Dear all
We have finally arrived in our new home in Caen -- the "village suburb" of Venoix, to be precise.
With so many horror stories -- including our own (don't ask) about removals, we were naturally concerned as we wanted to put everything in store while we stayed in a self-catering apartment to do our home-hunting on the spot.
In the event, Jennifer of Wo-Van made the whole operation painless.,. even when the lift serving our sixth floor flat in London packed up just as the last load was being lined up.
http://www.wovan.co.uk/#about-wovan
As a couple of 60-somethings we were particularly pleased that Jen has split the job into two loads with a mid-sized van rather than a big pantechnicon! So there is a fighting chance that we will have a lot of the first boxes unloaded before she arrives with the second lot in a few days time.
Also as she told us it is much easier to park and load/unload a Luton-type van either in a residential parking bay or -- as friends have already confirmed -- at the end of a country lane.
Jen is "back and forth to and from France" all the time, so if you have just a few things to bring or take in either direction, it could be worth giving her a call.