Clé France

Dear Sharon,

The viewings went very well and we were well looked after thank you, we saw some exciting possibilities, we were viewing lots over 3 days, and we saw something on the last day we were there that took our breath away.

Can you please pass onto your agents a massive thank you for all their time and help during our visist, it was very much appreciated and if we look to invest in a 2nd property we will not hesitate to contact you again.

Nicole.

Cle France will guide YOU through the French Property Buying Process!

And as several of our clients say "Follow your heart and make the move"!

Cle France was my 'go-to website' for finding French properties and it didn't disappoint.

Good, friendly, helpful service - and all in English!

Many thanks.

Kay

This client has just completed her purchase through Cle France, You can do the same, it is easy as we will guide YOU through the French Property Buying Process from the very start to completion and beyond!

And as several of our clients say "Follow your heart and make the move"!

Question: Hi Alex, what sort of costs for living cost ie. water electric gas and rates, for say, in western regions compared to south western France. thanks Sean.

Answer: Hello Sean, many thanks for your question, if I understand you correctly, I think your question is to ascertain whether or not the cost of utilities varies according to region, and the short answer to that is... not really.

However, there are considerable climatic differences in France, which will of course impact on things like usage of heating as you will consume energy differently if you live in a colder climate. That said if you are in an area where you can make the maximum benefit if solar power that will also impact favourably on your bills. 

So it is quite a complex question to answer, as really everything depends on usage, size of property, region, method of heating, well as opposed to main water; there are a large number of factors that will influence the amount you pay.

But I think its accurate to say that not many people will choose an area of France to live in according to what the cost of utilities might be:  it is more to do with accessibility, climate, lifestyle, cost of property, as whilst running costs are important, these other points are more significant.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

It’s December, and before you know it, Santa Claus will be flying son char à travers les cieux (his sleigh across the skies). The tree is up, and the stockings are hung by the chimney with glee, and outside the snow… well, it’s currently very mild here.

I love December. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” is definitely my mantra. Et les chants de Noel (and Christmas songs?)? I love them. Sometimes I even listen to them in July, but don’t worry. I do that privately so as not to annoy anyone else.

Lots of people claim to not like this festive music, but I won’t focus on these negative grinches at the moment. Throw on a Santa hat, and let’s be jolly.

“Jingle Bells” is an absolute classic, literally every single person can sing along. The song talks about the joy of riding in the a horse-drawn sleigh through the snow, and while I have my reservations about spending anything more than the necessary amount of time in the snow, I think I would give that a go given the chance.

“Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh…” You can certainly finish this verse and the chorus, but did you know there was more to the song?

There’s Miss Fanny Bright, an unfortunate slipping incident, and some dating advice...

Jingling Your Bells in French

Et la version française (and the French version?) ? Completely different. Rather than focusing on the winter transportation, the French praise the winter wind and wish people a Happy New Year. And like the English version, there’s a little story in there, too.

While the words are very different, l’air reste le même (the tune is the same).

Chantons (let’s sing!) :

Vive le vent, vive le vent,

Long live the wind, long live the wind,

Vive le vent d’hiver,

Long live the winter wind,

Qui s’en va sifflant, soufflant

Which goes whistling, blowing

Dans les grands sapins verts, oh !

In the big green pine trees, oh!

Vive le temps, vive le temps,

Long live the weather, long live the weather,

Vive le temps d’hiver,

Long live the winter weather,

Boules de neige et Jour de l’An

Snowballs and New Year’s Day

Et Bonne Année grand-mère !

And Happy New Year, Grandma!

Sur le long chemin

Along the path

Tout blanc de neige blanche

All white from the snow

Un vieux monsieur s’avanceAn old man comes closer

Avec sa canne dans la main

With his can in his hand.

Et tout là-haut le vent

And all above the wind

Qui siffle dans les branches

Which whistles in the branches

Lui souffle la romance

Blows on him the romance

Qu’il chantait petit enfant, oh !

He sang as a little child, oh!

Vive le vent, vive le vent,

Long live the wind, long live the wind,

Vive le vent d’hiver,

Long live the winter wind,

Qui s’en va sifflant, soufflant

Which goes whistling, blowing

Dans les grands sapins verts, oh !

In the big green pine trees, oh!

Vive le temps, vive le temps,

Long live the weather, long live the weather,

Vive le temps d’hiver,

Long live the winter weather,

Boules de neige et Jour de l’An

Snowballs and New Year’s Day

Et Bonne Année grand-mère !

And Happy New Year, Grandma!

Joyeux, joyeux Noël

Merry, Merry Christmas

Aux mille bougies

To the thousand candles

Qu’enchantent vers le ciel

Which light up toward Heaven

Les cloches de la nuit.

The night’s bells

Vive le vent, vive le vent

Long live the wind, long live the wind

Vive le vent d’hiver

Long live the winter wind

Qui rapporte aux vieux enfants

Which brings to old kids

Leurs souvenirs d’hier, oh !

Their memories of yesterday, oh!

Et le vieux monsieur

And the old man

Descend vers le village

Goes down toward the village

C’est l’heure où tout est sage

It’s the time when everyone is good

Et l’ombre danse au coin du feu.

And the shadow dances near the fire

Mais dans chaque maison

But in each house

Il flotte un air de fête

There’s a festive air

Partout la table est prête

Everywhere the table is ready

Et l’on entend la même chanson, oh !

And you hear the same song, oh!

Vive le vent, vive le vent,

Long live the wind, long live the wind,

Vive le vent d’hiver,

Long live the winter wind,

Qui s’en va sifflant, soufflant

Which goes whistling, blowing

Dans les grands sapins verts, oh !

In the big green pine trees, oh!

Vive le temps, vive le temps,

Long live the weather, long live the weather,

Vive le temps d’hiver,

Long live the winter weather,

Boules de neige et Jour de l’An

Snowballs and New Year’s Day

Et Bonne Année grand-mère !

And Happy New Year, Grandma!

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Learn more about Christmas markets in France like the one pictured above in Strasbourg.

Back in the UK the pound was in buoyant fashion on Monday morning strengthening against many of the majors. Due to events over in Italy the pound spiked to over a four month high of 1.2041 but retracted over the course of the day back to a low of 1.1786. The pound has been on a slow gradual increase against the Euro over the last 5 weeks representing some attractive buying levels but I feel any further significant gains will be limited by Brexit fears.

Yesterday the Government started its appeal at the Supreme Court against a High Court ruling that Parliament must vote on the triggering of Article 50. Government lawyer James Eadie QC stated that the government could trigger Article 50 and that there was no basis for Parliament to get the final say. This spooked the markets and started the retraction for the pound. The uncertainty will last for the majority of this week while this unfolds so economic data will more than likely take a back seat in the pounds movements.

A drop for the pound by over two and a half cents is a worrying concern and those that were hoping events in Italy will help the pound remain above 1.20 have been left bitterly disappointed. Last time the pound reached 1.1950 a week later it was down by 5 cents back to 1.14 and we may see a similar movement while the Supreme Court ruling continues.

If you are buying a property in the near future and looking at your purchase either before or after the new year now may be a wise time to look at your conversion while the pound is still up over 9% from the lows witnessed in early October. This is a significant gain and still represents very attractive buying levels.

Thinking of exchanging currency? then contact Ben using this form (click here) with your requirement and he will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

Current rates:

Tuesday 6th December at 10:20

£1.00 GBP = 1.1839 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.2753 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7131 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7900 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.6910 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.3875 ZAR

Just imagine if YOU could forecast the exchange rate?

No one can do that of course but being well informed is a start and knowing the events coming up that may influence the GBP/EURO exchange rate may help you with your planning.

The latest quarterly currency market forecasts from the international money transfer experts, FC Exchange, are now available. The reports are essential reading for anyone buying or selling a property, in fact anyone making international money transfers.

The currency markets have always fluctuated, but this year has seen unprecedented levels of volatility. The currency forecasts review the factors that have contributed to the uncertainty we have seen this year and look ahead to the issues that could affect currency markets in the next quarter, moving into 2017.

Grab your Free Report here... 

Do you want more information ?

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk