Bonjour

Shortly after the last flyer I noticed my emails weren’t going out.  I then checked the website and that had disappeared completely. The host company I use had some major problem and after 4 or 5 days, it emerged they did not have backups of the Flyer website.  So if you are getting this Flyer it means that Bruce Taylor, with a little work from me, will have managed to put it back together  as much we can from what has not been lost.  Please bear with us and I would hope that anything which isn’t quite right will shortly be repaired and will be better than it was before. there are a couple of properties which i cant get right but with a little time i will. And please note if you have emailed me and i have not replied, its very likely i didnt receive it, therefore please resend.

Thanks for your patience.

So the Pope is retiring:  first they haven’t got a prison for the convicted butler now they have to find living quarters for a living ex Pope.   Maybe they have some dusty old rooms in Avignon from the grace and favour bestowed upon the last retiree.   He is getting better and better attendances at his masses, his last Sunday one is this weekend and should be standing room only.   Maybe in the unusual circumstances they could be selling tickets?   When he has finished his work he is going to Castel Gandolfo, the Papal summer holiday residence.  I had a look to see where it is, I thought it would be in a completely different part of Italy but oh no, just 27.5 kms away (about 40 minutes). This will leave the radiance of cardinals - yes indeed that is the correct collective noun.  The name for this special lot is the “college of” and they will get on and decide on his successor. Finally when the white smoke of burning ballots emits from the wood burner in the Sistine chapel the panzer cardinal will be walled up in the Vatican City’s in-house Monastery, where he will end his days unless he decides to sell a few Hello specials.  Anything is possible.

Did you know that in recent centuries, when a pope was judged to have died, it was reportedly traditional for the Cardinal Chamberlain to confirm the death ceremonially by gently tapping the pope's head thrice with a silver hammer, calling his birth name each time.  Apparently this was not done on the deaths of Popes John Paul I and John Paul II.  The Cardinal Chamberlain then retrieves the Ring of the Fisherman and cuts it in two in the presence of the Cardinals. The Pope's seals are defaced, to keep them from ever being used again, and his personal apartment is sealed.  Does anyone know if the hat that resembles a white version of Dipsy’s hat (the green Telly Tubby) has any significance?

Of all the maladies to attack Lady Gaga, the cruellest for her must be to have a problem with her Hip?

So there’s horsemeat in some low price super value bolognaises and other items, but I think it’s a criminal act greater than the fraud of passing horse off as beef that these products should be destroyed.   Would I choose to eat horse? Probably not, but if I was as close to poverty as we are told many in Europe are, then I say let them eat horse. What’s wrong with it being served in schools or prisons?   I say send it all there and cut some government costs. Before the finger was being pointed at the Spanghero corporation I decided to have a look at the equine populations of the world.  The figures for Europe showed the Russian Federation as having the most horses, at 1,319,358, followed by Romania (834,000), then Ukraine (585,000), Germany (500,400), France (422,872)and the United Kingdom is estimated at 185,000.  My thought was that they could ask for a new total from each of the countries and the country where the total went down significantly there is your answer.

Then the report of Spanghero buying 750 tonnes of horse meat and relabeling it as beef came up. The main location for this company is Castelnaudary but the switching was done at a plant in Luxembourg. The rugby playing dynasty who formed the company, apparently sold on their ownership to a cooperative Lur Berri in 2009, this co-op also own Gamm Vert and Mr Bricolage?  The company was renamed after the departure of the Spangheros to’ A la table de Spanghero’. The Spanghero family members went off to do other things:  Jean Marc moved to Paris taking a position at American Keystone Foods looking after the McDo’s burger pattie account and  David Spanghero went off to work in a state housing company which controls 4100 houses and flats in the Aude  and Ariège.  All of the ‘A la table de Spanghero’ licenses to work with meat were removed and then re-instated on Monday with the exception of the one where they now can't deal with frozen meats.

I suggest you keep your stable doors locked.   Is it something in the Aude water that makes large companies buy something as one thing and think they are clever enough to sell it off as another and not get caught? 

  Yumm this Pinot noir goes well with this bolognaise…

Steve

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February already.  Amazing isn't it?  We'll have Christmas adverts on UK telly soon. That's if we still get UK telly when they've finished blundering about with the satellites.  This looks like a bumper year for Sat TV companies over here.  I'm planning Jodrell Bank MK2 in the garden, but my wife doesn't know it yet...

Anyway, last time out I set you all a quick New Year financial quiz, and it did provoke a lot of response.  Of the ten statements, only two were true, which a lot of people found a bit difficult to take in.  Let's take a look at the answers:

1)  All assurance vie policies protect your investments from tax and social charges until withdrawals are made.

Not true.  A typical domestic assurance vie contract with a French bank or the like will have a strong element of 'Fonds en Euros'.  These are so like deposit accounts that the 'fisc' has decided to tax the interest annually, whether you take it or not.  Steer clear in my view.

2)  We don't have to worry about a separate Wealth Tax declaration as we're worth less than €2.5 million.

True.  Even though Wealth Tax now kicks in at €1.3m, you don't need to make a separate declaration unless your assets exceed €2.57m, as the assets will be listed on your tax return.

3)  I only spend five months a year in France, so I'm not French resident.

You could easily be French resident and only live here for five months of the year. Counting days is pretty futile; there are many more important aspects of being French resident.

4)  My spouse will inherit my full private pension fund when I die.

Not necessarily, I'm afraid.  If you have a UK pension SIPP and are drawing an income from it, your spouse will have to pay a 55% tax to inherit the pension fund as a lump sum.  Look at a QROPS if the fund is large enough, say £50k or over.

5)  My UK rental income is taxed in the UK, so I don't have to tell anyone about it over here.

Oh yes you do.  It has to be declared on your French tax return.

6)  I've not been here long enough to get into the health system, so I have to use an EHIC card.

Wrong.  An EHIC card replaced the old E111 form.  It is for UK residents visiting Europe, nothing else.  There are circumstances in which you might not have been resident in France long enough to get into the health service.  If you fall into this category, you must take out private health cover.  Do not rely on the EHIC.

7)  New rules in France mean that from 2015 I'll be able to leave my estate to whomever I like, no longer subject to French succession law and tax.

Almost a trick statement this one.  It would be correct if I hadn't slipped in the word 'tax'.  You will be able to use UK succession law; you will not be able to avoid French succession tax.

8)  Capital Gains Tax can't affect me if I sell my French property because it is my only home.

Again, perhaps slightly unfair.  This is true, but only if you are tax resident here.  That means you make tax returns here, whether you pay tax or not.  If you are not tax resident, how can it be your principal residence?  If it isn't legally your principal residence, even if it is your only home, no tax relief for you.

9)  I don't need a UK Will if I don't own any property there.

Easy.  True.

10)  My Jersey offshore bond is just as good as an assurance vie.

A dangerous opinion that could end up costing a fortune.  False.

That's enough from me for this week.  Please look out for invites to 'Le Tour de Finance'.  We are back on the road again in March, and would love to see lots of new faces, especially those of you within reach of Narbonne for the 21st March.  Email me for a VIP invitation.

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.

 Tech Talk

Clean the Computer?

Make sure the computer is turned off otherwise all sorts of strange things are likely to happen.

Clean your screen using a soft damp cloth, or a very small amount of a mild window cleaner sprayed onto a soft cloth. You do not need to buy expensive screen cleaners but you should be careful not to scratch the screen or use anything that might melt the plastic.

To clean your mouse and keyboard, use a damp cloth or anti-static foam cleaner. Things tend to get down between the keys of the keyboard like bits of fluff and paper you may need to use compressed air to get this out, this can be bought in cans from most supermarkets or computer shops. Do not allow liquid to enter the keyboard and be very careful with laptop keyboards they are very delicate.

To clean your computer or laptop, wipe over all the surfaces including the fan vents (on the back, front and on the side) with a damp cloth this should remove most of the dust that’s caught in the fan vents (you should do this once a week).

Vacuuming the vents is also a good idea but you may need to use compressed air to blow through the fans, the heatsinks, and vents, you could use a small compressor with an airgun attachment (being very careful as this type of air is extremely powerful and can also be slightly damp).

To access the internal parts you might need to open the side of the computer, it's a good idea to unplug the computer and take it outside before you blow it through, computers collect huge amount of dust inside and you don't want this all over the living room. You should also be careful to hold the fans as you do not want them spinning around at high speed while you squirt the air, this could damage (spinning fans create electricity). If you cannot hold the fan then use a folded piece of paper and carefully push it into the fan (making sure the computer is switched off and unplugged). You should not touch the components inside the computer box, and don’t use a brush as the static build-up can cause damage.

Keeping your computer clean and dust free will help to keep it cool, will reduce the risk of it crashing and will generally extend its life, it will also make it considerably quieter as the fans have less work to do.

If you need help or have any questions about your computer please give me a call or send me an email for FREE advice. Bruce@mirax.org or Telephone 05 61 60 84 23.

HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR BACK

Pretty well everyone gets a bit of back pain from time to time and it’s not pleasant – the ideal thing is to avoid it in the first place but even if your backache is chronic, there are things you can do on a day-to-day basis to alleviate the symptoms and help your body to help itself.

PLEASE NOTE, IF YOU HAVE AN EXISTING BACK PROBLEM, YOU SHOULD GET IT CHECKED OUT BY (FOR EXAMPLE) AN OSTEOPATH OR CHIROPRACTER IN ORDER TO ASCERTAIN THE LEVELOF DAMAGE AND TO RULE OUT AN UNDERLYING CONDITION.

Back pain can result from nerve pain from the vertebral column itself (eg: a protruding disc can press on a nearby nerve) or – more often – a muscular imbalance which can cause the muscles to go into a protective spasm.

The curves of the spine

The back shouldn’t be ‘straight’ as we are often told, there are 4 natural curves which need to be maintained. Often, a problem arises when one or more of theses natural curves gradually gets pulled out of alignment (for example -  due to habitual poor posture and the resulting imbalance of muscles around the spine).

How to be pro-active in the care of your back

Human beings are not really designed to sit for long periods of time – it’s hard to keep the natural curves in place when sitting. Hours of sitting can cause havoc with muscle balance, a good example is the muscles which bend your leg at the hip, obviously your legs are bent at the hip all the time when sitting and as a result, the hip flexor muscles are in a shortened position. The problem is that these muscles attach to your pelvis which then also gets tipped forwards – interfering with the natural curve of your lower back. Eventually, this position gets to feel ‘right’ and the body adopts it – so when you go to lift something for example, your back is already in a compromised position and then it has to endure the weight of whatever you are lifting as well  - BANG, your back ‘goes’, it’s been pushed beyond its limits. This was likely to have been a problem waiting to happen!

STAND whenever you can – you probably don’t need to be sitting as much as you do, it’s pure habit.

Don’t sit for longer than 30 minutes without standing up for a few minutes.

Sitting encourages a slouching position and a ‘neck and head forward’ position – sit in a chair with a good back rest and imagine that your head is ‘perched’ on your shoulders (keeping your head upright should only require very small muscles, not the whole of your upper back and thoracic area).

Recruit your ‘tummy muscles’ to help support your back. Try pulling your navel upwards and backwards towards your spine – these muscles are postural muscles and are designed to be used all day ever day. They only need to be contracted to about 50 -60 % of maximum contraction – but should be like that whether you are sitting, standing, whatever! When lifting something, pull them in a little harder BEFORE you lift.

Other things to think about:

NEVER bend forwards and twist at the same time – (bending forwards opens up the vertebral joint and the twisting action acts like a shearing force. Many people damage their back this way in what seems such an innocuous movement)

If you are carrying excess weight around your tummy, try losing a bit of it!  Pregnant women often complain of back pain when the baby gets to a certain size because it places strain on the muscles and spine. Fortunately, pregnant women only have to contend with this for a few months……!!!

Do some form of exercise regularly – walking is great. Movement keeps the spine and surrounding tissue healthy – and the intervertebral discs rely on muscular movement as a means of getting nutrients into them and waste products away from them.

We only get one back and we could probably all do with looking after it a bit better – DO IT NOW!

Pat Penny - Health and Fitness Specialist,  Massage Therapist
European Register of Exercise Professionals

info@potential-energy.co.uk

www.potential-energy.co.uk

 Le Flyer est disponible dans d'autres langues via le site web, audeflyer.com

It is starting to feel as if spring is on it's way, the almonds are in flower and some spring bulbs are starting to show colour.  We mentioned starting to prune summer flowering shrubs in the last Flyer and now it really is time to start to tidy up borders before growth starts.  Many perennials and sub shrubs, for example gauras, sages, perovskias, gaillardias, verbenas, can now be cut right back to about six inches above soil level and they will grow bushier during the year.  And, once all those plants are cut back it will be easier to do some pre season weeding!  It is also time to cut back ornamental grasses.  Grasses can be broadly split into two main groups.  Many grasses come from warm climates, they tend to flower later in the year and their foliage turns brown over the winter months, these should be cut right back to the base at this time of year; examples include Miscanthus, Pennisetum and Panicum.  Other grasses, for example Festuca and Stipa, come from cooler regions and tend to flower earlier in the year, their foliage remains evergreen or semi evergreen during most winters - depending on the look of the plant you can either cut these right back too or if there is still a lot of green foliage then dead foliage can be teased out by hand or with a rake.  The photos illustrate the two types showing their appearance in mid Feb.  Remember that many grasses have sharp edges to their leaves so wear gloves!  What you use to cut your grasses back depends a bit on how many you have, for just a few then secateurs or shears will be fine but if you have a lot of grasses then a brushcutter with a blade attachment may make life a lot easier, I have also heard people recommend a mechanical hedge trimmer for the same purpose.

One of the best local plant fairs (Fete de la Bigarade) will take place at La Caunette, near Minerve in the east of the Hérault, on the 23rd & 24th Feb with many specialist producers.  I shall be there so do come and say hello!

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.  Regular opening hours will start again on Friday 1st March 2013.  

The Property Page

this section will be repaired for the next issue, apologies for the gaps

I'm resending this as I think you may have missed it when your server crashed

Hi Steve,

We spend half the year in Caunes Minervois and really enjoy getting the Flyer. Thanks for the efforts you put in!

I sent you the attached letter enquiry which you said you would forward to the legal people but nothing actually ensued. I'm only writing again because you may or may not be aware of the facts that this incident revealed. The car is registered and insured in the UK and I had the legal assistance add-on to my insurance. 

The insurers have been completely impotent, getting no cooperation from the French driver's insurance company or the police, and to all intents and purposes the matter has now been dropped. 

My insurance covered the cost of repairs minus a small excess and I'm not losing any sleep over this any more, but who would have imagined that hit and run is legally sanctioned in France? My advice to anyone driving in France is always have a camera at the ready, but in reality, the pictures I took of the accident scene didn't help me at all!

Best

Phil Bradbury

On Friday, 1 July 2011, Phil Bradbury wrote:

Hi

When we were driving down to the Aude in May we were driven into by a big
truck on a roundabout near Montpelier. We took his number as a precaution
which turned out to be lucky as having stopped and got out of his cab he got
back in and drove off.

We went to the local police in Peyriac who told us that it was not an
offence in France to drive off without exchanging constats. The officer
agreed to look up the vehicle number and she confirmed that it was indeed
the truck's number involved (garaged locally). She agreed to phone the
proprietor who told her that we should call back to exchange details in
the afternoon when the driver or proprietor was there, This we did and the
person agreed to send his details to our French address. He has not done so.

Outside of our UK insurance do we have any recourse to justice on this side
of the channel? The insurers don't seem to be getting anywhere. The repair
bill is in the region of €2,200

Many thanks

Philip Bradbury

Steve

We are trying to locate a good wedding photographer for our daughter’s wedding (near Castelnaudary) in September (21) .  Can the flyer help us at all here?!

Thanks very much for your help

Laura Heath

Thanks once again for the Aude Flyer, which is essential reading with a good style and lay-out.  I haven’t noticed an article about the rumour that there will soon be a change in the satellite orientation for the reception of standard UK TV programmes in our part of France.  Has anyone any advice about this?  Chanel 5 seems to have been removed, and it appears that everyone is waiting for the change to take place without a clue about whether or when.  When it does occur, advice on what to do about it would be welcome.

All good wishes, 

Chris Jay.

Some vide greniers and foires!

Please check before setting off http://vide-greniers.org

They also have a sister site where you can giveaway stuff or find stuff others are giving http://donnons.org

Its all recycling - you know it makes sense!

If there are two in the same town on the same day, it could be a duplicate on the site or a second event

Black = Aude - Brown = Ariege

Samedi 23 Février 2013 

Coursan  (Coursan)

Quillan  (Brocante de quillan)

Saverdun  (vide grenier)

Dimanche 24 Février 2013

Capendu  (bourse aux vêtements et puériculture)

Carcassonne  (vide grenier brocante)

Coursan  (Vide grenier)

Leuc  (deco d'Antan)

Lézignan-Corbières  (brocante vide grenier)

Marseillette  (super loto a Marseillette)

Narbonne  (vide grenier dimanches et jours feries)

Pamiers  (Marché et puces et à la brocantes)

Samedi 2 Mars 2013

Bram  (vide grenier des créateurs et des petites mains)

Coursan  (Coursan)

Leuc  (deco d'Ant

Quillan  (Brocante de quillan)

Saverdun  (vide grenier)

Dimanche 3 Mars 2013

Bram  (vide grenier des créateurs et des petites mains)

Carcassonne  (vide grenier brocante)

Coursan  (Vide grenier)

Leuc  (deco d'Antan)

Lézignan-Corbières  (brocante vide grenier)

Limoux  (Brocante)

Narbonne  (vide grenier dimanches et jours feries)

Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse  (vide dressing)

Mazères  (vide grenier mensuel)

Pamiers  (Marché et puces et à la brocantes)

Saint-Lizier  (marché aux Puces, de la cave au grenier)

Seix  (vide-grenier de l'Association Patrimoine seixois)

 What's On

SWAN LAKE 3 Mar Zinga Zanga Beziers

Two door cinema club 11 March Bikini Toulouse

THE AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD SHOW 12 March Zenith Toulouse

Toques et Cloches 23 March Gardie et Villebazy

RED ARMY CHOIR 27 Mar Zenith Toulouse

ERIC BIBB ET HABIB KOITE 4 April Salle Nougaro Toulouse

ICE AGE LIVE 5/7 April Zenith Toulouse

MELODY GARDOT 14 April Halle aux Grains Toulouse

ALPHA BLONDY & THE SOLAR SYSTEM 17 April Bikini Toulouse

PINK MARTINI 18 April Zinga Zanga Beziers

THE BREEDERS 27 May Bikini Toulouse

TOTO 15 June Zenith Toulouse

CARCASSONNE FESTIVAL 19 June to 15 Aug

DAVID GUETTA 21 June Carcassonne Festival

ARCTIC MONKEYS 15 July Carcassonne Festival

SMASHING PUMPKINS 17 July Carcassonne Festival

LIZA MINNELLI 18 July Carcassonne Festival

NAIVE NEW BEATERS & TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB 20 July  Carcassonne Festival

GEORGE CLINTON & THE BLUES BROTHERS 21 July Carcassonne Festival

Benjamin Biolay + Patti Smith + Lou Reed 22 July Carcassonne Festival

MARK KNOPFLER 24 July Carcassonne Festival

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN 8 Oct CASINO THEATRE BARRIERE

ROMEO ET JULIETTE 15 Nov Zenith Toulouse

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

 On a Lighter Note

An anagram of “hamburgers” is “Shergar Bum”.’

Tesco, everything you want from a store and a little bit mare.’

I bought a burger at Tesco’s cafe, the waitress said “would you like anything on it?”, I replied “a fiver each way “.’

I selected some burgers on the Tesco website… I then clicked on “add to cart”.’

 ‘You think Tesco Horse Burgers are bad, you should try their Quarter Pandas.’

 ‘Meat is redrum.’

 ‘The government have told Tesco they have to label what additives they have in their Value Beef Burgers. It reads “Contains horse but guaranteed Shergar free”.’

I think someone is trying to kill me. I woke up this morning and found a packet of Tesco burgers had defrosted in my bed.’

I hear that they are putting uniQuorn in the veggie burgers too.’

I’ve found it tough lately working on the Tesco meat counter. I feel like I’m flogging a dead horse.

.

Tesco van kills horse in

Warwickshire in new PR disaster

Tesco have suffered another PR disaster after one of their van drivers ran over a horse and caused it to be put down.

The animal’s back legs were broken after the supermarket vehicle reportedly struck it from behind in the incident in Little Kineton village in Warwickshire.

The steed, called Miller, had to be destroyed after the crash because horse’s legs cannot heal after they have been broken.

Miller was part of the Warwickshire Hunt Kennels and the hunt’s master, Sam Butler, said: ‘It caused a great deal of distress and it is very lucky no one was injured.

‘A horse belonging to the hunt was being exercised in the usual way.

‘Three were being ridden and each one was leading another.

‘Unfortunately one was hit by a vehicle resulting in a leg being broken.’

The rider of the horse was unhurt but was said to be very distressed.

A Tesco spokesperson added: ‘We were sorry to hear about this sad accident. Our driver acted responsibly throughout and we are in contact with the owner.’

This latest horse-related incident comes as Tesco is still trying to recover from negative publicity caused by horse meat being found in some of its meat products.

But the supermarket giant has not helped itself in a string of PR disasters – including one when the company’s official Twitter account issued a tweet appearing to make light of the situation.