This French Life

Author: Craig McGinty

  • Number change for France Telecom’s English language helpline

    Frnc_tele_0202 I HAVE just called the English language helpline offered by France Telecom and been informed that that it is now reachable via a new number.

    The number is 09 69 36 39 00, although the call is no longer free and is charged at a so-called ‘standard rate’ which I’ve tried to source but drawn a blank.

    The France Telecom Contact Us page provides details of the number you can call in France, as well as how to call if you are outside the country, +33 (0)9 69 36 39 00.

    France Telecom has also swapped the options around, so the first one is for technical questions about your telephone and internet access, whilst the second is for account queries and setting up a line.

    France Telecom’s English-language helpline is open Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm.

    Update (26/11/09): Thanks to Geoff in the comments another telephone number is available enabling you to contact the English language service from France Telecom for free – 01.55.78.60.56

  • Autumn scenes and mushrooms from the Dordogne


    A COLLECTION of photographs from the past few weeks, taken in sight of the church at Loubejac (map).

  • Campaign update on exportability of UK benefits

    Pencil_2005 THE fight to reinstate benefits to Britons living in other EU countries and Switzerland continues.

    The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) still refuses to reinstate disability allowances, withdrawn when claimants who made legitimate moves to live in other EEA Member states, but campaigners are making steady progress.

    Here Tina Hamilton provides an update on where the campaign now stands:

    Quotesstart_2 Although some progress appears to have been made in the case of exportable benefits, insomuch that a handful of claimants have received appeal submissions from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), hundreds more are still being subjected to delays and procrastination from the exportability team, based in Blackpool.

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  • Cycling tips from the Bicycling Gourmet

    Biking-france
    WHAT preparations do you have to make, and what pitfalls do you need to look out for, if heading out on a cycling tour of France?

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  • A view of French life from the TweetDeck

    Barley-tweetdeck IF you are a regular internet user then there is a good chance you will have heard of Twitter.

    Even if you are not then it made the headlines recently in helping The Guardian break a gagging order that restricted it reporting on a parliamentary question.

    One of the most popular ways that people use Twitter is through a piece of software called TweetDeck as it makes it easier to follow the messages of friends and keep up to date with news stories.

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  • French language letter templates for common problems

    Pencil_2005 IF you need to end an internet contract or maybe write a letter of complaint about a service, then more than 100 letter templates are available on the Institut national de la consommation website.

    The letters will help you resolve disputes and are grouped by topics such as insurance, banking, internet and money, they are free to copy and paste into whatever office software you use or just to email direct.

    You can narrow down your search by clicking on the options in the left hand column, there are tick boxes for different services such as banking, insurance and internet services.

    It is also possible to get sample letters in French for business purposes or if you are involved in an association.

    Each letter provides an explanation of how it can be used, then you need to update name and date fields and it is usually wise to send correspondence by registered post, or lettre recommandée.

  • Capturing the flight of the cranes across France


    AT this time of year people living in France roughly from the north east corner to the south west will spot a real wonder of nature.

    The migratory route of the crane (la grue) from northern Europe to Spain sees the birds cross over France, and the massive flocks high in the sky are a real sight to see.

    It is estimated that there are around 160,000 birds in the west of Europe and when migrating they fly at an altitude of between 200m and 1km.

    For more details take a look at the European Crane Working Group.

  • A road that leads to France, interview with Greg Mose

    Greg-mose-author

    Author Greg Mose has travelled widely but is now settled in the Lot

    MANY people dream of moving to France and writing a book, Greg Mose has done just that.

    Whilst starting and running a gite business, near Montcabrier in the Lot, with his wife, he also worked on weaving a tale of profit driven spirituality in his book Stunt Road.

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  • New Google translation tool for your website

    Google-translate A HANDY piece of code has been made available by Google that offers you the opportunity to offer website visitors a translation of the page they are on into the language of their choice.

    Many holiday home and business websites provide translation buttons, but in this case the Google code detects foreign language visitors and offers to translate the page automatically into user’s preferred language.

    As many people know Google Translate enables you to get the meaning of a foreign language page, it’s not something that should be relied upon for important decisions.

    But considering it is just a case of copy and pasting the code into your website it really is a simple option to open up your website to foreign speaking visitors.

  • My first parasol mushroom of autumn

    Parasol-mushroom-0909

    WELL I am pretty sure it is a parasol mushroom – but I spotted this whilst out this morning taking the dog for a walk.

    Parasol mushrooms are fairly common around this corner of the Dordogne and are often fried in a little butter and garlic before being piled on top of some crusty bread.

    Many farmers are also busy at the moment collecting chestnuts, and despite long lengths of netting being placed beneath the trees it is still a time-consuming task to collect them.

    With crisp, fresh mornings giving way to warm, sunny afternoons there is a mix of autumn and summer in the air – click on the thumbnail to see the larger image.