to know what they are doing and to think the population of UK has to rely on these unqualified bums on seats, oh dear oh dear.

Fed up of jobs, quit Manchester in 2004 (33 & 39) to buy a house outright with a view to doing chambres d'hotes.After a few house hunts around Carcassonne and Jonzac we bought in Deux Sevres, then moved to Vendee and Dordogne along the way doing gites not CdH as planned. We were moving back to UK in 2005 after discovering how cold rural French farmhouses were but held out until 09.Back to UK (Cornwall) in 09, sold place in Dordogne in 2011, house hunting in France from 2013 eventually bought again in 2018. This time as Cornwall had been much milder than inland south we decided to see what was available on the coast of Brittany and got one in a coastal village on the Crozon Peninsula, friendliest people we have known in France so far. We sold our then house in Devon (after 4 moves) and bought a small place back in Cornwall and one in Finistere.Other half has recently mentioned Portugal!! It isn't happening. Quite happy where we are...... at the moment.

Just in case anyone else has the issue submitting to the classifieds.Pressing submit at the end dosen't take you anywhere and I found myself pressing submit over again. No need to as I now have the same ad 4 times :) I was using Chrome.

Bonjour mes amis ( hello my friends) ;-)I was just wondering if any of the old angloinfo gang still look in on here from time to time ?Tigger,simon arn,norm,wozza etc etc are you still around on here ?It would be great to know that you are all well and that life is full of love and positivity for you all.Love and lightJamie xxxx

Bonjour mes amis ( hello my friends ), :-)I think that most of us would like to see goodbye to 2020 and all the complications and sadness that it has cast upon many people and put it behind us and move onto a 2021 with hope of health,wealth and happiness.I raise my glass and wish you all a great new year and hope that you may all get to enjoy a year full of fun and positivity to be spent with the people who you love the most.All the very best and love and light to you allJamie xxxxxxx    Bonne Annee   xxxxxxxxx

I'm buying a house in France but the purchase date is after 31/12/20 (end of transition). I'm also a self employed, work from home professional. The question is does anyone know the "real" rules i.e. not the "what you can get away with" rules, regarding residing in France on a permanent basis and operating as a micro entrepreneur now the UK is no longer part of the EU? The .gov.uk website doesn't give a lot away, other than you'd be allowed to spend 90 days out of 180, or get a long stay visa for work, study, etc. I'd be going there to work but doing UK work remotely so the work is effectively me - I do however want to pay my taxes in France. The French website (directed to from the .gov website isn't saying "KEEP OUT" but its also very vague, saying about just requirements but that's a pretty vague description.I've lived in France for a couple of years before and operated as a micro entrepreneur but sadly sold up. I do not have any family connections with France etc so cant use that route. Anyone's insight or knowledge is appreciated. 

Had an operation on my foot cancelled, can I get it done by paying privately?

Hi allI am looking at the possibility of sourcing a gardener who serves Loyat, and wondered what the cost is likely to be if there is one..General gardening, and tidying needed...Thanks

Has anyone had an update on the situation with the Ferry's from the UK to Brittany .... during the Christmas period .... There seems to be a back log and queues at some Ports      . according to the text Ihave just received . would the tunnel be easier to access      Thank you 

So who has bought a cord of firewood and actually got what they paid for,  bear in mind a cord of firewood is 3.6 cubic meters or 128 feet measured when  stacked.  

So the Netherlands bans all flights from the UK over the Covid new strain, are they to be the first of many, it doesnt look good for any one that wants or needs to travel in the near future

Heads up for anyone with UK Telecom Service suspended sadly gone into administration UK TELECOM LIMITED - Insolvency (free information from Companies House) https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04762679/insolvency

Hello !  Does anyone know the current situation re migrants at Uisterham?  We plan an overnight ferry trip to the UK and after a 4 hour drive from home and an 8pm curfew we are worried about leaving the car to use the facilities.  Is anything open?  I'll contact Brittany Ferries about the terminal opening hours but is there a place to buy something to eat and what about toilets?  Thanks for your replies.