Harnser

Macron is an EU cheerleader. He is also a confidant of the international banking elite. The EU wants to de-nationalise SNCF and open up the French rail network to "competition" - and their man Macron is the man to do it. That means he wants it to end up something resembling the mess that the rail franchises are in the UK. The worldwide financial elite see SNCF as a cash cow that is ripe to be milked - think Virgin trains in the UK! Macron's current policy of taking on the rail unions to reduce the future benefits and hence the costs of any new staff joining is a cost reduction measure to pave the way for the future privatisation of SNCF, maybe not during his presidential term but that's what he wants to do - as sure as eggs is eggs.

Thinking about this charging of plug-in electric vehicles. Take a current ordinary motorway fuel station which has maybe a dozen fuel pumps. Assume each vehicle takes 5 minutes to fill up. So each pump can fill a maximum of 12 vehicles an hour, there are 12 pumps so 12x12 = 144 cars happily on their way per hour. Transpose that scenario to the charging of electric vehicles. Assume it takes 30 minutes to charge a vehicle - I don't know if this is realistic but I've got to assume something. With 12 charging points only 24 cars can "fill up" per hour. To "fill up" 144 cars per hour 72 charging points will be needed. If the electric cars take an hour to charge 144 charge points will be needed to get the same throughput. And this needs to be replicated at every motorway services. I'm not convinced that the authorities, in their enthusiasm for electric cars, have thought this through properly.

These charging points are all over Brittany - even in our tiddly little town of a 1000 population, but I have never seen a car using them. A pity that the maps and apps that tell you where the charging points are don't tell you how many cars are queueing up waiting to get charged.

When I last renewed my UK passport, the supporting documents and old passport were delivered back to France DHL signed for delivery. My nice fresh new passport came ordinary post a few days later!

"if the V5C document has the K - Type Approval field completed then a CoC is unnecessary, is this true?" It certainly worked for us registering a UK sourced Honda 3 years ago.

"Legionnaire" author Simon Murray. Who volunteered aged 19 and did 5 years in the Legion. Written from his diaries kept at the time. Much of it in Algeria during the time of the war against the fellagha and the attempted legion coup d'etat against deGaulle. Fairly brutal descriptions - not for the faint hearted. The same Simon Murray who went on to become CEO of Jardine Mathison and take part in polar expeditions recently.

Another one that occurs to me is the Norfolk equivalent of the French "Bonjour a tous" "Hew yew orl gettin on t'gether then?"

Harnster are they "has your father got a dickie bow" "do you keep "........" ". Don't know what a'troshin means. (NB have now cheated and found it) Not a bad effort at decoding broad Norfolk! 1. I say old chap, has your father got a donkey? (dickie = donkey) 2. (Literally) Keep thrashing -(trosh means thrash) As in the annual local shindig "The Tunstead Trosh" http://tunsteadpc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/2013/01/09/keep-a-troshin/ I was there for 20 years before moving to France, I had to do a language course when I was first there - taught by Dick Young from the boatyard!

Try these- Ha yer fahr got a dicky bor? and Do yew kep a'troshin?

Go to your prefecture with all the paperwork and tell them your internet is broken/have't got/can't use/ it's too slow etc (just pick one) and they will do the registration for you. They have to mantain a service for the "sans internet" ( Is that going to be a bit like the sans cullottes"?)

[quote user="NormanH"]How could anyone believe anything in that gutter rag? [/quote] So everything in the DM is fake news then Norman? You are starting to sound like the Donald!

[quote user="woolybanana"]Taxpayers pay a figure of somewhere between 200 and 340 euros each (the numbers are disputed, of course) per annum towards running the railways. What do you consider the social and other values of the railways to be, and what is a fair figure to pay?[/quote] Or is the future of the french railway system similar to the unmitigated chaos and highway robbery of the UK system?

[quote user="woolybanana"]The unions involved have held the country to ransom far too often. Time they were put back into their place in French society.[/quote] And you think that "putting then back in their place" by using a presidential decree is going to work? By bypassing parliament? Isn't that what dictators do?

The CGT and CFDT rail unions have strikes planned starting March 22nd. I'm not surprised, considering the way that Macron and his minions are handling their plans to reform the railway worker's terms and conditions. And further industrial action could be on the horizon after Prime Minister Philippe said the reforms would be controversially pushed through by decree, which would allow the government to bypass parliament. Not the way to do it IMHO - hopefully Macron will learn from confronting these two powerful unions that there is more to being President than signing presidential decrees.

All cars will develop faults, some more than others, the key is how willing is the manufacturer to admit there is a fault, and how they deal with it. I imported a 2 year old Honda Civic from the UK to France in 2009, it then developed a slipping clutch after a service by a local Honda dealer in 2010. I reported it to the dealer who fitted a complete new clutch and flywheel under maker's warranty when it was more than 3 years old. My previous Civic had the driver's side window mechanism replaced for free when the car was four years old, simply by mentioning that it was giving trouble, Honda had extended the warranty on that part because it was known to be faulty. The current Accord estate hasn't developed any faults, probably because I extended the warranty to five years!

The best vehicle for the urban jungle has got to be an old rusty Land Rover.

It's rappel de constructeurs. http://www.fiches-auto.fr/articles-auto/dossiers-conseils/index-72-rappels-constructeurs.php I've no idea if a French equivalent of what used to be called VOSA , now called DVSA in the UK exists here to register recalls.

The locals are notorious for sloppy parking, our 2 year old from new car had the bumper corner clipped by a girl with an A plate car in a car park - fortunately I was standing a short distance away having a smoke - she was very crestfallen when she realised I owned it and had seen her. Cue multiple phone calls from her mother insisting that we have the repair work done at the garage she worked at! We didn't.........! Maybe look at fitting a dashcam which if you wire it up to be live when the ignition is off will record all the goings-on when you aren't in the car.

"Stilton Cheese - actually this is controlled but none of it comes from Stilton or even the county where Stilton is situated" Stilton cheese or more accurately Blue Stilton was never made at or in the village of Stilton. It was originally sold from a coaching inn at the village of Stilton on the Great North Road near Huntingdon because the innkeeper negotiated exclusive marketing rights for the cheese, which was then made in Melton Mowbray Leicestershire - and that's how it got it's name.

My application has been in since mid september last year. I had an email enquiry from them in January asking if I was resident. This despite having sent in, with all the rest of the stuff they want, a photocopy of my Titre de Sejour card, to obtain which you have to prove that you have been resident for 5 years + More staff training needed at Nantes methinks.

[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]Kids are half British so they will be excempt due to Brexit. All these kids will do is learn how to fire a gun and probably end up in later life joining the local chasse. Not sure that is a good idea on the grounds of public safety.[/quote] Why not a good idea? Are your kids unable to receive and understand training and to put it into practice with the necessary self-discipline?

"Certainly my kids will not be going" It's compulsory - get your snowflakes in line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KIIDCfpP0A&ab_channel=BestDocumentary

"Not my topic Danny but I believe so from the old speed camera days which is why they take photos from the back and not the front." They can take pictures from the front nowadays. see "radars double sens" http://www.radars-auto.com/info-radars/radars-double-sens/

My Dad used to use it - but he wasn't Scottish, I've never seen it written so had to look it up to find out how to spell it!

ALBF wrote:- "Dead excited. Has not snowed here properly for yonks." I hope you up to your oxters in it.