Fymo Turbo 400 for sale, only used a 3 or 4 times, complete with instruction manual in English and French.
65 euros or very near offer cost from Mr Bricolage today is 139 euros or from Amazon UK £88 plus postage!!
Telephone 05 49 48 03 68.
Montmorillon

After the death of pacitel where you could opt out of cold calling Opt out of cold calling by phone there is a new service starting on June 01 2016.

Bloctel will be mandatory and abusers risk a fine of €75,000 so this will be better than the old Pacitel which was a voluntary system.

Starting from 01 June 2016 just go to the website below and enter your number of your landline and mobile if you no longer want cold calls, it will however take a month for your number to be removed as companies are obligated to check once per month.

https://bloctel.gouv.fr/

*Note the site isn't live yet so come back and click it on 01 June 2016.

Our fridge (Bosch) has gone on the blink, and I think it may need a new thermostat. We live in Montmorillon and wonder if anyone knows a local firm or individual who would repair it.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Has anyone else had a similar problem with their car remote failing to lock or unlock when parking around the tourist information building in the main square in Montmorillon.
We have owned our car from new for almost 6 years and last September when we were here this problem arose. So when we got back to the UK, we had the battery changed as the garage seemed to think that this was the likely cause. 
We were in Montmorillon last night and the same thing happened,  however we also had our second remote with us which also failed to work.
Has anyone had a similar problem? 
Many thanks
Annette and Andy

If you have any electric cables owned by Sorégies near your land they are responsible for keeping your trees away from the lines. Not You.

We have had a visit from Sorégies informing us that they will be coming around to cut back any of our trees that are within 5mts of a cable free of charge.

So don't panic if you have any trees near to cables it's not your responsibility. And certainly don't fall for the man that knocked on our door last year telling us it was "obligatoire" for us to keep the trees away from the lines and he would do it for a few Euro's. He is fake so don't fall for it, Sorégies will visit every 4 years to make sure you have no trees to near to their cables.

I know this has been asked before and yes, I have read through the replies but thought as things change with telecomms in France (Bonabo and Free) there might be some up to date information so ...............

We would like our own internet connection.  That's the easy bit!  

There was a connected phone line into the house five or so years ago with the previous French owner but this is now just an empty socket on the wall.  I am unsure who this line rental was with.  I have done the degroupage test and it says there is no high sped fibre available locally but that broadband is available = obviously as our next door neighbour has it!

We are not fussed on a French phone but assume that we have to have one to get the internet.  I know there will be horror stories of both SFR and Orange.  Are they both equally good/bad?  I know there are deals with included UK minutes and I need to look at these.  French TV would be a bonus but not if it's a silly price.  I don't think I want to go the route of satellite internet as this looks to be very expensive.

So is there a way of getting internet without a fixed phone line or satellite?  Has anyone used a dongle?  Are they hideously expensive = how long is a piece of string?

Thanks Chris

I'm pleased to announce that Around Montmorillon is now using a Secure Connection. You can find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS

If you use bookmarks to connect to FORUM you will need to change https to https

If you store your password on your browser you will need to save it again.

The old https will now redirect to https

If you are getting stuck remove the s and you may be able to run under the old unsecured connection, but it's not reccomended

Any problems please ask, or if you a really stuck use the "Contact Us" bottom left.

Possibly a long shot but ....

Has anyone any recommendations for a structural engineer please? Ideally we would want an English speaker to avoid any confusion and, as it's roof work we would like to get it right!

I have had a quick trawl of the internet and found a chap called Tim Haw based in the north of the Dordogne who appears to cover the Vienne but wandered if they was someone more local.

Thanks in advance.
Chris

I need to dig over some bits of garden - a total of about 500 square metres. As I need to get it done within a week or two I need some mechanical assistance.
Buying a suitable machine would cost €400 - €500 but at least I'd have it for future use. Leroy Merlin hire them but at €75 per day.

Does anyone know a lower cost place where I could hire one? Ideally €100 per week or less...

Thanks in advance

Brian

Hi all, recently bought a house in Maviaux (last Nov) and had some bad luck so far with the builder we have used.  Any recommendations for a builder/plumber would be gratefully received. thanks in advance x

Good morning all and all

Our oil central heating boiler is ancient but manages to struggle on with a service ever now and again but .... just a thought. How much is a new wood pellet boiler please? I know this is an impossible question but if I say it's for a three/four bedroom house and we currently have five radiators, does this help?

I'm after a ball park figure of boiler and installation cost but if somebody had one, an idea of running costs (how long is that piece of string? ) would be great.

Hopefully!!!
Chris

Hi everyone
Just checking stuff out....

Can anyone advise me if I can roam across farmland ?
I have read conflicting information about the laws inFrance with regard to walking across fields etc... is there a right to roam across a field
without crops and livestock ??? Are there trespass laws ?

Best wishes Cari

Hi all,
I have to get to Limoges airport on Wednesday 23rd March in time to catch a flight at 18:10 - so arriving at 17:00ish.
The trouble is, I won't have access to my car that day. I'm happy to get a taxi, but wondered if anyone here had cause to go to Family Village or Limoges Airport that day and would be able to offer a spare seat in their car? It'll be just me plus a small backpack for luggage.

I'd obviously pay my way by making a contribution towards your costs.
And if Fred responds, yes, the payment could be in cheese and wine  

Thanks in advance,
Brian

I'm hoping for some help here.
We are based in a tiny hamlet,  and most of the parcels of land are owned by us or our French neighbours.

M. Le Voisin knocked at my door earlier to ask if we'd be interested in buying a parcel. It's a bit less than a hectare,  and is bounded by a chemin on one side, our land on 2 sides and land attached to a fishing lake (owned by a remote landowner - they come to fish on 5 or 6 weekends a year) on the fourth side. The field doesn't have any obvious agricultural value but would possibly be good for some fruit trees and it would fit neatly into our existing land. We're 3km away from the nearest village and there is no power or water supply to the land.

The owner has suggested that I make an offer.  Does anyone have any idea of the going rate for land of this type?

Thanks in advance,
Brian

Has anyone got any recommendations for a plumber please? We already have the number for one bloke, who has said he will fix a leak for us. I think he is doing the job for us, but now haven't heard back from him. Just in case, we could do with some other recommendations please.

The other half is venturing over in a couple of weeks and shall be pouring weed killer down on those sticky weeds we have all over the front area of the house. Anybody know the best one to buy over there and who stocks it please? I know we can get it from the garden centres or supermarlets, but just wondered if anyone had any recommendations. Best for him to put it down when the dog isn't around you see and then we can rake up the dead stuff in April. That's the plan anyway, but we all know about the best laid plans of mice and men...

Has anyone got any good top soil going spare?

I want it for vegetable growing so none of the local Clay thank you, I have plenty of that.

Thank you.

I have once been told off for not stopping at a stop sign. You know the sort we have around here, a huge white line against you with a stop sign and no traffic in sight so you just cautiously go across without actually stopping. I was told by Monsieur Plod that it is important to stop the wheels of the car or I could get a fine, but it must have been my lucky day as he let me off with a warning.

But now they are testing cameras on stop signs in France and in one day the first one tested nabbed them 500 naughty drivers that didn't stop. There is no argument as stop means stop so be careful, we don't have the new cameras here yet but you bet your last baguette it won't be long.

Also remember that the Monsieur Plod may not be so forgiving next time as the fine can bring him a nice bit of cash for the policeman's ball.

So next time you see one of those fat white lines against you and a big red stop sign you would be wise to stop your car and count to two before crossing the line. Yes I know there is probably nothing there but you could find three gendarme hidden up just out of sight taking bets on how much they can get before all the other drivers start flashing their lights as a warning.

Oh the cost of the fine by the way is €135 yep you read it right €135 for not stopping your car.

Just thought someone may find this helpful.

I don't usually bother voting in elections, but with the Brexit referendum likely to be taking place soon I thought I should look into how I can vote.

You will need your Passport, National Insurance Number, and answer various other questions about where you last lived, when you left, etc. You will also be asked if you want to vote by post, in person in the UK, or by giving someone permission to vote on your behalf.

I also gave them my Email as they will send you conformation.

You can find the page to fill in here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Don't delay if your not registered as the referendum could have an impact on you if you either Live here, Work here, Own property or land, Have a holiday home, Purchase from the EU, or even just visit for a weekend break and much more.

You have the right to vote, so use it.

Bonjour All,

Has anyone used the 'hold mail' service of La Poste and, if so, is it best to arrange in person at a bureau or can one do it easily online? Furthermore, if you have used the service, does it 'work'? I seem to be a person of little faith when it comes to these things.

Many thanks for any information...