We have been to see Avatar in 3D twice now, once in a normal 3D Multiplex and once at an Imax (Millennium Point, Birmingham, UK) and I must say it is a real experience. Despite the 'shallow' characterisations and relatively simple plot (goodies vs baddies as in all the great stories) it is an unforgettable film. OK it is a pretty meaningless ending because the Indians never did get to beat the cowboys in my youth (at least not yet) but we can hope. However it lives by it's special effects and creative use of the medium of film. I hope it knocks 'em flat at the Oscars.
The last time I felt like this about a film was in 1977. My first marriage was young and fresh, my first child, Thomas, even younger and we had a lifetime of hope before us, Divorce and all that pain wasn't even dreamt of. My young wife and I went to see a film by a young director called George Lucas. Of course, that film was Star Wars, episode IV and the rest is history. Unless you were there, in that period of endless doubt and strife you couldn't possible conceive of the impact that film had on me, and I suspect, many others. New horizons as well as new technologies were being laid out, it felt clean and cleansing, like a baptism to a Christian. It brought an optimism, a New Hope at a bad time. Somehow it felt more more than a film. After a period of intense financial problems on the world markets, oil shortages from the Middle East and an unprecedented period of industrial strife, at last there was reason to believe in the future. And it felt good.
I hope that Avatar has the same effect on a new generation, and then the depth of story (or lack thereof) and all the other criticisms will be forgotten. Apart from all that, I enjoyed it and am going back for a third viewing and I hope that I will be able to see it many more times, it may turn out to be the 'New Hope@ episode IV in more ways than one, time will tell!
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Computer Streamlining
I need to speed up my computer to improve boot up times and improve performance on the internet. I intend to edit the 'Start up' menu as the machine is very slow to 'log on' from it's initial log on screen. There appear to be many programs on the icon bar that I do not use regularly and I suspect that it is these that are causing this problem.
I then itend to look at the registry as although the motherboard, processor, memory and dvd drive are all new, the hdd is an older 140gb drive supplemented by a secondary 120gb data storage drive internally and an 850gb external backup dirve. However the system drive has had many different programs installed and uninstalled and I suspect that there are lots of problems there so I intend to analyse and try to sort it using a number of tools which I will review.
As I completed my PG diploma in Software Engineering some 18 years ago I fell somewhat left behind in the matter of op systems under DOS I could install and manage the system quite easily, writing config.sys files etc with my eyes closed but now that we have automated install and uninstall systems they are much less transparent and I feel that using tools such as Registry Repair tools is almost essential.
We shall see!
I then itend to look at the registry as although the motherboard, processor, memory and dvd drive are all new, the hdd is an older 140gb drive supplemented by a secondary 120gb data storage drive internally and an 850gb external backup dirve. However the system drive has had many different programs installed and uninstalled and I suspect that there are lots of problems there so I intend to analyse and try to sort it using a number of tools which I will review.
As I completed my PG diploma in Software Engineering some 18 years ago I fell somewhat left behind in the matter of op systems under DOS I could install and manage the system quite easily, writing config.sys files etc with my eyes closed but now that we have automated install and uninstall systems they are much less transparent and I feel that using tools such as Registry Repair tools is almost essential.
We shall see!
Computing a la Kerverbel.
Now that I am spending more time in Kerverbel I need a much faster system so that I can deal with email and keep in touch with suppliers and businesses in both France and the UK. I'm stuck with a dial up internet connection at the moment so I will have to optimise my computer which has been running slowly of late despite 2Gb of memory and dual core processor (not the latest, but should be good enough). I will report on my efforts as I proceed...
Wish me luck.
Wish me luck.
New Shoots
This year's Easter visit was later than previous years so the weather was somewhat better. Mild and warm with some sunshine but with showers as well. Unfortunately Laura was unable to accompany me so I was on my own for a couple of weeks.
I needed time to recuperate as I have been working part time, three days a week in a Pupil Reintegration Centre in the West Midlands are of the UK. The PRU as it is known is a centre for pupils who have been excluded permanently from school, mostly for violent and continual disruptive behaviour. The work is challenging to say the least even thought the groups are small there are some very disturbed young people at this centre. Many will be returned to scholls but some will be educated permanently at such a centre with little hope of gaining many meaningful qualifications. I may give a run down on this work in future.
At Kerverbel though I managed to clear the essential garden maintenance quite quickly for once as it was'nt as overgrown as I feared, it should not be quite so bad next visit.
I managed finally to clear all of the wire mesh from the ceiling beams of the barn. This 'chicken wire' had been used to support the insulating straw which we cleared last year. The mesh had been nailed above the beams (there is no upper floor boarding) and the rusty, bent over nails were quite a pig to remove. A crowbar and claw hammer finally managed the job but I had to avoid the rusty barbed wire, strands of which were used below the mesh to reinforce it. The next job is to make temporary repairs to the missing slates in order to waterproof the roofs of the 'Cider House' and Barn before too much permanenet damage is done.
The Iveco managed well carrying equipment and tools faithfully. In addition it appears to be more economical than the LDV.
Still no broadband though which makes communication more difficult. The French government keeps making promises about when it will be available but we are still waiting, we will probably have microwave or satellite connection, I just hope that it is subsidised. A dial up connection now seems about as fast as snail mail now that we have become so accustomed to ADSL back in the village at home in the UK. Fortunately at home we have a phone package which allows us to make free calls abroad so Laura is able to phone me as often and as long as she likes, at least at the weekend and evenings. Thank goodness for TalkTalk!
I needed time to recuperate as I have been working part time, three days a week in a Pupil Reintegration Centre in the West Midlands are of the UK. The PRU as it is known is a centre for pupils who have been excluded permanently from school, mostly for violent and continual disruptive behaviour. The work is challenging to say the least even thought the groups are small there are some very disturbed young people at this centre. Many will be returned to scholls but some will be educated permanently at such a centre with little hope of gaining many meaningful qualifications. I may give a run down on this work in future.
At Kerverbel though I managed to clear the essential garden maintenance quite quickly for once as it was'nt as overgrown as I feared, it should not be quite so bad next visit.
I managed finally to clear all of the wire mesh from the ceiling beams of the barn. This 'chicken wire' had been used to support the insulating straw which we cleared last year. The mesh had been nailed above the beams (there is no upper floor boarding) and the rusty, bent over nails were quite a pig to remove. A crowbar and claw hammer finally managed the job but I had to avoid the rusty barbed wire, strands of which were used below the mesh to reinforce it. The next job is to make temporary repairs to the missing slates in order to waterproof the roofs of the 'Cider House' and Barn before too much permanenet damage is done.
The Iveco managed well carrying equipment and tools faithfully. In addition it appears to be more economical than the LDV.
Still no broadband though which makes communication more difficult. The French government keeps making promises about when it will be available but we are still waiting, we will probably have microwave or satellite connection, I just hope that it is subsidised. A dial up connection now seems about as fast as snail mail now that we have become so accustomed to ADSL back in the village at home in the UK. Fortunately at home we have a phone package which allows us to make free calls abroad so Laura is able to phone me as often and as long as she likes, at least at the weekend and evenings. Thank goodness for TalkTalk!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Selecting Babies
So, a 26 year old mother was worried that her unborn daughter could carry a gene which would have made the child more susceptible to the onset of breast cancer. See the Guardian's report here. The gene in question is known as BRCA1 and apparently a female carrying this gene has a 50% to 85% chance of developing breast cancer. According to the father the family will not now have that "Sword of Damocles" hanging over their heads. He also said, complimenting the mother: "A massive amount of credit has to go to my wife for undergoing what was effectively an invasive procedure of IVF...."
On the surface this seems all very creditable and a brave thing to do. On closer analysis however it seems less so. Apart from genetic factors, others such as hormones, diet, exercise (lack of in early life), environment and age are among the long list of factors which can stimulate the development of breast cancer. Tellingly according to statistics "The risk of having hereditary breast cancer is low. In fact it is believed that only around 5% of all breast cancers are due to inherited faults in breast cancer genes.."
So even if the child does not develop breast cancer due to genetic factors it is quite likely that she may still develop one of the other 95% caused by other factors. A major factor is thought to be early onset of menstruation due to improved diets over the last century (in UK, average for menarche in Victorian times was 17 yrs, now 12 yrs). This fact raises an interesting ethical argument. In order to delay the menarche, should the parents feed the child on an impoverished diet in order to delay it and reduce the risks further?
Age is a seriously major factor ".....breast cancer is rare in women under the age of 40." (See the facts here.) Not much, short of euthanasia, we can do about that. But hang on, why not euthanasia? If one can destroy embryos before they have a chance of life, why not end a life before it develops the cancer - at least part of a life has been lived, but of course no-one would use that argument, would they? Well these parents have apparently done so before the embryos have had chance to develop. So the discarded embryos will not develop breast cancer, but neither will they have had the chance of life anyway. Quite a stark choice really, 'if you live you may possibly develop cancer, so we will deny you life'. That seems to raise all sorts of ethical problems.
This brings up another problem with the selection procedure though. The embryo chosen will probably develop and live a full life, free of the fear of hereditary breast cancer (but not the other 95% of breast cancers) but how about the dozens and dozens of other cancers and diseases which she may catch, not to mention accidental or other causes of death. If we are to worry about one should we not worry about all of the others which are more likely to cause premature death. A life lived full of these concerns would be troubled indeed. This sort of existence is painful in the least to witness. I had a mother who spent her whole life worrying about all sorts of risks, from fire in the home to travelling. She led a terribly tortured life due to this, but lived until she was 80 when she died with lung cancer due to a life time of smoking ("to settle her nerves").
The survival rates for breast cancer are also improving all the time. Statistics are very difficult to determine for all sorts of reasons but as far as I can make out approximately 80% of sufferers survive for at least 5 years after treatment and 64% survive for at least 10 years. but patients are only monitored for 10 years so it is probable that most live much longer, further it seems that if the cancer is to return it will probably do so within 2 years of treatment. Also it seems that for women who undertake screening the rates are much better, around 88% who are screened survive for at least 10 years. Surely if a child had been born with a genetic predisposition for this cancer she would have undergone regular screening from an early age and the likelihood is that any problem would be found and dealt with quickly and successfully. Whereas a person without the gene is likely to think themselves safe and possibly miss early diagnosis. So the presence of the gene may have proved an asset!
Of course these figures are of necessity at least 10 years out of date and as survival rates are improving all the time it is likely that they are much better now and will be even more so when this child gets to the age when she is likely to develop it some 40 years from now. The statistical projection are for much better survival rates in future.
So what do we have. A child who does not carry the BRCA1 gene which possibly may have led to breast cancer later in life, but she still has a good chance of developing it in future from other factors. Plus we have a number of other potential rejected embryos whose lives who will not now exist because they had a statistically greater chance of possibly (50% - 85%) developing a very treatable cancer.
All of this is possible because of the discovery of the Structure of DNA and the subsequent unraveling of it. Most have heard of the work of Watson and Crick who discovered the structure, but their work was empirical. It is believed that Watson had his Eureka moment when he was shown a photograph of the structure which had been made by a researcher Dr Rosalind Franklin which led him to make the link to his own work. So it is possible that Ms Franklin's work hastened the development of the understanding of DNA.
Quote:-
"Between 1951 and 1953 Rosalind Franklin came very close to solving the DNA structure. She was beaten to publication by Crick and Watson in part because of the friction between Wilkins and herself. At one point, Wilkins showed Watson one of Franklin's crystallographic portraits of DNA. When he saw the picture, the solution became apparent to him, and the results went into an article in Nature almost immediately."
Dr Franklin did other important work as well. Possibly her most important apart from her work on DNA, was her work on carbon structures, possibly leading to the development of the modern material 'carbon fibre' -
"Because of her desire to contribute to the World War II effort, she worked at the British Coal Utilisation Research Association in Kingston-upon-Thames from August 1942, studying the porosity of coal. Her work helped spark the idea of high-strength carbon fibres"
Dr Franklin died about 5 years after her work on the structure of DNA from ovarian cancer. She was 37 years old. So she was 33 when she produced her brilliant work on DNA and around 25 when working on the coal research. It was perhaps a good job that there were no DNA tests for ovarian cancer before she was born otherwise her parents may have decided not to have the "Sword of Damocles" hanging over their heads. history could have been so different. Could any of the rejected embryos could have produced a latter day Dr Franklin? We will never know.
On the surface this seems all very creditable and a brave thing to do. On closer analysis however it seems less so. Apart from genetic factors, others such as hormones, diet, exercise (lack of in early life), environment and age are among the long list of factors which can stimulate the development of breast cancer. Tellingly according to statistics "The risk of having hereditary breast cancer is low. In fact it is believed that only around 5% of all breast cancers are due to inherited faults in breast cancer genes.."
So even if the child does not develop breast cancer due to genetic factors it is quite likely that she may still develop one of the other 95% caused by other factors. A major factor is thought to be early onset of menstruation due to improved diets over the last century (in UK, average for menarche in Victorian times was 17 yrs, now 12 yrs). This fact raises an interesting ethical argument. In order to delay the menarche, should the parents feed the child on an impoverished diet in order to delay it and reduce the risks further?
Age is a seriously major factor ".....breast cancer is rare in women under the age of 40." (See the facts here.) Not much, short of euthanasia, we can do about that. But hang on, why not euthanasia? If one can destroy embryos before they have a chance of life, why not end a life before it develops the cancer - at least part of a life has been lived, but of course no-one would use that argument, would they? Well these parents have apparently done so before the embryos have had chance to develop. So the discarded embryos will not develop breast cancer, but neither will they have had the chance of life anyway. Quite a stark choice really, 'if you live you may possibly develop cancer, so we will deny you life'. That seems to raise all sorts of ethical problems.
This brings up another problem with the selection procedure though. The embryo chosen will probably develop and live a full life, free of the fear of hereditary breast cancer (but not the other 95% of breast cancers) but how about the dozens and dozens of other cancers and diseases which she may catch, not to mention accidental or other causes of death. If we are to worry about one should we not worry about all of the others which are more likely to cause premature death. A life lived full of these concerns would be troubled indeed. This sort of existence is painful in the least to witness. I had a mother who spent her whole life worrying about all sorts of risks, from fire in the home to travelling. She led a terribly tortured life due to this, but lived until she was 80 when she died with lung cancer due to a life time of smoking ("to settle her nerves").
The survival rates for breast cancer are also improving all the time. Statistics are very difficult to determine for all sorts of reasons but as far as I can make out approximately 80% of sufferers survive for at least 5 years after treatment and 64% survive for at least 10 years. but patients are only monitored for 10 years so it is probable that most live much longer, further it seems that if the cancer is to return it will probably do so within 2 years of treatment. Also it seems that for women who undertake screening the rates are much better, around 88% who are screened survive for at least 10 years. Surely if a child had been born with a genetic predisposition for this cancer she would have undergone regular screening from an early age and the likelihood is that any problem would be found and dealt with quickly and successfully. Whereas a person without the gene is likely to think themselves safe and possibly miss early diagnosis. So the presence of the gene may have proved an asset!
Of course these figures are of necessity at least 10 years out of date and as survival rates are improving all the time it is likely that they are much better now and will be even more so when this child gets to the age when she is likely to develop it some 40 years from now. The statistical projection are for much better survival rates in future.
So what do we have. A child who does not carry the BRCA1 gene which possibly may have led to breast cancer later in life, but she still has a good chance of developing it in future from other factors. Plus we have a number of other potential rejected embryos whose lives who will not now exist because they had a statistically greater chance of possibly (50% - 85%) developing a very treatable cancer.
All of this is possible because of the discovery of the Structure of DNA and the subsequent unraveling of it. Most have heard of the work of Watson and Crick who discovered the structure, but their work was empirical. It is believed that Watson had his Eureka moment when he was shown a photograph of the structure which had been made by a researcher Dr Rosalind Franklin which led him to make the link to his own work. So it is possible that Ms Franklin's work hastened the development of the understanding of DNA.
Quote:-
"Between 1951 and 1953 Rosalind Franklin came very close to solving the DNA structure. She was beaten to publication by Crick and Watson in part because of the friction between Wilkins and herself. At one point, Wilkins showed Watson one of Franklin's crystallographic portraits of DNA. When he saw the picture, the solution became apparent to him, and the results went into an article in Nature almost immediately."
Dr Franklin did other important work as well. Possibly her most important apart from her work on DNA, was her work on carbon structures, possibly leading to the development of the modern material 'carbon fibre' -
"Because of her desire to contribute to the World War II effort, she worked at the British Coal Utilisation Research Association in Kingston-upon-Thames from August 1942, studying the porosity of coal. Her work helped spark the idea of high-strength carbon fibres"
Dr Franklin died about 5 years after her work on the structure of DNA from ovarian cancer. She was 37 years old. So she was 33 when she produced her brilliant work on DNA and around 25 when working on the coal research. It was perhaps a good job that there were no DNA tests for ovarian cancer before she was born otherwise her parents may have decided not to have the "Sword of Damocles" hanging over their heads. history could have been so different. Could any of the rejected embryos could have produced a latter day Dr Franklin? We will never know.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Lobster mush
So, according to the BBC website a giant lobster thought to be up to 140 years old is to be returned to the sea by it's restaurant owners. The story is here:
But of course the animal rights people had started their anthropomorphic emotionally charged rants and demanded the creatures release. Quote:
"But animal rights group Peta sought the lobster's release, and will now put it back into the waters off Maine. Ingrid Newkirk, of Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) praised the decision"
Dear Ingrid then went on to say:
"We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace.
We hope that their kind gesture serves as an example that these intriguing animals don't deserve to be confined to tiny tanks or boiled alive."
Talk about emotional claptrap. I don't like or support cruelty of any kind but ' noble old timer' really! To talk in these anthropomorphic terms makes it sound as if the ocean floor is a kind of retirement home with all the comforts reserved for those who have made a fulfilling and generous contribution to the world by gently raising a family and selflessly looking after grandchildren before quietly having a much deserved rest. For a start the ocean floor is full of predators who just love a dinner of lobster and the animal will spend most of it's time avoiding being eaten. And then it will of course need to eat, how's this for a kindly retirement snack of clams:
"A lobster locates its prey, a clam for instance, with its excellent sense of smell. Then it breaks open the shell with its large claws. It uses its mouth parts and first two sets of walking legs to manipulate the food into its mouth. A lobster is a messy eater. It creates a cloud of debris as it tries to coordinate all these claws to move food into its mouth.
As a clam slides down the lobster's gullet, three stomachs begin the work of digestion. The first stomach contains a gastric mill, a set of grinding teeth, that pulverize the clam. Then the clam, now mush, passes into the digestive gland (which contains that yummy green stuff, tomalley). Here in the digestive gland the food is absorbed into the body. Finally, wastes pass through the intestine and out the anus at the tip of the lobster's tail."
Here's another nice bit about it's new lifestyle:
"The first thing you notice about Homarus americanus, the "Maine" or "American" lobster, is its two strong claws: a big-toothed crusher claw for pulverizing shells and a finer-edged ripper claw resembling a steak knife, for tearing soft flesh. The lobster uses these claws, as well as smaller appendages around its mouth (mandibles and maxillipeds), for gripping and shredding its food."
or
"A lobster has been observed catching a crab, dragging it back to its home, and burying it like a dog buries a bone. For the next few nights the lobster snacks on the crab instead of going hunting."
There's nice for the "... noble old-timer..." but not so nice for the clam or crab, or aren't clams or crabs deserving of the a chance to "... live out his days in freedom and peace"?
And how about the lobster's "... Freedom and peace.." Here's an example of the life it can now enjoy:
"Aside from the fact that a lobster will eat almost any of its neighbors given the opportunity, an American lobster is not by nature a convivial beast. It is aggressive, territorial, and secretive. It hides in a burrow by day and prowls the ocean floor by night. It may cover a mile or more each night foraging for up to 100 different kinds of animals (and some plants). It may sneak into its neighbor's burrow when it's not around, and sometimes even if it is!"
So much for the retirement picture conjured up by dear Ingrid of PETA of a kindly old lobster pottering in his lobster garden enjoying his "peace and freedom" perhaps leaning on his lobster fence chatting to his lobster neighbours and passing on his lobster wisdom to his lobster grandchildren when not sitting on his porch in his old rocking chair watching the world go by. No sorry, if he's not ripped apart by a hungry predator, he's much more likely to eat both his neighbours and his grandchildren alive. At least we would kill it humanely before eating.
Get real PETA!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Rip off Britain and Fuel Protests.
I have had an eventful week visiting Kerverbel for my annual Late May wrestling match with overgrown vegetation. This year it fought back with a vengeance. I am sure that I am not the only one who has those periods in a life when nothing seems to go right, but one feels so alone when the world appears to be against one.
This visit did not start well! As we arrived at Portsmouth at our normal time we were astounded to find extraordinarily long queues at the LD lines check-in. We had come to expect that when we travelled via Dover - Calais, what with French strikes, damaged berths in Calais and bad weather, it was a regular occurrence to be held in long queues, but in Portsmouth, never. We then found out that the French fishermen with their fuel protests had blockaded other channel ports and Le Havre was one of the few open, so much traffic had been diverted there. The boat eventually sailed an hour late but as it seems we normally have to go round in circles mid channel to waste time waiting for the berthing slot in Le Havre, the boat managed to make up that hour and we docked on time.
As we travel in a van we are generally treated well by the ferry crew and put towards the front of the boat. We were lucky this time and managed to get off pretty quickly and made excellent time in getting to Kerverbel.
When we arrive at the farm in Kerverbel there are two entrances, one between two barns and the other a couple of hundred yards down the lane which is easier to access on first arrival. As we drove down past the main entrance I noticed that the yard had changed colour and the tarmac surface of the yard appeared to have faded in the sun to a pale yellow. Odd! When we got to the yard however the reason was all too apparent. It was coated in a thick layer of off white silt, about 10 mm thick on average.
Quote:
"What they pay in Europe Taxes based on a 1,600cc car
Denmark £2,966
Finland £1,753
Netherlands £1,509
Norway £1,400
Ireland £1,380
Portugal £1,272
France £1,227
UK £1,205
Luxembourg £ 596
The independent survey, which was commissioned before the fuel crisis, found that motorists in seven countries, including France and Ireland, paid more tax than British drivers."
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Wind in the Willies
Easter 2008 was not the best for weather in Northern Europe. The weather in Brittany reflected the weather in the UK. Cold, wet and windy. We experienced snow, hail. high winds, and sunshine, and that was just the first Friday!
My daughter and prospective son in law, James, came over for a first visit and it was a case of log fires and plenty of wine to keep out the worst of the weather. We visited a Creperie in a coastal town on the Northwest of St Brieuc Bay as James, who had lived in France for a time, was feeling nostalgic. The Creperie/restauraunt was a quaint, typically French two storey affair. All crisp table linen and antique mahogany furniture, with elegant brass and crystal light fittings. However the service didn't quite match the air of quiet elegance. The waitress who was responsible for our table was a real Dilly Dream. She took our initial order of crepes and galettes (a local buckwheat pancake) but unfortunately James' order for a crepe metamorphosed into a galette, but he seemed to accept this with good grace.
Admittedly the Food was quite good, if a little bland. Much French cooking is rather bland to our tastes which are used to being tantalised with fiery curries and international cuisine with all the attendant spices.
Easter 2008 was not the best for weather in Northern Europe. The weather in Brittany reflected the weather in the UK. Cold, wet and windy. We experienced snow, hail. high winds, and sunshine, and that was just the first Friday!
My daughter and prospective son in law, James, came over for a first visit and it was a case of log fires and plenty of wine to keep out the worst of the weather. We visited a Creperie in a coastal town on the Northwest of St Brieuc Bay as James, who had lived in France for a time, was feeling nostalgic. The Creperie/restauraunt was a quaint, typically French two storey affair. All crisp table linen and antique mahogany furniture, with elegant brass and crystal light fittings. However the service didn't quite match the air of quiet elegance. The waitress who was responsible for our table was a real Dilly Dream. She took our initial order of crepes and galettes (a local buckwheat pancake) but unfortunately James' order for a crepe metamorphosed into a galette, but he seemed to accept this with good grace.
Admittedly the Food was quite good, if a little bland. Much French cooking is rather bland to our tastes which are used to being tantalised with fiery curries and international cuisine with all the attendant spices.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Taxes and things.
When you own a property in France if it is not your main residence, it can be classified as a "Residence Secondaire". This has several advantages in terms of tax and bills. Residential taxes in France comprise of three major parts. These are: the 'Taxe Habitation'; 'Taxe Fonciere' and a 'Taxe Ordures' (or rubbish collection). These are paid at the local 'Tresor Public' a sort of state treasurer where you can pay all sorts of official bills. The Tresor Public has offices in most towns and is usually very convenient.
The Taxe Habitation is what it sounds like, a tax for inhabiting the property. The Tax Fonciere is a land tax on the property itself and the Taxe Ordures is an annual charge for rubbish collection which is more or less standard within a commune. The tax bills tend to come at different times of the year which at least spreads out the pain. The Taxe Habitation also comes accompanied by a demand for the 'Redevence Audiovisuelle' which is the French equivalent of our TV licence and pays for the State provision of TV. As we don't have TV in our property at present (we prefer to talk, play games and work - it's more sociable) we don't have to pay this.
The amounts to pay are lower than in England however, the Redevence Audiovisuelle for example is 116 euro (at present this is about 90 GB pounds) compared to the 140 GB pounds or so that I pay here in the UK. My Taxw Habitation on the farm this year was 147 euro and my Taxe Fonciere was a similar sum. Taxe Ordures is around 80 euro per year. So my total tax was around 350 euro, considerably less than my 1400 GB pounds my local council in England charges for my Council tax on my three bed detached bungalow in the village where I live in the UK.
Another advantage of being registered as a Residence Secondaire is that we get to 'cut' the telephone line when we are not there. Whilst it is cut there is no standing charge. The charge for this service is 3.50 euro compared with 13.50 euro standing charge per month. This can be done up to six times per year and this fits in perfectly with our visits. Our neighbours, a lovely French family, the Defayes help us in this by arranging the cutting and reconnection for us on our visits. The ideas that some Francophobe English friends have about the French being arrogant, unhelpful, dirty etc are simply not true. I have always had excellent dealings with the French. In over 40 years of visiting I have found some of the most charming, helpful and hospitable people I have ever met, especially when in trouble, but more of that some other time. There are of course some unpleasant French people, but that is the same worldwide. I am sure that there are unpleasant people in the UK, or am I just imagining that? However it may help that I try to learn French and use as much as I can to attempt communication, and while I am not perfect the French people appreciate that I am willing to try, and reciprocate with generosity.
The Taxe Habitation is what it sounds like, a tax for inhabiting the property. The Tax Fonciere is a land tax on the property itself and the Taxe Ordures is an annual charge for rubbish collection which is more or less standard within a commune. The tax bills tend to come at different times of the year which at least spreads out the pain. The Taxe Habitation also comes accompanied by a demand for the 'Redevence Audiovisuelle' which is the French equivalent of our TV licence and pays for the State provision of TV. As we don't have TV in our property at present (we prefer to talk, play games and work - it's more sociable) we don't have to pay this.
The amounts to pay are lower than in England however, the Redevence Audiovisuelle for example is 116 euro (at present this is about 90 GB pounds) compared to the 140 GB pounds or so that I pay here in the UK. My Taxw Habitation on the farm this year was 147 euro and my Taxe Fonciere was a similar sum. Taxe Ordures is around 80 euro per year. So my total tax was around 350 euro, considerably less than my 1400 GB pounds my local council in England charges for my Council tax on my three bed detached bungalow in the village where I live in the UK.
Another advantage of being registered as a Residence Secondaire is that we get to 'cut' the telephone line when we are not there. Whilst it is cut there is no standing charge. The charge for this service is 3.50 euro compared with 13.50 euro standing charge per month. This can be done up to six times per year and this fits in perfectly with our visits. Our neighbours, a lovely French family, the Defayes help us in this by arranging the cutting and reconnection for us on our visits. The ideas that some Francophobe English friends have about the French being arrogant, unhelpful, dirty etc are simply not true. I have always had excellent dealings with the French. In over 40 years of visiting I have found some of the most charming, helpful and hospitable people I have ever met, especially when in trouble, but more of that some other time. There are of course some unpleasant French people, but that is the same worldwide. I am sure that there are unpleasant people in the UK, or am I just imagining that? However it may help that I try to learn French and use as much as I can to attempt communication, and while I am not perfect the French people appreciate that I am willing to try, and reciprocate with generosity.
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