SKI-er or Sk-ater. We know how to enjoy ourselves

seven-day-weekend

Donny-gal, I have just paid my last year of Voluntary Contributions to the UK and I will get a full State Pension. I will get it at 60 because my State Retirement date is before April 6th 2010 - it's only people whose date is after that who have to wait longer.

As I am 60 in January 2010, I'm one of the last few who can still get the Pension on my 60th birthday..:beer:

However, I have had to have 39 years of Contributions (26 years paid and 13 years HRP) - people whose date is after April 6th 2010 will only need 30 years. This worked out well for my husband as under the old rules he needed 44 years and was eight years short when we came here, we thought we would have to pay them, but when the rules changed he already had enough!

Cold here? It's flipping snowing!:rotfl::rotfl:

Francophile

donny-gal wrote: »

Hi Everyone


Re the Paris trip, there is a train direct from CDG to Gare du Nord, then you can catch the Metro to the Arc, we did it, we got return train tickets and bought a book of metro tickets, 10 for the price of 8 I think it was. It was quite easy. If this is your first trip to Paris, I would recommend the open top buses. Not cheap I know but they stop all the way round and you can get on and off as much as you like for 2 days, and Paris is not small!
We've flying in Beauvais so I think the only option is the bus. We've been to Paris before a couple of times but have never taken the open top bus. I will def give it a go this time. The last time we walked so much my feet swoll up.

If you want a nice restaurant near the Sacre Coeur/Montmatre, then PM me your email and I will send you a scan of their card. Nice 4 course meal, a very reasonably by Paris standards.
I'll PM you for the details of this restaurant. Always good to have recommendations.

So far we are hoping to go to Spain around the end of Jan for a couple of months, and then off to France for a month in the Caravan at third week June, and hoping to catch Bastille day in Paris, I was there for it 20 years ago and the atmosphere was electric. We are also looking at Spring Bank and August in the Caravan in the UK, so will pack the wellies. :rotfl:
This sounds like the life!!
DH celebrates his 60th at the end of August, so we are running a caravan rally ove the Bank Holiday when it occurs, and then probably back to Spain late September/early October.

There will also be many weekends in the 'van in between. Just need to figure out when we will tackle decorating the lounge - anyone good at decorating out there, we hate it with a passion.
If you find anyone let me know. My whole house needs decorating. My DH has just given up.

Francophile

Just got an email from our French neighbours with photos attached showing snow on the ground this morning. Looks like it's colder there than here.

Francophile

Was it something I said? Things have gone very quiet.
I'm all excited as I just got flights to Berlin in February for €20 for both DH & myself return. I also got a hotel on special offer. It should have been €249 per room per night and I got it for €64 per room per night. I never usually get bargains so I'm ecstatic.
I've decided since the other business that you only live once so I'm going to take any opportunities I can.

seven-day-weekend

Best attitude Francophile, and well done with your bargains!

I've just found out on another forum that you can download discount vouchers for P&O Ferries who run the Pride of Bilbao between northern Spain and Portsmouth.

Wish I'd found them sooner before I booked the crossing!:mad::rotfl:

Anyway, we've not booked our return journey yet so if we come back that way on not on a French ferry I'll download one and hopefully get 50% off like the person on the forum who directed me to them.:T

Watch this space!

donny-gal

No Francophile, it was nothing you said. :rotfl:

I am in the process of re-building the desktop, and also trying to sort one or two things out, we took a couple of boxes, some suitcases and a couple of bags of stuff to the charity shop this morning. I am trying to see 3 items on e-bay, keep your fingers crossed.

My emails and PM's are being ignored at the moment as most of my data is on the ext usb hdd staying safe while I do the above, I have finished it, BUT it now keeps giving disk errors, it is still under warranty, so awaiting a reply from the Medion (Aldi special 3 yrs warranty) email to see what they suggest next. It is intermittant, sometimes it will boot and work fine, others it just will not boot and shows disk errors, thank goodness for the laptop at times.

We have had a good week doing jobs, BUT somehow I still seem to be falling under a mountain of paper. Anyway been invited to go over to our friends in Hull and stay overnight tomorrow, so it will be here waiting for my return.

7DW - which site for the voucher? Does it work for Hull too?

Euro slowly improving, let's hope it keeps on going.

Have a good weekend all
DG

seven-day-weekend

Donnygal, the other person didn't give a link but I googled and found

https://www.myvouchercodes.co.uk/discounts/poferries.com

Merrywidow

Donnygal, todays Express magazine has a one page add for P&O web fares. £27 each way for car and up to 9 people. www.POferries.com/express2 tel. 08712222234. I think the whole world is discounting this week. I am still stuck indoors with this cold, its a real nasty one and I feel like a wet rag. It is such a hardship to sit tucked up in my fur throw on the settee, fire on, good book or mag on my lap - I wonder how long I can stand it LOL

Francophile

donny-gal wrote: »

No Francophile, it was nothing you said. :rotfl:

I am in the process of re-building the desktop Wow!!! I'm so impressed. I wouldn't know where to start. Our PC is acting up and I think will probably crash fairly soon so I'm going to buy an external hard drive to transfer everything onto before it happens (I hope).

margaretclare

We're a bit further forward now - know what will be happening in the next few weeks.

DH is back to hospital on 18th February to have his knee put back together again (hopefully). That's Option 1 - Option 2 is to have the knee joint fused so that the leg is stiff. This may happen if the surgeon can't do another knee replacement. It would be the 4th knee replacement in about 5 years and there may not be enough bone left to attach the prosthetic joint.

District Nurses are still coming in daily to give him IV antibiotic via the Hickman line in his chest. He's had another supply of teicoplanin prescribed which takes him up to and including the date of admission.

We're eating very healthily these days - fruit and veg yes, also 'Ocean Spray' cranberry juice (good for the urinary system) and 'Yeo Valley' probiotic yogurt which is good for the immune system. DH is getting his muscle strength back. We manage to get out a bit sometimes - went for a pub meal last week, went to Waitrose and he used their motorised buggy to go around the store.

We are still planning a trip to the Lake District in spring, hoping to do the things we enjoy - old traditional pubs, beautiful scenery, nice meals, a bit of pampering and luxury.

I have read in various places, complaints by older people about ageist discrimination in health care. We have found no such thing in recent weeks/months. The cost of treating DH, keeping him alive in Critical Care when he could so easily have died, then giving him the option of what to do about his knee, and the treatment with a very expensive antibiotic - teicoplanin - which has been going on since mid-November. It could have been said 'what's the point of doing all this for a man of 74, why go to such lengths to give him back maximum quality of life?' But that has never happened. so, no age discrimination that we could see. OTOH it is still the case that you need to be aware of what's going on and to be able to argue and complain, if necessary, and obviously not everyone has the ability or the inclination to do that.