Lay My Hat

Thank you for all your comments. It seems that his quote has not caused shock/horror in any of your responses so I assume that his prices are standard, if not a little high. I am going to try and get another quote - although it's taken over 5 weeks to get this one and the indoor damage could worsen ...

After a long battle to get a builder to visit our house to assess and quote on damages due to bad weather we have finally recieved the following quote: 1. To remove tiles from the terrace (approx 5sqm) and transport the rubble to the nearest dump 930euros (mmm... where is this dump? John O'Groats?) ...

Thanks Richard - I knew it was going to be bad news!

If I ever get this claim sorted, I am going to start the process of getting away from them. With your advice, I can at least prepare in advance.;

Caro

Does anyone deal with AVIVA? We have had roof and terrace damage due to bad weather conditions. My representative in France has sent photo's and they have promised and "Expert" to inspect the property before any repairs can be made. Three weeks later and we have had no response at all from...

Hi Katie, of course - I should have remembered you are in France. You gave me some French related advice some time ago.

LV great one - drivers licence needed!

Nice to talk again

Caro

Hi Katie - You are in Spain right? My question is - who allows their 16 year olds to go abroad on their own and unsupervised? (I am assuming the enquiry was not local) but from the UK or elsewhere. I would say a firm NO and tell them why: damages, uninvited visitors and general disruption to the nei...

"amking" I think it dates back to the 14th Century when all men aspired to be Kings. It is a clipped way of saying "I am the King"! in a moment of passion.

Beautiful words Enid. You deserve to be so appreciated for what you give of yourselves to your guests.

This is encouraging for all of us!

Caro

Hi Babnik, I have just had the same request this evening. Their In Laws live close by and would like to spend a night or two at the house. No problem at all - the house sleeps 6 and there would only be four of them. I think it depends on who is asking? Perhaps if I had a house with a swimming pool a...

Thanks Anno - my local vignerons are desperate to sell their wares and would only be too happy for me to supply their wines and entice more customers to their degustations. I think it's a sad case that they and us are so regulated. My thoughts were to have different wines of the region in a wine rac...

"You need a licence to sell wine in France". Of course, that had slipped my mind. Not worth it then, because I suppose the licence costs zillions and the admin work would be immense for the sake of a few bottles of wine.

Thanks for the tip.

Not exactly the same thing, but another idea cropped up regarding wine. We are in a wine growing village, so there is often the opportunity to buy cases of wine at really good prices. We thought about buying in bulk and having an "honesty box" for guests who may run out of wine over the we...

As a teenager we had a "dunny" attached to the house and that's where we smoked. All 6 of us. We also had about 4 acres of garden. Why we had to smoke in the loo is anyone's guess? Why did we not sit in one of the many mango trees and smoke I will never know. But no.... we had to huddle in...

Fifi, I am totally against putting up signs anywhere in the holiday accommodation which I offer. If I was choosing and paying for accommodation I would expect any rules to have been explained on the website or letting sites before I booked. I.e No Smoking, no dogs, no children (whatever). Once your ...

Chez moi - I use the shaving point in the bathroom for my hairdryer. I'm still alive to tell the tale and my hair hasn't turned frizzy from electrocution. But then, I like to live dangerously. Regarding bed linen, I am now providing a top sheet and a thin quilt during the summer months. Duvets and t...