I see from their website that Eaux de Vienne is moving to a new online system from the start of 2022 and has cancelled all existing online account access "in order to serve you better"...

Has anyone had their 2021 water bills yet? They say they will just be sending them out by paper this time.

Hello  

I've just joined your group. 
We live in France and considering re-locating.  What's the weather/climate like in Montmorillon and surrounding areas?  I realise that weather is changing a lot and certainly has over the last few years we've been here - but generally what is it like?  

Thank you.

We tend to manage without British foods, but sometimes you just miss some things. Before Brexit we would get the odd little thing sent over or order on Amazon, but that has become more difficult.

I wanted to get a couple of things and just as I was about to give up I found a place in France that specialises British foods for Wholesale and Retail, they do deliver at a cost but you can collect with no extra charges.

They don't go to Montmorillon, but they do stop at Le Dorat, Bellac, Civray, Confolens which are not too far away, there are many other places they go to so check out their "Delivery & Collection" page.

We decided to give them a try and chose Bellac as we were going there anyway and today I'm pleased to say it works. There were two of their vans in the car park and we were greeted by a very friendly couple.

Everything we ordered is in good condition, well packed and has good dates. I think they visit the same area every 4 weeks and we will certainly be using them again.

Prices: Obviesly you are not going to get British supermarket prices and some things are available in French supermarkets, but we found their prices to be fair and you be notified when something comes back in stock.

Minium order: There is no minimum order.

Products: A wide choice of British products in both large and small amounts.

Service: Excellent and friendly with an easy to use website.

* You will need to create an account to see prices and they accept various forms of payment including cash.

* Sign up to their newsletter and get €5 discount.

First time I have used them and will certainly use again.

Website: The Trading Post

Hi chaps and chappesses

It seems that UK-based insurance cover on cars in France presents problems that didn't exist pre-the B word.

My UK Ford Focus had a paragraph at the bottom of the insurance certificate saying that the insurance cover was valid for every EU country {and two or three others}. That paragraph was present on the certificates for 2019-20 and 2020-21. In May 2021 when I renewed for 2021-22 I asked for a Green Card, a Post Brexit requirement of the French. The EU cover paragraph was omitted from the 21-22 certificate,

My insurer's agent [The Post Office] asked for what period I needed the Green Card. I said I was looking for a house to buy in France and didn't know for how long I would need cover. At this point in several telephone calls it became obvious they were unlikely to isssue a Green Card for most of the year.

I tried to insure it with a French company and was told they don't insure British registered cars.

At this point I decided to give the car to my son. He said he would come to collect it towards the end of October. Meanwhile I was running about on a policy paid in advance for the whole year.

When I asked again for a Green Card I was told I had already stayed in France longer than the 60, or exceptionally 90, days allowed by the insurer. I maintained they had changed the terms of the cover without telling me.

Long story clipped a bit, in October they cancelled my insurance at nine days' notice. Son insured the car elsewhere, [even so I stillI kept if off the roads] and had cover extended to France from November 1. He collects it this Friday.

In case anyone is interested, I've just dropped off some more English books at the free books kiosk in Montmorillon - having a declutter

Trying to cut down on our meat consumption.
However - having difficulty finding meat substitute - soya mince/chunks.
Anyone have ideas where we can obtain this locally ?

Winter is definitely on its way. I've just heard - then seen - about 100 south-bound cranes. Worryingly, they are about two weeks earlier than the previous 6 years - does this suggest that our cold, wet summer will be followed by a freezing, severe winter?

I think I'd better order some more logs, just in case!

Having just got to France from a Covid-enforced 17 month absence, the garden looks like the Amazon rainforest.

Sooo......are we allowed a bonfire now that we're in October?  Or, if not, can we have a burn up in one of those metal incinerator thingy?

Pip pip

Admiral  

Here I am in the south of 86 (close to Adriers), minding my own business, when I become aware of a sound, just after 10am, becoming louder. It sounded like a large jet aircraft, but at close quarters - very bassy. The sound grew in volume for a good 4-5 minutes then gradually diminished. The sound was audible for about 12-15 minutes.

At its peak, it was very loud - certainly loud enough to drown out a conversation. The direction of the sound was difficult to make out but I'd guess it was somewhere to the north-west of me.

The really odd thing was that there was only one aircraft to be seen. That, according to my flight tracking software, was a Ryanair 737 about 10 miles away, and the noise was FAR too loud to have come from that.

Did anyone else hear it? Any ideas as to what caused it?

Just put a pile of English language books and DVDs into the phone box in Montmorillon on Rue de Four.  There was not a lot in the telephone box in either English or French.

Enjoy!

Hi Newbie . . looking for part time work .. general. Cleaning clearing light gardening painting and decorating (skills everyone has acquired coming over here ) please get in touch .. I’ve been here since 2019 

Could anyone point me in the right direction to obtain 10 tons of decent top soil please? Not compost.

Hiya folks.

Probably the wrong place to post this but.....has anyone had recent experience of travelling into France? Or knows of someone coming in?

We know the rules. For now.  But a couple of friends who went there recently said the French customs blokes/girls were NOT impressed by being shown vaccine certificates (and all the rest) on mobile phones.  They wanted paper print-outs.  No surprise there I suppose,

Also much confusion as to whether France requires a PCR test OR an antigen test less than 24 hours old before entry.  The French Consulate in London is a waste of space.  All automated numbers game referring us to an out of date websites.

All help gratefully received.  We need to get back because we like  France, the French and the grub.

Plus the garden will look like the Amazon rain forest because our so-called friends have let us  down.

Thanks all folks.

When I first moved to the region, I was told that roofers who no longer wanted to spend all summer 10m closer to the sun offered a service, whereby they would use a long pole to shuffle undamaged tiles on your roof around to seal any leaks etc. Despite asking at my local mairie, no-one seems to know anyone like that around Adriers so I wondered if anyone on the forum had heard of (or better still, contact details for, such an artisan.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Brian

Any suggestions where I can get some paperwork printed in montmorillon ??

Has anyone else had this problem?

I normally use my Credit Agricole debit card for making payment in shops. If the purchase is under 50€ you can use contactless payment - which in times of Covid seems like a healthy choice!
Up until a year ago, my contactless card worked correctly at least 9 out of 10 times. On the tenth, I'd be asked to enter my pin as a check on security. However, over the past 4 or 5 months, I've found that contactless payment is increasingly refused. This week, I've tried contactless on 5 occasions and 3 were refused.

Are the banks getting tighter in their security or have I suddenly become massively untrustworthy

What are your experiences?

Brian

Because of a change of printer, I have two sealed packs of genuibe Canon ink for Canon printers:

Pack 1 - Pixma 551 GY XL
Pack 2 - Pixma multipack, 526 Cyan, 526 Magenta, 526 Yellow

Free of charge to a good home!

I'm pleased to say that a good home has now been found

Where in Montmorillon (apart from Norauto ) can i get new plates ? Currently 36 but head office wants 86 . She wants those with the lion on

Sorry if this has been asked before, had a quick whizz through posts and can't see anything recent - I need to find someone to do some bathroom work involving plumbing and tiling in Montmorillon.   Does anyone have any recommendations, please?   Priorities are reliability and quality of work and I do speak pidgin French so language not too much of a problem.   Many thanks.

Hi,

My wife and I currently live in Scotland and are planning to retire and buy a house in Montmorillon. 

Looking forward to using this forum.