Only Two Things are Certain in Life - Well, Perhaps not Taxes - 30 Oct - 2 Nov, 2018

This is almost certainly our last visit of the year - and a long way to come for just two full days.

We set out at around 6pm on Tuesday night, stayed in Folkstone and then up at 4am to get the 5:50 Channel Tunnel crossing. The trip down was without incident but felt long. We arrived in Uzerche at around 3pm and immediately hit one of the local supermarkets. Then the short drive to the house.

Everything was in a good state - and no maggots this time.

I'd drained the heating system at the end of my last visit - so we were relying on a couple of electric heaters, a butane heater and a new 14 tog duvet.

So why come down at this time of year for such a short stay and when I'd already prepped the house for winter?

There were a number of factors:

  • We both had leave available
  • We were both missing the place
  • Whilst I'd generally prepped the house for winter, the one thing I hadn't done was to drain the hot water tank (I'd tried but hadn't been able to figure it out - and needed to leave for the journey home)
  • I'd run out of roof sealant on the last visit (and couldn't find what I needed locally) and so was intending to finish the job
  • and MOST IMPORTANTLY the demands for the taxe d'habitation and taxe foncierre (property taxes) would both be waiting on the door mat - one over due by a month and the other due on the day of our arrival - and late payment incurs a penalty.
And the property taxes would present us with our first conundrum. The demands were not waiting on the door mat as expected.

The night was cold, but the duvet was warm - provided you kept your arms tucked under it.

Next morning we headed straight to the Hotel de Ville, hoping the maire's office would be able to advise us on how we could pay. They were closed - Thursday was 'All Saints Day' - a public holiday in France. So, we would have to try again on Friday - our last full day in town; we would be cutting it fine. 

First thing Friday I was back and this time they were open- phew. But they couldn't help me, not directly anyway. It appeared I needed the 'Treasury'. We were half expecting that we would be directed to another office and, to be honest, were expecting to have to travel to Tulle. The good news was that the 'Treasury'  was just a short walk away. The bad news is that the lady I was speaking to suspected that it would be closed as the previous day had been the public holiday.

Since the Treasury was just a short diversion on the way home I thought I'd take a look anyway and I was in luck - they were open. And my luck was about to get better. It appears that both taxes are only payable if you owned the property on the first of January of the year in question. So, our taxes won't be due until next Autumn. 

What else have we done during the short visit?

We've cleared the shelves of Roche Mazet Merlot at both the local supermarkets. Tim (neighbour) introduced us to this wine and wants half a case. I mentioned it at work (it is nice enough if you're not a wine connoisseur -  and costs less than £2.50 a bottle) and got orders for another 2.5 cases. And we want some ourselves - here's hoping they have restocked so we can get another case on the way home.

I've fixed a couple of dodgy electric lights, Sally has done an incredible job of sweeping up the woodworm debris I'd left  in the cellar (especially impressive as she really doesn't like the cellar) and has sanded/painted a door. I reckon I've figured out how to drain the hot water tank - I'll try tomorrow before we leave. And we've laid hardboard on the kitchen floor to make the surface somewhat more pleasant. All that and a number of other small chores - all in all not too shoddy for such a short stay.

The one thing we didn't get done was the garage roof as it rained most of the day Thursday and into Friday morning. Whilst most of Friday was dry, the roof simply hadn't dried sufficiently. The good news is that the single coat (and in the centre only the primer) appears to have waterproofed it for now.

Tonight we're off to the top restaurant in town  'La Treille Muscate' for a late wedding anniversary celebration.  Then, tomorrow morning, it will be up early, drain the plumbing (including the water heater), put salt in the sinks/loo and then hit the road, heading to Calais for an overnight stay,  via the supermarkets for more Roche Mazet,






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