The Bugle Dordogne - October 2021

Tax office hunt is on for undeclared pools The government has teamed up with Google to track undeclared swimming pools through aerial photographs. >> Page 11

Votes for Life one step closer A controversial bill which will give British expats the right to vote for life has passed a second reading in the House of Commons. >> Page 4

November 2016 - Issue #85

Dordogne

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October 2021 - Issue 100 - FREE!

More roaming fees are on the way

>> continued on page 8

EU to standardise charger cables - pg 7

M&S to close French stores over Brexit - pg 10

Licences removed over phone use - pg 12 © wronaavd - Fotolia.com

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EU,” Three UK said in a statement. “Pay as you go customers and customers who have taken out a contract before 1 October 2021 are unaffected by these changes. Customers roaming in the Republic of Ireland are also unaffected.”

While not inevitable, roaming charges are an unfortunate knock-on from Britain's exit from the EU. Since 2017, mobile networks in EU states have been banned from charging customers extra to use their phones in other member countries.

“Wholesale roaming rates will change given the UK's exit, and this in turn will inevitably drive higher prices without EU protection. It's a

Limousin restaurant chain goes viral - pg 5

Winter tyres compulsory in 48 departments - pg 7

As another mobile operator brings back roaming charges, post-Brexit fees are also being reintroduced for card payments, cash withdrawals and online shopping. he third British mobile operator in as many months has announced the return of roaming fees for customers when visiting the EU. Following similar moves by EE and Vodafone, this month it was the turn of Three to unveil a new £2-per-day EU roaming charge. The change will affect all new or upgrading customers from October 2021 and will come into force in May next year.

“From May 23 2022, customers who have taken out a new contract or upgraded with Three from October 1 2021 will pay a charge of £2 per day when roaming within the EU and £5 a day when roaming outside the

INSIDE > > >

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2 ♦ IN THIS EDITION

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t is something I say a lot and that annoys the heck out of my wife: “But I have to watch it, you don't understand. It's the [insert sporting event] and it only happens every [insert number between 1 and 4] years!” To be fair to my wife, with this logic, there is a seemingly once-in-ablue-moon, unmissable event every few weeks, which must be a tad irritating. This month it was the Ryder Cup, something I start looking forward to from the minute the previous one ends. I could not have been more excited.

Which is why it was such an anti-climax and crushing disappointment when the American team absolutely destroyed Europe's best. It wasn't the losing, I'm more than used to that. Being a sports fan is like riding a bike: you seem to spend at least three quarters of the time panting and sweating your way uphill and relatively little freewheeling down with the wind in your hair.

It was the fact that it was not competitive that made it such a disappointment. So much of the enjoyment of sport is in the ebb

and flow and the uncertainty of the result. Personally I would rather see my team pipped at the post than steamroller a much lesser opposition. The Americans were SO good, that the result was never really in doubt from very early on. What is usually three days of tense action became an exercise in going through the motions simply to confirm a result.

I was gutted and now I have to wait another two years for the next event. Although, to be fair there are the Autumn Rugby Internationals in November which only happen once a year, and the T20 Cricket World Cup (once every 2 years) and then the Ashes down under in December (every 4 years)... hmm, maybe my wife has a point.

I was interested to read this month that the EU is moving to force the big tech companies to standardise their charger cables. This has been a point of contention for me for many years.

I am one of those people that has a dozen cables, but never the right one. And even when I have the one with the right nozzle on the end, it will for some reason only charge some compatible

devices but not others.

What makes it worse is that they all look the same so the only way I can know which one works with my portable speaker is to identify it through trial and error and then make sure it stays plugged into the same adapter.

Except that doesn't work when there are four other people in the house with no respect for someone else's property.

Add into the equation the older cables that you are 98% sure you don't need any more, but that a niggling doubt makes you keep it “just in case”. Every now and then I collect them all together and throw them in a drawer so at least I know they're all in one place. But then a law of nature I like to call the “clothes hanger principle” takes effect.

This is when you put a selection of similar items neatly into an enclosed space, close it gently, count to ten and then open it to reveal a puzzle Rubik himself could not have dreamt up.

How does it happen? I have tried folding them up and using little rubber bands and cable ties, I have colour coded them with little pieces of electrical tape, I have even tried putting them into tiny Ziplock bags. But come my hour of need, they will predictably have transmogrified into one giant, multi-headed hydra. The end of the one you want may be winking at you invitingly from out of the carnage, but you just know it will take half an hour to disentangle the other end. The thought of being able to have just one charging cable that could do it all is a very enticing one.

Quite a few people have been

in touch to check that I survived the recent visit of the in-laws I mentioned last month. It has become a bit of a running joke over the years and while they have their moments, we do actually get on very well, despite my father-in-law's best efforts!

But I have promised to be nice to them in this edition while I write something sincere as later this month they will be celebrating 50 years of marriage, which it must be said is very impressive. My Dad's favourite joke (other than opening his eyes after blowing out his birthday candles, looking at my Mum and saying “That didn't work then, you're still here!”) was regularly letting us know on their wedding anniversary what crimes he could have committed to be served with the same amount of jail time. “24 years we've been married... you get less than that for murder!”

I think you might have to

move to America to get a 50-year sentence, but I get the impression that the time they have served together has not been all that hard.

So congratulations John and Joan on reaching that milestone.

Fifty long years since you agreed to marry each other “for better or worse”, which is fitting when you think about it... as John couldn't have done any better, and Joan couldn't have done any worse!

I couldn't resist.

Until next month...

Steve Martindale, Editor www.thebugle.eu facebook.com/The BugleFrance

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FRENCH NEWS ♦ 3

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Bergerac authorities accused of giving up over tiger mosquitoes

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fter another summer highlighted by large numbers of mosquitoes, residents in Bergerac have accused local authorities of all but giving up on fighting the invasive – and potentially dangerous – tiger mosquito. First spotted in the the area in 2015, numbers have steadily grown and the insects are now endemic across much of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine; only Creuse in the north-east of the region has thus far been spared the nuisance.

“They come out at around five o'clock in the evening and it becomes almost impossible to stay outdoors,” explained Nicolas Boulant, a resident of Bergerac. “We are hesitant to even eat outside in the summer and we can only open our windows in the evenings if there is plenty of wind around.”

M Boulant has spent around one thousands euros in the last two years on devices aimed at keeping the mosquitoes away, all to no avail, and believes that the authorities have given up. “Educating people is all well and good, but we need action!”

Another resident claims that the situation is so bad she is considering moving house.

For its part, the city points to the fact that it has a dedicated phone number for tiger mosquito enquiries and also has a member of staff making home visits to help residents look for larvae and to educate them on how to avoid creating favourable breeding grounds. “The best way to fight to this collective problem is an individual response,” said Alain Banquet, a local councillor.

While efforts were made in previous years to track and kill any tiger mosquito larvae before they could hatch, this is no longer the case. The costs involved are too high and the number of mosquitoes now too large. In fact, a new decree has recently been brought into force by the mairie giving local authorities the power to fine residents €38 if, through neglect, they leave pools of stagnant water on their property that could lead to mosquito breeding grounds. To date, no fines have been handed out.

With autumn now well on the way, locals

will have some welcome respite from the nuisance, but with numbers steadily growing year on year, the problem is not going away.

The tiger mosquito is one of the world's most invasive pests, and is easily recognised by its black and white striped legs, and small black and white striped body. It grows to between 2mm and 10mm. Despite having a nasty bite, the primary concern is that tiger mosquitoes spread several tropical diseases such as dengue fever and chikungunya. ■

Chambre de Métiers elections ongoing

Business owners in the Dordogne have until 14th October to elect their new president. While this may not seem like headline news at first glance, it does affect more expats than you might imagine. Around 15% of the businesses registered with the Chambre de Métiers et de l'Artisanat are run by foreigners and of those, three quarters are run by Brits.

Furthermore, 25% of all businesses are run by women and one of the lists that has been put forward for election reflects the diverse nature of the region's artisans. Headed by the current president, Didier Gouraud, the “Fiers d'être artisans” list has an equal share of men and women, making it one of the only ones in France not dominated by men. There is also English-speaking representation in the form of British entrepreneur, April Higginson.

“When I came to France 14 years ago, I had no idea where to go for information,” explained April, who runs a business based out of Sarlat with her husband. “I have experienced many of the challenges that artisans face on a daily basis. Whether it be in setting up a business, understanding French business laws, growing the business or simply trying to find out information. So many artisans throw away their voting slip without really understanding why to vote and who to vote for. The Chambre de Métiers is here to help and guide people on their journey.” ■

Cow herd struck by lightning

One young Dordogne farmer was left heartbroken recently when ten of his livestock were killed by a violent storm that ripped through the department on 25th September. At around eight o'clock in the evening, four cows and six calves were struck by lightning while sheltering under a tree in the commune of Saint-Pardoux-et-Vielvic, in the south-east of the department between Siorac-en-Périgord and Monpazier.

“I have never seen anything like it in sixty years, I was in complete shock” said Christian Gaubert, a retired farmer who made the discovery just 100 metres from his house, before going to find Cyril Malartigue, the young owner of the herd. “I was in the middle of milking when I found out and when I got there... well it's a difficult sight.

It's a disaster,” the 31-year-old explained. “I knew that there had been several strikes close by, but I had no idea what had happened until the next morning. It's painful. I have got three cows that have lost a calf and one calf without a mother.

Hopefully we can find a cow to adopt the orphan calf.”

While the farmer's insurance should compensate him for the financial loss, the tragedy has still had a profound effect on the young farmer. “These were lovely animals, you form a bond with them.

It's just a sad situation.” ■

4 ♦ FRENCH NEWS

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Votes for Life edge closer

Officers held in Taser prank car crash

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hree officers have been arrested after the passenger in a police car fired a Taser at the driver, resulting in a crash. There were six officers in the car when the driver lost control and hit a parked car in Roubaix, near Lille. According to prosecutors, there were no injuries but the group then left the scene without stopping. The incident was reported by a local resident and the officer who fired the weapon, along with two others were later placed in custody.

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he right for British expats to Vote for Life has come a step closer after the Elections Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons, despite opposition from some MPs. Under current rules, British citizens who have lived outside the UK for more than 15 years lose the right to vote in elections... and referendums.

Campaigners have long sought to have this rule removed, arguing that many expats retain strong links to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, are affected by any decision taken by MPs and in many cases, still pay taxes in the UK. Removal of the 15-year rule has been a campaign pledge of successive Conservative governments, but due to the complexities of parliamentary cycles, bills including the changes have never passed; any legislation that has not passed when parliament is prorogued and a new session begins, is dropped and must be put forward again. This time the changes had been bundled up in the Elections Bill with wider electoral reforms key to the Conservative agenda and will almost certainly be pushed through in the near future.

“The bill will ensure that the voices of British citizens across the world can be heard, and their vote is taken into account on matters that do affect them,” said Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith, addressing MPs. While campaigners are understandably delighted that as many as 3 million expats around the world will have the right to vote for life restored, they are angry that it is being pushed through alongside controversial new rules which will require

voter ID at polling stations. Opponents argue that this move is designed to make it harder for already marginalised people to vote and could disfranchise younger and poorer voters who do not always have a passport or driving licence. “This bill contains measures that appear to be designed to make it harder for certain groups of the UK population to vote,” said campaign group British in Europe. “Getting our vote back matters hugely: but not at the price of other people’s ability to vote at all.”

During the debate, some opposition Labour MPs questioned the government's motivation and claimed that their sudden backing of Votes for Life was an attempt to get around foreign donation restrictions. Under current rules, anyone with the right to vote in the UK can donate to political parties.

“The motivation behind the change to remove the 15-year limit is about creating a loophole in donation law, and it will give rich Conservative donors abroad unlimited access to our democracy in allowing them to bankroll the Tory party,” argued Labour MP Cat Smith. “There is nothing in the bill to help overseas electors get their ballots back on time. One of the complaints I have heard most from overseas voters is that they do not get their ballot papers in time and cannot get them returned to the UK in time for their votes to count.”

Fellow Labour members Clive Lewis and Geraint Davies agreed: “It is the wealthy tax exiles, not members of the public, who will benefit from the rules... it will allow overseas donors more influence in our politics.” ■

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Rather than being the result of a disagreement, the crash appears to have been a prank gone wrong. “They were having fun amongst themselves and acting like idiots,” explained Emmanuel Riglaire, a lawyer for the woman who fired the Taser. The lawyer described the atmosphere in the car as “good-natured” because “they're staff who get on well” and said that his client simply wanted to give her colleague “a light Taser”!

The three officers in custody have been summoned to appear at Lille's criminal court on 3 February. The woman who discharged the Taser will be prosecuted for intentional violence with a weapon and endangering the lives of others, which her lawyer confirmed could land her with a prison sentence. The two other officers are accused of hit-and-run and aiding and abetting a hit-and-run. ■

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FRENCH NEWS ♦ 5

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popular NouvellAquitaine-based restaurant chain has been enjoying its moment in the sun after tweets praising its food went viral around the world. When American tourist Steve Olson visited a branch of La Pataterie with his partner in September – a chain based around and famous for its potato recipes - he could not have known that he would soon be an online “potato influencer” and help raise valuable funds for the Restos du Coeur charity.

While on holiday in Arles, Provence, Steve and his wife stopped for a bite to eat and ordered a Pom’ Au Four Savoyarde, a baked potato served with an assortment of hams, raclette cheese, cornichons and salad. So blown away were the couple that Steve took to Twitter to write an 8-tweet thread on the wonders of the “AMAZING” potato he had discovered.

“A giant baked potato, but a GLORIOUSLY baked one. Gold, steamed and baked to creamy, tender, but still with structural perfection. Seriously this was the greatest potato ever made by

human hands... words cannot express my amazement. I don’t understand how a chain baked potato could be so much better than every other baked potato I’ve ever had.”

His series of tweets soon went viral, receiving tens of thousands of likes, but for two different reasons. One group were simply taken by the couple's enthusiasm for their meal, but another group gently teased the pair for waxing lyrical over what would not exactly be considered haute cuisine on these shores.

All publicity is good publicity, however, and with their arch rivals receiving so much attention online, Buffalo Grill took to social media and invited the Americans to try a meal at one of their restaurants.

A few days later, Steve took once again to Twitter to use his new-found fame for good, whilst acknowledging his personal culinary tastes. “OK French friends, although we may have differences about restaurants (and potatoes) we all clearly love food, and feeding people. I just gave 100€ to @restosducoeur - who will stand with me?” he posted, along-

side a link to the popular food bank charity. The warm-hearted move led one follower to reply “You're my favourite American since Abraham Lincoln!”

Riding the wave of publicity, La Pataterie responded to the post, announcing that the restaurant chain would be offering five tons of potatoes to the charity association and following the online buzz, the charity received five times the donations it would expect on a normal September weekend.

“The whole team are really happy,” said La Pataterie’s director Sébastien de Laporte. “What is really great is the tone of this gentleman’s tweets. They’re joyful, enthusiastic and we find them really heartwarming. The recipe that this gentleman tried was the Pom’ Au Four Savoyarde. It was created in 1996 by our founder, Jean-Christophe Pailleux, and it is still by far one of our bestsellers. It is not a unique recipe, it’s not ‘Michelin star’, but all of our ingredients are of a really high quality.”

With the story gathering more and more attention, La Pataterie announced that for one month

credit: lapataterie.fr

Limousin restaurant chain makes the most of its moment of internet fame

The brand new Pom' Au Four Américaine

from 24th September they would be serving the brand new Pom’ Au Four Américaine, dedicated to their favourite American fan.

Not only that, but for each potato sold, they will be donating one euro to Restos du Coeur.

“OH MY GOD, THEY DID IT,” tweeted Steve following the news. “I am humbled, amused, and just can't say how amazed.

I couldn't be happier to see that we'll be able to help feed more folks in need through @restos-

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ducoeur. MERCI À VOUS!” The first La Pataterie restaurant opened in Brive in 1996, but soon moved its head office to Limoges. The family run chain quickly expanded over the years and was named restaurant chain of the year in 2015 before encountering financial difficulties and a takeover. Today the chain is once again going strong with 80 restaurants across the country... and a few new fans in America. ■

6 ♦ FRENCH NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2021

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FRENCH NEWS ♦ 7

OCTOBER 2021 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

EU moves to end charger cable chaos

appleinsider.com

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re you fed up with having countless cables all over the house, yet never being able to find the right one? If so, good news could be on the horizon after the EU unveiled plans to standardise charger formats for a number of common devices, including smartphones, tablets, cameras, portable games consoles, speakers, and headphones.

It may not always feel like it, but the situation today is far better than it was in the early days of mobile phones when every manufacturer had its own charger cables with proprietary connectors; in 2009, there were an estimated 30 types of charger cable on the market! These days, the vast majority of devices stick to three connectors - USB micro-B, the newer USB-C and Apple's Lightning.

EU politicians have been campaigning for a common standard for over a decade, as well as to reduce the overall number of charger plugs in circulation. Around 420 million mobile phones and other portable electronic devices were sold in the EU in the last year, with 11,000 tonnes of waste generated through the disposal of unused charging cables. Research has shown that the average person has three different mobile phone chargers, of which they regularly use two. The new proposals will also ban manufacturers from supplying a new charger with every device.

The change has broad industry and public support, but has until recently met with opposition from the world's largest

smartphone maker, Apple. “We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world,” the firm said, although significantly, it did recently switch from Lightning connectors to USB-C for newer MacBooks and iPads.

“We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now

time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger,” explained European Commission (EC) Vice President Margrethe Vestager. “This is an important win for our consumers and the environment and in line with our green and digital ambitions.”

The EC proposal will make USB-C the new standard across Europe and, if introduced next year as hoped, member states will have two years to enact the rules into

national law, and manufacturers will have 24 months to change their charging ports.

“Having one common charging standard would be a victory for common sense in the eyes of consumers,” said Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight. “Although Apple has made a strong argument for keeping its Lightning connector - given the one billion active iPhone users - some of its products including Mac and iPad now support USB-C.”■

I

n a change that has come as a surprise to many drivers, new rules are coming into force from 1st November that will require cars to be fitted with specialist equipment or winter tyres in 48 departments across the country.

After several years of discussions and proposals, the new rules were eventually included in the Loi Montagne II, which became law in October 2020, but with relatively few details about the areas concerned and little fanfare.

The result is that with just weeks to go, an estimated half of all drivers remain unaware of the changes, and many of the departments concerned have yet to confirm the areas affected. Under the law, prefects in 48 departments considered at risk of snow or ice have the powers to identify areas where all vehicles must be equipped with winter tyres. These areas will be identified by road signs on entry (B58) and exit (B59).

In these areas, drivers must have suitable equipment at all times between 1st November and 31st March. This includes either all-weather tyres, winter tyres or snow chains. For drivers who do not live in the affected areas, carrying snow

chains in the boot of your car will be considered sufficient. If you are stopped in these areas without the correct tyres or equipment, you will not be able to continue your journey and will be fined €135. It is believed that in the short term authorities will be issuing warnings rather than fines as road users become familiar with the new rules.

In Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the only departments concerned are Creuse, HauteVienne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. While some departments, such as the Puy-deDôme, have said the rules will apply across the whole department, the Creuse prefect has said there are no plans to enforce the new powers anywhere and the Pyrenées-Atlantique prefect has indicated that only mountainous areas will be concerned.

France is not the first country to introduce rules for winter tyres. Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland and Italy have all had similar legislation in place for a number of years, either as a blanket rule, or under certain weather conditions. In Germany, motorists face fines of between €60-120 for failure to comply.■

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Compulsory winter tyres from November

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Roaming charges are on the way back >> continued from pg 1 pretty easy decision for UK telcos,” explained Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at PP Foresight who described the price changes as a “harsh reality” of Brexit.

“All the operators are struggling with margins being squeezed, and are seeking ways of increasing revenue while investing billions in costly next generation fixed and mobile networks.”

France’s leading mobile providers Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free - have all said that they will not be reintroducing roaming charges for customers travelling to the UK after Brexit. There is, however, nothing stopping these companies from also now changing their minds in the future.

The latest roaming charges to British visitors to the EU could just be the start of a trend that will spread into other sectors and insiders have highlighted fears of the reintroduction of bank transaction fees following Brexit. EU directives and regulations enforce “equality of charges”, which means any fee for using your bank card in another member state should be the same as for an equivalent transaction within the home state. The result was that a UK bank that does not charge a fixed transaction fee at home could not do so when a customer used their card elsewhere in the EU. Following Brexit, however, UK banks are no longer bound by this regulation and have only retained a “transparency” requirement for conversion charges.

Similarly, British high street banks are no longer blocked from reintroducing charges for withdrawing cash abroad.

Many fear it is only a matter of time before the banks cash in.

This type of change has already been seen at online payment processing company PayPal, which will introduce new fees for payments between the UK and countries in the EEA from November. Until now, transactions within the EU attract a fee of 0.5%, but this will be raised next month to 1.29% for transactions to or from the UK, including Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar,

and the Isle of Man. “This is unwelcome news for small businesses and entrepreneurs,” said the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

“Since the start of the year, around one in four small exporters have stopped exporting to the EU, citing amongst other reasons the costs involved in selling to EU-based customers.”

Elsewhere, Mastercard has said that from October it will be increasing the fee it charges businesses by a factor of

five when British cardholders purchase items online from an EU retailer - from 0.3% to 1.5%. While this may not initially be noticed by consumers as the fee is paid by the merchant, businesses will almost certainly pass this added cost on to British buyers by way of price increases or additional transaction fees.

Under European rules, credit and debit card interchange fees are capped at 0.2% and 0.3% respectively, but this no longer applies to UK businesses.■

FRENCH NEWS ♦ 9

OCTOBER 2021 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Highligner walks across Seine from Eiffel Tower

red Marie / Hans Lucas (Flickr)

DAN, DAN THE PIE MAN

A

French slackliner has successfully completed a 600-metre crossing of the Seine in Paris, 70 metres above cheering crowds. The breathtaking stunt saw Nathan Paulin cross from the Eiffel Tower to the roof of the Chaillot Theatre on the left bank of the river. The event, which was organised with the help of French dancer and choreographer Rachid Ouramdane, was timed to celebrate the country's Heritage Days, with performances taking place at the theatre on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Attached with a safety line, the barefoot 27-year-old made the crossing slowly as the crowds watched on, regularly stopping to sit or lie on the slackline. “It wasn’t easy walking 600 metres, concentrating, with everything around, the pressure, but it was still beautiful,” Paulin said after completing the crossing. “Obtaining the necessary authorisations was difficult, as well as the stress linked to the audience, the fact that there were a lot of people.”

Slacklining is similar to tightrope walking but involves a wire that has not been stretched taut and moves with the user. He previously crossed the Seine in a similar way in 2017, a feat which still holds the world record for the longest urban highline walk. Paulin has several other world records including crossing a 1662-metre highline suspended at a height of 300 meters at Cirque de Navacelles, a landform in the Massif Central mountain range in southern France. ■

F

ollowing a previous extension, all British residents in France are required to be in possession of a Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (WA) residency card by 1st October. With many expats yet to receive their card, there have been indications that this deadline has now been pushed back to 1st January 2022.

The issue is a potentially serious one for those affected as the current rules state that any British expats returning to France from October will be required to show their residency card at the border.

The portal for applying for post-Brexit residency permits did not close as expected on 30th June and residents have been able to make applications until very recently.

In theory, any applications received since June are late and should be accompanied by a justification, but in reality authorities have not been asking for this. The result is that people that have applied since June

frenchresidencysupport.org

Extension to Brexit card requirement

will almost certainly not be in possession of their residency card by the 1st October deadline.

While there has been no official word from the government about any extension, the Franco British Network - one of the bodies accredited by the UK government to help expats with their applications – has said that they have “come to understand” that the deadline for possession of the card has been extended to January. There have also been several Facebook posts by people who have been told by their local prefecture of the extension by email.

In reality, the French authorities have been working hard to help all British expats to become legally resident and as long as you have proof that you have applied for the card, you are unlikely to encounter any serious problems. It is believed, however, that the application portal will close for good on 1st October. ■

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Marks & Spencer to close French stores

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ucts, our fresh sandwiches and ready meals, going to Ireland or France are delayed by about a day – that is not good if you are a sandwich.

We are getting about 80% of our product through, less than that in France.”

“These rules serve no purpose at all because our food standards are higher than the European Union's and

Do you have a business to shout about?

agreed with SFH to close all 11 franchised stores.”

According to Steve Dresser, managing director of Grocery Insight, while all retailers' sales had been affected by Covid, Marks & Spencer in France was “another casualty of Brexit”.

“Once you add inefficiency in to any supply chain, be it trade barriers or bureaucracy, plus the need for extra manpower, there is cost that needs to be absorbed somewhere along the line.

It's likely for the minimal returns, the numbers simply no longer made sense to M&S. It's clear that a huge amount of management resource has been taken up getting stock in the right place for European stores.”

The company's chairman, Archie Norman, a former Tory MP appointed in 2017, refused to blame Brexit, and rather claimed that the EU's “fandango of bureaucracy” was at fault. “What we’ve discovered is that the EU rules for governing borders, and their customs union are totally out of date, and not suited for the purpose they are designed for. Our prod-

siret: 484 768 700 00029

I

conic British retailer Marks & Spencer has been forced to close 11 of its stores in France due to problems linked to Britain's exit from the EU. The company said supply chain issues since Brexit had made it “near impossible” to maintain standards of food supply, leading to the closure of all the outlets it ran with franchise partner SFH. The remaining nine M&S stores run at French travel hubs will continue to operate for the time being.

“M&S has a long history of serving customers in France and this is not a decision we or our partner SFH have taken lightly,” explained Paul Friston, managing director of M&S International. “However, as things stand today, the supply chain complexities in place following the UK's exit from the European Union now make it near impossible for us to serve fresh and chilled products to customers to the high standards they expect, resulting in an ongoing impact to the performance of our business. With no workable alternative, we have

they haven't changed since we were part of the European Union,” the chairman argued. “So this is a pointless bureaucratic exercise in making it more difficult to trade.”

In reality, following Brexit, the UK now has the “freedom” to set its own food standards and having failed to reach an agreement, Britain's standards are no longer automatically recognised by

the EU, leading to border controls. The British government is already in trade talks with other countries to allow food products into the UK that would not meet EU standards. ■

FRENCH NEWS ♦ 11

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Tax authorities team up with Google to track down illegal pools

A

nyone with an illegal pool could soon find themselves in hot water after the tax office launched a pilot project to use aerial imaging to catch tax dodgers. The €12 million deal with Google and Cap Gemini will use aerial imagery from the state's geographic body IGN to track down undeclared pools, tennis courts, conservatories and extensions. In order to catch offenders, surveyors would previously have to visit individual properties to compare them to the plan cadastral – the official record of property and land parcels.

The two property taxes paid in France, the taxe foncière and taxe d'habitation are linked to the surface area of a property and any additional outdoor features. If these are not correctly declared when they are built, then the State is being deprived of tax income.

The problem of undeclared pools and extensions is a big one. During a 2017 trial in Marmande, Lot-et-Garonne, tax officials found that one third of the 800 swimming pools counted in the town had not been declared and another

study in 2019 by Accenture in three departments revealed 3,000 undeclared pools in the Alpes-Maritimes alone.

The most recent deal will see consultants from Cap Gemini use Google cloud computing infrastructure and artificial intelligence technology to identify relevant structures and check this against public records to ensure the right taxes are being paid.

The resulting Foncier Innovant automated system will first be trialled in four departments - Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Bouches-du-Rhône and Maine-et-Loire - before being rolled out nationwide.

It is not the first time the government has tried to develop this kind of automated system. The 2019 Accenture project was not pursued after the company refused to release the resulting software developed, but the government appears to have learnt that lesson this time around.

“Our teams will be taking ownership of the technology and we will acquire the intellectual property rights and full control over the algorithms developed,” said a spokesperson for the DGFiP, the body

which handles tax collection.

“The project will improve the reliability of the information on which local direct taxation is based, make officials’ work easier, help fight more effectively against fraud and better respond to people’s expectations of fairness and fiscal justice through the correct

evaluation of properties, and automated updating of the cadastral plans.”

According to a trade body for the sector, 200,000 pools were installed last year, taking France past the 3 million mark. The country is believed to have more pools than anywhere else in Europe. ■

Paris looks for Olympic volunteers Plans have been unveiled by orgaisers of the 2024 Paris Olympics to recruit 45,000 volunteers to help at the games, with an emphasis being placed on those who can speak English. “The volunteers are global representatives of Paris 2024 and France, playing an important role in the success of the Games,” the organising committee said. “This diverse community of enthusiastic individuals will be on hand at all Olympic and Paralympic sites, offering everybody at the Games an unforgettable experience.”

Volunteers must be 18 years old on 1st January 2024 and will be able to apply via a dedicated website that is due to open in 2023. Organisers are expecting to receive well in excess of 100,000 applications and preference will be given to those able to work at least 10 days of the event. Volunteers are not paid for their work, but are offered free public transport getting to and from venues as well as a free meal each day.

The Olympic Games will take place between July 26 and August 11, 2024. Paris has previously hosted the Olympic Games twice, in 1900 and 1924. ■

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Cross Channel war of words escalates

credit: helengrant.org / MP

I

n a further escalation of cross-Channel tensions, the French foreign minister has warned his British counterpart Priti Patel that France would not be “held to ransom” by the UK in a row over migrant crossings. The war of words began after the UK threatened to break international maritime law by forcibly returning boats to France from the “search and rescue zone” in the Channel and also withhold €62.7 million previously pledged to France to help police the waters off the French coast.

“France will not accept any practice that is contrary to the law of the sea, nor any financial blackmail,” the foreign minister tweeted. “Great Britain must stick to its commitments, as I’ve said clearly to my counterpart @ pritipatel. The friendship between our two countries merits better than posturing which harms the cooperation between our security services.”

This summer saw an increase in the numbers of immigrants attempting to reach England by boat. While the right-wing press in the UK have been quick to highlight the increase and call for yet another crackdown on asylum seekers, more liberal voices have pointed to the fact that overall numbers are steady, or in fact dropping, and the increase in boats is due to improved security at the Channel Tunnel making it harder to cross by land.

Under pressure from Boris Johnson to reduce the number of immigrants reaching the UK, Patel took the extraordinary step of telling Border Force to adopt a hardline “turnaround” tactic of intercepting boats and forcibly returning them into French territorial waters. Not only would this almost certainly be illegal under maritime law, but campaigners and representatives of the Border Force union called the tactics a “headline-grabbing exercise” that was dangerous and unenforceable.

“To use this tactic, you need perfect weather, you need to know there is adequate fuel on the suspected vessel so it can return to France, the vessel would have to be seaworthy, there can’t be any babies or minors on board, every passenger has to be healthy, and there can be no chance of loss of life. Highly unlikely,” explained Kevin Mills, the Border Force representative for the PCS union.

Conservative MPs also poured cold water on the prospects of the tactic being used. “It sounds good. But I’m afraid in practice it’s just not going to happen.

These are flimsy boats coming over. Even those that are tougher are completely weighed down,”

said Tim Loughton, an MP on the Home Affairs Committee. “Any boat coming up alongside at speed would capsize most of these boats anyway and then we’re looking at people getting into trouble in the water and drowning… and then we’ll get blamed for that.”

Escalating the incident, Patel then threatened to withhold €62.7 million that had been pledged in an agreement between the UK and France to increase patrols on the French coast to prevent boats from launching. A French interior ministry source said there had “never been any question of making payment conditional on numerical targets... Such an approach would reflect a serious

loss of confidence in our cooperation.”

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, Calais MP PierreHenri Dumont said “nothing” could completely stop migrant crossings and called it “impossible” for French police to patrol the whole shoreline. “The fact is, we've got 300 to 400 kilometres of shore to monitor every day and every night and it's quite impossible to have police officers every 100 metres because of the length of the shore. We have more and more patrols. The money that was promised to be given by the UK government to France is set to maintain this number of patrols that we already doubled a few

weeks ago.”

Immigration has been a hot topic in Britain, especially since the Brexit referendum where reducing the number of foreigners was a key consideration for many, but while the subject is a bigger “issue” in the UK, it is a far bigger one in France. The UK processed around 32,000 asylum applications in 2020, while France and Spain had more than 75,000 and Germany well in excess of 100,000. Immigration will likely move higher up the news agenda in France, however, in the run-up to the presidential elections due next April, where Marine le Pen is expected to use the issue to gather popular support. ■

Licences removed for driving with phones

G

endarmes in the Alpes-Maritimes department have carried out an operation to raise awareness of the new, stricter rules for mobile phone usage while driving. Enforcing the new laws, five drivers near Nice had their driving licences immediately removed as authorities battle to reduce the dangerous practice among the wider public.

Until the recent Loi d’orientation des mobilités, anyone caught using their mobile phone at the wheel faced an immediate €135 fine and three points off their licence. Under the new, stricter rules, however, if you are caught using your phone while committing any other road traffic offence, your driving licence can also be instantly removed for up to six months.

The law was introduced at the end of 2019, but only came into effect this summer. The recent operation near Nice is believed to

be the first time that it has been enforced in a large, targeted manner. Among numerous infractions and fines handed out, 5 drivers also had their driving licences removed. The worst offender was a lorry driver on a notoriously dangerous curve of the A8 main road.

Driving at 80 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, the man was also tailgating the traffic in front of him and overtaking on the right, all while watching a video on his phone.

When he was stopped by gendarmes, the driver said he thought it was OK because he was not using his phone to make a call, but only to watch a video. The multiple offences meant he was banned from driving for six months.

Other instances of licences being suspended involved a combination of mobile phone usage and failing to give way, jumping traffic lights and overtaking without using indicators.

Police have been keen to stress that only fully integrated hands-

free sets, or integrated helmet and mic sets, can be used while driving. Wired, or wireless headphones are not permitted and could see you lose your licence if you commit a secondary offence.

Furthermore, according to a 2018

ruling handed down by France's highest court, the Cour de cassation, pulling over to take a call is also not permitted – you must be parked in a recognised parking space before picking up or touching your phone.

Phone usage is a growing cause of road accidents, accounting for 10% of all incidents. Studies have shown that looking at your phone to read a message takes your eyes off the road for an average of five seconds. ■

FRENCH LIFE ♦ 13

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Cabbage, but not like you had at school!

T

by Julia Watson he cook at my school was an elderly woman in a twilight blue floor-length dress with a white pinny over it named Fanny who had been in the kitchen ever she had left school herself. When she turned 80, a major British national came to interview her.

They did it again when she turned 90. She was persuaded to retire when she turned 93, as the steps down to her basement lair were made of stone worn by centuries of scraping feet and dangerous to even the youngest pupil who made a way down to the stinking dining room.

It stank, as did the rest of the school, of slowly stewed cabbage. Every Monday and Wednesday, all the years of our scholastic lives, Fanny and her team cooked us cabbage-meat-and-potato. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we had salad-meat-and-potato. On Fridays, the best day, we had sausage-beans-and-potato. All of it reeked of stewed cabbage, even Friday’s treat.

If you’re British, it’s likely you have a similar experience in your own past. It’s odd that of all the foodstuffs we’re reputed as a nation to abuse, the cabbage is one of the vegetables most easy to cook and - in other cuisines - respected and made thoroughly delicious.

Recently, though, cabbage has been enjoying a culinary renaissance, particularly the Hispi variety, that pointed heart-shaped cabbage whose Instagram influencers love it cut in quarters and charred. It’s as good blanched for a couple of minutes in salted water then stirred into very buttery mashed potato for colcannon, the Irish dish, as it is finely sliced and spiced up by quickly sautéeing it with as much finely chopped garlic, chilli and ginger as you like then dobbing it with soy sauce before serving. Either of these go well with a grilled fillet of salmon or a pork chop, or the latter version just with steamed brown rice.

But the common white Dutch football cabbage makes a good sweetand-sour version, excellent as a side dish with just about any meat.

Finely shred it. Heat up a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or deep sauté pan, throw in the cabbage and stir it about quickly to coat it, then toss over 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of vinegar that you’ve previously mixed together in a small glass. Toss all this together quickly so as to preserve the crunch, then serve.

In South-West France, however, you should comfort yourself over the approach of winter with its renowned Garbure. A rustic meal in a tureen, this gets even better if made the day before, allowing its flavours to develop. If you want to eat it the most common French way, ladle out the vegetable soup separately with the meats following as the next course and serve with cornichons, mustard, and a green salad. But soup and meats served together make an impressive and substantial one-dish meal. ■ Julia Watson has been a long-time Food Writer for newspapers and magazines in the US and the UK. She writes 'Tabled', a weekly food blog at juliawatson.substack.com

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1¾ litres water

3 small white turnips, peeled and chopped

250g salt pork belly, chopped into large chunks

1 bouquet garni Salt and pepper to taste

250g white haricot beans (Tarbais are best), soaked overnight

250g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

1 duck or goose carcass (optional) 2 large onions, one peeled and stuck with 2 cloves, the other roughly chopped

6 pieces of confit de canard

2 leeks, the white plus 2 inches/5cm green, trimmed and washed

6 thick slices baguette, preferably stale, toasted and rubbed with a clove of garlic

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1 small cabbage, shredded

Fill a large pan with the water. Add the pork belly and beans and carcass. Bring to the boil, skimming frequently. Add the onion stuck with cloves, turn down the heat and simmer 1 hour.

In a sauté pan over low heat, soften the leeks and chopped onions in butter. Add to the soup with the turnips, bouquet garni, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 45 minutes. Discard the bones, carcass and clove-studded onion. Add the potatoes and Jambon de Campagne. Bring back to the boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the confit and cabbage. Simmer for 20-30 minutes more.

Put a slice of toast into the bottom of each soup bowl before serving the vegetable soup alone then followed by the meats and vegetables as the main course with cornichons and mustard. Or everything together at once for a hearty one-dish meal.

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175g Jambon de Campagne with its bone, or other smoked ham

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The wines of Bergerac English-speaking winemakers

I

t was with a touch of sadness that I learned this month that Château Lestevenie, near Monestier in the Saussignac region in the south-west of Bergerac, has gone up for sale. My friend Humphrey Temperley has recovered from his stroke, but reckoned that it was time to retire.

The new owners will no doubt continue the Temperley tradition of making excellent and yet affordable wines, and the stocks of Sue and Humphrey’s wines of recent years will be available for a year or two. But a vineyard that was for me a landmark is embarking on a new future and I wish it well.

It is always with a touch of guilt that I write about the Lestevenie wines because after my first visit and tasting, I wrote in these pages that they were producing the best red wine I knew that cost less than ten euros a bottle. Little did I know that Sue and Humphrey were planning to raise their prices.

But after my article appeared they felt obliged to keep the old price for another season, even though they then won accolades from the Guide Hachette and another prize from the Concours of Bergerac.

In writing about them and their excellent wines, it struck me that too little attention has been paid to the important role of the English-speaking winemakers of the Bergerac and the contribution they have made to the veritable Renaissance of the region’s wines over the past forty years.

The tradition stretches back much longer than that. Few now remember that St Emilion owes its renown to England’s King John (of Magna Carta fame) in the early 13th century when he thought it looked a promising hillside for wine and invited French winemakers to come and make it flourish, promising them much easier taxation than the French crown then imposed.

The Consulat de la Vinée de Bergerac, the body that ensured the quality of the wines and organised the trade downriver to Bordeaux and England, was founded in the year 1254

by England’s King Henry III. (It continues to this day and I am proud to be one of the Grand Consuls, an honour and a responsibility I take very seriously, by writing about and promoting and drinking our wines wherever I can.)

© sabino.parente - Fotolia.com

by Martin Walker

The Bergerac vineyards almost died out in the late 19th century when the plague of phylloxera savaged vineyards across Europe. The region felt itself fortunate that its influence in the new National Assembly of the Third Republic in the 1870s had sufficient political clout to take advantage of the new wonder crop of tobacco. A national monopoly was established, not just to manage the production and exploitation of tobacco but also to sell it through licensed tabacs.

The politics of this were crucial. The Third Republic feared being overthrown by a rural counter-revolution led by the Catholic Church and the land-owning notables in the regions.

So they set up a counter-force in every village, of the local schoolmaster and the local tabac, who would be loyal to the Republic that guaranteed their jobs.

Then just as the Bergerac vineyards were trying to revive after World War Two came the great frost of 1956, so cold for so long that it killed the roots of the vines. To survive, Bergerac began producing cheap wines for the new supermarkets.

But then came the revival, spurred on by the immigrants from Britain, led by Nick Ryman. He sold the chain of stationers he had built up and bought Château de la Jaubertie (now run by his son, Hugh) and began exporting his wines to Britain. The combination he promoted of high-quality wines at low prices has been the key to Bergerac’s revival.

Nick’s maître de chai for some years was Charles Martin, son of a racing driver, who developed the Cuvée Mirabelle, in red and in white, the wine that first convinced me more than twenty years ago that the Bergerac vineyards were doing something very special.

The Rymans were followed by others, like Patricia Atkinson at Clos d’Yvigne. Abandoned by her husband and knowing little of wine, she buckled down, learned her trade with the help of her loyal French staff and built a legend of fine wines and wrote a wonderful book, The Ripening Sun: One woman and the creation of a vineyard.

In the Saussignac, Richard Doughty broke his leg while skydiving at Bergerac, and while healing stayed on to buy Château Richard, turn it into a success and also a revolution,

as a pioneer of the then-new organic wine movement. Then in the Montravel in the 1990s, Neil and Olivia Donnan took over the Château Masburel, which had produced wine since the year 1740, and began the lutte raisonnée system of fewer pesticides and a more organic approach.

More recently, the English speakers from elsewhere have come to the fore. At Château Feely, one of my favourites, Caro and Sean Feely hail from Ireland and South Africa and make some of the outstanding wines of the region. They use bio-dynamic methods to produce wines of extraordinary purity and clarity and Caro has produced a series of terrific books on her family’s experiences. She runs wine tours, vineyard walks, wine tastings and education classes, holds wine lunches and runs gîtes and has raised two fine daughters - I get exhausted just thinking about her energy.

And the other day, I took some American friends to another English-speaking vineyard, Château de Fayolle, a jewel of an old chateau which is now producing very good wines indeed. It boasts the most inviting and up-to-date tasting room in the region and offers extremely good lunches on the terrace with one of the finest views I know, overlooking a lake on the property which boasts paddle boats. (Tip: take the boats out before tasting the wines.) The new owners, Frank and Riki Campbell are Americans but now great ambassadors for the wines of Bergerac.

That tradition started by King John and Henry III goes on.

The English speakers have always had a special relationship with this part of France and I find it heart-warming that the connection continues into our own day, and gives us such splendid wines into the bargain. ■

Martin Walker, author of the best-selling ‘Bruno, chief of police’ novels, is a Grand Consul de la Vinée de Bergerac.

Formerly a journalist, he spent 25 years as foreign correspondent for The Guardian and then became editor-in-chief of United Press International. He and his wife Julia have had a home in the Périgord since 1999 and one of his great hobbies is visiting the vineyards of Bergerac.

DIRECTORY ♦ 15

OCTOBER 2021 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Business Directory

Your indispensable guide to finding local businesses & artisans

Architectural DRAWING SERVICE Renovating your French property?

New build?

Dossiers prepared Permis de Construire Déclarations Préalables

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CHARTERED STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

Pre-purchase & Structural Surveys.

Verbal & written reports.

Structural calculations & drawings.

Redevelopment ideas & solutions.

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Web: www.versineer.com Email: enquiries@versineer.com Siret: 498 843 051 00018

At Masterplans.eu we can help guide you through your planning application in France.

From initial feasibility to completed dossiers.

We will compile all the relevant drawings and complete the necessary paperwork to ensure your application proceeds smoothly.

We are equally at home working with clients here in France or those living abroad.

Tel: 05 55 80 72 83 Mob: 06 33 07 29 72 Email: info@masterplans.eu www.masterplans.eu Siret: 790 016 984 00011

Your advert here

Building Services Electricians

Dan Dan the odd Job Man!

06 04 17 80 93 Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

Building Services Carpenters/Joiners Darren Piper

Carpentry &

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e: darren.piper@hotmail.com

06 89 18 35 89 Siret: 847 651 072 00013

Building Services General

Entreprise Electricité Générale All aspects of electrical works undertaken Departments 36, 23, 87 & 86 UK / French Satellite and TV Aerial installations Décennale insured

06 16 91 64 67

contact@reactive-resource.com www.reactive-resource.com Siren: 808 481 170

CONFORELEC

06 32 81 13 15

Based near Bergerac General Maintenance - Shelving Woodwork and Carpentry Dry Walling - Small odd Jobs Garden Maintenance

Tel: 06 78 67 02 91 www.oddjobs.fr

siret: 831 746 193 00018

Building Services Architects/Surveyors

PARQUET WOOD FLOOR ● Renovation

● Machine Cleaning (also terraces) ● Dust Free Sanding

see main ad - pg 4

Alexander Kopp

For more information on advertising in the Bugle Business Directory, give us a call or send us an email:

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sales24@thebugle.eu

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06 04 17 80 93

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parquetparfait@gmail.com

www.parquet-parfait.fr Siret: 852 127 794 00018

Nigel’s Handyman Services Based near Beynac/Sarlat (24)

Garden/General Maintenance, Metal Repairs, Property Maintenance, Small Odd Jobs & General DIY A friendly & experienced service, all enquiries welcome

Tel: 06 02 16 76 37

Email: jillcarney68@aol.co.uk siret 848 588 919 00011

sales24@thebugle.eu

06 04 17 80 93

ANGLO SCAFFOLDING HIRE UK scaffolding supplied and erected here in France Qualified and fully insured FREE no obligation quotes Call Ian on

06 34 24 64 11

or find us on Facebook: @angloscaffolding

Email: akbrunnstrom@yahoo.co.uk SIRET: 799 067 939 00014

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE...

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Buying or selling small items...?

Check out our online Classifieds... updated daily!

www.thebugle.eu/classifieds.php

To place a Classified, simply email details of your item for sale to notices@thebugle.eu

16 ♦ DIRECTORY

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2021

ADVERTORIAL

New forced heirship changes – what might it mean for you?

- Rosemary Sheppard, Senior International Financial Adviser

T

he hot topic of conversation this last few weeks seems to have been around the recent change in law, specifically Article 913 Code civil, which refers to the réserve héréditaire (forced heirship), which has occurred relatively quietly. Whilst not wanting to go too deeply into this it could mean that you are no longer able to bypass children when it comes to inheritance, or at least the inheritance of your property in

France, if you die as a French resident.

As this contravenes the European succession law 650/2012, known more commonly as Brussels IV, which came into force on 17 August 2015 for all EU countries other than Ireland, the United Kingdom and Denmark, who opted out, many believe that the new article 913 of the Civil Code will not ultimately survive a challenge in the ECJ, but will potentially create chaos in the meantime.

This brings into play, more than ever, the need to carefully consider your succession planning now. This is particularly pertinent to those of us who have recently confirmed their residency by obtaining a Carte de Séjour under the

Withdrawal Agreement.

Firstly, a review of your Will with a notaire, who is familiar with this change, may be necessary.

Secondly, a review of your current finances and how they are structured for providing both a tax-efficient structure now and a suitable way to pass on your wealth to those that you really want to benefit from it in the future is a must.

France has investment structures that will enable you to dispose of your estate as best you can under the new rules and, as I have discussed in previous articles, the investment is not necessarily something that you have to hold in Euros or within the French banking system.

Financial planning in this

area has never been more relevant. Not only should you be considering this recent change in the law, but having obtained a Carte de Séjour you really need to be aware of how your finances will be affected as a permanent resident in France. What was previously tax efficient in the UK may no longer be the case.

As one of my clients recently told me “I am a great Googler, but this can be a minefield”. The best thing you can do is take advantage of the expertise available to you.

Blacktower will be by your side both now and in the future, we are here to help you.

To arrange a professional and impartial consultation please

contact me by email: Rosemary.sheppard@blacktowerfm.com, visit our website www.blacktowerfm.com or call me on 06 38 86 99 70.

This article is based on the opinion of the financial adviser and author, and does not reflect the views of Blacktower. The above information is based on current legislation which is subject to change and does not constitute as investment advice, or investment research and you should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity.

Blacktower Insurance Agents & Advisors Ltd is regulated in Cyprus by the Insurance Companies Con-

trol Service and registered with ORIAS in France.

Blacktower Financial Management (Cyprus) Ltd is regulated in Cyprus by the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission and is registered with the AMF in France.

Advertising in The Bugle Business Directory Advertising your business couldn’t be easier. Text only, boxed listings are available in our Business Directory from just €12.50/month.

Alternatively, why not spotlight your business with an Advertorial, available from 1/6 Page (€50 HT) up to Full Page (€300 HT).

Both Directory Adverts and Advertorials represent a cost effective way to put your brand in front of more than 30,000 pairs of eyes each month!!

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Directory adverts may only contain text (small logos may be allowed when supplied). The minimum contract length is 6 months.

Advertising is payable on publication. All prices are HT.

ADVERTORIAL

Houses on Internet: A Global Property Network

H

ouses on Internet – Global Property Services (hereafter referred to as “HOI-GPS”) is the internet/marketing company that has helped people sell their French property to buyers worldwide since 2009.

Richard Kroon, founder and director of the company: “In spite of Brexit, this year started off extremely well. When the COVID-19 crisis shut everything down, we decided to keep the international advertising of all properties at the same level.

“This seemed to be a good move. In spite of the lockdowns from time to time, we see a large number of prospective buyers making appointments for viewings, and sales of properties in all price ranges are now higher than usual in this period.

“It shows why our worldwide

advertising is so important. Our marketing efforts are definitely paying off and guarantee a worldwide exposure of your property to buyers, wherever they live.

“So far this year HOI-GPS has sold properties in the price range from €82,000 to €795,000 to people from 9 different countries: France, Belgium, Holland, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Denmark.

“The actual work all starts with the presentation of a property. If that’s not good enough, all other marketing efforts are useless. Our photographers usually take 150 to 200 photos of a house and in addition copy any good (summer) photos our clients may have themselves.

“About 50 to 60 of those photos are selected, enhanced and presented on the dedicated website we make for each property in

English, French and Dutch.

“The texts don’t just describe the house, garden and outbuildings, but information about shopping, schools, airports and leisure is given too.

“When the website for the house is online, we first connect it to our main HOI-GPS websites which attract over 135,000 visitors from 35+ countries each month. Most of these people find us through Google and additional Google advertising.

“To reach an even larger audience, a summary of the presentation of the house is also placed on several other leading property websites.

These adverts are also connected to the dedicated website of the house, making it all one big global property network.

“As the property market has become a global one, a prospective buyer can be on the other side of the world while the owner is in bed sleeping. With our approach, the buyer does not have to wait and can

see the entire property whenever they want, at the moment they are interested in it.”

For more information on HOIGPS or to market your property through them, visit their website. ■

Houses on Internet Global Property Services www.housesoninternet.com

+31 (0)6 41 20 73 69

DIRECTORY ♦ 17

OCTOBER 2021 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Stephen Wisedale

Computers, Internet & Satellites

WiFi Anglais

Garden Services

Gifts & Crafts

Frederic Jardinage

Christmas Cards Now Available!

Keeping you connected!

Harlequin Satellite TV

English Free to Air Satellite TV... Freesat French Satellite TV... TNT English Subscription TV Full installation service DIY Kits Dishes realigned/upgraded Trouble shooting Covering16, 23, north 24, 36, east 86, & 87

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We aim to solve your Internet and Wi-Fi problems… call us now!

Wi-Fi networks for homes, gîtes and small businesses.

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Food & Drink

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Traditional Fish & Chips in a town near you

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The Dordogne Chippy

All venues are in the evening between 6pm & 8.30 pm Wednesday: Mauzac, Le Barrage Thursday: Eymet 1st & 3rd Friday: Lauzun 2nd Friday: Ste-Alvère Last Friday: Campagnac-lès-Quercy See our website for full details:

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CONTINUED NEXT PAGE...

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Buying or Selling French Property?

Legal advice from English-speaking lawyers Also the #1 portal for property auctions

www.frenchpropertylawyer.fr

05 55 82 18 99

Worship services in English held throughout the Dordogne: Bertric Burée, Chancelade, Eymet Temple, Limeuil, Négrondes, Sainte Nathalène (near Sarlat).

All are welcome!!

Please visit our website for more information: www.churchinaquitaine.org Find us on Facebook: English Church Aquitaine

18 ♦ DIRECTORY

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2021

ADVERTORIAL

“SolarVenti”- the solar solution to damp and humidity

A

simple solar energy system that runs on its own, even when you are not there! – And provides a free heat supplement in winter.

The Solarventi air panel was invented more than 20 years ago by Hans Jørgen Christensen, from Aidt Miljø, with the backing of the Danish government. He wanted to use the sun’s energy for airing and ventilation of the thousands of holiday homes on the West coast of Jutland, - houses that were left empty and unheated for long periods - houses with damp problems, mould and bad odours - houses that left their owners with discomfort, lots of work and expense. He wanted a system that would be safe, simple, without the need for radiators, water and/or mains electricity. Slowly but surely, the first Solarventi model came

together.

How it works The principle behind Solarventi is simple: a small, builtin, solar cell powers a 12V fan that is connected to an air vent, a control unit and an on/ off switch.

Whenever the sun shines, the air in the solar panel is heated and the fan, receiving power from the solar cell, introduces warm, dry air into your home at the rate of 20 to 100 cubic metres per hour.

The initial models were more than capable of keeping the cottages dry (and ventilated), even with the limited sunshine hours available in Denmark during the winter season. Since that time, the technology has really come along in leaps and bounds. Now, more than 20 years later, the 3rd and 4th generation Solarventi have exceed-

ed all expectations.

In Southern Europe, Solarventi is not only used for ventilation/dehumidification purposes; with far more winter sunshine hours, it also provides a substantial heating supplement. Several technical and governmental studies show that incoming air temperature can be increased by as much as 40°C. A DIY Solution?

The installation process is very straightforward and should only take two or three hours. All that is needed is a drill, hammer and chisel to make a hole in the wall. Roof installations are also possible. In fact, the Solarventi was originally designed to be a DIY product - in Scandinavia it still is.

There are no electrical or water connections and it can be safely left running, even when

Health & Beauty

Retail & Commerce

FRENCH HEALTHCARE

bookstop

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English second-hand books Tea room Art exhibitions

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30% off Spring Special extended

Ask me about FUNERAL COVER Free quote, direct contact Get in touch for more information or a free appointment: email: evelyne.drouin@axa.fr tel : 06 76 46 13 43

Property Maintenance La Conciergerie Taking care of your home all year round providing you with a wintering service, managing your summer rentals or organising a happy holiday for you.

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the property is empty. Solarventi requires no maintenance - if the property is unoccupied during the hot summer months, then it can be left running at low speeds for ventilation and dehumidification purposes or simply switched off.

With a range of panel sizes, and the option for wall or roof mounting, Solarventi is suitable for all types of buildings, caravans or even boats!! Following the patenting of its design in 2001, Solarventi has only recently been actively commercialized. Over the last six years, Solarventi units have been installed in more than 24 countries and demand is increasing rapidly. From Greenland to Australia, Solarventi is finally getting the recognition it deserves. ■ Units start from €490 TTC.

Can your business fill this space?

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06 04 17 80 93 Transport, Removals & Storage

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SOLARVENTI - Available in the Dordogne From Harlequin Developments Tel: 05 55 68 67 56 Mobile: 06 06 60 46 97

Franklins Removals

A family business offering a quality, professional service since 1985

Contact Stephen or Ben: 0044 121 353 7263 sales@franklinsremovals.co.uk www.franklinsremovals.co.uk

Smart Moves For a fully insured, careful service

FORTNIGHTLY SERVICES TO FRANCE FULL OR PART LOADS WELCOME WE COLLECT FROM ALL AREAS OF THE UK AND DELIVER TO ALL AREAS OF FRANCE Find us on Facebook: @smartmovesukfrance Please CALL or EMAIL Stephen

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06 04 17 80 93 Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

Latest news throughout the month: www.thebugle.eu NEDWA - North Eastern Dordogne Women’s Association Come along and meet us on Tuesday 26th October from 10:30 am to 12 noon for our next Coffee Morning at the Auberge du Pont, route de Lanouaille, 24390 Cherveix-Cubas.

Always be sure of a warm welcome, good company and genuine friendship. For more information and details of upcoming events, see:

https://nedwa.wordpress.com - nedwa24@gmail.com

NEDWA is a dynamic, multi-national group of around 100 women of all ages... Whether you are retired and feel like meeting some friendly faces, work from home and want to network, or just need to get out and attend some good monthly events, NEDWA fills the gap.

Activities include a book club, sewing circle, coffee mornings, walks, lunches, speakers on topics which relate to you and much more.

OCTOBER 2021 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

WHAT’S ON ♦ 19

Pumpkin Festival Sunday 17th October, Issigeac See pumpkins and gourds in all shapes, sizes and colours and sample the delicious pumpkin soup.

9h - 18h.

Get in touch today to find out how we can put your business in front of

30,000 readers each month

SALES24@THEBUGLE.EU

06 04 17 80 93

20 ♦ WHAT’S ON

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ OCTOBER 2021

Music in the Dordogne sponsored by ARCADES Join us for concerts in the air conditioned new hall in Le Buisson, mostly of classical music, with top class French,

English, Russian and other international performers. Concert tickets cost €15 including wine in the interval.

All events are organised by volunteers and serve as a meeting ground for the French and international communities of the Dordogne, including ACIP and La Tulipe.

Venue - Le Buisson de Cadouin, salle des fêtes, avenue Aquitaine

For more info, tel 06 31 61 81 68 or 05 53 23 86 22 or visit http://www.arcadesinfo.com/

Sunday 24th October at 5 pm Piano Recital by Karl Lutchmayer

Programme: Liszt - Totentanz (solo version), Beethoven - Sonata in e minor op 90, Mendelssohn - Variations sérieuses Op 54., Alkan - Etude Op76 no.2 (Fantasie for Left Hand alone), Busoni - 9 Variations on prelude of Chopin [1924], Liszt - Venezia e Napoli Karl Lutchmayer is equally renowned as a concert pianist and a lecturer. A Steinway Artist, Karl performs across the globe. Karl also holds an academic lectureship at Trinity Laban and is a regular guest lecturer at conservatoires around the world, including the Juilliard and Manhattan Schools in New York. ** Entry to the concert only in accordance with current governmental regulations

Basket Fair - Sainte-Eulalie-d’Ans Sunday 10th October Professional basket makers will be exhibiting their creations and offering demonstrations of their skills throughout the day.

The Jardins de Marqueyssac are again organising a special day dedicated to birds of prey and swallows in their centuries-old boxwood gardens.

This event will be an opportunity to follow conferences on raptors and in particular to see them during the night visit. Also on the agenda are exhibitions, workshops and a treasure hunt.

RDV Sunday 31st October for an exceptional day!

Visit www.marqueyssac.com for more information.

For this 11th edition of the Salon Rue des Métiers d’Art, thirty artists and artisans will present their latest collections and demonstrate their skill and creativity in the centre of Nontron from 29th-31st October.

Friday 14h-19h, Saturday 10h-19h and Sunday 10h-18h. Entry €2; Free for Under 16s.

For more information visit www.metiersdartperigord.fr

www.facebook.com/TheBugleFrance