Don

I have received a bill from the Marie for 'raccordement' which I have been told is a connection to the main drainage system.  To the best of my knowledge our house is not connected to the mains.  We have a fosse septic for the toilet but all 'grey' water appears to drain away through ground channels.  The system works very well, we have not had any problems in almost 8 years (maison secondaire visited 3-4 times a year). The mayor says he will get a commune worker to visit and advise what is required and not to pay the bill yet! Do we legally HAVE to connect to the mains for water or toilet ot both?  Can we refuse and continue as we are? Is this a question for a notaire or is that a waste of money? Any advice is welcome, we are in Haute Vienne.

Trevour, you have got it wrong! In England our official measurement of distance is MILES,  our cars register the number of MILES we travel and the speed in MILES per hour so it is much simpler to use the 'brain matter' to concentrate on our driving, we do not need to 'converse' or should that be convert.  

We travel to Limousin, about 50 miles north of Limoges, directly east of La Rochelle, four times a year to visit our 'maison secondaire'.  We have tried many different routes and ferry crossings and have found that the route through Rouen, Evreux, Dreux and Chartres (N154) on to the A10 to the A71 just north of Orleans, then A20 is by far the quickest and cheapest.  We tried the A28 but found that it added about 60 miles and 1 hour to the journey and the motorway tolls were at least twice those on the A20 route. We used to sail from Portsmouth to Le Havre but since P & 0 stopped this route we find that Dover Calais works best for us.  We live in the north east of England so we need an overnight stop in northern France but the 300 miles plus take about 6 hours.  We too remember Stirling Moss but we don't try to meet his speeds.  Hope this helps, bon voyage.

Everything BJSLIV says about induction cooking is true but they can take a bit of getting used to. I have a portable induction hob which I take to France with me (I'm just a part timer living in England). I can use it in the motorhome on the journey as well.  Mine was bought at a Camping and Outdoor Leisure Exhibition at Earls Court complete with a set of pans.  I have seen a similar hob (different manufacturer) in a small electrical shop in North Yorkshire - cost £59.00 so they aren't terribly expensive. Mary

In February I purchased a 10 single trip ticket with Speedferries, I thought it was a good idea as we travel at least four times  year.  When I tried to make my first booking I was told that they do not take motorhomes on these tickets, I must have missed that somewhere in their terms and conditions, ours is 4 cm. too high anyway.[:(] They will not refund any of the purchase price but said that I can transfer the ticket to another person. The price of their 10 trip tickets is now £250.00  I paid £210 or rather 307 euros. Is anyone interested in making me an offer?  I have since booked a return trip with Norfolk Line (they were cheapest) does anyone have any information regarding their ships etc? Mary D

This is the first I have heard of the badges.  Do they only save paying with cash or bank cards or do they allow you to pass through the Telepeage booths?

Re Rubberduck's posting of 1st September - when did they stop teaching geography in English schools?  Liverpool is about 150 miles from the Scottish border.  He obviously has never been north of Watford Gap and is biased like most southerners!! Mary

[quote]Can anyone tell me if it is possible to buy old street name plaques, the blue and white enamel ones? I have tried one or two brocantes with no success. Do French towns have a 'Public Works' departme...[/quote] Many thanks to all who replied.  We have now ordered the name required. Don

You can view the Tour anywhere along the route but you need to be there early as the roads get crowded especially on the hilly sections which are the best to watch, on the flat stages the whole of the race can be past in a matter of seconds. Assuming that you are in Haute Vienne, it would seem that the stage from Limoges to St. Flour will be the most interesting in our Department. If you are hoping to see the end of a stage you will probably need to be in the town where it finishes by lunchtime because the roads are closed to traffic well before the race is due. I hope this helps, we will probably try to see some of both Stages 9 & 10, we leave for France in the morning YIPEEEE.

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to buy old street name plaques, the blue and white enamel ones? I have tried one or two brocantes with no success. Do French towns have a 'Public Works' department where they may have old signs which have been replaced? I'm looking on behalf of a rather mad sister - she would really like Rue de Remarques! Any information would be useful, we are north of Bellac but willing to travel a reasonable distance. Thanks. Mary (Mrs. Don)