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DMC

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Everything posted by DMC

  1. Garlic, Doesn't look like you're going to get much advice on your village area. All I can say is that we have a house a bit to the east. There is a sizeable Brit population in the Bedarieux, Herepian, Lamalou area and we are very pleased that we chose that area for our holiday home. Towards your area the mountain/gorge scenery and walking routes are great. We often stop in Olargues for a lunch and we have some friends near to St Pons. Nice area but we prefer to be nearer to the facilties to the east. Doug
  2. Peter's advice is the only feasible way without a car. However, you also have to catch the Navette (small bus) parked straight outside Nimes Station - only costs about €4.50 if I remember correctly. Doug
  3. Can't understand why you have to go into your 'branch' to pick up the card. My wife and myself both had Britline cards expiring recently and they were sent to our UK address. It was a slight problem for me as I was in France at the time it expired and I had to revert to cheques. Can't have it all ways I suppose but is it possibly that your account is registered to your French address? Doug
  4. I don't know much about the company you quote but is saving £300 in the first year really a great bargain when it's such an unknown quantity? I have used Chez Nous for the past 3 years and we have almost 100% bookings for the 4 month summer period each year - they publish their directory in November each year and you will find it in almost every WH Smiths. You can have an entry on their website within a few days (we got good bookings from the website alone in the first year). I would give Chez Nous circa £550 and get bookings rather than taking a chance on a little known publication. Doug www.myfrenchholiday.com
  5. It's good when someone is pleased to get a SKY card with no trouble at all. Why Ron prints such a negative reply with so much mis-information is beyond me. It spoils the forum when people reply with information that is plainly not correct. Reading past posts will explain everything Ron. Doug
  6. If you're considering buying a Video Recorder they are usually dual standard in France. This will cure your problem if you connect the sat box to the video and then the PAL output from the video will feed your TV in colour.
  7. France Telecom usage can be checked on line - I provide phone and internet access to guests and send an extract of call costs deducted from the security deposit at the end of each stay. The website is quite flexible and costs can be displayed and printed between any 2 dates. Doug
  8. Power to the kitchen sockets would normally be fed straight from the fuse box on a separate 'spur'. Also, your kitchen heater should be fed on a separate spur straight from the fuse box. If your description is accurate and your kitchen is fed from a socket as a recent addition - it sounds like an 'iffy' installation. Doug
  9. I paid €150 for a digger/driver for about 4hrs work just a few weeks ago. I was very happy with the price considering the time it would have taken me to do the job manually. I think you're in the right area of €40 an hour.
  10. You can open an account with Britline from the UK ( http://www.britline.com  - I gather that it requires a bit more patience and paperwork since I did it a couple of years ago but it is possible.
  11. There's plenty of information on the forum regarding this subject but the short answer is ' don't use UK fittings and pipework'. Pipe sizes are slightly different, hidden joints should be brazed and not soldered  - hidden screwed joints should be accessible - the prices are not unreasonable in France and 'saving a few bob' might not be the case. Like nearly everyone doing a plumbing job, it's Murphy's law that you'll have to 'nip down' to your UK source when you can't finish the job without that invaluable missing link that isn't available in France. Don't shoot the messenger - I'm not saying that French plumbing is superior - just like everything else - 'different'.
  12. The 'portage' type companies seem to be exactly the same as 'umbrella' companies in the UK that usaually operate with freelance professionals from consultancies, IT, engineering etc. If you want a rough idea of how this works and you are struggling with your French, have a look at some of the sites using Google. I work with a few freelance people like myself who use this system and it seems ideal if you don't want to be involved in running a company.
  13. There was a reference in the latest LF (or FPN - it was a 2 for one this month) that UK Twin & Earth cable could now be used in France due to an EC ruling. I stated that is legal providing a blue sleeve was put over the black core at connection points. Anyone know any more - I would certainly prefer to use it if at all possible. Doug
  14. 2 weeks ago my newly aquired 4 year old Citroen Xsara Estate cost €560 with AXA (All risks). I could only prove 9 years without a claim in UK - if I had the previous paperwork with another company I may have got a larger discount. Doug
  15. I can't imagine why phone sockets in every room would be obligatory. If you can dispense with the requirement, could I suggest wireless digital. I have a 5 phone set-up in UK from only the main socket coming into the house. I have the same in France with only the need for 2 phones - 1 in the living room and 1 in one of the bedrooms - either of them can be used outside by the pool etc. The 5 phone system cost me £129 from Argos - a small fraction of what you are being quoted. Doug
  16. Questions I forgot to ask on a previous post regarding buying second hand from a garage: Should I expect a discount against advertised garage price similar to a 'no trade in' deal in UK? Also, is there a particular phrase in French for this? Doug
  17. Last year I got the French equivalent of Dyno Rod in to solve the problem of my sewage/drain system using camera inspection. The bottom line is that I have a 'fosse ancienne' below a layer of concrete on the ground floor of the house. The house has at some time during the intervening 35 years since new been connected to mains drainage. The sewage goes from the upstairs toilet and down through the fosse to a very small and shallow 'pit' just outside the house where the 'grey' water meets the clean looking water from the fosse. Both pipes (100mm for sewage and maybe 40mm for grey water) meet at this point and go across the garden in 100mm PVC pipe via 2 other small covered pits before disappearing off the premises to the mains drain. I am now at the point where renovations mean that the upstairs WC has to be moved and an extra one also installed on the ground floor. The sewage from both WCs and the grey water will then all meet at the same point in the small shallow pit just outside the house. Without calling in the professionals, I'd appreciate some feedback on how it should be when finished. i.e. is it OK for 2 WCs and grey water all to meet in the small and shallow pit ( I have my doubts). Also, is there any need for the other 2 pits before entering the mains drain - shouldn't it be just an un-interrupted run? I will probably be asking for a devis for this job rather than do it myself but some opinions on the correct way to do it would certainly help. TIA, Doug
  18. I've decided that it's time to buy a French used car from a garage somewhere locally when I get to the house in the south next month for a short holiday. I've tried the archives but can't find a definitive answer regarding the purchase process to fit the above scenario. I am aware that I may need a utility bill, passport and proof of no claims from my UK insurance company etc. When I find a suitable car and go ahead with the purchase, I assume that the garage will arrange for the car to be registered to me and have the carte gris sent to me (for a fee). 1 At what point can the car be driven away from the garage assuming it can be insured almost immediately? 2 If not what is the delay caused by? 3 Does it keep the same registration plate or does it change with the owner? 4 Is it worth pre-arranging the insurance requirements before purchase even though the car details are not known? I'm only in France for a short time on this trip and don't want any last minute hitches if I do find a car. TIA Doug
  19. We have an Everblue pool - http://www.everblue.fr - a global company and very good quality but I would agree that it is entirely down to the pool installers workmanship. Not in the same area as you so I can't help with a recommendation. What I would say though, is get it ordered well in advance. The pool companies don't normally build during the hot weather for obvious reasons and they are also fully occupied with maintenance during this period. We ordered in March and only just made it as the company's last installation before they stopped for the summer. Doug
  20. I'm sure it's of no comfort to you, but their parent company B&Q took exactly 2 months and 1 day to deliver a central heating boiler to me in UK - delivery promise was 14 days and no amount of phone calls and e-mails did the slightest bit of good when they couldn't get the goods from the manufacturer. They debited my card within 2 days of the order. Fortunately, I don't want to do the job until nearer the winter but I'll certainly think again before I order from them. Doug
  21. We advertise only in Chez Nous and we were almost fully booked even before the 2004 edition was published last November. When I say 'fully booked', I mean June to mid September because I personally think that is the only realistic time to be certain of bookings unless you are near to the channel ports. I have turned away almost 100 enquiries for the weeks in August that you have vacant so I can only assume that your house is too large and too expensive. I would also imagine that the market for large groups of people sharing must be very narrow compared to the normal parents plus 1-3 children. Most of our bookings are arranged over the phone in the evenings or weekends - your website doesn't invite this and I would certainly be put off phoning a law practice as it appears to be via your contact details (you going to sue your customers?).You also appear to be keeping all the peak times to yourselves so is it really worthwhile spending all that money on advertising if you only have 1 or 2 weeks up for let at peak times? Your house looks very attractive and your website gives enough relevant information to prompt an enquiry. Have a look at mine on www.myfrenchholiday.com for what I consider to be a nice simple and very informative website that has certainly kept the phone ringing (no advertising intended and no bookings wanted). Hope the comments help. Doug
  22. Patrick, It sounds very much like you need to find a more suitable location for your dishes. There is no value in combining and then splitting signals as there are 'losses' at every stage which then require amplification to compensate. An 80cm dish should cover any part of France to feed at least 1 receiver. As a suggestion: 1. Find the rough elevation of your dish for the area you live in from one of the suggested sources in the LF archives - plenty info there. 2. Cut a bit of card to the correct angle (say 30 degrees) and stick it on the end of a small spirit level. 3. Keep the spirit level 'Level' and use it as a sightfinder by looking up the slope of the card for clear sky. Try this from your present dish locations and others if necessary. This is simple and effective way to prove once and for all if it is indeed the trees that are in the way and are causing the problem. P.S. from a practical point of view, this is not quite so easy when you are up a ladder. Doug
  23. Moneybookers fans will be pleased to know that funds withdrawal is now completed in real time rather than the usual 3-4 working days. Still takes 3-4 days to transfer from your own account but I assume that's the bank's reluctance to speed things up. Doug
  24. Some Dutch friends have recently bought a nice campsite just outside St Pons de Thommiere about an hour from you. Their new website is not quite finished yet but try the old one on http://www.borioderoque.com Doug
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