THINGS COME IN THREES

 

My mum always used to say that things come in threes.  What she meant was that you never get just one problem at a time to deal with.  Three come along at once.  It depends of course on what you count as a problem worth counting as such.  Many more minor trials and tribulations just get dealt with and go uncounted but yesterday we had our third countable one.  

The first two this year are (probably) getting the chimney swept which took four attempts and getting our long awaited fibre installed which took two attempts plus intervention by a builder to drill a hole.  Both of these were challenging for us to deal with because of the level of our command of the language and especially when trying to make arrangements by telephone.

In some ways I feel we managed better when our French was worse.  People would cotton on instantly to the fact that we are English and speak slowly, using basic vocabulary and hand gestures to help us to understand.  Now that we have a better command of French they speak at their normal rate and sometimes seem more irritated if we don't understand, so we still struggle, especially on the phone.

When we first registered with our GP in France last May she listened carefully to our medical history and referred Nick for a follow up to a colonoscopy he had many years ago.  (There had been no follow up at all in the UK.). The earliest appointment he could get was nine months later, so this February.  Off we went to a clinic in Châtellerault last month and after a bit of umming and ahhing the doctor decided he should have another one.  Oh joy!

He came away from the clinic with a huge dossier of forms to fill in and instructions and a date for the procedure at a hospital in Tours one month later.  Yesterday in fact.

Before this he had to make an appointment to see the anaesthetist as in France it is done under general anaesthetic.  This involved a couple of phone calls and on arrival at the hospital two weeks ago for the appointment the first thing we had to do was to take a queue ticket to meet with someone to arrange his room for the day of the procedure. We paid for the room then headed off to check in at the anaesthetist's office.  As we paid the anaesthetist he checked we had reserved a room.  All of this was quite challenging but we managed well without any of the staff resorting to speaking in English.

Anyone who has had, or lives with someone who has had, a colonoscopy will know that the process of preparing for it is not pleasant.  If you don’t, Google it!

We arrived at the hospital in good time yesterday and went to the first floor to check in as instructed.  We were sent to a waiting room to wait to be taken to Nick's own room.  A nurse popped in and out and gradually worked her way through the people to take them to their allocated rooms.  Nick's room was allocated but we were asked to wait a few minutes.  Then we were called to some seats outside the surgeon’s office along with another couple.  The surgeon came out to speak to us, wearing his outdoor coat.

I could hear my mum's voice in my head saying "summat's up here".  She was right.

Twenty minutes earlier, some idiot with a bulldozer had driven through a water main in the middle of Tours and the hospital's water supply had been cut off.  

The surgeon spoke in rapid French but we got the gist.  The operation was cancelled.  Then we got confused thinking he said to come back at 6pm.  The other couple stood up and left but as we exchanged glances he decided to clarify by speaking in very good English.  6pm was the earliest time they expected to have the water back on.  We were to go home and phone his secretary's office for another date for the procedure.  He apologised, saying he knew how hard the preparation for this is.

We drove home in a daze and sat with Hugo and Yvonne in the first really warm sunshine of the year.  Nick managed a slice of toast and I had a glass of wine.  I agreed to phone the office today to find out when he can have another date for the procedure, if we need another dossier and another appointment with the anaesthetist and will we have to pay again for it?  He will need another prescription for the medication so would they post it along with the dossier or will we have to go back to Châtellerault to get it?  Maybe our GP could give him a new prescription for it.  Will we have to pay again for another room for the day surgery, having not got as far as using it the first time?  

The secretary was obviously up to date with the events of yesterday and was ready for our call.  Nick could have had it done next week but I'll be back in the UK then and he can't really go through all of that by himself so it's going to be in April.

The secretary was keen to reassure me that he didn't need another dossier, or to see the anaesthetist again.  She would send his prescription for the medication through the post and was sure we wouldn't have to book another room.  "N'inquiétez pas" she said.  Which means "don't worry".

I am already worrying that we will go through all the palaver again and get to the hospital to find that in fact there is no room.  A friend just said "there's a chance it might all work correctly".  Or, as my mum would have said, "there's a first time for everything"!

Hey ho.

MOVING TO FRANCE the French health system

 

Unlike the UK NHS, health care in France is not free.  

Certain items are not free in the UK either, such as eye care, dental care and medications, except in circumstances due to one's age or financial situation.  Generally, GP appointments, hospital appointments, operations and all free in the UK.  They are not free in France, although there are exceptions for people with certain chronic conditions and those with a low income where the cost is effectively free.

(There are those that would argue that the NHS isn't actually free as people have no choice in paying National Insurance all their working lives in order to pay for it.  A similar system of Social Charges also exists in France.)

The French health system is essentially one where the government contributes part of the cost and it's up to the individual to pay the difference.

Once we had been in France for ninety days we were entitled to apply for a Carte Vitale.  This we did by presenting ourselves at the local office of CPAM, the Social Security service, in Tours.  We first went to ask for an appointment to do this.  At the appointment we had to present the usual set of documents including proof of identity, residence and income.  The Cartes Vitales arrived a few weeks later.  In the meantime we paid for all our health needs and could claim the money back from the UK.

The Carte Vitale is an actual credit card sized card which we now present at every appointment or at the pharmacy.  With this card the French government pay 70% of the cost of everything (but pass that cost back to the UK for its citizens) and it's up to the individual to pay the remaining 30% or take out an insurance to cover it.  This kind of insurance is called Mutuelle Assurance.

(Visitors to France and people on holiday will not have a Carte Vitale and pay the full amount.  In return they receive a claim form to send to the DWP for a refund or claim on their own travel  insurance.)

A consultation with a GP (Médecin Générale) costs around 25€.  With the Carte Vitale 70% of this will be refunded to the individual's bank account by the Government and the rest by the Mutelle Assurance.  People are not obliged to have a Carte Vitale and can pay the full cost of everything if they wish but costs can mount up.  Medications are surprisingly inexpensive and in fact often cost much less than the basic UK NHS prescription charge.  

There are dozens of insurance companies offering Mutuelle Assurance and choosing one can be complicated.  The interesting thing is that, unlike the provision of private health insurance in the UK,  existing medical conditions are not taken into account.  The annual or monthly premium seems to be determined by a person's age and location and no questions about medical history are asked.

One thing we really like about the French system is that having registered with a local GP we can get appointments within a very short time and see the same person each time.  This is much better than the situation in our part of the UK where the best we can hope for is a telephone consultation with someone we may never have seen or heard of before and may never again.  Getting an appointment face to face with an actual doctor in the UK, never mind one you may already know, can be very difficult.

One quirk of the Mutelle Assurance is that people can opt for the level of cover they wish.  It's not cheap and typically will cost a couple our age over £1,500 per year in order to have most things covered.  Whether or not this is value for money is a gamble as with all insurance.  If you never need to be hospitalised it probably isn't but if you do you can end up with a large bill if you don't have Mutelle. 

Another quirk is that health care providers can charge what they wish.  Many will have a set of fees that are in line with recommendations so that a person who has a Carte Vitale and Mutuelle will have little or nothing to pay.  However, some charge more so that Mutelle Assurance providers will offer a level of cover that is much more than the 30% deficit.  

One of the curious things is that the process of referral to a consultant is very different from the UK NHS system.  In the UK a GP will say he or she is referring you to the hospital and, although you might have a choice of hospital, an appointment is made for you and arrives via the post.  In France it's up to you to find a consultant or hospital and make the appointment for yourself.  Most of these appointments can be made using a website called Doctolib where most providers and their fees are listed.

One of the disappointments we have found is that once referred it can take a long time to get an appointment with a consultant or hospital.  It seems that the French system is oversubscribed just like the UK one.  Many people find it impossible to get registered with a dentist in France, just like in the UK.  However, everyone I know who uses the system is full of praise for it and from our experience it does feel very much like a private health system but without the extortionate cost of similar private health care in the UK.

AN UPSETTING EXPERIENCE

This photo has nothing whatsoever to do with what happened.

It's been a funny old week chez nous.  We have dealt with numerous things that range from annoying to downright silly but something happened today that was quite unsettling.  Upsetting in fact (for me anyway).

We are on the lookout for some new lights for the kitchen and I went along to the huge barn that sells antiques/vintage stuff in Mairé.  My friend Alison came with me.

On the way there we encountered a bit of a kerfuffle on the road on the straight part of the route between Le Grand-Pressigny and Barrou.  A car had stopped and a young couple were trying to catch a dog that was running about loose in the road.

I have to say that we see loose dogs here in France much more often than we ever do in the UK.  All kinds of dogs from tiny fluffy lap dogs to huge guard dogs.  They seem to escape from their homes with amazing regularity.  It's unusual for a week to go by without encountering an escaped dog somewhere.

This dog was clearly a hunting dog with the usual brown, black and white colouring.  It was circling around in the road and whilst being friendly enough and happy to approach people was not going to be easy to catch.

Numerous cars stopped.  It's a long, flat and straight stretch of road between two forested areas and two villages and the one place where drivers can pick up speed and even overtake.  Not the best place for a loose dog.

I  found this picture of the dog posted on the Grand-Pressigny facebook page.

I had a spare lead in the car of the type that just slips over the dog's head but this dog, although friendly enough, was careering around and not willing to be put on a lead.  I doubt that hunting dogs ever get to be on a lead, or walked, or socialised.  In many ways it was surprising that it was so keen to be near so many humans.  At one point five cars had stopped to see if they could help and mainly to slow down the other drivers passing by.  Several of the drivers had dog treats that they tried to use to capture the dog but it sniffed then rejected all of them.

Eventually a lady said she would call her husband and he would come and get the dog and take it to the Mairie or the vet, which is apparently the usual thing to do.  However, it was now Saturday afternoon so I had no idea if that was actually a possibility.  With so many other people around and us being the only non-French speaking people we decided to leave them to it and the dog hopefully in safe hands.

An hour later, on our way back home and with no other vehicles around, the dog was still there.  We guessed that the attempts to capture it had failed and people had given up and gone on their way.

What to do, what to do?  Being short on ideas we thought why not contact the police.  Apart from the fact that the dog itself was in huge danger, there was the potential for a serious accident, especially come nightfall.  Even if we managed to catch it we didn't know what we would do with it.

We stopped outside the Gendarmerie at Le Grand-Pressigny.  To my amazement it is manned every day and by pressing the button and speaking via an intercom we were allowed into the police station to speak to an actual person.  I emphasised, in my best French, that it was a dangerous situation and hopefully it made a difference.  The young woman heard our story and said she would tell her colleague to go and investigate.  

That made me feel a lot better.  Dogs are not always treated very well in France (not always in the UK either) and especially hunting dogs.  This poor dog was so cute, so friendly, clearly lost and stressed and deserved to be looked after properly.  I sincerely hope that a friendly Gendarme managed to catch it, to take it to safety and that it has food, water and somewhere warm for the night, until its owner can be found.

A WEEKEND OF TWO HALVES

On Saturday it rained and rained until early evening.

A beautiful sunset was reflected in the puddles.

Keeping the house warm was hard going with two log fires.

On Sunday it was dry but at only 6°C still very cold.

The brocante at Sepmes was busy, the first big one of the year, but we didn’t linger long.

We spent about an hour seeking out the sunshine when the clouds allowed.

We're ready now, for some real warmth and Spring.

MOVING TO FRANCE removals and belongings.

For several years our house in France has had everything we need.  When we downsized in the UK in 2014 we moved to a much smaller house and most of the furniture we had was too big so everything came to France.  We then brought all the furniture from the little holiday home we had in the village as well!

Brexit.......

One of the difficulties caused by Brexit is that the days of being able to bring more or less anything and everything from the UK to France are now gone.  Year after year we would bring bits of furniture, tools, paint, plants and gardening equipment every time we came for a holiday.  Since Brexit that is no longer allowed.  Generally we are only allowed to bring the kind of personal items appropriate for a holiday and a limited value of other stuff.  Anything over and above that is subject to import charges.  

This is why many UK companies, especially smaller ones, no longer ship to France.  The paperwork required and duty on goods is often prohibitive.  Equally, anyone ordering goods from the UK is often obliged to pay a disproportionate amount of duty on goods that previously did not apply.

However....... 

Because we are actually making France our permanent residence we have a year from the start date of our visa during which we could bring any of our belongings, just like anyone would who was actually moving house (rather than coming to live in one they have had for years, like us!).

Consequently we had a good look at what we had in the UK that we might benefit from having in France and managed to fill the trailer with a variety of things.  A few tools, some hobby and craft stuff, a few pots and pans, bedding, bits of furniture and so on.  The tedious part was that we had to make an inventory for every item and give its value.  Most of it was stuff we had owned for some time and no longer had receipts for, but the information on the French government website states that a reasonable estimate of the value of used items is acceptable. We spent a lot of time writing a list of everything and its approximate value.

We took the opportunity to being extra pillows and duvets.  The issue with bedding is that French beds, pillows and duvets are a slightly different size to those we get in the UK.  The equivalent items in France vary by just enough that our existing sheets and duvet sets (that we brought from the UK years ago) do not fit them.  

So, in my very last trip with the car I brought a supply of replacement duvets and pillows so that when the old ones are past their best and need changing we won’t have to buy a whole lot of new bed linen as well.  

Next time……..grappling with the French health service.

PYLONS AND HOLES

In the middle of December last year Enedis (the infrastructure division of EDF)  came and installed several new pylons along our road, one directly outside our house.

We think that the idea is to replace the hotch-potch of existing old pylons that litter the roadside and fields around us with a better integrated system, although that's just a guess based on where they have put the new ones.  None of the new ones are connected to live electricity as yet.

We were not too chuffed when in January one of the wires from "our" pylon broke away and dangled in mid-air, resting on our telephone wire.  We reported it to EDF but they didn't do anything about it until a storm caused the offending wire to take out our telephone line.  When Orange came to fix it they got straight onto EDF who immediately switched off our electricity supply - which wasn't necessary because the offending wire was not live!  

Nick phoned EDF and was transferred to an English speaking agent who found out what was going on.  So while he had his chance, Nick thought he might as well mention another problem.  The dangerous holes.

To erect the huge pylons Enedis had used a machine that made huge holes in the grass verge and these holes have not been repaired.  "So what" I can hear you thinking!

Out in the sticks of rural France the roads are not very busy and in remarkably good fettle but they are very narrow.  Definitely not wide enough for two cars to pass with all wheels on the tarmac.  Consequently the custom is for both vehicles, as they approach each other, to move over a bit and drive with two wheels on the grass verge.  It's a system that works perfectly well.

However, some of the holes left by Enedis are at least 50cm deep and not visible from the road.  It's perfectly possible that if a car wheel dropped into one of these holes the car would at best swerve a bit or at worst end up in the ditch.  This is what Nick pointed out to the English speaking agent a month ago.  Nothing has happened since and luckily no accidents - but it's only a matter of time.

Nick went along and marked the holes outside our house by putting a stake in each one so that drivers would avoid them.  At some point someone else has been along and put official metal poles next to one of them - of the kind used to indicate unsafe ground after roadworks.  We don't know who that was.

So.........yesterday I needed to go to the Mairie and thought I might as well mention the holes while I was there.  The lady on the desk was very interested and asked me to write a formal email including photos.  Sure enough, by 10.00am this morning none other than the Maire himself had been to inspect the holes and said he was extremely grateful for us pointing this out.  Sooner or later there is bound to be an accident and what we didn't realise is that the holes are not just along our bit of road, they go the whole way to the next hamlet, which increases the possibility of that sooner or later accident.

The Maire was not happy.  Very happy that we had pointed out the problem but extremely miffed with Enedis.  I felt bound to wonder if he had had run-ins with them before!

We are wondering how many days it will be before Enedis, having had their bottoms kicked by the local Maire, come out and fill in the holes.  Watch this space!

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR

Well, the day of our fibre installation came and went.  The engineer turned up two hours early but fortunately I had made the shifting of furniture out of the way my first job of the morning while Nick was out walking Hugo.

It did not go well.  First of all the engineer turned too sharply into our drive (which was widened last year) and dropped his back wheel into the ditch.  For some reason he took his ladder out of the van and placed it across the bucket attachment before he tried to drive the van out.  Luckily he managed to get enough grip with the remaining three wheels to drive it back onto terra firma.  Nick stood by to make sure he didn't do any damage to our new gates.

Then the engineer looked at where the unit was to be installed and immediately declared he couldn't do the job because he didn't have drill long enough to go through the wall.  He suggested we get an electrician to drill the hole and he will come back on Friday.

Considering that three quarters of the houses around us all have walls at least as thick as ours, and have fibre already, I find it hard to believe that he didn't have the right kind of drill.  Nick suggested several ways he could get the job done using a drill we have for our walls but he rejected all of them.

He made another appointment for Friday then drove off, almost dropping in the ditch again, with his ladder still perched across the bucket thing.

We look forward to Friday.  He phoned to confirm the time but we think he said it would be someone else.  We rather hope it is!  Watch this space!

JIGSAW PUZZLE WEATHER!

Last weekend we were fooled into thinking Spring had arrived!  We got the outdoor tables out and I oiled the wooden chairs and benches.  We went to the garden centre for some new plants and even had a barbecue!

This week we’re back to winter.  Yesterday it rained all day and was blowing a hoolie. Our lovely daffodils are blasted to bits and the wind even blew a whole mistletoe plant out of a tree.

Still, Yvonne was very happy to lend a hand with a jigsaw puzzle!

Today I have made a "school cake" and poached some chicken ready for making six litres of cock-a-leekie soup for an event in the village tomorrow.  Time passes pleasantly, in spite of the 'orrible weather!

GETTING THE CHIMNEY SWEPT third time not so lucky after all and awkward confrontations.

Well, it turns out that the chimney sweeping was not such a good job after all!  Due to the mild weather we didn't light the kitchen fire for several days after having it swept and when we did...............disaster!

On the front of the wood burner there is a lever that sends the heat to mainly the hot plates or around the oven.  When we don't want to use the oven we pull the lever out so that the hot plates heat the room better.

When Nick lit the fire and pulled out the lever smoke was coming out of everywhere, into the room and clearly not going up the chimney!  There was obviously a blockage somewhere.  A hard packed clump of soot can catch fire.

Fortunately Nick had only just put a couple of logs in the fire to get it going and not yet built it up so we decided to just let it go out, keeping an eye on it.

The next morning, when the fire was completely cold, we investigated.  On lifting the largest hotplate we could see that that chamber had not been cleaned out but that would not explain the blockage.  We had no option but to contact the ramonage company and get them back.  

This is something we always find so difficult.  

Normally we are determined to manage by ourselves but we had doubts about being able to get our problem across well enough to get it resolved.  Usually we make sure we are armed with the right terms to explain things but we can easily be bamboozled by someone who does not want to admit they are in the wrong, taking advantage of our limited grasp of the language.  This has happened before.  We called for help! 

Nick spoke to our lovely builder's wife, who had recommended the company as they use them frequently for other customers.  She phoned them and explained the problem and they said they would come the next day which was a relief.  We just had to get through one whole night of worrying about it!

This time just one van arrived with the most charming young man to do the job.  We managed to explain what had happened and what we thought the problem was.  

He got on the phone to the person that had been in charge of cleaning the fire last time and, with the speaker on we could hear that "words" were exchanged, even if we only understood half of them!  My French was good enough to say that the company had been recommended by a friend that uses them for all their clients and that we were very disappointed.  He got the gist!

After a good deal of poking, prodding and serious hoovering the problem was resolved.  A huge amount of extra soot and cinders dropped down the chimney from where they had stuck.   By the time the young man had finished the whole thing was so clean you could have eaten your dinner off it!   He stayed for long enough for us to get the fire going and demonstrate that all was well.  As indeed it was.  Fourth time lucky!!

On our way to the shops the other day, we passed a house that had had a serious fire within the last few days.  The roof was completely gone and burnt belongings including children's toys were scattered all over the garden.  We have no idea what had happened.  It might have been a chimney fire or an electrical fault but we hope that the family and their pets are all safe.  You can't be too careful with fires.

MOVING TO FRANCE getting the right visa

A display of tulips in our village.

At the beginning of 2023 we started the process of moving to France properly.  To do this we had to get the right kind of visa.  This is a long stay visa that lasts for one year and is called a VLS.

This visa allows the holder to stay in France for one whole year, during which time we could come and go as we please (no complicated Schengen calculations needed) and is the first step to an application for residency.  Getting it was a similar tedious process to getting the VLST the previous year, compiling numerous documents and personal information including evidence of income, of having somewhere to stay and having health cover, then taking them to an appointment at the visa centre.

Regarding health cover, for the previous six month visa (VLST), the UK GHIC card (used to be the EHIC card), is sufficient.  It entitles the holder to basic emergency treatment in other EU countries.  We also bought a private annual health insurance to cover the things that the GHIC doesn't, such as repatriation.  The situation is different when applying for a one year visa.

For people like us who are in receipt of a UK state pension, cover is provided in a form called an S1, which is obtained from the Dept of Work and Pensions (DWP) usually requiring just a phone call.  This is a document that effectively transfers health care from the UK to France.  (France provides the health care to UK citizens living in France and the UK pays for it). To get it we had to give the date of moving to France so we chose a date that coincided with when we wanted the visa to start and about a month after our appointment at the visa centre.

(The health cover situation is different for people who are not in receipt of a state pension or wish to work in France.)

As with the previous temporary six month visa (VLST) we had to compile all the documents and apply online for an appointment with TLS (the agency that handles all applications).  There are only three TLS centres in the UK that do this; in London, Manchester (Salford) and Edinburgh.  On the day we went along for our appointments, the centre in Manchester was crammed with young Chinese people who were all holding UK passports but mostly ill prepared for the process.  Consequently the centre was running very late and - the toilets were closed!

All in all it was a miserable, tedious and expensive exercise, although made easier by the fact that we had been through a similar process the previous year and had much of the information readily to hand.  We had all our documents in order - actually compiled in the correct order for handing over - as per the instructions on the French Government website, including having a set of the right kind of photos.  

As the hours ticked away we sat with head in hands thinking thank goodness we would not have to do this again!  We were full of admiration for the staff handling the applications for their immense patience in dealing with so many people who were not well prepared, short of documents and photos.

Once we finally got to the front of the queue the young woman who dealt with us whistled through the process in under ten minutes.  Then we had to go for "biometrics" - the taking of fingerprints and more photos and then finally, several hours after we arrived there, we emerged into the pouring rain in Salford to search for a public toilet!  The total cost on that day was, from memory, around £300 as we had paid extra for our passports to be delivered to our home by courier rather than have to go all the way back to collect them.

Salford is a devil of a place to get to from where we live but I have read that TLS have moved premises to an address not far from Manchester rail station, which will make life a lot easier for most people needing to go there.  (Assuming of course that there is no rail strike on the day of your appointment!)

Our passports with visas attached were delivered to our house about two weeks later.  They came by Royal Mail.  They also included instructions for the next step in the process which was to validate the visas within three months of arriving to live in France.  This we did a couple of weeks after we got here.  It involved logging onto the French government website and paying a fee of 200€ each.

Kerching!

Next time..........compiling an inventory.

GETTING THE CHIMNEY SWEPT - THIRD TIME LUCKY!

Back in November we arranged for someone to come and sweep our chimney.

In French this is called "ramonage".

The central chimney serves two fires which are back to back either side of a stone wall. One is in the kitchen and one in the living room.  The tubage from each fire shares the same space. 

Tubage (pronounced "tewbarge") is the actual flue.  It’s a solid metal structure at the fireplace end but once into the actual chimney it becomes a more flexible metal hose.  

We spent much of the winter of 2014/15 in the house and came to the conclusion that neither of the wood burners was ideal for the room.  

The original Godin fire in the kitchen.

It had a very fat flue.

In the kitchen there was a very handsome Godin which threw out way too much heat for that size of room.  

The original living room fire that came with the house.

It's an insert that is designed to be fitted flush into a wall.

In the living room was an unbranded "insert" - the kind of fire that is meant to be recessed into a wall with just the door showing.  This one was perched on the hearth with all its fixings on show so it was rather ugly and not very efficient either.  

At the time we thought it would work if we moved the Godin into the living room and got a smaller wood burner for the kitchen so we invited the local plumbers round to look at the possibility.  They discovered that the tubage for both fires ended about a metre into the chimney and above that there was nothing, just an empty stone chimney with no lining.  

An unlined chimney is fine for an open fire (assuming the stonework is in good condition) but woodburning stoves are meant to have tubage (a flue pipe) that carries smoke to the top of the chimney.  When we lit the Godin in the kitchen we could smell smoke in the bathroom and the previous owners had said that they never had both fires burning at the same time although they didn’t say why that was.  We found out for ourselves that this produced a lot of smoke upstairs. 

After a lot of head scratching the plumbers decided that the main obstacle to reusing the Godin was that it had a very wide flue.  There simply was not the space in the chimney for its tubage and another one.  This is probably why the previous fires were installed as they were - with no tubage because the chimney space was not big enough.  There then followed a nervous discussion when the plumbers thought it might actually not be possible to have two tubages in the same chimney space because it wasn’t big enough.  

However, with much investigation, crawling on the roof and prodding with tape measures, they decided it could be possible but we would have to change both of the fires.  We could not reuse the Godin from the kitchen because of the size of its flue.

We sold the handsome Godin for a reasonable price on Le Bon Coin and gave the other one away.  We ordered two brand new wood burners from the plumber’s catalogue and are very happy with both of them.

Since then we have only had the chimney swept once, by the company that installed the new fires.  They did the kitchen one from the roof.  During the covid years the fires were hardly used and in fact they had little use at all until this winter and we decided to get them done.  

We tried to contact the company that installed the fires and did the last ramonage but their old business premises is empty and the phone number doesn't work.  We asked around and a friend gave us the number of the plumber they used to sweep their chimney.

This person came to sweep the chimneys in November but declared he was unable to do the kitchen fire because it couldn’t be done from inside the house.  We asked around again and another friend recommended a firm that they use for chimney sweeping and gas boiler servicing.

Those people came in January but declared they couldn't do the kitchen fire either, despite the fact that I had been into the office, shown the woman the instruction manual for the kitchen fire and been reassured that they would do it from the roof.  One the day they said they couldn’t do it because the sweep wasn’t insured for roof work. 

We asked our lovely builder's wife if she had any suggestions and she gave us the name of a company that only does ramonage - chimney sweeping - and that they always use for any clients that need it doing.  Just to be sure we sent them photos to show exactly what sweeping the chimney for the kitchen fire involves.  

Third time lucky!  They turned up on the day and got the job done.

There was a moment of concern when I thought he was doing the wrong chimney!

But all was well, the job was done in very little time at all.

Were most impressed but less so when they told us we are legally supposed to have both fires swept twice a year, before and after use!   

Well, we shall see about that!  There is never a dull moment when you own an old house in France!

MOVING TO FRANCE in the beginning.....

We first decided to move to France in 2014, seeing it as maybe a ten year adventure.  We already had a small holiday home in Touraine so we downsized in the UK so that we could upsize in France and spend more time there.  Life and its ups and downs got in the way and instead here we are beginning the process just at the time (and the age) when we thought we would be thinking about moving back to the UK!

It’s a funny old world and it’s probably for the best that we can’t see what’s around the corner.  However I thought it time I posted about how we're getting on with the process.  Just in case anyone is interested.

The agent's photo of our house as it was in 2014.

This is not meant to be a guide for others or a handbook on how to do it. 

Brexit.

Brexit really threw the cat among the pigeons for British people who owned a holiday home in France.  We were previously entitled to spend up to six months a year in France in any way we liked but leaving the EU changed all that.  The Schengen 90/180 rule basically meant that although we could still spend up to 180 days in France we had to exchange three summer months for three winter ones.  The only way around this was to get the right sort of visa.

In 2022 we got a temporary long stay visa (VLST) from the French Embassy.  This gives the holder the right to stay in France for six months continuously and overrides the Schengen 90/180 rule.  Once the visa has expired any unused days out of the 180 can then be taken under the Schengen rules until all are used up - bearing in mind that you have to actually leave France on or before the date that the visa expires before the Schengen period can start!

Getting that visa was an expensive and time consuming palaver.  The instructions on the French government website are quite clear but it involves compiling a large number of documents and personal information, and getting an appointment with the agency that handles applications (TLS) to hand them over.

This worked well for us that year but we had made our minds up that we wanted to be able to divide our time between the UK and France in such a way that we could spend more time in France and come and go without constantly having to make calculations about how many days we had left.  By becoming French residents we can spend as much time as we like in France and up to six months in the UK.  There are no Schengen-like restrictions on how we spend our time in the UK so no complicated calculations needed.

Getting that VLST was a worthwhile exercise in that the next step, getting the right visa to enable us to move to France, was familiar and part done.  

Next time...........getting the right visa!

JUST BECAUSE WE CAN

Winters in our part of France are slightly better than winters in our part of the UK, the weather frequently being drier, less cold and without the risk of snow.

It's a time for taking stock, doing a few repairs and a bit of gardening if weather permits.

There is stuff going on.  We had friends round for a Burns Night Supper at the end of January for example.  When two Australians, a bemused American lady, two English (us), a Dutch/American and the one Scots person get together for a bit of a do it's bound to be a good laugh!

There's a Mardi Gras evening at a friend's house coming up next week.

Curry night at the new bistrot in the village later this week.

In fact, realistically, there is more going on here than we would find in the UK.

A few months ago I was introduced to an elderly Englishman who has lived around here for decades.  I had never seen him before even though we have by now had a house in the area for seventeen years.

Seventeen years !!

The person who introduced us said the man was a bit of a hermit and didn't get out much.  The man himself said he didn't like that all the expats go round to each other's houses all the time.  He thought it too stereotypical expat behaviour and wondered why we do it.

I said it was just because we can!

We are slightly envious of friends who have decamped to warmer climes for the months of January and February.  Some to Portugal, some to Hawaii.  

But we do what we can.

We invite people round to our house and we get invited round to theirs!

The weather has been rather dull lately so I've resorted to posting more pictures of our trip to the beautiful city of Tours a few weeks ago.

We are so lucky to have such a place on our doorstep, only a shortish drive or bus ride away.

A day out in Tours, especially if it includes a bit of shopping and a good lunch, always cheers us up in winter.  Or any other time of year.

We go there every so often, whether we need to or not, just because we can.

It's nice to see a bit of colour, a bit of human activity.

A change of scenery.  Even if it's city life not actual scenery.

Tours has a tram system to carry people into the city centre.

In reality, the city centre is very easy to access by car, train or bus.

But one day we will take a ride on the tram, just because we can.

Yvonne continues to settle in, daring me to turf her off the bed so I can make it.

The other evening when it was very still, not a breath of wind, but cold, we fished the fire pit out of the barn, lit it and sat out for a while, in the dark.

Just because we can.

The French passers by in their cars must by now be thoroughly convinced that their English neighbours are, in fact, completely nuts !!

PYLONS

Last autumn Enedis erected several new tall pylons along our road.  It looks like they are poised to replace the hotch potch of old pylons that litter the roadside and fields around us.  The wires are in place but not connected up yet.  We had a planned power cut in the middle of this month when we assumed that might happen but they are still not connected to anything.

Earlier this month we had a problem with a dead live box and Orange came and fixed it straight away.  Not long afterwards one of the new wires connected to our new pylon broke off, was dangling in mid air and resting on top of our telephone cable.  We reported this fault to EDF but other than getting a reference number nothing was done about it.  All was fine until a storm that had the cables swaying around and bouncing off each other.  Lo and behold we lost our telephone service again.  We reported this to Orange who sent someone out the next day.

The telephone engineer took one look at the rogue cable and got straight on the phone to EDF.  Moments later they cut the electricity off.  Which was rather disconcerting as we were expecting five people to arrive for a Burns Night Supper that evening and I was busy baking Scotch pies.  Luckily I had in fact just taken them out of the oven as the power went off but there were other things to cook that needed electricity.  French cream is hard enough to whip up using an electric whisk so to try to do it by hand would have taken a month of Sundays!

I set about laying the table and fortunately the power was switched back on about an hour later so all was well.  The new pylons are still not connected to any live wires.

However, with only two days to go before the deadline of the end of January, we received a text from Orange to say that fibre was now available.  We had been checking every day and up to the weekend we were still in the category "working on it".  We immediately dashed up to the Orange shop in Loches to put in our order for it.  The earliest that an engineer could come and connect us up is 26th February!  Still, if we hadn't gone straight away who knows how much longer we might have had to wait as the service is now available to scores of extra outlying households.  For once we seem to be near the front of the queue!

In "other news" the weather has made a definite change for the better, frequent sunny days and temperatures in double figures.  We have been out and about enjoying the sunshine.

We have had some gorgeous sunsets.

Yvonne has settled in extremely well!!

FIBRE IS COMING !!

Just like in the UK, there isn't much going on in France during January so it's a good time to catch up jobs and tackle paperwork.

It's time for us to apply for a "carte de séjour" (CDS) which is a residency permit.  This involves spending ages uploading documents onto a French government website.  We thought it would be a miracle if it went smoothly and we were right!

The problem probably has a lot to do with our dodgy internet.  At the moment we are using 4G as that's somewhat better than the ADSL we had until last summer, but it's not always reliable and we frequently get "timed out".  

Fibre is coming though.  The wires for it have run past our house since September 2022 but ended in a large reel of cable parked at the end of the road!  There is a website we can look at which tells us how soon we can hope to be connected and we have moved up the scale a bit from "no chance" (red) through to "we're working on it" (orange).  

At a meeting in the village hall last November we were told that even the most outlying farms (meaning people like us) should have the service by the end of January.  True, the reel of cable has disappeared but we have yet to move from orange to "you can apply for it" (yellow).  Looking at the website we are frustratingly surrounded by farms and hamlets that are already yellow or even green - which means they are actually using it!  There are still two weeks left of this month but I'm not holding my breath!

Another job we are tackling is having the chimneys swept (called ramonage cheminée).  It is a requirement of house insurance so last November we called on a local firm to do the two wood burners.  When the man turned up he declared he couldn't do the stove in the kitchen because you can't access the chimney part from inside.  You have to go up on the roof.  He dealt with the living room fire but offered no solution to getting the kitchen one done.

Someone recommended a different firm of plumbers so I went into their office a month ago and explained about the kitchen stove.  I wafted the instruction book (which is in French) at the very helpful lady on the desk and stressed that the chimney had to be cleaned from above, i.e. from the roof.  She reassured me that it was no problem and an appointment was made for the ramonage and also servicing of our gas boiler at the same time.

We were once again up early but when the van rolled into the drive with no ladders on the roof I knew we were in trouble.  There were two occupants; a young man to do the boiler and an older man in sooty clothes to do the wood burner.  He declared he was unable to do it as he didn't have insurance for working on the roof.

We didn't argue with him as our French isn't good enough to have the kind of conversation that begins with "but we told the office you would need to go on the roof!"

His solution was to take a photo of the stove and show it to the boss who might think of a way of modifying the smoke pipe to enable access from inside.  He would then send us an estimate (devis) for the work.  Hmmmm........it will be a miracle if that ever happens!

Once the plumbers had left we were able to light the fires and turn on the heating.  It was well below freezing and our little electric heaters had not made much headway in warming the house.  I took Hugo for his morning walk while Nick settled down once more in front of his laptop for another session of "beat the clock" on our CDS application!