The Bugle Dordogne - Sep 2015

Low-cost coach travel on the horizon

Following deregulation of the industry, the region is set to see a boom in low-cost coach >> Page 3 travel.

Dordogne September 2015 - Issue #27

Passengers foil deadly train attack A group of brave passengers, including 2 offduty American servicemen, have tackled a Kalashnikov-wielding attacker on a packed Thalys train in northern France. Armed with 270 rounds of ammunition, their actions narrowly averted a bloody massacre. radar of the intelligence services when German authorities warned he had boarded a plane for Turkey, seen as a possible sign that he travelled to war-torn Syria.

In June, he landed back in Albania, and travelled across Europe before boarding the Amsterdam-Paris train in Brussels.

During the journey, El Khazzani visited the toilet, where he removed his top before bursting out carrying the Kalashnikov, 270 rounds of ammunition, a Luger hand gun and a Stanley knife. A French banker waiting outside the toilet saw him emerge and immediately tackled him, pinning the would-be murderer against the luggage rack. During the scuffle, shots were fired before the man entered the adjoining carriage, which hap-

>> continued on page 11

NEWS - Elly the elephant packs her trunk

A life-sized elephant has taken up residence at Limoges Airport to help raise awareness of the Elephant Haven, a sanctuary for old or retired pachyderms >> Page 5

NEWS - Plant solution to Asian hornets?

A carnivorous plant has been discovered that selectively preys on the invasive Asian hornet, giving hope for a solution to the problem. >> Page 6

Bilingual - The humble "French" croissant

We take a bilingual look at the history of that most French of staples, the croissant, but where exactly does it come from? >> Page 15

© Pastorius (WikiCommons)

A

deadly attack was narrowly avoided in August when a group of passengers tackled a Kalashnikov-wielding man on a packed Thalys train in northern France. Ayoub El Khazzani, a Moroccan national, has been charged with attempted murder of a terrorist nature.

He was also charged with weapons offences related to terrorism, and “participation in a terrorist association with a view to organising one or several damaging crimes”.

El Khazzani lived in Spain for seven years until 2014, where he came to the attention of authorities for making hard-line comments defending jihad, attending a radical mosque in the port of Algeciras and being involved in drug trafficking. In May this year, he was again on the

INSIDE > > >

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2 ♦ IN THIS EDITION

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O

ne of Hollywood’s f a v o u r i t e blacksmith images is of a burly man thrusting a red hot piece of metal into a barrel of cold water in order to temper and strengthen it. I’m reliably informed that this is not quite how blacksmiths operate in the real world, but you can see why the image appeals to film-makers.

It does work, however, at least it does for certain metals.

If the same principle applied to humans, then I think I would be as tough as a samurai’s blade at the moment. After the sweltering heat of July, where temperatures were up around the 40 degree mark, the beginning of August was not quite the same. The heat and drought were so severe, that the headline in our last edition read “Record

temperatures, drought and fires”.

Within a week or so, however, temperatures had plummeted - the dangers of writing headlines for a monthly publication!

On at least one occasion in August I found myself reaching for a jumper and, unthinkable as it may seem, the bedroom window was even closed on one particularly cool evening.

Before long, however, the high temperatures were back and I write this as the mercury is showing 35 degrees and tempers are frayed! I’ve decided to coin it Goldilocks weather, although the period of “just right” doesn’t last long enough for me!

By the time you read this, la rentrée will be over and it will be the start of the end of summer.

Since my first child reached school age I always look forward to this

day from about the 1st July. As anyone with young children will know, the summer holidays can be a challenging time, despite the excellent services offered by the numerous centres de loisirs across the region. Add into the mix working from home and the result is often many late nights working once the little cherubs are finally asleep.

It’s a funny time of year and I have trouble explaining what la rentrée actually means. It is first and foremost, of course, the return to school, but in France the phrase permeates all aspects of life, not only those related to the education system. Shops which do not stock anything of educational benefit will hold rentrée promotions and the term is used in the same way that you’d use “Easter” in English to refer to a general time of year, as opposed to one particular Sunday.

We have run 2 pieces this month relating to scams (see pages 5 & 8). It’s an unfortunate fact of life that certain people always try to prey on others, but the ever changing nature of modern scams makes it hard to avoid becoming a victim. Throw into the equation that expats are often dealing with this in a second language, and they make a ripe target. I consider myself to be suitably cynical these

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days, but the delivery driver scam may have got me - it’s certainly one I’ve never heard of before.

It’s a shame that you have to put a “scam filter” on everything you read and hear, but it is a modern day fact of life. My rules when in doubt are: delete everything and if it’s important they’ll write back; hang up and if it’s important they’ll call back; and never, ever give over personal details when first contact is by phone or email.

Anyway, this heat is driving me mad, so I’m off for a cold shower to temper my temper.

Until next month!

Steve Martindale, Editor

CONTACT us Tel: 05.55.41.17.76

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INSIDE this edition 3-5 Local News 6-11 National News 12 French Life 13-14 Practical 15 Bilingual 16 Games 17-20 Directory 21 Community 22-24 What’s On

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LOCAL NEWS ♦ 3

SEPTEMBER 2015 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

T

he north Dordogne town of Nontron hosted its annual Knife Festival in August.

Despite the downpours of the weekend, the event was judged one of the best since it was founded 20 years ago.

The gathering of cutlery enthusiasts attracted craftsmen, collectors and connoisseurs from across France and the world with exhibitors from Slovakia, Australia, Japan and Russia.

As well as displaying magnificent examples of the cutler’s craft, the Nontron weekend brought together artists and technical ex-

perts, demonstrating methods of producing the finest blades.

But there is more to a knife than its blade. The Fête du Couteau celebrates the whole instrument, including handles fashioned from poplar and beech, and fantastic creations from the bones of ostrich and zebra, tusks of wild boar and even mammoth fossils!

Nontron is famous for its own world-renowned knives, unique and rooted in the ancient local traditions of metallurgy and artistry.

The Coutellerie Nontronnaise was founded in 1653 and is open throughout the year. A gallery

© Coutellerie Nontronnaise (Facebook)

20 years of the Nontron Knife Festival

over the workshop allows visitors to see every stage in the manufacture of Nontron knives, ranging from pocket penknives to elegant

tableware.

For more information go to: www.coutellerie-nontronnaise.fr ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

Low-cost coaches arrive in the Dordogne

S

eptember marks the start of what is being hailed as a transport revolution. A new law comes into effect from the beginning of the month which will allow cheap long-distance coach travel in France (see more on page 10).

Put forward by Emmanuel Macron, it effectively deregulates the intercity coach industry. Under the old regulations, coach companies were prevented from competing

with the railways on an even footing. From the start of this month, travel between major destinations will be freely available and more affordable than the train. Passengers will be able to choose from a host of companies and routes. The major players poised to launch new services are iDBUS, isilines, Flexibus, Starshipper and the UK travel giant, Megabus.

The coach companies are all proposing attractively priced fares, for

instance Paris-Tours from €5 and Périgueux-Clermont-Ferrand also from just €5.

The new law liberalises journeys of over 100 km, but the industry expects this limitation to be extended in the future. Some restrictions, however, will be retained to protect local public bus services.

Joël Arcondeguy of the Starshipper travel company explained: “Previously, there were enormous restraints on coach travel. For ex-

ample, the severe restrictions on the number of tickets that could be sold within France. Now we are free to offer an attractive alternative.”

It is estimated that by the end of next year there will be around 200 long-distance coach companies operating across France with fares similar to the current car-sharing rates.

British coaches were deregulated in 1980 and remain a popular lowcost alternative to high rail fares. ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

4G network further extended As the roll-out of the super-fast mobile network continues across the country, telecoms operator SFR has unveiled a further 6 communes around Périgueux that now receive a 4G signal.

Residents of Razac-sur-l’Isle, Annesse-et-Beaulieu, Léguillacde-l’Auche, Marsac-sur-l’Isle, Marsaneix and Montrem should now be able to receive 4G, if their mobile phone is capable of doing so.

This brings to 49 the number of communes in the Dordogne that can receive high-speed mobile data via SFR. The other major telecoms networks are also continually adding to their existing coverage.

The 4G network uses the 20 MHz to 2.6 GHz frequency and allows for theoretical transfer speeds of up to 150 Mb/s. In reality, 4G is around 10 times faster than 3G which is itself faster than many fixed broadband lines. Under 4G a typical movie can be downloaded in around 3 minutes - a big leap forward from the days of dial-up when a single image would slowly appear on the screen in about the same amount of time! ■

4 ♦ LOCAL NEWS

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uring the busy summer tourist season, the Périgord has been protected by an additional force of police. A roving team of 6 mounted officers from the Garde Républicaine and Gendarmerie Nationale have been out and about in the Périgord throughout the holidays.

The scheme, involving 1 female and 5 male officers, has been hailed as a great success by all. Their week patrolling the Sarlat city and surroundings proved a tourist attraction in itself.

Roland Phillips, ex-Metropolitan Police and head of Brantôme Police Horses sanctuary, explained the

rôle of mounted police. “A mounted officer can get to places a vehicle can’t, like forests, riverbanks and so on. In towns, the officer is reassuringly visible to the public and has an excellent all-round viewpoint, ideal for locating a lost child or spotting a pick-pocket. And of course, it is great public relations. Horses are big and magnificent but they are gentle and affectionate, and have the bulk to deal with things like football hooligans.”

The French officers and mounts work in pairs. The horses are French breeds and their riders are wellqualified, experienced and highly trained members of

© Gendarmerie de la Dordogne (Facebook)

Périgord summer mounted police

the Gendarmerie Nationale from which officers can be posted to the Garde Républicaine. To their traditional role of surveillance, search and crowd control has recently been added a respon-

sibility for environmental policing.

For more information on mounted policing go to www.brantomepolicehorses.com ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

La Poste bread delivery service ends

A

bold experiment in door-to-door bread deliveries has just ended in the Bergerac area.

Regional managers at La Poste have decided that the scheme had to be closed for economic reasons.

Looking to diversify, La Poste has come up with a series of ideas to use the postal service network in new and imaginative ways.

The bread delivery service around Bergerac, part of Opération Porteo, was inaugurated 8 months ago. Cyril Pélissou, communications manager at La Poste regional headquarters said that,

due to the reduced amount of surface mail in the digital age, La Poste needs to re-invent itself. He added, “We gave this bread delivery our best efforts, but sadly it cannot be economically maintained.”

The bread-by-post scheme was widely welcomed at first, with 80 customers signed up. Alexandre Ruher, a baker in Prigonrieux who supplied bread to the scheme, added: “Even if the bread was charged at ten centimes more than in the shops, a home delivery would still be appreciated by people who can’t get out and about. We have

suffered a reduction in turnover, but for me the sad thing is to know that people who don’t have access to a bakery near them will now go without.”

In the meantime, as in the past, good friends and neighbours will fill the gaps.

La Poste plans to retain three of its other innovative services

designed for people with reduced mobility including: Cohesio, whereby the postman/ woman checks on vulnerable residents; Releveo, where the letter carrier reads utility meters; and Porteo for deliveries of medication. Service provision is determined by local demand. ■

by Brian Hinchcliffe

Flashers target Bergerac beauty spot Special police patrols have been ordered by the Mayor of Bergerac at one of the most popular beauty spots on the Dordogne river.

Night-time encounters between homosexual men have been a feature of the riverside beach, known as the Grand Caudou just outside of the town, for many years but now it is also being used by flashers during the daytime.

This has resulted in a spate of complaints from tourists and dog walkers who say they have come across naked men in bushes near the riverbank.

On one occasion a woman walker was accosted by a man who ordered her to lie on the ground while he removed his clothes.

Frightened she ran off, and has vowed never to go back.

Not long after, a young couple were accosted by a man who jumped out of a bush with his shorts and underpants around his knees. He followed them as they hurriedly made their way back towards the town.

The owner of a nearby guest house said more and more of his clients were complaining at the behaviour of these individuals. “I have now had to advise them that they really shouldn’t go walking along the river at that point. With used syringes on the one hand, and men jumping out of bushes on the other, there are plenty of reasons not to. People daren’t go on the beach, which is one of the prettiest spots in the town.”

Bergerac Mayor Daniel Garrigue has now decided enough is enough. A spokesman for the Mayor said: “Even if no complaints are made we are sending officers out to monitor the situation so we can find out exactly what is going on there.”

A man was also arrested for flashing at Bergerac’s municipal lake at Pombonne in early August and police patrols have been ordered for the bathing spot. ■

by Adrian Lithgow

LOCAL NEWS ♦ 5

SEPTEMBER 2015 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

I

f you find yourself at Limoges Airport this September, keep an eye out for “Miss Elly”, although you shouldn't have to look too hard as she is a life-sized elephant! Miss Elly is the creation of local artist Em Bryant and will be spending some time grazing outside the airport to help raise awareness - and hopefully money! - for the European elephant sanctuary, Elephant Haven, just outside Oradour-sur-Vayres in the south-west of Haute-Vienne.

The sanctuary is the brainchild of Flemish couple Tony Verhulst and Sofie Goetghebeur, who each have 20 years' experience working with animals at Antwerp Zoo. Before embarking on this adventure, Tony had been a full-time carer for the zoo's elephants since 2001.

“A big factor in deciding to launch this project is the gradual phasing out of live animals

from circuses across Europe,” explained Tony, speaking to The Bugle. “Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Croatia and Bulgaria are already in the process of banning animals from the circus and many other European countries are looking to follow suit. Animals which have been part of a circus, such elephants and lions, cannot usually be returned to the wild and we want to provide somewhere they can live out their days in peace as the alternative is often euthanasia.”

Having decided to establish a sanctuary for these ageing pachyderms, the couple began searching for a location, but their native Belgium did not provide a suitable environment. “Land is more scarce in Belgium, and elephants need a lot of land,” said Tony. “We soon began searching further afield and the Limousin had everything we needed: rolling hills in a national park, with

Delivery call scam warning

We recently received the following letter from reader Alan Whitten, warning people of a new scam that is apparently doing the rounds. Subsequently, this scam was also featured in the local French press.

Have you had a call similar to this?

Have you come across a new kind of

© https://elephanthaven.wordpress.com

Elly the elephant packs her trunk

plenty of water and readily available supplies of hay.”

Whilst the Elephant Haven will be open to the public, its founders are keen to stress that they are not creating a zoo.

There will be not be any other animals at the sanctuary, there will not be any breeding programmes and the public will remain separated from the elephants at all times. According to Tony, they will be looking

scam?

Let us know – editor@thebugle.eu I think I have discovered an interesting little scam, but I may be wrong.

I took a call on our landline this morning from a young lady, who I am pretty sure was not French, but spoke French.

She told me a delivery driver was in the area with a parcel for me, but the address was not legible, so could I call the driver on 08 99 96 18 73 and quote parcel ref CL 00 41. I said “No, get the driv-

to provide educational opportunities, encouraging school trips and running workshops.

It is hoped that Miss Elly's stay at the airport will help to further raise the profile of the project and lead to more donations. To find out more about Tony and Sofie, their project and how to get involved or to make a donation, please visit their website www.elephanthaven.org ■

er to call me on my mobile”. 2 minutes later, she called on my mobile to say the driver couldn’t call so would I call the number. I was not happy but agreed. The number rang and the automated message gave me the costs of the call, and then asked me wait. It didn’t ring any more so I killed the call quickly.

I wondered whether you had heard of this, or if not maybe warn your readers, because I think it was a variant of the scam where the money is made by the phone call alone. ■

Dordogne villages without water for three days Residents of two small hamlets near Montignac were left frustrated in August following three days without water. The community, which has a healthy mix of expats and French residents, was left in the dark as to what caused the problem and how long it would take to fix. The situation was especially serious as the area is home to a number of gîtes, some of which were occupied by families with young children.

Despite contacting the water supplier Véolia, the residents claim that they were not kept informed and that they felt their complaints were not being taken seriously.

“It was very frustrating as we just didn’t know what was going on,” local resident Adam Barton told The Bugle. “Every time we spoke to them, they just said it would be fixed soon. Then it wasn’t and another day would go past. Eventually they brought us bottles of drinking water, but some holiday makers were considering moving into local hotels and I know of gîte owners who had to compensate their guests. We’ve still not had an apology or even an explanation.”

Although the situation was finally resolved, the angry residents have since written a letter which has been sent to Véolia; at the time of going to press, they had not received a response.

When contacted independently, Véolia admitted that it could have handled the situation better and explained that the problem was to do with calcified pipes.

They attributed their slow response to the holiday period, saying that staff shortages had stretched their resources.

The company added that it would look carefully at any claims for damages from the residents. ■

6 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ SEPTEMBER 2015

Plant could be the answer to Asian hornets

A

60-year-old man has died after being stung twice by Asian hornets, taking the number of such deaths to four since 2009.

The victim, who had a history of heart problems, from Sainte-Sève in Brittany, approached an Asian hornet nest which had been built next to a shed in his garden. The man banged against the shed and the angry insects attacked him, stinging him twice “between the shoulder and the neck”. The stings resulted in cardiac arrest and despite the best efforts of emergency services, the man was later pronounced dead at the Cavale-Blanche Hospital in Brest.

Asian hornets have been terrorising France for a decade now, since they were first introduced into the country; typically native to Shanghai, they are believed to have arrived on the south coast in a shipment of pottery from China. They pose relatively little danger to humans - their venom is no more potent than the aver-

age wasp - although they do feed on the indigenous bee population. Along with climate changes and possible poisoning by pesticides, bee populations have been plummeting across Europe in recent years. The knock-on effect on the environment due to the loss of so many important pollinators is yet to be fully established.

Help may be at hand, however, after botanists unveiled a carnivorous plant that selectively preys on Asian hornets, whilst leaving wasps, bees and European hornets alone.

The head of a botanical garden in Nantes, Romaric Perrocheau, recently found a Sarracenia stem full of dead hornets and was quoted by AFP as saying the Sarracenia pitcher plant appears to have “invented a very selective trap” for the aggressive Asian hornet. After being attracted by Sarracenia's nectar and pheromones secreted on the plant's tubular leaves, the hornet crawls inside the rim at the top before slipping and plunging into the pitcher,

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where it is digested by the plant's juices.

The trap appears to be a European adaptation, as Asian hornets do not exist in Sarracenia's native Massachusetts, in the eastern US. Whilst further studies are launched, Mr Perrocheau has advised beekeepers to plant Sarracenia, also known as trumpet pitchers, around their hives. “They are easy to cultivate and there is no risk they will spread uncontrollably,” he said.

However, he warned that each plant, which has up to 15 pitchers, could only kill about 50 hornets at a time, while a typical nest may contain around 4,000 insects, so the plants alone will not take care of the problem.

Last year, Britain put the hornet on a “blacklist”, and a parliamentary report warned the “deadly” invader could soon cross the Channel. In April, The Independent newspaper reported that plans were in place to destroy their nests if they did eventually land on British shores. ■

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NATIONAL NEWS ♦ 7

SEPTEMBER 2015 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Très Jolie

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acré bleu! Just months after one of France's top bakers was fined for working seven days a week, there are fears of baguette shortages because, due to a recent law change, the country's bakers may all now go on holiday at the same time. In Paris, the iconic baguette is so beloved that historic laws previously insisted upon bakers curtailing their holidays to remain open throughout the summer months.

Following the changes, which are aimed at reducing the red tape faced by businesses, bakeries may now close at any time they like for the first time since the French Revolution. The 1790 law meant that all boulangeries would have to inform the authorities when they planned to shut their doors, so that there was always a constant supply of baguettes. The law had required half of the capital's 1,100 bakeries to stay open in July and the other half in August, ensuring that every neighbourhood would maintain continuous access to their daily bread.

Despite the law changes, bakers will still be told which day they have to take off each week so that not all bakeries are closed at the same time.

Parisian artist Anthony Stephenson revealed he has been forced to scour supermarkets for second rate baguettes because the local bakers had all vanished on holiday. “I have experienced it. Our local boulangerie, formally known as simply 'Artisan Boulangerie' changed its name to 'Utopie', then went on holiday. So, we've taken to buying those strange half-cooked mini baguettes from my local supermarket and putting them in the oven.”

“I went out to get a baguette a few days ago

and the two closest boulangeries to me were both closed for the first time ever,” another Parisian resident was quoted as saying.

Several newspapers have claimed that the issue has been blown out of proportion and certainly not everyone is upset by the changes.

Moujou Imed, a baker in a traditional boulangerie in the quiet 13th arrondissement on the Left Bank, remains open throughout the summer and has seen a positive outcome from the change in the law: “This has actually become a key business opportunity for us. At times we make and sell twice as many baguettes as the rest of the year because there is a real rush for it every night before dinner time.”

Earlier this year, a baker found himself on the opposite end of a similar law. Stéphane Cazenave, who runs a bakery in Saint-Paullès-Dax, southwestern France, and last year won “best baguette” at the national Fête du Pain competition, was told that he was in violation of a 1999 decree that states all bakeries must be closed for at least 24 hours each week, to promote competition between rival bakeries.

At the time, Mr Cazenave employed 22 staff, all of whom had two days off a week, and satisfied all labour laws in terms of working hours and conditions. It was the bakery itself that was at fault under the 1999 decree. “I am angry because in France, people are being prevented from working,” Mr Cazenave said at the time.

“We are companies. All we are asking to do is do business, create wealth, and in France, we are blocked by absurd laws and decrees. This means a net loss of €250,000 of revenue per year... I’m going to have to lay off one or two employees.” ■

© 2009 - jules/stonesoup (WikiCommons)

Law change prompts baguette shortage fears

8 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

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T

he world organisation that represents pétanque has thrown its boule into the ring in the hopes that the sport will be included as an Olympic event before the 2024 Summer Games, which Paris is bidding to host. Various boules organisations have spent well over a decade trying to persuade the Olympic Committee to recognise the sport, without success.

The Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules is spearheading the latest bid to have the sport recognised as an Olympic event. “We are reasonably optimistic,” explained the organisation's president, Claude Azéma.

“For a new sport to be included, another one either has to go, or the number of teams taking part in an existing sport has to be reduced. It’s not about excluding any sports, it’s about being inclusive. We just want some sports, like mens football that has its own World Cup, to field fewer teams and make room for us. It’s a long campaign but we hope we will see boules as an Olympic sport by 2024 and we’ll do our best to get there.”

The campaign is being run under the banner “Same sport, different disciplines” and recent changes to Olympic rules may work in France's favour. From 2020,

host cities will be able to include a handful of extra sports of their own choosing, giving fans of pétanque added hope should Paris win the fight to host the 2024 Games.

Although the sport may be most closely associated with elderly Frenchmen on a town square sipping Pastis between throws, it is a truly international one. According to Mr Azéma, there are an estimated 30 million players worldwide, of whom about 1 million belong to one of the 272 national federations that exist in 162 countries.

Thierry Tomasin, a Frenchman who runs a restaurant in London, where he has lived for 24 years, recently launched the Londonaise international pétanque competition, a British version of the celebrated annual Marseille tournament. Tomasin says there are about 2,000 registered pétanque players in Britain, some of them French who have settled in the UK, but many of them British: “We have clubs in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and a growing number of Irish players. My personal dream would be to play pétanque for England.

That would be the icing on the cake. I come from Toulouse and I started to play with my father when I was five or six years old, so I have grown up with the game.” ■

© Moribunt (WikiCommons)

Pétanque bids for 2024 Olympic inclusion

Warnings over email phishing scams

W

arnings have been issued over a series of email “phishing” scams doing the rounds claiming to be from France's official public administrative body - Service-Public. fr. The latest scam involves an email relating to the carte Vitale, the card used to obtain healthcare refunds in France.

The emails appear to come from government email addresses and often carry the Service-Public.fr logo at the top, but are anything but official.

The latest scam reported by users regards an email inviting them to download a form, within 24 hours, to obtain the new carte Vitale V 3.1 and asking them to provide personal details.

The government, via Service-Public.fr, has once again reiterated that it never sends out emails asking for personal information or bank details. It has warned the public not to respond and to delete messages from your inbox.

If you have already replied to the email, you should contact your bank immediately to block any fraudulent

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transactions being made.

Phishing emails that appear to come from government services can be reported using an online tool found at: www.internet-signalement.gouv.fr Similar scams have been run in the past involving EDF and Orange, who will also never ask for personal details by email. ■

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NATIONAL NEWS ♦ 9

10 ♦ NATIONAL NEWS

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Kidnapped child found safe and sound Short A&E waiting times

A

A recent report has shown that 90% of people visiting “Les Urgences” - the French equivalent of A&E - are seen within 30 minutes and 70% receive treatment within one hour.

The study was carried out by official statistics body Drees, which measured the waiting times at 734 emergency wards on one randomly selected day of the year, as well as the total time spent in A&E. Furthermore, the figures show that 75% of patients have their details taken within 5 minutes, with only 5% having to wait more than 15 minutes to be admitted; half are seen within just 4 minutes.

As you might expect, the young and the elderly were typically seen the quickest, although, despite being admitted very quickly, the over-75s then had to wait the longest for their treatment. Half of patients who needed a bed were found one within 15 minutes and only one in ten had to wait as long as four hours for a bed.

The statistics for French hospitals come as England recently met its own A&E target of treating 95% of all patients within 4 hours for the first time in 33 consecutive weeks. ■

m i s s i n g 4-year-old boy has been found safe and well 24 hours after he was abducted, thanks to France's abduction alert system - “Plan Alerte Enlèvement”. Information and images about Rifki, a boy originally from the east African island of Comoros, were splashed across French media after he went missing from a central square in Rennes and the rarely-used alert plan was put into action.

The following day, a woman on a high-speed TGV train near Bordeaux in south-western France alerted police after she recognized the boy, who was sitting directly across from her with a man. When the train stopped at the next station, Libourne, some 450 km from the point of his abduction, the doors

were locked to prevent escape, police rescued the boy and arrested the man with him.

French prosecutors confirmed that the boy was “safe and sound” and had not been subjected to any physical assault, although it subsequently emerged that his abductor had previously been held for molesting a minor.

The man who abducted the child was living at the same address as Rifki, the boy's mother and uncle, as well as the landlord, although they had only known him for a matter of days. The group were on the place de la Mairie in Rennes and when the uncle and landlord returned from a shop, the boy's mother told them that the man they knew as Ahmed had taken Rifki to buy drinks. When they didn't return, the family pan-

icked, searching the area all afternoon before raising the alert with police.

“This is another demonstration of the effectiveness of our abduction alert device, which has led to this favourable outcome,” said the local prosecutor. “The information was disseminated quickly throughout the country, arriving with this lady, several hundred kilometres from where the kidnapping happened.”

It was the 16th time the abduction alert system has been activated since it was introduced in 2006, resulting in a 100% success rate. The alert is triggered by the justice ministry, on the request of a local public prosecutor, when a child has been kidnapped and their life is in danger.

Hundreds of television and radio stations around France have signed up

to the initiative, agreeing to broadcast the alert on their channels and on their website within three hours of it being issued.

National press agency AFP also publishes the alert, SFR sends out text messages, motorway op-

erators display the alert on roadside signs and the SNCF and Paris public transport operator RATP also broadcast the message. The system is similar to the Amber alert scheme used in the US and Canada. ■

Coaches to be fitted with breathalyzers

A

new law coming into force on 1st September will make it compulsory for all coaches in France to be equipped with a breathalyzer that will prevent the vehicle being started if the driver has been drinking. Drivers must blow into the alcohol-activated immobiliser (éthylotest antidémarrage, EAD); a reading of more than 0.1 mg per litre of exhaled air will disable the ignition system. A second attempt may be made a minute later, with a second failure immobilising

the vehicle for a further 30 minutes.

Road safety campaigners have been calling for the devices to be introduced more widely for several years; since 2010, the system has only been installed in new vehicles destined to transport children. The number of road deaths in France increased by 3.5 per cent in 2014 and by 3.8 per cent so far this year, with around 30 per cent of the deaths attributed to alcohol.

Under the new rules, alcohol-activated immobilisers, which cost around

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€1,000, will only be installed on domestic coaches in the first instance and the regulations will not apply to foreign coaches, urban buses or HGVs. Earlier this year, passengers on a bus in Lyon forcibly removed the keys from a driver who was driving through red lights and forgetting to open the doors at bus stops. He was later found to be driving with 2.6 g/l of alcohol in his blood, more than five times the legal limit.

Convicted drink drivers may also now be ordered by a judge to fit an im-

mobiliser to their own car.

The government’s CNSR road safety agency has also recommended further studies into the possibility of fitting alcohol immobilisers to young drivers’ cars.

The changes come as France's coach industry is set to boom, following the lifting of strict rules aimed at protecting the country's SNCF rail network from competition. The move is another aspect of the Macron Law, a new economic bill designed to modernize the French economy, speed up growth and deregulate many industries.

Prior to the change in law, bus services usually only covered routes for which there was no train connection, and were sometimes run by or for the SNCF. According to the travel price comparison website GoEuro, the deregulation of the market will see a 10 to 70 per cent drop in ticket prices over the next year as more operators cash in on the changes.

It is expected to bring in over 5 million new coach passengers within the next year, resulting in an extra 22,000 jobs created. ■

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Passengers foil Compensation floodgates could Thalys attack open following Ryanair ruling pened to contain two American servicemen: 23-year-old Airman Spencer Stone and 22-year-old National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, who were travelling with their childhood friend, student Anthony Sadler.

“We heard a gunshot and we heard glass breaking behind us and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle,” Sadler said. The trio then saw a gunman entering the carriage with an automatic rifle, he added. “As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells: ‘Spencer, go!’ and Spencer runs down the aisle. Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles the gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.”

Skarlatos told Sky News the gunman’s AK-47 had jammed and that he had not known how to fix it. “If that guy’s weapon had been functioning properly, I don’t even want to think about how it would have went,” he said. “We just did what we had to do.

You either run away or fight. We chose to fight and got lucky and didn’t die.”

The train later arrived in Arras where it was met by security services, with many of the 554 passengers unaware of the drama that had taken place just a few carriages away.

The three Americans, along with Chris Norman, a 62-year-old British IT consultant living in France who helped tie up the suspect, were all awarded the prestigious Légion d’honneur for their actions at a ceremony in Paris. Presenting the awards, President Hollande said the men showed that “faced with terror, we have the power to resist”. “The whole world admires your sangfroid,” the president said. “With your bare hands, unarmed, you were able to overcome a heavily armed individual, resolved to do anything. In France you behaved as soldiers but also as responsible men. You put your life in danger to defend the idea of freedom.” The banker that initially tackled El Khazzani, who has asked for anonymity, is to receive the Légion d’honneur in a private ceremony.

A White House official told reporters that US President Barrack Obama had been briefed on the shooting and said: “While the investigation into the attack is in its early stages, it is clear that their heroic actions may have prevented a far worse tragedy.” ■

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R

© Philmarin (WikiCommons)

>> continued from pg 1

yanair has lost a legal challenge that will now see it forced to pay compensation to passengers whose flights were delayed in the last six years. The 6-year rule for compensation claims was set in a European Union directive from 2004, but Ryanair sets its own twoyear cut-off point in its terms and conditions, which passengers must accept before booking a flight.

Ryanair was accused of using the small print in its terms and conditions to get around EU rules, effectively reducing that limit to two years by stealth. A senior judge at Manchester County Court ruled that Ryanair could not dictate how long passengers have to claim flight delay compensation through a clause in its small print.

Responding to the court's ruling, Ryanair released a statement on its website, saying: “We note this ruling which reverses Lower Court orders that a 2 year time limit for claims is reasonable. Since we believe a 6 year time limit for submitting such claims is both unnecessary and unreasonable, we have instructed our lawyers to immediately appeal this ruling.”

Campaigners claim that the ruling will affect millions of passengers, because if Ryanair had won, all airlines may have been able to impose a similar two-year time limit on all existing and future flight delay claims.

Lawyers in the UK estimate it

could open the floodgates to 2.66 million Ryanair passengers claiming as much as £610 million in compensation, with claims against other airlines also likely to follow.

Ryanair denies this, however, stating that, should further appeals fail, it estimates their maximum exposure as no more than €5 million.

Flight delay Regulation EC 261/2004 entitles passengers on short-haul flights who face a delay of more than 2 hours to a minimum €125 in compensation per passenger. This rises on a sliding scale,

depending on the length of the journey and delay, with long-haul passengers entitled to €600 each.

However, the airline is not required to pay if it can prove the cancellation was caused by 'extraordinary circumstances'.

A recent investigation by Which? found more than 9,000 flights in the UK were delayed for three hours or more over a 12-month period to May 2015, which could mean around 900,000 British passengers are potentially eligible to receive compensation. ■

12 ♦ FRENCH LIFE

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ SEPTEMBER 2015

In the garden - jobs for September

I

t seems to me, and it’s only my personal view, that gardeners now seem to be walking to a different drum from many people when it comes to the weather.

Non gardening friends and family, and visitors evidently, all moaned and complained about the rain at the end of August, but I could be seen doing a happy little victory dance on my lawn, in thanks for the desperately needed water.

After weeks of drought, and temperatures in the late 30s and early 40s, who wouldn’t be happy to see their poor vegetables come back from the brink, plants green up, fruit swell to become juicy pears, plums, etc., and trees stop shedding their leaves in order to save water? It seems totally daft to begrudge a couple of weeks of on and off rain!

So, the water has saved many things, increased yield from thirsty plants like courgettes and squash, helped with an excellent pear and apple crop (in my area at any rate) and reboosted all the perennials. The veg garden now looks as it should - lush and productive, but with a corresponding spurt of weed growth! Keep on top of it whilst it’s small, to avoid work later and keep picking your crops on a regular basis to keep them productive.

It’s now time to do the jobs that were impossible in August; the ground is workable and so you can sow the stuff you’d like to grow over the winter - beet, spinach, mustards, winter lettuces, peas, broad beans, garlic, leeks, cabbage. Try and do this at the start of the month, because the weather has delayed this and time is ticking.

As we often have an Indian Summer in this part of France, the hot weather is liable to return and so be prepared to water the seedlings. Think about consulting a lunar calendar so that things are sown at times where they are less likely to bolt.

Save money by saving seed. It’s truly extraordinary how much money you can save yourself by saving your own seed - thus enabling you to buy other varieties next year. Just one single tomato can provide you with enough seed for several years (though it probably wouldn’t keep 10 years!), so you can have enough for your own needs, that of friends, your family, and to give away. Each time you cook with tomatoes, scrape a few seeds out on to a piece of kitchen towel, label immediately and leave in a warm dry place for a few days. Job done in 10 seconds.

When totally dry, put away in jars or envelopes. The same goes for cucumbers, courgettes, melons, squash, pumpkins… smaller seeds can be collected in the garden as you wander round on a sunny day (possibly deadheading the perennials or removing the annuals) so it’s useful to take a few paper bags and a pencil out with you.

With this combination of hot then wet weather, we’re likely to see quite a few of

© Kaz Andrew (WikiCommons)

by Michelle Pierce

the self-seeders produce seedlings all round the garden, so whip them out when they’re small, if they’re in the wrong place and then replant or pot up. Such a shame to put them on the compost heap.

At the end of the month, if and when the weather gets a bit cooler, split up clumps of hardy perennials (those that are not in flower). Use a fork or spade to divide the clump and replant part of it in a new place. As you do, it’s a good idea to cut about half of the top growth off, to help the plant reestablish itself more easily. And give the part you don’t move a good watering, and a bit of a feed when you put the soil back round it.

Cuttings of soft fruit and roses are usually taken in August - but they will have had a lot of trouble to take this year, so do a few more if they don’t look great. Same for pelargoniums. Layering is another option for some things so pull bendy branches gently down to the ground, wound them slightly on the underside near a node and weigh down with a stone or metal tent pegs. Leave for several months, until roots have appeared.

Butterflies and insects have been feeding on the fallen fruit and flowers, especially on the mints. Make sure you don’t tidy everything away - leave some for them. If it really drives you crazy, put them in a heap out of

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It’s unlikely to be freezing cold for a few months yet, but be thinking about how you are going to conserve your produce for the winter. If you have a dedicated room or shed, sweep it out, wash down shelves and check for holes in floors or walls, or round doors, where vermin could come in. If you don’t have such a space it might be worth your while to construct something like a fruit safe - a big cupboard with slatted shelves to let air flow. Instead of solid walls use wire mesh with a hole diameter small enough to stop mice passing through. Such an item is really very useful for keeping veg over the winter, and you have peace of mind knowing your produce is free from rodent excrement!

If you don’t fancy making one, customise an old wooden cupboard.

Baskets suspended from beams can work well, too. Clean out plastic or wooden crates with soapy water so that you’re putting this year’s produce into clean conditions. This time of year is exciting because you’ve got the summer ‘glut’ still on the go, and hopefully, the surplus drying off, processed into jams, chutneys, jars of dried herbs, frozen stuff in the freezers, dehydrated fruit and veg slices... and of course your seed crop put away ready for next year. Not negligible!

The root crops can stay in the ground for a while yet, if indeed you plan to lift them for storage in damp sand or peat, but you can prepare the place for later.

August and September are good times for pruning stone fruit like plums, peaches and apricots. You can still tell the dead wood from the living, and it avoids the potential of diseases like silver leaf that come with the cold. And the prunings make good kindling, or material for insect hotels.

During September is a good time to reorganise your greenhouse or tunnel so that you’ll have enough space for the houseplants or sensitive things that you want to protect over the winter. Try and tidy up before insects and other wildlife start hibernating in things like piles of old flowerpots. This is especially important in the garden for heaps of prunings, etc. - you don’t want to be disturbing sleepy hedgehogs and their ilk.

So there is now plenty to do in the garden, but it’s much more pleasurable at a ‘cooler’ temperature, when going out into the garden doesn’t mean going out into a scorching, parched space with withered plants and rock hard earth.

Good gardening! ■

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PRACTICAL ♦ 13

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Windows 10 – Are you ready to upgrade?

F

ollowing its availability on July 29th, Windows 10 has started being downloaded and installed.

Heralded as the best Microsoft operating system since XP, there is positive expectation not least of which is the return of the “Start” button!

Windows 10 comes as a free download for those users with Windows 8, 8.1, and 7. Unfortunately those users with XP and Vista do not qualify and neither will a user with a pirated copy, e.g. Windows 7 without a proper licence key.

It seems that Microsoft have really struggled recently to get it right and Windows 8 caused much confusion and consternation. It was an attempt to deliver an environment that would catch all; desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone. Unfortunately it didn’t!

In launching Windows 10 it may appear that Microsoft are following Apple with their operating system and making it free of charge. Market pundits

suggest that this will not be the case moving forward and that Microsoft will want to create a subscription service similar to that developing with Microsoft Office. Furthermore, the user is introduced to the concept of the Microsoft Store where it’s possible to download free Apps and purchase Apps with higher user value.

Using Windows 10 is reasonably similar to using Windows 7 and the learning time is short.

Voice recognition is an interesting development and works in the same way as it does on your Smartphone.

I have encountered a few situations where the installation of 10 has created an intermittent internet connection. In one case this was third party firewall software that was incompatible with 10 – solved eventually by an update from the software vendor. In another case a wireless driver update was necessary.

For certain there will be further trials and tribula-

tions but they will be overcome in the coming weeks as more users share their problems with Microsoft.

All in all I see no problem in upgrading your system to Windows 10 assuming that the following precautions are taken.

• Prior to upgrading en-

sure all user data is backed up just in case!

• Check and be certain that your system has sufficient resource to cope.

• Talk to other folk who have completed the move – share experiences.

• Go online and Google

your scenario – see whether others in your exact situation have any advice However, I’m a great believer in waiting a few months after the launch of a new operating system before taking the plunge! My preference is for others to

find the teething problems and benefit from the early adopters.

If you need any further advice or assistance with your upgrade then please get in touch.

Mayday – here to help maydaymayday@orange.fr 05 55 68 47 33

How to claim back the CSG/CRDS that you were asked to pay by the French tax authorities as a non-French resident tax payer This month Prune CALONNE, English-speaking avocat in Toulouse and The Bugle’s resident lawyer, explains what impact a recent legal challenge will have for non-French tax residents asked to pay CSG/CRDS social charges.

I

recently received a question.

An individual forwarded an article from a well-known magazine which wrote about the CSG/ CRDS (a type of French social charge) paid by European citizens.

She explained that she was paying CSG/CRDS in France even though she was not benefiting from the French sécurité sociale (health care system).

She asked exactly what the definition of a resident was and whether having a “titre de séjour” makes you a resident.

The article forwarded by the reader was about the CJEU legal case, dated 26th February 2015, also referred to as the “affaire C6623/13, Ministère de l’économie et des finances contre M. Gerard Ruyter”.

In this case, a Dutch national, working in his home country but residing in France, was asked by the French tax authorities to pay CSG/CRDS in France.

The CJEU decided in favour of this citizen and France is now forbidden from claiming payment of any CSG/ CRDS on capital gains and rental incomes derived from French immovable properties owned by non-French resident tax payers.

The ruling came after a previous case

at the CJEU in 2000 where France was forbidden from claiming CSG/CRDS payments on income (either wages or pensions) from any EU citizens who could prove they had health cover in another European country.

Paying for two health covers in two different EU countries is considered by the CJEU as a way of obstructing the freedom of circulation and the freedom to settle down for European citizens.

In answer to the lady’s question, it is not normal that the French tax authorities request payment of CSG/CRDS from you if you are not affiliated to the French sécurité sociale.

It leads us to her question: what makes you a resident?

There is no such thing as a single precise definition of what it is to be French resident. Several definitions exist according to the area of law you consider.

For instance, in immigration law, the definition of residency will allow the person to know whether he/she can live permanently in France or not.

However, I think the reader meant to ask what makes you a French tax resident under French tax law. Several criteria are used to determine if you fall into this category or not. You will be a

French tax resident if: -Your home is in France, Or -You live in France for more than 180 days a year, Or -If your centre of economic interest is in France, Or -If you run your business from France, Nothing needs to be done to become French tax resident and you need to be the tax resident of one country in the world.

A “titre de séjour” gives a citizen of any country outside the EU the right to live in France; Europeans do not need one to live within the EU borders.

TIPS IF THE TAX AUTHORITIES CLAIM CSG/CRDS FROM YOU IN THE FUTURE: Write a covering letter in French, telling the authorities that you are affiliated to another health cover system in your home country and provide evidence, such as a copy of your SI, E121 or E106, plus its translation (through a sworn translator, if at all possible, to make things easier).

Send the above by LRAR (recorded delivery with receipt slip)... then wait and see. If the response is negative, seek professional advice and help from a lawyer who speaks English. Do not assume that because you are told no that

they are right and that you have to pay these taxes!

TIPS IF THE TAX AUTHORITIES HAVE CLAIMED CSG/CRDS FROM YOU IN THE PAST: If you read the above and now want to get your money back, be aware that you have to make a formal claim to the tax authorities. However, there is no point in claiming any taxes paid before the year 2013 as the time limit applicable here to submit a tax refund claim is 2 years.

For instance, for the undue taxes paid in 2013, you have until 31st December 2015 to make a claim from the date of the tax collection indicated on the tax bill or from the date of tax payment (for capital gains). ■ For more information on this or any other topic, please do not hesitate to contact: Prune CALONNE, Avocat au Barreau de Toulouse, 117 route d’Albi 31200 Toulouse Phone: 05 34 30 51 33 Mobile: 06 74 16 11 12 Email: scpcalonneadouedugast@hotmail.fr Web: www.cad-avocats.com My firm can arrange appointments in CAHORS at our correspondent’s offices.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for more details.

Would you like to receive an electronic copy of The Bugle each month?

We can deliver a copy to your inbox, hot off the press

Simply email - subscriptions24@thebugle.eu For more details visit www.thebugle.eu

14 ♦ PRACTICAL

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ SEPTEMBER 2015

Recent changes to EU succession law

U

K nationals living in France or owning property here need to be aware of the significant difference between the UK and French succession (inheritance) laws.

In the UK, you are generally free to leave your assets to whomever you wish when you die (Scotland and Northern Ireland law does have some restrictions), as stated in your will.

French law, however, imposes significant restrictions. The key issues are: • Under French law assets do not automatically pass in accordance with your will (unless your will happens to match French succession law, which for most British residents in France is unlikely).

• Children are protected heirs, inheriting up to 75% of the deceased parent’s estate.

• In the absence of a will, the surviving spouse is only entitled to 25% of the nue propriété, or 100% in usufruit, of the deceased’s assets.

Spouses are not protected heirs.

• There are ways of circumventing these laws, but care must be taken to ensure that these have the effect you are looking for.

The term “children” includes children from earlier marriages and adopted children. Age is not relevant - they could be 8 or 80!

This succession law applies to your worldwide assets if you are French domiciled (i.e. permanently French resident). It always applies to French real estate, even if you are not resident here.

French law itself is not changing, but a new EU directive from 17th August 2015 allows expatriates living in the EU to elect for the succession law of their country of residence to apply on their death, as opposed to that of their country of residence.

Nowadays many people own estates in more than one country, which can trigger the application of multiple inheritance laws and create conflicts of law. The new European Succession Regulation, or “Brussels IV” as it is commonly called, was devised to address this issue and lower the costs on and simplify cross border succession issues.

Its main mission is to ensure the court of a single jurisdiction will apply a single law to an individual’s entire estate.

The aim is to provide clarity and reduce the opportunity for conflict. The three main pillars of the regulation are: • The default position and most important criterion is that the law of the state in which the deceased was “habitually resident” at the time of death applies to succession of assets located across the Brussels IV zone.

• However, an individual can elect to apply the law of their nationality to all their assets across the zone. This selection must be made before death, through a statement in their will or a similar document.

• The default position may also be overturned if there is a jurisdiction to which the deceased was “manifestly” more closely connected.

does not apply to succession/inheritance taxes. The situation remains as before where an individual has assets in more than one country the double tax treaty or national tax rules will determine where and how succession tax is paid.

Therefore, if you are resident in France at the date of your death or if have assets in France, the French succession tax rules continue to apply. You cannot choose UK inheritance tax instead.

So, UK nationals living in France can now elect for UK succession law to apply on their death, thereby avoiding French succession law. But is this the right choice for you? It may well not be.

For a start, the UK, along with Ireland and Denmark, has opted out of the new regulation, and so are not Brussels IV states. The effect of this is not entirely clear yet.

Secondly, even though the law does not cover tax as such, there are tax issues to be aware of. The French succession tax rates are high for distant and non-relatives, up to 60%, with negligible allowances. Even closer relatives like brothers and sisters only get €15,932 tax free and then pay tax at 35% or 45%, depending on the amount of inheritance.

Also, because of the wording of the UK/France double tax treaty, it is possible that if you opt for UK law to ap-

ply, your estate may be liable to the UK inheritance tax rules, as well as French succession tax. This could have significant consequences.

Brussels IV may therefore not be the panacea for estate planning in France.

Although it was designed to simplify matters, it also changes the succession landscape. You need to understand all the implications for you and your heirs.

There are tools available to help with estate planning in France, but you have to ensure that the arrangements you use achieve the results you are looking for.

It is important to seek specialist, personalised advice, to review your existing plans and help you establish which law would work best for you. ■ Blevins Franks, the leading international tax and wealth management advisers to UK nationals living in Europe, with decades of experience advising British expatriates moving to and living in France www.blevinsfranks.com Call 05 53 63 49 19 Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual is advised to seek personalised advice.

It is important to note that Brussels IV

One in five châteaux for sale in Dordogne

W

ith 1,000 of the estimated 10,000 châteaux in France situated in the department, Dordogne has a real claim to being the châteaux capital of the country.

But the staggering news is that up to one in five of them are actually on the market.

And with the operation of the law of supply and demand, that means that some amazing bargains can be had by anyone wishing to own an impressive historic home.

According to Bergerac’s Le Démocrate Indépendant newspaper nearly 200 châteaux, chartreuses and manor houses are currently for sale with prices starting as low as €450,000.

At todays’s exchange rate that means that one like the Château at Lembras, 10 minutes north of Bergerac (pictured), which is on the market for €500,000 including agency fees, can be bought for around £350,000 - the price of a semi-detached home in Southern England.

The two main reasons behind the number of sales are the impact of the financial crisis and French inheritance rules that mean that a property must be inherited equally among all the legitimate

heirs.

Because many families now find themselves in straightened circumstances, it is often not possible for one family member to buy out his or her co-inheritors and so keep the property in the family.

But while this archaic hangover from the Napoleonic code means that there are strict rules for the French about how their property is bequeathed, such restraints need no longer concern overseas buyers.

From 17th August, new rules are in place that allow foreign nationals to bequeath their property in France under the domestic laws of their countries of birth. All that is necessary is a will deposited with your notaire who can advise on the legal formalities.

According to local estate agent Murielle Anthouard, the Périgord Pourpre around Bergerac is the most favoured area for those seeking to buy a château because of its proximity to the airport and because the climate is warmer and milder than neighbouring areas.

Bergerac itself is seen as an attractive, lively town to have on the doorstep, while the local châteaux properties

Yours for the price of a British suburban semi: Château at Lembras 1 are often secluded and offer personal privacy.

Mme Anthouard advises that some older châteaux may be subject to regulation of the Architectes des Bâtiments de France, roughly the equivalent of English Heritage, but these tend to be in the minority.

The advantage of this is

that restoration work may be assisted by generous grants but all work must be supervised by the ABF and preserve historic, architectural and archaeological features. ■ Available through Valadié Immobilier tel: 05 53 58 68 26.

1

Adrian Lithgow is Channel 4’s A Place In The Sun property expert in Dordogne and runs the Issigeac office of Valadié Immobilier.

He can be reached by phone or by email: 06 02 24 92 62 adrian@valadie-immobilier.com

LEARNING FRENCH VIA INTERNET

Perhaps you would like to learn French in comfort at home or from your office? You are not in France and you wish to communicate with a native French person for one hour per week?

LONG-DISTANCE LEARNING is the answer. You only need internet access and a free Skype account.

It can be a one-to-one lesson or you can share the lesson with a person of the same level.

TRANSLATION SERVICES ALSO AVAILABLE

Please contact Sophie Arsac for further information – 05 55 89 15 74 - scarolinea@yahoo.fr

The origin of the humble “French” croissant

W

hen you think of France, it is hard not to think of the humble croissant. Warm, buttery, crumbly and light as a feather, this pastry has defined France for many generations. Which is why it may be surprising to learn that, given the long history of crescent-shaped breads, the French croissant is a relatively recent invention... and it is not even French!

Legend has it that during the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683, a baker working in the middle of the night heard the sounds of Turkish soldiers tunnelling under the city. The alarm was raised, disaster was averted, the siege was later bro-

ken and the city saved.

To commemorate the victory, the Viennese bakers invented a brioche in the shape of a crescent - the symbol they had seen on the flags of their enemies.

The new pastry was at the time called a “kipferl” - the German word for “crescent”.

It was not until much later that the kipferl arrived in France.

Some legends suggest it was introduced by Marie Antoinette, but it is generally accepted that the first French croissants were made at the Parisian bakery of Viennese immigrant August Zang. It is due to the Austrian origins of these types of pastries that they are collectively known in French as viennoiseries.

So the shape came from the

SIRET 502 409 212 00011 – APE 8559B

BILINGUAL ♦ 15

SEPTEMBER 2015 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

The Bugle thanks French teacher, Sophie Arsac, for the translation of this month's bilingual article on a topical aspect of FrancoBritish culture.

Ottoman flag and the idea was born from the siege of Vienna, but it was France that secured the worldwide fame of the croissant. The reason for this is quite simple: towards the end of the 19th century, French bakers replaced the traditional brioche dough with a puff pastry dough.

The lighter pastry now known as the croissant was an instant hit!

A century later and the croissant has become a victim of its own success. “Traditional” butter croissants are increasingly hard to find and today it is estimated that as many of half of all the viennoiseries sold in French bakeries are mass-produced in industrial factories and simply reheated by the baker. ■

Bilingual Crossword Clues in English - answers in French

Across:

Down:

5. oak tree (5) 6. wound (5) 8. cabbages (5) 9. rooster (3) 12. computers (11) 13. ten (3) 14. parks (5) 17. pen (5) 18. hedges (5)

1. tea (3) 2. anchovy (7) 3. island (3) 4. drawers (7) 7. hurricane (7) 10. artist (7) 11. cradle (7) 15. wheat (3) 16. worm (3)

Q

uand on évoque la France, il est difficile de ne pas penser à l’humble croissant. Aussi légère qu’une plume, cette viennoiserie chaude, au goût de beurre et aux miettes abondantes symbolise ce pays depuis des gé-

nérations.

Pourtant, bien que les pains de cette forme existent depuis très longtemps, on peut être surpris d’apprendre que le croissant français est une invention relativement récente et qu’il n’est même pas français!

Selon la légende, lorsque la

© 2009 - Freaky Fries (WikiCommons)

Bilingual crossword solution can be found on page 21

ville de Vienne fut assiégée en 1683 par les Ottomans, un boulanger qui travaillait en pleine nuit entendit le bruit des soldats turcs qui creusaient un tunnel sous la ville. Il donna l’alerte, le désastre fut évité, le siège fut levé et la ville sauvée.

Pour commémorer la vic-

toire, les boulangers viennois créèrent une brioche en forme de croissant, le symbole qui figurait sur les drapeaux ennemis. La pâtisserie s’appelait à l’époque un «kipferl» qui signifiait «croissant» en allemand.

Le kipferl fit son entrée en France beaucoup plus tard, grâce à Marie-Antoinette selon certains. Il est plus vraisemblable que les premiers croissants français furent confectionnés dans la boulangerie parisienne de l’immigré viennois August Zang. D’où le nom de «viennoiseries» attribué à ce type de pâtisseries.

Si sa forme et l’idée de sa conception germèrent grâce

au drapeau ottoman pendant le siège de Vienne, c’est bien la France qui assura la renommée du croissant. La raison en est fort simple: à la fin du 19ème siècle, les boulangers français remplacèrent la traditionnelle pâte à brioche par une pâte feuilletée plus légère: le croissant était né et il eut un succès immédiat.

Un siècle plus tard, victime de son propre succès, le traditionnel croissant au beurre est une denrée de plus en plus rare et aujourd’hui, environ la moitié des viennoiseries vendues dans les boulangeries françaises sont produites industriellement et simplement réchauffées par les boulangers. ■

16 ♦ LANGUAGE & GAMES

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ SEPTEMBER 2015

Would you like to receive an electronic copy of The Bugle each month?

We can deliver a copy to your inbox, hot off the press

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SEARCHWORDOKU © - by Anthony Parson Complete the alphabetical Sudoku grid to the left using only the letters already shown, then use the result wordsearch grid to find: A musical instrument

How does it work...?

Complete the Sudoku grid in the usual manner, using only the 9 letters already shown. Once complete, you will be left with a 9x9 wordsearch grid, in which to find the final piece of the puzzle.

See the completed example to the right, the clue for which is "An English county".

Be careful not to jump to conclusions, as with the letters available, the answer could be SURREY, SUSSEX, ESSEX, or as it turns out in this case... SOMERSET.

Solution on page 21

SUDOKU - EASY

SUDOKU - MEDIUM

The solutions to this month’s sudokus can be found on page 23

Crossword Clues and answers (page 21) in English

Across:

1. Choice (6) 4. Abridged (6) 9. Plus (3) 10. Emancipation (7) 11. Gnarled (7) 12. Consumed (5) 13. Banquet (5) 15. Vagabond (5) 20. Type of drum (5) 22. Garden feature (7) 24. Simpatico (7) 25. Football stand-in (3) 26. Gluttonous (6) 27. Toilet for men (6)

Down:

1. Citrus fruit (6) 2. Frog larve (7) 3. Meat unfit for human consumption (5) 5. Shaky from age (7) 6. Lure (5) 7. Swooping (6) 8. Disreputable, unkempt (5) 14. Ended (7) 16. Spouse's male offspring (7) 17. Rectangle (6) 18. Stable-person (5) 19. Part of a drum-kit (6) 21. Audacity (5) 23. Provide (e.g. food) (5)

SUDOKU - HARD

DIRECTORY ♦ 17

SEPTEMBER 2015 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Business Directory

Your indispensable guide to finding local businesses & artisans Animals & Pets

Cats and Dogs Boarding Kennels

Purpose built kennels - dept 16.

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Individual kennels plus family pens.

Walking off lead 4 times a day.

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catsanddogs2009@hotmail.co.uk

05 45 66 14 62 Siret: 494 030 919 00018

DOG GROOMING FOR ALL TYPES OF DOGS Clipping, cutting, hand stripping, bathing, ear care & nail trimming.

INGRID GELAUDIE La Baronnie, 24260 Audrix

06 31 98 92 07

SHAMPOOCHIENS Dog Grooming Parlour All breeds catered for Clipping, hand stripping and bathing 30 years’ experience 24500 Eymet

05 53 58 55 38 and home of CANOUAN ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIELS Puppies sometimes available Siret: 499 234 615 00015

Your advert here 05 55 41 17 76

Auto Services

MOTOR PARTS CHARENTE

Suppliers of Car & Van Spares & LHD headlights, anywhere in France Direct to France at big savings! also Mower Batteries and drive belts!

www.motorpartscharente.com Delivery via UPS direct to your door in France

JOHN SOWERSBY

For more information on advertising in the Bugle Business Directory, give us a call or send us an email: sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76 sales24@thebugle.eu

+44 (0)1377 255470 / +44 (0)7830 170761

motorptscharente@aol.com

05 55 41 17 76

Building Services

CHARTERED STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

Architectural Services

Pre-purchase & Structural Surveys.

Verbal & written reports.

Structural calculations & drawings.

Redevelopment ideas & solutions.

Tim Haw B.Eng C.Eng M.I.Struct.E

FR: 0033 (0)6 05 56 42 81 UK: 0044 (0)7448 466 662

Web: www.versineer.com Email: enquiries@versineer.com

Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

Available for all types of electrical work Small jobs, new builds, renovations, rewires Consuel assistance and certification service available Fully insured with 10 year workmanship guarantee Based near Châlus (87230)

Tel: 09 72 35 74 73

Email: barwick.shaun@gmail.com @iret: 794 282 368 00016

Building Services

All small works undertaken

ElsaConception Architectural

Tel: 06.87.09.38.94

SHAUN BARWICK QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN

CHARKER DAVID

Siret: 790 016 984 00011

Web: http://www.elsaconception.com

BARWICK ÉLECTRICITÉ

Specialist in the renovation and restoration of period and contemporary buildings

Email: info@masterplans.eu www.masterplans.eu

Need interior design advice?

Planning a project? Giving a space a makeover?

Need to submit a building permit or a declaration?

I can support you in all your makeover, renovation or construction projects.

Sarlat and surrounding areas (up to 100km)

Electricians

General

Tel: 05 55 80 72 83 Mob: 06 33 07 29 72

DRAWING SERVICE

Renovating your French property?

New build?

Dossiers prepared Permis de Construire Déclarations Préalables

Tel: 05 53 52 36 05 lavieilleabbaye@orange.fr www.latuspeter-architecturaldrawings-24.com SIRET: 493 770 358 00015

Harlequin Developments All aspects of renovation and refurbishment, big or small, undertaken.

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.

(Architecture/ Design/ Decoration)

Building Services

Stonework, Traditional renderings in Lime, Doors and Windows, Dry line walls, Zinc work, Electrical wiring and interior finishes

E-mail : dn.charker@sfr.fr

Tel: 05 53 09 42 18 No Siret: 402 444 871 00030

Your advert here 05 55 41 17 76

Harlequin Developments are a Distributor and Installer for Solarventi, solar dehumidifying and ventilating products.

05.55.68.67.56 06.06.60.46.97

harlequindevelopments@live.com www.harlequindevelopments.com SIRET: 494.501.067.00016

Your advert here 05 55 41 17 76 Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

ETS RICHARD ESTABLISHED IN 2005

ARTISAN IN RENOVATION AND CONSTRUCTION WORK INCLUDING BARN AND LOFT COVERSIONS. SPECIALIST IN OLD STONE WORK, ALL TYPES OF ROOFING, PAINTING, BATHROOMS, TILING, GUTTERING, WOOD CONSTRUCTION, PLASTERBOARDING, INSULATION. BASED IN PERIGORD NOIR COMPETITIVE PRICING

T : 06 38 71 08 36

E : richard.stienstra@orange.fr For more information please visit my Facebook page : Entreprise Richard

sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76 CONTINUED NEXT PAGE...

18 ♦ DIRECTORY

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ SEPTEMBER 2015

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, built-in, 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 exceeded all expectations.

In Southern Europe, Solar-

Building Services Painters/ Decorators

venti 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 the property is empty. Solarventi requires no maintenance

Building Services Plumbers

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For more information on advertising in the Bugle Business Directory, give us a call or send us an email: sales24@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

Units start from €630 TTC. Several ex-demonstration models available at reduced prices, call for details.

Stephen Wisedale

WiFi Anglais Solve your Internet, wireless and computer problems

Simon Carter

Qualified craftsman with over 25 years UK experience, now based Haute-Vienne/north Dordogne border.

- 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. ■

- Installation, from kitchen taps to full central heating systems - Breakdown / Replacement boilers - Emergency plumbing repairs - Full analysed testing

M : 06 72 47 88 00 T: 05 53 20 64 02 E : wellers@orange.fr Registered Artisan - Siret No: 480 857 853 00018

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05 55 41 17 76

Computers & Satellites

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

Food & Drink

Siret: 800 525 040 00013

Sat-Elec Formerly Electrosat

UK & French Satellite TV

Dishes & Freesat boxes always in stock Terrestrial digital aerial installations From a single outlet to multi-point systems

TOOWAY BROADBAND Approved Supplier

Tel: 05 53 90 46 28

The Dordogne Chippy All venues are in the evening between 6pm & 8.30 pm Monday: Champsac Tuesday: Tremolat Wednesday: Star Inn, Périgueux Thursday: Eymet 1st & 3rd Friday: Lauzun 2nd Friday: Ste-Alvère Last Friday: Daglan See our website for full details:

www.thedordognechippy.com 05 53 74 01 91 or 06 19 99 25 62

We only use our own qualified staff No call out charge Free quotations All areas covered Quality work from qualified Staff 5 Place de la Republique Sauviat-sur-Vige 87400

La Poutre

siret no 798 364 600 00014

General

Traditional Fish & Chips in a town near you

Wi-Fi, Data Networks, CCTV For sales, service or advice call Mike G on:

05 55 09 15 73

54 bis, rue du 26 Mars 1944 - 24600 Ribérac

Open 12h-14h & 19h-22h Private car park Terrace Homemade fresh food Holder of “Restaurant de Qualité” award

Extended wired and wireless networks for homes, gîtes and small businesses.

VPN solutions. Windows and Mac OSX.

www.wifianglais.com Email: hello@wifianglais.com Tel: 05 53 30 23 96 Mob: 07 78 52 20 46

Restaurant Le Commensal

siret: 444 925 630 00014

Bar & Restaurant

24400 Beaupouyet (N89 between Montpon & Mussidan)

French/International cuisine.

Themed nights each Friday: 1st Friday - Curry night 2nd Friday - Quiz night 3rd Friday - Fish n Chips night “best around”!!

4th Friday - Live Music night

Your advert here

Open Tue - Fri: 11am - 9pm (except Wed eve) Saturday 6pm - 10pm Sunday 12pm - 3pm, traditional English roasts served For further details call Steve:

05 55 41 17 76

or email: steve.francis24@gmail.com or facebook: Beaupouyet La Poutre

05 53 80 29 54 siret 537 415 903 00013

CARPET / UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Specialists in all carpet and upholstery cleaning

PROCHEM trained and Qualified

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To advertise in The Bugle Business Directory, call 05 55 41 17 76

P RIVATE P ROPERTY S ELLERS L TD

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** SPECIAL OFFER ** Normally £199 - available until 10th September 2015, £155 For 12 months (£12.91pm).

Your property listed on Zoopla,Prime Location, Homes Overseas, Rightmove, Green-Acres... contact us directly for this offer: info@privatepropertysellers.com HOUSEHUNTERS - buy direct from the owner... NO ESTATE AGENT FEES !! - WWW.PRIVATEPROPERTYSELLERS.COM

DIRECTORY ♦ 19

SEPTEMBER 2015 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

ADVERTORIAL

Abris Bois LV - Your timber building specialists Abris Bois LV are pleased and excited to present a superb selection of cabins that are both exceptional and affordable.

Insulated Micro Cabins They have been designed as perfect Studio accommodation, with all the necessary mod cons and no compromise on the quality of craftsmanship that you would normally expect from any of the larger cabins. There are a number of different applications and uses for the Micro Cabins.

Micro Cabin A perfect mini “Granny Flat” in your garden, where you can have the best of both worlds meaning you can continue to have the privacy of your own home and your relative can enjoy independence at arms length. Here is the perfect opportunity for your growing offspring to really get to grips with “leaving the nest” for the very first time. Young son or daughter can live their own lives and take upon themselves complete independence and responsibility as a “rehearsal” prior to perhaps renting or purchasing a property of their own at a later stage.

If you happen to have a member of the family who works late shift-work, they will need to have their uninterrupted sleep during the day. With much happening in a busy household, it can be very difficult to keep quiet simply because your shift-worker is trying to catch up with that all-important sleep in the next room. With a Micro Cabin you have a Customised Shift Worker’s Studio. A perfect night’s sleep – no interruptions and the family can enjoy the jollities of the day without restriction.

On the commercial front, if you happen to be an Hotelier or the owner of a Guest House, the Micro Cabin could provide you with that additional bed & breakfast income for those who are normally after a single room. Single rooms are always at a premium and business is often lost because of insufficient availability of single rooms.

The Micro cabin provides a complete

“en suite” luxury apartment for a single person.

The footprint starts at 5m x 4m and therefore really doesn’t take up much ground space. With two or three of these Micro cabins on show looking quite spectacular in the Hotel grounds, they will attract customers and provide you with some very good additional income. Very low maintenance and easy to clean makes it a breeze for either the user or the person responsible for caretaking.

The Micro Cabins are just perfect to have as an additional bedroom for that sudden unexpected visitor requiring an overnight stay. Everything can be at the ready without having to disrupt any of the rooms in the main house. From €19,000 fully erected and insulated.

Grill Cabins These are a perfect place to relax, have a small party or a family gettogether. A lovely Grill Cabin provides both a comfort and an exclusiveness to the environment. It can be painted in any desired colour and therefore perfectly fit your garden.

the additional board. The floor is easily assembled from separate components.

overall height including the roof is 2.1 or 2.4 m. Also, there are 2 layout options for this Sauna Barrel: with or without the terrace, which means a shorter or longer sauna room. From €4,500.

Camping POD

Grill Cabin - inside There is a convenient wood or charcoal-fired grill with a table around it inside the cabin. Also one adjustable cooking platform and two special platforms for a kettle, frying pan, etc., can be found. Above the grill there is an adjustable chimney.

These cabins are also available as a sauna cabin. The interior is arranged for comfortable and safe bathing in the sauna. Inside you can find two-tier wide sauna benches along three walls, an electric or a wood-fired heater in the center and a protective fence installed near to the heater.

Finally, the cabin is lockable and there is a small porch with a roof at the entrance. From €4,900.

Sauna Barrels Original, functional and high quality, the Sauna Barrel is perfect for a garden or a backyard. It both decorates the environment and provides bathing pleasures.

Also, regular use of a sauna has obvious health benefits. The diameter of the Sauna Barrel can be chosen from 1.90 m and 2.20 m, and it has 3 or 4 m long walls, thus it takes up little space and is ideal for small gardens or backyards.

Try camping in a high quality Camping POD. This is the ideal choice for a camping place or additional room in the garden.

Sauna POD The Sauna POD is a beautiful solution for the garden with its "soft edges".

It looks nice and is different from the popular Sauna Cabins or Sauna Barrels.

It can also be built next to the Camping POD and make your camping place look smooth and cozy. The Sauna POD is divided into two zones: a relaxing room and a sauna room. In the relaxing room you can not only cool down after bathing, but also store things and get changed.

Camping POD The Camping POD has a small entrance and two rooms inside: a 2 m length sleeping room with a wooden bed of size 1600 x 1990 mm (which can be transformed into a sofa) and a 2 m long sitting room with 2 poufs (they are empty inside to store your things), one table and a bench; weight is 1600 kg.

Sauna POD - inside The Sauna POD is made from spruce wood. Upon request, we can install a wood-fired furnace or an electric heater in the sauna. The thickness of the Sauna POD walls is 38 mm; the thickness of the solid wood flooring is 28 mm. The roof is covered with bitumen shingles of selected colour: black, red or green.

The Sauna POD is 4 m long and 2.4 m wide. Overall height including the roof is 2.6 m. From €5,900. ■

Holiday Deals Grill Cabin High-quality materials ensure the longevity of a grill house and easy use.

Cabin walls are made of rounded spruce boards. The roof is made of six elements and covered with bitumen shingles (different colors can be selected). The cabin has three double glazed windows, one of which opens. Besides that, doors are decorated with an original hexagonal window. There are five benches in the cabin; two of these benches easily transform into holding benches: just turn over

Sauna Barrel The Sauna Barrel can be made of spruce or thermo wood. Upon request, we can install a wood-fired furnace or an electric heater in the Sauna Barrel. The thickness of the Sauna Barrel's walls is 38 mm; the thickness of the solid wood flooring is 18 mm. The roof of the sauna can be made of bitumen shingles (black, red or green) or wooden shingles. The

Camping POD - inside The Camping POD is made from spruce and the thickness of the walls is 38 mm; the thickness of the solid wood flooring is 28 mm. The Camping POD is 2.4 m wide and 2.6 m high. The roof is covered with bitumen shingles of selected colour: black, red or green. From €4,900.

We can offer you special deals (limited offer) on all of the above cabins and pods. Please contact us for a free quote. We offer a full service: delivery, erecting, base laying, turn key, etc.

www.abrisboislv.fr

05 87 77 95 57

(English spoken) ZA Sirvenon 87190 Magnac-Laval

ADVERTORIAL

Houses on Internet: A Global Property Network

H

ouses on Internet – Global Property Services (hereafter referred to as “HOIGPS”) is the internet/marketing company that helps people sell their French property to buyers worldwide.

Richard Kroon, founder and director of the company: “The number of responses from prospective buyers and sales keep rising. No doubt one of the reasons is that we were able to increase our worldwide advertising budget and reach more prospective buyers than ever.”

In the first six months of this year, HOI-GPS has sold to people from 12 different countries, such as Australia, Belgium, Holland, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Norway and of course France. Although the British are buying more than

before due to the favourable exchange rate, they are clearly not the only buyers we reach.

Richard continues: “Our continuous global marketing is definitely paying off and guarantees a worldwide exposure of your property to buyers, wherever they live. 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. The text doesn’t just describe the house, garden and outbuildings, but also gives information about shopping, schools, airports and

leisure.

“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 40+ countries each month. Most of these people find us through Google searches 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 at the other end 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 he wants, at

the moment he is 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

05 55 65 12 19

20 ♦ DIRECTORY

SOS Help

anxious? stressed? feeling down? call us up!

01 46 21 46 46 3 - 11pm daily Confidential & Non-profit

www.soshelpline.org

Your advert here

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ SEPTEMBER 2015 Ivan Petley

3D Puzzle Maker Handmade, fully interlocking, multi-layered 3D puzzles from just €9.

Keyrings €2 plus other unique gift ideas.

Customisation and personalisation possible.

Postal delivery options across France.

bookstop

Quality second-hand books in English & French 19 rue Victor Hugo 24310 BRANTÔME

09 51 45 57 49

Tel: 05.55.80.29.88 Les Bregères, 23150 St-Martial-le-Mont alison.petley@wanadoo.fr

Relax and browse in comfort Hot and cold drinks served

Pest Control

Eco Entrepot Short ‘optimised’ web videos in English and/or French for your property sale or your business.

Contact Joanna:

www.VideoProFrance.com Te: +33 (0) 6 99 07 64 28 contact@videoprofrance.com

05 55 41 17 76 Gifts & Crafts

Property Sales

Central France Pest Control Dératisation, Déinsectisation, Désinfection

02 48 60 83 72 / 06 74 33 02 38 www.applicateur3d.com Email: info@applicateur3d.com

Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

aka The Shed

rats, mice, moles, flies, woodworm, bed bugs, fleas, wasps, hornets

Quality product at affordable prices.

Customized, if required, especially for you.

Available blank or with either English or French greetings.

La Petite Barre, 18210 Bessais Le Fromental

APRONS HAND-CRAFTED CARDS FOR ALL OCCASIONS

Tel: 06 86 89 81 02 siret 528 539 448

Please mention The Bugle when responding to adverts

Removals, storage & house clearance in Dordogne

06 73 96 38 39 (FR)

Open every day except Monday

Genuine/Reliable/Honest Local + Europe + UK runs Now also available for House/Barn clearances!

14m3 capacity 4.2m load length

05 55 68 74 73

Transport, Removals & Storage

Man & Van Transport

French Spoken

05 55 33 21 59 87150 Oradour-sur-Vayres

www.frenchvanman.eu

DSD Removals & Storage France ↔ UK

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

+44 (0)1274 724 545

sales24@thebugle.eu

The Removal Experts

SECONDHAND CLOTHING for the whole family

ABJAT-SUR-BANDIAT

05 55 41 17 76

0800 840 3058 Mob: +44 (0)7808 338 386

Siret 530 213 644 00012

SIRET No. 498 544 741 00024

Your advert here

Full & Part loads All size of vehicles Storage facilities in Sussex UK free phone:

www.michaelsmovers.freeindex.co.uk

Retail & Commerce

Email: ellinghamroam764@yahoo.com VISIT ME AT THE FOLLOWING MARKETS: PIEGUT (Wed), BRANTOME (Fri) AIGRE, CHASSENEUIL & CONFOLENS (Monthly) FIND OUR CARDS AT: Magazin Artisanat, Confolens Send an email to sign up to the newsletter

Removals

UK ↔ France ↔ UK

32,000ft2 of great products incl.

British Groceries, DIY, Housewares, Furniture, Clothing, Toiletries plus loads more!!

Curative and preventative

'ROUSSIS MAID'

MICHAELS MOVERS

(opp. the boulangerie) Open: Tue & Thu, 14h-17h also Sun, 10h-12h in July & August only By appointment outside these hours:

Tel: 06 79 04 10 21

• All risk insurance cover • Full and Part load specialists • Professional staff & modern vehicles • Every vehicle from a Luton van to a full removals lorry • Prices from £3.63 per sq ft info@dsdremovalsltd.com www.dsdremovalsltd.com facebook.com/DSDRemovals

05 55 41 17 76

To advertise in The Bugle Business Directory, call 05 55 41 17 76

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 €13.50/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 25,000 pairs of eyes each month!!

For more information on any of our advertising options, please feel free to give us a call on 05 55 41 17 76 or send an email to sales24@thebugle.eu

6-Month Contract €108

Small b&w Directory Ad

(€18/month)

Large b&w Directory Ad

(€24/month)

Small Colour Directory Ad

(€27/month)

Large Colour Directory Ad

(€36/month)

€144 €162 €216

12-Month Contract €162

(€13.50/month)

€216

(€18/month)

€243

(€20.25/month)

€324

(€27/month)

Directory Advertising is available either in black and white or colour, and in either small (30 words max) or large (45 words max) format.

Directory adverts may only contain text - no logos, images or artwork are allowed. The minimum contract length is 6 months.

Advertising is payable on publication. All prices are HT.

Large Directory Ad 46mm x 71mm (Actual Size) 45 words max Small Directory Ad 46mm x 46mm (Actual Size)

30 words max

COMMUNITY ♦ 21

SEPTEMBER 2015 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Monday

Market Days

Beynac Le Fleix Les Eyzies Ste-Alvère

Tuesday

Beaumont du Périgord Bergerac Brantôme Cénac-et-Saint-Julien Lanouaille Le Bugue Mareuil Neuvic Ribérac Salignac Eyvigues Thenon Trémolat Villefranche-de-Lonchat

Wednesday Bergerac Hautefort Jumilhac-le-Grand La Tour Blanche Montpon-Ménestérol Montignac Périgueux

Domme Excideuil Eymet La Coquille Lalinde Monpazier St Astier St-Julien-de-Lampon Terrasson

Bergerac Lalinde La Roche Chalais Le Bugue Montignac Mussidan Neuvic Nontron Périgueux Razac Sarlat Sigoulès St Aulaye Thiviers Verteillac Villefranche du Périgord

Friday

Sunday

Piégut Pluviers Razac Sarlat Siorac-en-Périgord Vélines

Thursday

Bergerac Brantôme Cubjac Le Buisson Ribérac Sarlat Vergt

Saturday

Agonac Beaumont du Périgord Belvès

Bergerac Couze St Front Daglan Issigeac Pontours Pressignac-Vicq Rouffignac Sarlat Sorges St Cyprien St Génies St Pardoux la Rivière

Homestay in Périgord Vert

“Portraits de Familles” is a documentary film introducing the Homestay concept in the Périgord Vert, Dordogne.

The Conseil Départemental of the Dordogne commissioned film director Laura Leeson to make the 25-minute film which is filled with sympathy and humanity. It gives the stage to some Perigordian host families, and their Homestay guests, promoting their caring profession and the offer of alternative accommodation between your “own” home and a retirement home.

To acquaint you more fully with the Homestay concept, “Portraits de Familles” will be shown, followed by a debate,

- On Thursday 17th September at 8pm at the Salle des fêtes behind the Town Hall of Milhac-de-Nontron - On Wednesday 30th September 2015, at 8pm at the Cinéma “Le Studio” in Saint-Aulaye

photo credit: ©Conseil Départemental Dordogne

This event is organised by the Conseil Départemental’s Social Service for the Elderly, in partnership with the CLIC (local information and co-ordination centre) and several local partners.

For further information please contact the CLIC du Nord Dordogne on 05 53 56 91 63..■

AQUITAINE CHURCH SERVICES – SEPTEMBER 2015

The Chaplaincy of Aquitaine covers the Dordogne, Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, and Condom (Gers).

All services are held in English.

For further details, please see our website: www.churchinaquitaine.org or contact Chaplaincy Administration: Amy Owensmith, +33 (0) 607 04 07 77 chapaq.office@gmail.com

SUNDAY 06 SEPTEMBER 10:30 Service of the Word – Bertric Burée 10:30 Morning Worship – Bordeaux 10:30 Prayer & Praise – Limeuil 10:30 Morning Worship – Monteton 11:00 Holy Communion – Doudrac 11:00 Family Communion – Sainte Nathalène 17:00 Evensong - Limeuil 18:00 Evensong – Bertric Burée Tuesday 08 September 11:00 Harvest Celebration – Allez Wednesday 09 September 11:00 BCP Holy Communion – Bertric Burée

4th Annual WorshipFest: Saturday 26th September, Berbiguières (24220) “Come let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” Psalm 95 Join us once again for the 4th annual WorshipFest, a time to come together, as many as can, to share our testimonies and join our voices together to sing with joy to our Lord.

There is no entrance fee; please bring your friends, all are welcome!

We will be meeting at the salle at Berbiguières, near St-Cyprien (24220) and as in previous years we will have a bring and share lunch.

For more details, please contact Robin Jones at robinandvictoria@hotmail.co.uk or tel 05 55 19 14 19.

SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 10:30 Holy Communion – Bertric Burée 10:30 Morning Worship – Bordeaux 10:30 Morning Worship - Dondas 10:30 Morning Worship – Eymet Temple 10:30 Holy Communion – Limeuil 10:30 Morning Prayer - Monteton 10:30 Family Service – Négrondes 11:00 Prayer & Praise – Sainte Nathalène Thursday 17 September 10:30 BCP Holy Communion - Limeuil SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 10:30 Harvest Holy Communion– Bertric Burée 10:30 Family Communion – Bordeaux 10:30 Harvest Holy Communion – Chancelade 10:30 Morning Worship - Limeuil 10:30 Prayer & Praise – Monteton 10:30 Harvest Festival – St Médard 11:00 Prayer & Praise – Sainte Nathalène Thursday 24 September 11:00 Harvest Holy Communion – Condom Saturday 26 September 10:30 – 15:30 WorshipFest - Berbiguières SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 10:30 Family Service – Bertric Burée 10:30 Family Communion – Bordeaux 10:30 Holy Communion – Limeuil 10:30 Holy Communion - Monteton 10:30 Harvest Holy Communion – Négrondes 11:00 Prayer & Praise – Sainte Nathalène

22 ♦ WHAT’S ON

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ SEPTEMBER 2015

Exhibitions in the Château de Limeuil A new association,“RIVES D’ART”, has been set up in Limeuil with the aim of exhibiting artworks and other art expressions in the Château de Limeuil.

Other projects like small concerts, art in the narrow streets of our medieval village, possibly on the just renovated village square, are in preparation. Limeuil is one of the most beautiful villages in France and each year it welcomes many tourists from all over the world. The hall for exhibiting art is situated in the château’s panoramic garden. Visits to the exhibition are free (but there is an entrance fee to the garden). In September painter Susan Kanas and sculptor François Micoud are exhibiting.

The opening times of the Château are: Monday to Friday from 10h-12h30 and 14h-18h. Saturday from 14h-18h.

For more information about exhibiting, please email: rivesdartlimeuil@gmail.com

Guided visits of the Château de Hautefort Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September

Fan of Strictly Come Dancing?

Ever thought about trying it for yourself?

The Château de Hautefort is participating in the European Heritage Days and is offering costumed tours, with guides playing the role of the owners of the estate in the 17th century.

Now you can. Sarlat K DanseS is a non profit-making ballroom dancing association with 2 expert dance teachers (Patrick & Ghislaine) based in Sarlat since 2008.

Tours depart from the drawbridge at 11h, 14h30, 15h30 and 16h30.

Come along to our Open Day on Monday 14th September from 7pm at the Salle de Mas, avenue de Selves, Sarlat and try it out.

Special rates for the weekend: Adults €7; Children (7-14 years) €4; Under 7s free.

For more information visit www.chateau-hautefort.com

Dance classes are held every Wednesday from 18:45 for beginners, 19:45 for intermediates and 20:45 for advanced dancers. All ages & abilities are welcome.

Telephone Rhona on 06 67 49 44 39 or visit dansesportivesarladaise.jimdo.com for more info.

Calling all crafters I am organising a Craft Fair in Castillonnès in Lot et Garonne and would like to hear from any people who “craft” and would like to have a space/table at this event.

Got an Event for The Bugle? notices@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

Please email me at sara00tyl@hotmail.co.uk for further details.

WHAT’S ON ♦ 23

SEPTEMBER 2015 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu

Chantemonde was formed in September 2006 by Michèle Lhopiteau, a then recently retired professor of music who had previously founded and directed professional and amateur choirs in Houston-Texas, Chad, Ecuador and Bordeaux. The choir, based at Villamblard, started with 23 members and quickly grew to over 60, greatly outstripping Michèle’s expectations.

Chantemonde have already started their 2015 programme “Un moment avec Mozart” and will be giving the following concerts during September and October: Sunday 20th September in the church of Saint-Germain-du-Salembre at 20h30 Saturday 26th September in the church of Vanxains at 21h Sunday 27th September in the church of Le Bugue at 17h Saturday 3rd October in the Temple at Bergerac at 21h Sunday 4th October in the Abbey at Chancelade at 16h Michèle Lhopiteau is internationally known for her work on the life and works of Mozart and has also a wealth of songs from around the world, some of which form the second part of the programme - the first part being devoted to Mozart, including the Messe Brève, K. 275 and the Grand Kyrie en ré.

Tickets: €10 (advance bookings); €12 (on the door); €5 for handicapped & job seekers; free for Under 15s.

For more information tel David Finch on 05 53 82 90 07 or visit http://www.chantemonde.org/

FestiVillars - Concert of Baroque music Eglise Saint-Martial, 24530 Villars Sun 27th September at 4 pm Classical concert with the Trio Sequenza: Vincent Friberg (oboe), Philippe Gaillard (bassoon) and Claire Pradel (harpsichord). Interpretation of the works of Couperin, Lully, Boismortier, Rameau and Telemann.

notices@thebugle.eu

05 55 41 17 76

Tickets: €15, free for children under 16. Reservations: tel 09 64 09 95 91 For more information go to: www.festivillarsenperigordvert.com

EASY

MEDIUM

HARD

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 also as a meeting ground for the French and international communities of the Dordogne.

Venue - Le Buisson de Cadouin, Nouvelle Salle des Fêtes, Avenue Aquitaine

For more info, tel 06 87 88 15 33 or 05 53 23 86 22 or visit http://www.arcadesinfo.com/

UPCOMING CONCERT Saturday 3rd October at 20:30 Duo KELT (Kat Ewi Loetitia Tam).

Vibraphone, oboe and vocals with Minh-Tam and Loetitia NGUYEN

The programme is a mix of classical music, world music and improvised music, using traditional and electronic instruments.

Works by J S Bach, Antal Dorati, Benjamin Britten, Astor Piazzola, Vladimir Cosma, Michel Legrand, Gilles Silvestrini and Sonia Possetti.

24 ♦ WHAT’S ON

www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ SEPTEMBER 2015