A new friend for a new year

My PC has been away all week - Christophe came on Tuesday and did some tests, then took it away with him - no word from him yet as to what is wrong with it.

My application for auto-entrepreneur status seems to have been rejected. Business ventures in France are classified into three broad groups

• artisanal, which covers craftsmen
• commercial, which covers all activities of buying and selling, and
  
• professions libérales, which basically covers everything cerebral - consultants, teachers, "knowledge workers" and the like.

The original specification for auto-entrepreneur covered all but artists - the professions libérales even being listed in the document, and included IT consultants and teachers (I checked). The email I and many others received stated that the CFE (Centre for the Formation of Companies - part of the Chambers of Commerce and Industries), to whom the submission was automatically sent by the CFE web site is not competent to deal with the professions libérales. After over five and a half decades in the UK, the concept of a government department not being competent is not one with which I am unfamiliar, but they didn't mean it that way.

Apparently the department that is competent to deal with the professions libérales (something to do with retirement pensions management) is hampered by being totally unprepared for it. Something to do with a needed agreement not being in place. According to a 9th January statement by Hervé Novelli, Secretary of State for SME, it will be possible during February.

Meanwhile, I was contacted last week by Kim, who runs the Porridge Club [link], to tell me that one of the nicest members of her own pack, a Wire-haired Terrier called Ulysses, needs to be rehomed. It seems that as he trots through to the pond, the sheep in the next field run away, and he is accused by the sheep farmers of chasing the sheep.

We weren't too keen to replace Hobie, mostly because we don't want to extend the tie more than we have to and we don't particularly like our dogs dying but, after some discussion, we decided that we could manage with this fellow, who is small enough to take around in the car, has all his papers and loves car rides, provided he could cope with a change of name.

When I was young, my paternal grandfather had a Wire-haired Terrier, called Gyp. If I remember correctly, when Gyp died, he was replaced with another Wire-haired Terrier called Gyp. What else could I call him? As for changing names, Flash came to us with the name Spud - hardly a Greyhound's name - and he took very well to his new name; In fact, he now answers to a number of different names, depending on what mood I am in! We have spent a couple of days telling Flash that he has a new friend coming - not that he is interested, with next door's spaniel having just come into season!

Here are a few photographs of Ulysses (who may keep that name - no decision made yet). They are just the first few taken on his arrival. More will follow later.




Have a good week.

À la prochaine