Lay My Hat

alexia s. wrote:You’ll also find, on www.ces.urssaf.fr/ that you can't use cheque emploi for building works.

Reading this is taking some time (and probably improving my French no-end). It is a very useful reference and should perhaps be compulsory! Thanks for the info and pointers.

You’ll also find, on www.ces.urssaf.fr/ that you can't use cheque emploi for building works.

I didn't know this and it is clearly important. Do you know what constitutes building work? Is repairing a half-tumbled down garden wall building work?

I think on the black and under the table can mean the same thing - under the table certainly also refers to hidden capital payments but under the table, or under the counter, also refers to undeclared trade payments. Such employment avoids tax and social security payments and I believe that that is ...

I don't know if it is nationwide but I was told (as far as I can remember) that with three or more gîtes it was compulsory to register as a business with the Chamber of Commerce. The circumstances in which I was told this were that I was trying to register with only two. The Chamber of Commerce kep...

Joanna, I must say I am very relieved to hear that there was a simple explanation. There is a French expression 'faux amis', or false friends, which refers to word the meaning of which we think we know but which turn out to mean something different. We are all constantly trapped by them - it is a pr...

Alexia s I think the word queer is one of those pejorative terms now adopted by the maligned target as a term of pride. Certainly in the US and in London (and presumably Oz) it now has been claimed by the gay community as a badge of defiance. It isn't the word but the thought behind it which is offe...

paolo wrote:bold is for emphasis, caps are for SHOUTING.

I am quite emphatic when I shout. Shouting is oral emphasis.

Alan, not ruffled feathers, just mild exasperation that somebody shouts in contradiction to a posting which they clearly haven't read and, in so doing, feel the need to explain to me that an enquiry is...well, an enquiry. I got 8% in Latin not English - my marks there were in double figures. Seeming...

Alan, I think perhaps you have misread the previous postings. I refer explicitly to follow-up calls not to the original answer. I also allow that one follow-up could be good customer management. I'm not quite as stupid as you suggest and I too answer queries - I wouldn't get any business else. Howev...

I'm not sure why this is amusing. Perhaps if one were homophobic it might be worthy of ridicule. Given some respect for diversity it looks like a normal enquiry letter to me. Could it be the question about the train which is funny? I suspect not. If it is the reference to 'two queer couples' which i...

Personally I think follow up phone calls and e-mail feels like you are hassling them into a booking. If indeed it works, I think the chance of cancellation is high and then you have less time to sell those weeks. I completely agree. I know then I often make enquiries about something in which I migh...

Am I the only person who shouts stadia, referenda and FORA Stadia OK, fora OK but referenda NO! Stadium and forum can reasonably be said to have Latin form plurals as they are Latin nouns. Referendum is not a Latin noun so there is no basis to claim a Latin form plural. Just for the super-pedantic ...

I feel as though I am missing something here. Do other owners’ guests make booking decisions in seconds? Mine don’t seem to. I certainly believe that a fast response is a good idea – but I mean same-day not same-minute. Wireless e-mail (e.g. Blackberry) would certainly enable rapid response to...

Sleekitbeastie, As I told you... I'm not sure what you are referring to or indeed why you would have found it necessary to have told me anything of the sort. However it is not my intention to defame PayPal - they don't need my help to tarnish their reputation. My reference was to the sort of Anglo-...

Before using Paypal visit www.paypalsucks.com - it might influence your decision. I know our moderator won't allow me to express my opinion of them here but this site gives an insight into some of the problems which you might expect to encounter. There is a interesting UK thread.