Cheap space and storage solutions

However big a house you live in, it is always a good idea to optimise the space available. In smaller houses, extra rooms can be created by converting the loft space to make an office, bedroom or children’s playroom.
With the relatively easy-to-use material available in DIY stores, larger rooms can be partitioned off to make room for en-suite bathrooms or built-in wardrobes.
The space underneath the stairs is often not used to its full advantage. Building shelves there with some soft lighting is a great way to show off collections or store books, but, if the space is big enough, why not build a cosy office area or retreat by simply putting in a built-in storage bench with soft cushions on top, a perfect place for having a cup of tea and a read?
Shelves in any part of the house can be the answer to many storage problems. In old houses, there is a lot of lost space because of the high ceilings. Put this to good use by running shelves around the top of the room and over doors: these are great spaces for books or ornaments.
The space under the staircase steps themselves is more often than not wasted: turn open wooden staircases into a talking-point by putting books under each step, or make drawers in hollow wooden steps and immediately gain loads of extra space.
In the living area, storage space can be added by using old chests as coffee tables. If you can get your hands on a solid old wine or champagne box, simply add a couple of hinges to the lid, four feet, pad and upholster the top, making for a original and useful foot stool.
In the kitchen, suspended pan racks are a great way of freeing up worktops and cupboards; make an effective but cheap one by getting hold of a small old door, cut out the middle, paint, fit heavy-gauge wire mesh to the middle space and suspend from the ceiling with metal chains.
Again, recycle wooden wine boxes by lining them with fabric or wallpaper, wax, varnish or paint the outsides, on the back fit sturdy picture frame hooks and you have cheap but chic hanging shelves.
If you have not the time or inclination to make things yourself, DIY shops stock extensive modular kits for you to organise different spaces with only minimum knowledge and tools.
Modular units exist in various shapes and sizes that can be mixed and matched and adapted to any room. Organise cupboard space with the many standalone units that exist for hanging clothes and drawers and finish off with sliding doors rather than hinged ones so that they can fit in even the tightest of corners.

Make 2011 your best year yet in Normandy

A wealth of organisations and council-funded schemes are in place throughout Normandy to help you realise big projects, learn new skills and generally enjoy yourself more in 2011.

From special grants for home renovations to discount sport schemes and support networks for new businesses, now is the ideal time to seek out the initiatives that are available to you locally.

Eat better

Cut out the supermarket middlemen and buy your fresh food direct from local producers, using a special scheme called Amap (Associations pour le Maintien d’une Agriculture Paysanne), which is designed to cut down on food miles and excessive packaging, encourage healthy eating and develop community links between consumers and farmers.

There are 33 branches of the organisation around Normandy, spread around each of the departments, except the Manche, where none has been set up yet. Each branch signs a contract with one or several farmers to supply produce every week, including fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs, bread, cheese, milk, cider, juices and honey.

The farmer provides the Amap group with a big delivery and volunteers then split the produce up into individual boxes for each member to collect from an agreed pick-up point at a fixed time each week.

Eating locally means eating seasonally, and the contents of the box will vary each week depending on what is available. Individuals can swap products among others in the group depending on their tastes and dietary needs.

Prices also vary. Annual membership is typically about €10, plus an agreed fixed rate for each box. A box for a week for two adults and a child will typically cost between e15 and e25, depending on what is included. For a single person, €10 should buy a box with about 3kg of produce inside.

The biggest Amap in Normandy is in Elbeuf (Eure). It has 240 members and organises weekly drop-offs in four neighbouring towns, with material sourced from 20 local producers. Some of the big schemes run all year round; others start up again in the spring. See www.reseau-amap.org for your nearest group.

If you have several Amaps in your area, it is worth approaching them all to see the different produce on offer, and find the price and collection day that suits you best. And if there is no network up and running in your area, it might be possible to set one up yourself. The site has a step-by-step guide on choosing local producers and bringing together enough local consumers to make the scheme worthwhile.

Improve your French

Caen University will be running intensive two-week French-language courses in June and July for non-native speakers who want to improve their confidence speaking the language. The course costs €485 and includes 60 hours of teaching. The deadline for applications is in May. A residential option is available for an extra €210. To find out more, see www.unicaen.fr/cefe

The Alliance Française has a school in Rouen offering courses at different levels. It is possible to start lessons any week in the year, except the beginners’ courses, which are scheduled to start on February 14 and March 28. There are also evening classes for people who work. See www.afrouen.org or call 02 35 98 55 99.

Haute-Normandie regional council has compiled a list of all the other language schools in the region offering lessons to non-native speakers. See www.tinyurl.com/crijhautenormandie

If paying for courses is out of the question, speak to French people on a daily basis (see below), watch French television or listen to French radio and little by little, you should find your French improves.

Make new friends

Settling in a new country can be a lonely experience and meeting people in rural Normandy can be difficult at times, especially if this is your second home.

One of the biggest groups in Normandy that can help is Accueil des Villes Françaises, which has a network of 20 local branches all over the region. The not-for-profit associations help people make new friends, offer practical help with settling in and organise a range of outings and social events.

Many of the branches have permanances – weekly drop-in sessions – where you can meet the organisers face-to-face, ask for advice and find out more about forthcoming meet-ups. There is usually a small fee for joining. We have published the full list of AVF networks in Normandy online under the “local info” section at www.normandyadvertiser.com

Check the community contacts panel on page 17 for details of other clubs and groups around Normandy. They cover a wide range of interests including creative writing, photo-graphy, birdwatching, singing and gardening.

There are also Franco-British associations, conversation groups and supper clubs. Your mairie will have details of all the associations registered with it. Other good places to check are your local library or supermarket noticeboards.

Start a business

There is a wide range of help available, a lot of it free, for anyone wanting to start a business in Normandy. Your local Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie (CCI) can provide advice and support.

They often organise free seminars for anyone considering taking their first steps in business, and regular courses designed to equip those setting up in business with the knowledge and skills they need. To find your nearest CCI, see www.drakkaronline.com

If you live in Basse-Normandie, check www.entreprendre-basse-normandie.fr for details of forthcoming regional business start-up events and the contact details of all the professional bodies in the region that can help with training and registration formalities. The Haute-Normandie equivalent can be found at www.hn-espace-entreprises.fr

Each department within Normandy also has its own economic development agenda based on local priorities and, from time to time, additional targeted support may become available at commune or departmental level. In the Orne, for example, there is www.orne-developpement.com, and in the Eure www.initiatives27.fr

Another possible port of call is Normandie Développement, which provides advice, contacts and data to help you draw up a solid business plan. It is particularly interested in foreign investment in the region and can provide help in English. See www.normandydev.com for details.

Save on energy bills

Electricity prices rose by three per cent at the start of this month, and gas bills have shot up by 15 per cent in the past year. It is more important than ever to find the most efficient ways of heating and providing energy for your home, and now is a good time to start planning for next winter before a key regional grant is phased out.

Basse-Normandie regional council is the first in France to offer a special grant of up to €2,000 to help you make your house more energy efficient, either through better insulation or installing a new system. The chèque éco-énergie has been in place since 2009 and more than 3,000 homes have benefited so far.

The scheme has been extended into 2011, but is due to be scrapped at the end of the year. To benefit from it, you must apply before April 1 and have completed the works by December 31.

The cheque is available to anybody who owns a property in Basse-Normandie – it does not matter whether it is your main residence or a second home.

The work must be carried out by a construction professional registered with the region. To apply, visit your local Espace Info Energie. There are five in Basse-Normandie: Caen, Coutances, Alençon, Hérouville-Saint-Clair and Montchauvet.

This is a network of environmental advisers put in place by energy-saving body Ademe, the region and the EU who give free guidance on how to choose the right equipment and renovate your home. They work independently of equipment or energy suppliers, so their advice is impartial. They also have offices in Haute-Normandie which can advice on other possible financial help. See www.infoenergie.org

It is also possible to take advantage of a tax credit for environmentally friendly home improvements. To get the tax credit (crédit d’impôt), you need to pay tax in France and have your main home here.
The credit system only applies once the work is completed.

The work needs to be declared in the tax return relating to the year that the last of the renovation bills was paid – for example, if you pay for the work in 2011, you would declare it in your 2011 tax declaration, which has to be submitted in May 2012. For more information on eco tax breaks, see our helpguide on the subject, priced €5, at www.connexionfrance.com

Plan for the future

Inheritance planning takes on extra complications if you have assets in both the UK and France, and there are some fundamental differences to how the law works here.

To answer your questions, The Advertiser is helping to organise another free seminar in English on inheritance planning, after the last event was fully booked.

The talk takes place in the Salle Salle des Fêtes in Juvigny-sous-Andaine (Orne) on Monday, February 7 from 14.15 to 17.30.

Experts from MoneyCorp, Siddalls and BML Assurances, which are supporting the event, will be on hand to explain the differences between French and British inheritance laws and the tax implications.

The seminar will also cover ensuring your wills are up-to-date, preparing for the eventual, and how the law applies to you if you have step-children, have remarried or are in a same-sex relationship.

Other confirmed speakers include Franco-British solicitor and avocat Gerard Barron and funeral consultant Fran Lewis. There will also be a collection to raise funds for Cancer Support France.
Juvigny-sous-Andaine is about 10 minutes from Domfront and Bagnoles de l’Orne.

The last event attracted almost 100 people, so booking is essential. Call Siddalls on 05 56 34 75 51, Moneycorp on 06 19 17 34 61 or send an email to info@normandyandbrittanylife.com

For more information, see www.tinyurl.com/inheritancetalk

Clear out clutter

Vide-grenier attic sale season enters into full swing in the spring, but there are still a few events planned before then if you are keen to clear out your unwanted items.

There are foires à tout in Saint-Lô, Bagnoles de l’Orne and Yvetot on January 9, Canteleu (Seine-Maritime) on January 16, Gaineville on January 22-24, Agon-Coutainville on January 30 and Saint-Pierre-de-Varengeville (Seine-Maritime) on February 5-6. There is also a three-day grande braderie in Caen from January 21-23.

To find your nearest sale and contact the organiser directly, search online at www.brocabrac.fr or www.vide-greniers.org

Alternatively, to avoid spending hours outside trying to sell your unwanted goods, list them for free with The Advertiser. Classified adverts are free online and in print if the item you are selling is priced at less than €250.

Get consumer help

The Manche branch of consumer group UFC Que Choisir has an English-speaker available at its Avranches surgery, offering advice on how to resolve disputes with companies.

The drop-in centre is in the Centre Multi-Services, 24 place du Marché, on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 10.00-11.30. Call the Saint-Lô office for more details, on 02 33 05 68 76.

The body has other drop-in centres (in French) in Bayeux, Caen, Vire, La Ferté Macé, Saint-Lô, Cherbourg, Evreux, Le Havre, Fécamp and Rouen. See www.quechoisir.org for all the times and contact details.

Cut cost of travel

If you travel regularly between Normandy and the UK by ferry, frequent traveller schemes could help you save on tickets.

Both LD Lines (Dieppe-Newhaven and Le Havre-Portsmouth) and Brittany Ferries (Caen and Cherbourg-Portsmouth) offer membership packages with discounts.

The LD Lines programme allows you to collect miles for each crossing you make, which can then be redeemed for free crossings for either yourself or friends and family. See www.frequent-traveller.co.uk

The Brittany Ferries frequent traveller scheme, called the Property Owners’ Travel Club, becomes interesting for passengers who do at least six trips per year. It offers savings of up to 30 per cent on crossings and a 10 per cent reduction on on-board meals. The annual membership fee is £60. See www.brittany-ferries.co.uk

Keep children busy

A SPECIAL scheme is in place for all young people in Normandy, aged 15-20, offering discount travel and entry to cinemas, museums and sports clubs. The Cart’@too costs €10 a year and comes with at least €100 of savings that aim to give teens more independence at a minimal cost.

Benefits include free museum entry, €5 discount vouchers for theatre, music and dance performances, e4 off cinema tickets, and one free ticket a year to see a Caen football match at the Stade Malherbe. The card also offers discount membership for hundreds of sports clubs and a reduced rate for the Boos’TER regional youth rail pass.

The @too scheme can also provide grants of up to €300 for big group outings (of at least eight young people) to cultural and educational places of interest within the region, and grants of €25-75 for textbooks and other school materials.

For more information, see http://cartatoo.region-basse-normandie.fr or call 02 31 06 95 99. The scheme is due to be extended to 21- to 25-year-olds this year.

Separately, Basse-Normandie offers grants of up to €500 for under-25s wanting to travel to another European country and discover more about its culture or history. The Bourse Jeune Europe helps cover travel costs, accommodation and activities.

Applications open in mid-March for this coming summer. Forms and guidelines will be made available online shortly at www.crij-bn.org

Look after yourself

Prevention is the best medicine, and, depending on your circumstances, you should be eligible for a number of free check-ups at various times in the year, covering everything from sight and hearing to
cancer screening.

Look out for publicity surrounding the Journées de la Vision in June, when opticians offer free eye tests, and a week of free hearing tests in March organised by top-up health insurer Audition Mutualiste.

Ask your GP about free screening for breast, bowel, cervical and prostate cancer. For more information about your entitlement, see www.tinyurl.com/cancerchecks

Women in the Orne who are aged 40-74 can benefit from free breast cancer check-ups without leaving their village. The Mammobile 61 tours the region regularly, offering a drop-in service for screenings. To find out when the vehicle will be in your area, call free on 0800 21 15 17.

Choose new fruit trees

11

The coldest month is often a quiet one in the garden, but there are plenty of ways to keep busy. January is the ideal time for planting pansies, primulas (garden centres should be well stocked) and hardy perennials.
Planting fruit trees can be done (avoiding days when there is heavy frost) and you can prune your existing apple and pear trees and others bearing seeded fruit, especially ones trained espalier-style up a flat surface such as a wall or fence (again, avoiding very frosty days).
This is also a good time to fertilise your trees, with manure or compost and scatter ash, which gives nutrients to the roots. Brush trunks with a stiff brush to get rid of parasites and treat them with paraffin oil. Get rid of lichen, which is often infested with insects.
If choosing a new fruit tree, make sure the variety is well suited to your soil and climate. This applies to the rootstock as well as to the actual fruiting species grafted on to it. Make sure you know what size it will end up as and whether or not it is self-fertilising. Many fruit trees need to receive pollen from a tree of another variety to be fertilised.
Fruit trees come either in containers or with bare roots. Choose scions (a branch grafted on less than a year ago) or ones aged two or three years old (when there should be around four or five well formed branches).
Choose a sunny, sheltered position and dig the hole two or three weeks beforehand. It should be as deep as it is wide and a third wider than the roots. Separate the topsoil (which should be put at the bottom of the hole).
Cut the ends off the largest roots and soak the roots before planting with a bought solution called pralin or just water mixed with mud and compost.
You can train it espalier-style up a south-facing wall. Otherwise, young trees need a support stake, pushed into the hole before planting. The place where the tree was grafted on to the rootstock should be at ground level.
Plant the tree and fill the hole with soil mixed with manure. Shake the roots as you fill to avoid pockets of air. Attach the tree lightly to its stake and water well.
This is also a good time to clean your gardening tools. Get rid of soil and use a metallic brush to remove rust. Rub them with a damp cloth, then oil with linseed oil or changed oil from your lawnmower. You should give wood handles a rub with a fine sandpaper and then treat them with linseed oil.

‘Properties sell if the price is right’

Eric Maurice, regional head of estate agents’ body Fnaim, shares his predictions for 2011 for the Normandy property market and looks back at the previous year.
“In Basse-Normandie, we have seen a slight movement in prices in the past year, mainly in the third quarter when prices rose by about two or three per cent.
“The volume of transactions this year, compared to 2009, has gone up by 25 per cent, which is a fine recovery. However, compared with the Paris market, we are not lacking suppy here, which means that prices have remained moderate.
“We have seen a revival in cities – Caen, mainly, and the coast – but the Orne, Lisieux and the lower part of the Pays d’Auge are still lagging behind. Prices there tend to be stable or continue to fall.
“From this month, we will be under the obligation to display the energy-efficiency diagnostics on property adverts and we think this will have an impact on property that is less well ranked.
“In our current property stock, a good number of both old and new houses are badly ranked. This should have an impact on the negotiation of property and trigger a price drop.
“Bank rates remain low and employment has gone up, so we are seeing signs of a recovery. The new prêt à taux zéro will facilitate things for the first-time buyers.”
“The year 2010 has allowed us to start afresh. We think that 2011 will allow us to continue.
“In the past six months, the market has picked up again on large property, but 70 per cent of buyers are still looking at property under €200,000. When a property is at the right price today, it is gone within 30-35 days.”

One year old: thanks for your support

Last January saw the launch of the Normandy Advertiser and we are delighted to see so many people around the region reading and enjoying it, one year on. French and British businesses have rallied behind The Advertiser and we have also attracted hundreds of subscribers who like to receive the paper at home.

The success of the paper has been reflected in its growth from 16 to 24 pages and the launch of normandyadvertiser.com, which attracts more than 2,000 visitors every month.

To ensure you do not miss an edition, subscribe today by calling 0800 91 77 56 (free call from French landline). Delivery to a home in France is just €12 for a year.

Thank you to all our readers and advertisers for supporting us in our first year.

The Advertiser team

Normandy notaires turn to web

Notaires in Basse-Normandie have begun selling properties online, as the region becomes the latest in France to join a new digital initiative. The Vente Notariale Interactive aims to boost sales by making it easier for buyers and sellers to negotiate prices in real time.
It is well suited to homes that are likely to attract strong interest.
The scheme offers improved transparency, as all the property’s diagnostic reports and cadastral plans are published with the advert. After viewings, a period of a few days is set by the notaire when anyone interested in bidding can contact the seller and exchange offers.
Notaires in Basse-Normandie organised a special week-long campaign in mid-November to explain the concept to potential buyers and sellers, and they say the concept is proving popular.
Pascal Gueugnon, the Basse-Normandie regional delegate at the Institut Notarial de l’Immobilier, said: “Online sales allow the seller to receive offers in real-time on a secure platform and make negotiate a price based on the level of demand.
“It offers better transparency. Potential buyers can see what other people are offering and adjust their offers accordingly. The transaction is concluded afterwards, in the ordinary way, with the signature of a compromis de vente.
“The buyer benefits from the same legal protection as a traditional sale, including a seven-day cooling-off period (délai de rétraction) from the date of signing.”
See www.immobilier.notaires.fr

Alençon lace tradition on world heritage list

Officials in Alençon are pinning their hopes on renewed interest in the town’s long history of lace-making to help keep the industry alive. The unique craft, Point-d’Alençon, was practised by up to 8,000 women in its 18th-century heyday. Today, the industry employs just six people.
Concerns that the complicated technique, which takes up to a decade to master, will not be passed on to future generations have now prompted world heritage body Unesco to list Alençon needle-lace as a cultural treasure that deserves to be protected.
The town’s Socialist mayor, Joaquim Pueyo, said he hoped the global recognition for the craft would raise awareness and interest, and ensure the practice does not die with the current generation of lacemakers.
“This recognition by Unesco recognises centuries of savoir-faire developed by thousands of lace-makers, and the passion that it continues to generate, even today,” he said.
Basse-Normandie regional president Laurent Beauvais added: “I’m pleased to see a regional speciality honoured in this way. It’s a great success for the town of Alençon and without doubt it will have a positive impact on the region as a whole.”
Alençon needle-lace is unusual because of the high level of craftsmanship required and the very long time that it takes to produce. A small patch of lace the size of a postage stamp takes about 25 hours to make and sells for about €200.
The material was named the “queen of all laces” at the first Universal Exhibition in Brighton in 1851, but its history dates back 200 years before then, when a workshop was set up in the Orne town. A royal edict in 1722 gave Alençon a monopoly to supply the court of Versailles in the winter, with Valenciennes picking up the contract for the summer.
The pieces are made up of design elements held together by a finely stitched net. The process comprises a number of successive stages: drawing and pricking of the design on parchment, creating the outline of the design and the background netting, then the typical stitching of the patterns, shading with filling stitches, decorating with designs and embroidering to create relief.
Then the lace is removed from the parchment with a razor blade, trimmed and, finally, the filling stitches are polished with a lobster claw.
Each lace-maker knows how to complete all the stages of the process – knowledge that can only be transmitted through a practical apprenticeship. To master the technique fully requires seven to 10 years of training. Two new trainees were hired in the Alençon workshop last September to start their apprenticeship.
Alençon’s lace-making joins four Normandy landmarks on the Unesco world heritage list: Mont St Michel, the Bayeux tapestry, the rebuilt centre of Le Havre, and the lookout towers at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue and Tatihou.

Posted in News