Hello Members, I have just discovered Around Montmorillon as a result of a web search. Although I am not online that often, I hope to take part in some of the discussions every now and then.
Happy holiday season to all...

I'm proud to announce that myself and Madame Admiral are now the proud "owners" of a MOLE.

Three mole hills appeared a couple of days ago followed by another two a few days later.

Whilst we were quite pleased the little fella (girlie?) had decided to visit, everyone we spoke to shook their heads in dismay and strongly advised the "bloody thing" should be got rid of toute suite.  Why?

I know they damage the roots of stuff they bump into but what other harm can they be doing?

On the upside I'm told the dirt from a molehill is excellent for potting etc etc.

So.......do I need to indulge in a spot of whackamoley or just leave it to get bored and go and bother our neighbours?  

Confused.

Has anyone ever ordered some of the myriad festive platters on offer at Leclerc and Super U?

With visitors staying over the festive period it looks, from the brochures at least, a good idea to order some of these delights to:

a)  Give our chums a good opportunity to taste French tucker and

b)  It saves me a lot of hassle in the kitchen so I can then devote more time to sampling vin rouge.

But - and here's the rub - do these things taste as good as they look and, more importantly, are they of a decent size to feed four adults?

I have a horrible feeling they will be miniscule resulting in myself and Madame Admiral having to spend a small fortune on top of already providing free hotel facilities.

Hi, I have a few items for sale...
a)2 wheeled chassis for sale , with a tow hitch. The tyres are decent.........should reasonably easily make a motorcycle trailer, or a small trailer.
40 euros
b) a set of french windows (ie like 2 doors), wooden, glazed, with a handle, in good condition 25 euros
c) a large acrow prop 10 euros
d) a wooden high chair 18 euros
e) a fridge freezer (2/3 by 1/3 split) though the fridge runs rather cold 50 euros

All collect from Brigueil le Chantre....and discount for multiple purchases!!!

We've just installed some drainage to cope with the rain run off from the roof of our barn, so now have a nicely cleared and leveled piece of garden about 35m x 5m. The plan is to grass it over.

Is it worth seeding it now (early December) or should I wait until the Spring?

All suggestions gratefully received!

Brian

Hi. I see the Tour de France route has been announced for next year. The stage from Samur to Limoges looks like its going close/through Montmorillon.

Does anyone have any more info as to the specifics (if they've released them). I'm guessing Montmorillon-Lathus-Le Dorat may be part of it?

Look forward to hearing any news

Assistance required - Do you know of a plumber / qualified tradesman with experience to deal with the following project.  We are starting a renovation in February 2016 on a 200 year old farm building a short distance from Montmorillon.  The end result should be 8 bedrooms with 7 or 8 bathrooms.  We intend to include air source heat pumps, solar panels and conventional boiler. 

Our French language skills are limited, so and English speaker would be brilliant. 

I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread for some photo's of the local area on the off chance that some of you have been somewhere and you want to share it with others.

Just start a new post in this thread and post your photo, preferably with a short description.

You will need to host your photo's somewhere before posting them. If you don't know how to do that you will need to find a host so do a google search for "Image Hosting" there are loads of free ones. I like to use https://imgur.com you don't need an account, but if you do have one it gives you more control over your images and it's free.

Upload your image to imgur and get the "BBCode (message boards & forums)" link. Put that in your post and you will see your image like this:



*If you click on the above image you will see it at full size.

I'll make a couple of posts to get you going.

When in Montmorillon last week we popped into a bar, just over the bridge, up the hill, and on the right. You probably all know it well on here, called La Caverne. Anyway just wanted to say what a nice friendly atmosphere there was in there. I'm not a drinker, but it was nice to sit in there and have a couple of cappuccinos, whilst husband and son had a beer and a bottle of wine between them. Run by really welcoming staff, so highly recommend the place to visit if in Montmorillon. 
Any more recommendation anybody?

Having read many threads on another forum (a rather whingy anglo-centric one) about how badly French companies deal with their customers when goods prove faulty, I've just had my first opportunity to put things to the test.

About 6 weeks ago, I bought a piece of woodworking equipment - a planer/thicknesser - from Leroy Merlin in Poitiers.
Last week, it started to misbehave, vibrating badly. I exchanged a few emails with the (German) manufacturer's (very helpful) technical support team, who decided it was faulty and it would be best if I took it back to the shop.

So this afternoon, I took it back to Leroy Merlin and would have been in and out of the store with a full refund in less than a minute - apart from the fact that the assistant (inevitably) had some paperwork to fill in. As a result, it took about 10 minutes.

They apologised that the machine had failed, and suggested I could either get another one from their store (they checked and had one in stock) or just have the refund.

I thought this was very good service. I'd have no hesitation buying from them again.
Brian

I have heard rumours about the possibility of a cookery school opening in Montmorillon, fronted by a world famous French chef. Does anybody know anything about this?

Back in the UK, I was a regular blood donor.
Now I am in France for much of the time, I wondered if anyone knew what would happen if I just turned up to a 'don du sang' session and offered my arm. Or whichever part they prefer to extract blood from in France.

Is it possible to be a blood donor here if you are not in possession of a carte vitale? I know I could just turn up to a session and ask but (a) I thought someone here may have an answer and (b) I don't want to waste their time if the answer will be 'non'.
Brian

Once again,i would like to pick the brains of our knowledgeable forum members.
We would dearly love to hire a piece of jungle busting machinery, whether it be a ride on mower or a brute of a push along.
Our overgrown field boundaries are getting wider and our grass taller year on year.
Our capable but small mower is starting to struggle,as are we.
Any suggestions in or around Monty would be much appreciated.

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a good, cheap, roofer and a good, cheap, renderer? Just wanting some numbers, and some ideas of prices. Won't be needed it done for a while yet, so if it's someone who has a lot of work on at the moment that's fine. 
The house we've got is in La Trimouille, so anyone around that area thank you.

Went for a meal last night in La Trimouille with a lovely couple from the village. They had called to see our house yesterday. We got chatting about taking wallpaper off, as you do. I was planning on bringing over our steam wallpaper stripper, but they said whatever you do, don't use a steam stripper, as it brings the plaster down with it. They said the plaster just crumbles, so it's best to just use a bit of water and get scraping. 
Just made me think if anyone else has any handy tips about anything? I probably would have made things worse if they hadn't have told me.

Just picking your brains on here again. I am interested, for the future, in just how much it costs, roughly, per month for health cover over there in France. I am talking for a couple in their early 50's, relatively healthy. I do take daily medication for a slightly underactive thyroid though, but that's it at the moment.

Just wondering how many of the Brits on this forum are working in France, and what they are doing, or are most people retired?

Do you all prefer the peace and tranquillity of living in France, or do you find you actually socialise more in France than perhaps you did when living in the UK? I have noticed so far from our visits to France that there is much more of a community spirit, in La Trimouille I can say this for sure. Most people seem to know each other and seem to help each other out, which is lovely. 
I do know that the Brits I have spoken to have all said that they would not return to living in the UK and much prefer living in France, warts and all.

Yes, it's me again, that annoying person with all the questions   Just wondering where would be the best place around the Montmorillon area, within maybe a radius of an hour's drive away, to purchase wardrobes in particular. I'm deliberating whether or not to bring them from the UK, but I am open to suggestions of the best places to shop in the area. 
I do quite like painting up old furniture, so not afraid to do that. Prefer the old stuff to brand new. Thank you.