Cooking up frustration
We moved to France three years ago and have had to overcome all sorts of adjustments to life. It鈥檚 the simple things that cause the most frustration.
The current stumbling block is obtaining the type of gas cooker we would prefer.
My wife has never really liked electric ovens and wants a return to the old-style freestanding twin-oven gas cooker.
The problem is that, although companies in Europe such as Beko, Electrolux and Lofra manufacture in Turkey, Sweden and Italy exactly what we are looking for, you won鈥檛 find these gas appliances on any EU website, except in the UK and Ireland. My only option seems to be buying in the UK and shipping it over, although it has already come from somewhere in Europe, so more hassle and more pollution.
I have tried contacting the companies to see if it鈥檚 possible for an oven just to be put on a different truck to France but have had no reply.
We believe we are now part of a global marketplace: on the internet you can buy products from all over the world.
However, there are all sorts of products made in the EU not actually available in the EU!
Michael CHARMAN, by email
Send your letters and comments by email to: news@connexionfrance.com
