Aude & Ariege Flyer

Steve 

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As you may be aware by now, if you have been paying attention to recent articles written both by me and by Daphne, The Spectrum IFA Group are holding a seminar on the 11^th October.  This seminar will be ‘sold out’, a somewhat misleadingly description, as it is free, but you know what I mean.  It always is (both free and sold out).  At the time of writing this article, there has been a rather muted response from Flyer readers.  Assuming that Steve has got his act in gear and you’re reading this on the 2^nd October, you don’t have much time to do something about it, so I thought it might be a good idea to give you an insight into what happens at a Spectrum Seminar, and why it might be a good idea to go.  There are seminars and seminars, and I rather like to think that if Carlsberg did seminars, they’d be a bit like ours.

The most important thing for a seminar is content and location.  Ok, the most important things for a seminar are content and location.  Let’s look at content first.

You may well have been aware in the last couple of years of a very successful advertising campaign run by Currencies Direct for their ‘Le Tour de Finance’ series of seminars.  Currencies Direct are of course a currency exchange company, and thankfully they happen to be a rather good one.  When they were planning their first ‘LTDF’ seminars, they realised that they couldn’t just talk about currency exchange.  There would be a real danger of repetition, or worse than that, running the shortest seminars on record.  They decided that they needed more content.  They noted that one of their business relationships was with The Spectrum IFA Group, who had  developed a successful string of seminars called ‘Experts for Expats’ along the South coast of France.

A match made in heaven.  We were looking for a company to feature in our seminars covering currency exchange, and they were looking for someone to add expert financial content. ‘ LTDF’  and ‘E for E’ merged, and we were gracious enough to accept that their title had a slightly better ring to it than ours, so the merged entity became ‘Le Tour de Finance’.  Both companies remain of course totally independent of each other, and only meet up for these seminars.

The reason that ‘Experts for Expats’ was so successful was that we didn’t browbeat our audiences.  We treat our audience as intelligent adults who have enough sense to come to our seminars to learn something.  We never resort to scaremongering tactics; we will never pressurise our clients or potential clients, and we will never call our potential clients ‘prospects’.  As the original title indicates, we don’t expect you to take our word for things.  We invite market experts to come along and tell you for us.  It is a mark of our reputation in the field of expatriate finance that we can call on so many highly qualified and experienced individuals to come and speak at our seminars and conferences.

We will do some infill on some wider topics.  Daphne for example is our expert tax monitor. She watches the French financial press like a hawk, and is always aware of all the pending French taxes changes or additions, and she will enlighten us once again on the 11^th.

We don’t invite dull speakers.  I do have to qualify this though in that it looks as though I might be doing an introduction to The Spectrum IFA Group.  ‘Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking…’  And I’d prefer to keep it that way, but needs be.

Location.  Very important. If a seminar is to be memorable, it will help a lot if the location is memorable.  We are very lucky indeed in the Languedoc region to have an excellent relationship with Maison Gayda, the wine domain, wine school and restaurant in Brugairolles near Limoux.  This has long been one of my very favourite restaurants, and I claim a pivotal role in establishing Gayda as the base for E for E and LTDF.  Chef Pascale Ledroit never fails to amaze me with the splendour of the buffet lunch that he puts on for our guests.  I try not to make too much of a point about this though, or we’d fill up the places with people more interested in food than finance.  Gayda of course also produces its own wine, so it’s a good idea to decide who’s going to drive home in advance.

There won’t be many places left at all when you read this.  See if you can get one!

If you have any questions on this, or any other subject, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Rob Hesketh:

By phone on 0468 247758 or mobile 0631 787647

Or by mail at rob.hesketh@spectrum-ifa.com  You can find out more about Spectrum on www.spectrum-ifa.com and www.france-financial.com

   Want to advertise but cant do the artwork?

Just email and i will try to sort it out, at no extra cost.

Should it really be this hard?

After spending most of our lives in England, where you go into a shop to buy something and someone there sells it to you, it is such a trial to go into a shop here to find not only do they try hard NOT to sell you something, but also you find all the things you need for the same project aren’t necessarily to be found in the same shop.

Into a motorbike/scooter parts shop to buy a small piece of plastic pipe for a bike.  First of all the sales person said it wasn’t needed.  Then when he did accept that it was necessary, he found a small piece of plastic tubing and charged €12 for it.  At that rate the roll the guy was holding must have been worth somewhere in the region of €500.  He was just making it up.  And none of the other items needed were available.

The bike parts are nothing compared to the parts needed to install the chimney for a wood-burning stove.  You could buy the metal pipes, but you couldn’t buy the bits that held them together and of course you had to go to another place completely to buy the chimney stack and somewhere else for the cap which went on top.  Sometimes you stand goggle-eyed in disbelief because you really can’t believe that people can't sell you want you want! That you have to travel around 70 km to buy all the parts for one item – that no one specialist shop would have all the different parts you need to install a chimney.  At other times you realise you’ve driven 25 km and will be going back empty handed so you end up buying 7 screws and a plastic knob just to make your journey worthwhile.

Websites are just as bad.  You search on-line to see if the gigantic DIY megastore 20 km away has the part you need (trying to avoid the 7 screws and a plastic knob scenario) and you know full well the make and part exists, but it won’t appear on the site’s internal search engine no matter what phrases, words you put into the search engine.  This search is for a Velux window which you have just bought  from the aforementioned DIY megatore.  You take it home and look at the instructions and find you need another part to insulate it.  You search on the megastores’s website to see if they stock them, because from past experience there is no reason at all why they would. It’s not there but then again neither is the part you just bought!  You go to the Velux UK site and find the part and the price.  You go to another French speaking Velux site - Velux Belgium and find everything you need easily, comprehensively detailed and accessible.  You go to Velux French site you find no sign of this part or prices or anything of any use other than to tell you about the wonderful lighting effects you can create with a Velux window.  Am I missing something here?

We are planning 2 fundraising events in Puivert in aid of the SPA and Twilights . The first is on Saturday 16th November from 10am until 1pm, there will be a lovely selection of stalls selling Cakes ,Art and Crafts, Christmas Cards, Books ,Nearly New Clothes and Christmas gifts. There will also be a raffle and a bottle stall.

On Friday 6th December we are having a musical evening - with the Puivert choir and the Old Spice Girls -who are not to be missed! Mince pies and mulled wine will be served to start off the Festivities. There will also be a raffle, bottle stall and a silent auction. Plus the chance to buy some unique Christmas gifts.
The proceeds from both events are going to be shared equally between the SPA and Twilight - (the Old Doggies Home. We hope to raise lots of money to help the doggies.
If you can donate any of the following items we would be very grateful:

New  or nearly new clothes, furnishings, appliances and unwanted gifts.

Bottles for the bottle stall

Raffle prizes

Cakes

And items for the auction. This can be anything from a mornings cleaning, pedicure, Holiday accommodation, meal at a restaurant or anything people can secretly bid for!!

If you can help us by donating any of the above items please contact one of the volunteers below who will be happy to receive any donated items.

:English Library  Quillan-

Julie Christian – Quillan  juliechristian6249@gmail.com

Fred Alsop –     Quillan fred.alsop@gmail.com

Jan Fleming-  Lavelanet chez.fleming@gmail.com

Karen Pead-  Balestie karen.pead@orange.fr

Debbie Jones – Puivert nelliejones6@gmail.com (after 18th October)

Belinda Carter-  Les Bordes- Belinda.carter@orange.fr

Moira Doig - Fanjeaux -moiradoig@aol.com

Jane Hartley- Villeneuve Minervois-janehartley@gmail.com

 Di Eccles- Quillan   dieccles1234@hotmail.com

SPA – Carcassonne

At both fundraisers   we will also be acting as a drop off point for any of the following items, which both the dogs homes are always so grateful for:

 Dog or Cat Food, Collars, Dog treats, Bedding and Balls of Wool

(We have keen knitters amongst us who knits blankets and coats to keep the dogs warm in winter!)

Thank you so much for your support, we look forward to receiving your donations and seeing you at these events

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The weather is beginning to cool down and if the forecast is correct then we will have had some much needed rain by the time you read this.  October and November are the best times of the year for planting the majority of shrubs and perennials as well as for transplanting. Do incorporate some organic material (terreau or compost etc) and some river sand or gravel to improve the clayey soils that most people in this area have and water the plants well after planting.  Most plants, even if they are ultimately drought resistant will need supplementary watering during their first summer or two.  When you are choosing new plants for the garden remember that this is a difficult climate; we have hot, dry summers, quite cold winters in much of the region and strong winds.  Choose plants which come from Mediterranean climate zones of the world, or from other areas with similar climates rather than tropical or temperate zone plants; they will perform better and require less watering.  This is also a good time to divide clumps of perennials and ornamental grasses.

I am often asked for plants that will attract butterflies to the garden.  Some of the best include Verbena bonariense, Buddleias, hyssop, valerian, sedums such as Sedum spectabile and Sedum Matrona and native plants such as lavenders, thymes, marjorams, scabious and valerian.  Remember that caterpillars need food plants so you are much more likely to attract butterflies if there are food plants such as nettles, euphorbias, fennel, achilleas and others growing nearby!  I have a list of plants that are useful for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to the garden - if you would like a copy just send me an email.  The photos show Verbena bonariense growing above Verbena venosa lilacina and  Buddleia Lochinch.

For any garden queries do get in touch with Gill Pound ( 04 68 78 43 81 or Gill@lapetitepepiniere.com ). La Petite Pépinière de Caunes 21, av de la Montagne Noire (route de Citou) 11160 Caunes-Minervois. Open on Fridays & Saturdays from 10 to 18h and Sunday mornings from 10 to 12h from the beginning of March until the end of November and at any time of the year by appointment.

Who on Earth are You

Nick Inman

www.whoonearthareyou.info

2013 Findhorn Press, Scotland

A question of identity.

This little book about identity holds the key to life, the universe and everything where Nick Inman uses himself as the template on which his research into his own identity is based.  It is a template for use by us all to reveal an awareness of how we identify ourselves and how we fit into this earth, this world.  

This isn’t a self-help book or a book to read if you are looking to sort out the reason why you keep choosing the wrong person to have a relationship with, but then it is.

It isn’t going to say to you, if you were born under this star sign or you believe in this god, you are right or you are wrong, but then again it is.

It is a consideration of what it is to be a human being in general and an individual in particular.  To give us our place on the planet and by knowing ourselves, make us better people and by extension make the world a better place.  But this is a simplification and I apologise.

The author uses a letter from his bank asking him to prove his identity as a prompt from which he shines a light on the many facets of who he is: a reflection in a mirror, the words he has written, the clothes he wears, his virtual identity, the words and way he speaks, how others perceive him and how he will be remembered (under chapter titles such as ‘The Stinking Me’, ‘The Qualified Me’, ‘The Future Me’).  He doesn’t shirk from talking about the soul and how he believes death fits into who we are -  in a way this chapter is worth reading several times. The analysis he uses on himself is deceptively simple yet it gets right to the core of who we all are. His forensic examination of what constitutes the identity of a person is disguised by succinct yet powerful prose.

Read this book like a manual to resolve your own identity, to see who you are, how you fit in, carry it with you everywhere because it could just change your life.

‘Wherever we are in this impossible balancing act (between the human and the divine), the best we can do for other people is be ourselves and let them be who they are.’ 

Apologies to the author and Ram Dass for the quote as I précised it slightly, but I hope the essence is still there.

©Fizle Sagar 2013

The Property Page

 What's On

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN 8 Oct CASINO THEATRE BARRIERE

STEEL PULSE 9 Oct Bikini Toulouse

LIL WAYNE 12 Oct Zenith Toulouse

TEXAS 16 Oct Zenith Toulouse

JANE BIRKIN 19 Oct Zinga Zanga Beziers

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES 23 Oct Bikini Toulouse

FAT FREDDY'S DROP 26 Oct Bikini Toulouse

FOALS 3 Nov Bikini Toulouse

SUEDE 4 Nov Bikini Toulouse

PIXIES 5 Nov Le Phare Toulouse

MORCHEEBA 9 nov Bikini Toulouse

CAT EMPIRE 10 Nov Bikini Toulouse  

ROMEO ET JULIETTE 15 Nov Zenith Toulouse

PHOENIX 16 Nov Zenith Toulouse

MAMMA MIA! 22 and 23 Nov Zenith Toulouse

CARLA BRUNI 27 Nov Casino Theatre Barriere, Toulouse

JAKE BUGG 10 Dec Bikini Toulouse

OUI OUI ET LE GRAND CARNAVAL (NODDY) 15 Dec Zenith Toulouse

CARLA BRUNI 17 Jan Zinga Zanga Beziers

WITHIN TEMPTATION 20 Jan Bikini Toulouse 

THE AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD SHOW 11 Feb Zenith Toulouse

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, QUIDAM 5 TO 9 March Zenith Toulouse

JOHN MAYALL 8 March Bikini Toulouse

BETH HART 19 March Bikini Toulouse

HOLIDAY ON ICE 21 to 23 March Zenith Toulouse

I cant believe no one had a suggestion for out correspondent last week who was in need of a rat catcher?

The first Parsnip

Seen today (24/9) in Geant, Narbonne, 3.35 euros kg.

Patricia

Dear Steve,  Would you please add to List when next published:

10^th Nov                    Remembrance Sunday;

11^th November        Armistice 1918. 

We are getting ready to send out Poppies to those who may want them, in late October. 

Best Riviera Wishes.   Commander Michael Healy MBE.  Royal British Legion Nice-Monaco.  And Riviera Reporter.  

SINGERS NEEDED FOR AN ENGLISH CHRISTMAS CAROL CONCERT TO BE HELD IN THE BASILICA ST.NAZAIRE, LE CITE, ON SUNDAY DECEMBER 8TH. TO START THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES.  LE CHOEUR D'ALZONNE ARE RECRUITING SINGERS (ALL VOICES NEEDED) FOR THIS UNIQUE EVENT.

REHEARSALS ARE IN ALZONNE ON WEDNESDAYS, STARTING ON OCT.9th AT 7.50PM (COME TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE)

CONTACT KATHY EVANS.. EMAIL: maneque@wanadoo.fr (CAR SHARING WILL BE POSSIBLE) 

Tim and Clare Bennett

8 Chemin du Pont Bascule

11240 Bellegarde du Razes

On August 25^th, our friend Jan Koops, who fought in the Falklands War and was on-board the Sir Galahad warship when it was bombed and Welsh guardsmen lost their lives, set out on the ‘Walk on Wales’ (WOW) to raise money for ‘Combat Stress’ and the ‘Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal’.

The walk will follow the 870 miles of the Welsh coastline and will take 62 days to complete. HRH Prince of Wales has become the patron of the ‘WOW Appeal’.

A baton inscribed with the names of the Welsh servicemen who have lost their lives in combat since the end of the World War II was blessed at  Llandaff   Cathedral, will be carried for the length of the walk and will then be kept wherever the regiment is based.

The Bennett family will be joining some of the walk and would much appreciate any support for the Walk on Wales appeal and it’s twocharities.

Many thanks for any contribution, which would be very gratefully received

Kind regards

Tim ,Clare, Sam and Thomas

www.walkonwales.org

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TimBennett11

 On a Lighter note

Subject: Use of Beijing English - Chinese hotel brochure .......

A friend went to Beijing recently and was given this brochure by the hotel. It is precious. She is keeping it and reading it whenever she feels depressed. Obviously, it has been translated directly, word for word from Mandarin to English……….
Getting There:
Our representative will make you wait at the airport. The bus to the hotel runs along the lake shore. Soon you will feel pleasure in passing water. You will know that you are getting near the hotel, because you will go round the bend. The manager will await you in the entrance hall. He always tries to have intercourse with all new guests.

The hotel:
This is a family hotel, so children are very welcome. We of course are always pleased to accept adultery. Highly skilled nurses are available in the evenings to put down your children. Guests are invited to conjugate in the bar and expose themselves to others. But please note that ladies are not allowed to have babies in the bar. We organize social games, so no guest is ever left alone to play with them self.

The Restaurant:
Our menus have been carefully chosen to be ordinary and unexciting. At dinner, our quartet will circulate from table to table, and fiddle with you.

Your Room:
Every room has excellent facilities for your private parts. In winter, every room is on heat. Each room has a balcony offering views of outstanding obscenity! . You wi ll not be disturbed by traffic noise, since the road between the hotel and the lake is used only by pederasts.

Bed
Your bed has been made in accordance with local tradition. If you have any other ideas please ring for the chambermaid. Please take advantage of her. She will be very pleased to squash your shirts, blouses and underwear. If asked, she will also squeeze your trousers.

Above all:
When you leave us at the end of your holiday, you will have no hope. You will struggle to forget it."