daryl-et-elaine

[quote user="ErnieY"]Referring to "the speeding idiot behind the wheel" as you do implies that you exclude yourself from the description and therefore one must assume that you too have your own pedestal of virtue from which I'm sure we all hope you never fall [:D][/quote] Assume what you like EarnieY, the law is the law! Certainly in the UK at least, with so many traffic/speed cameras in place - clearly indicated, one has got to question the sanity of the person who chooses to exceed the limits in place. If I want to exceed those limits in the UK, then fortunately as a member of a blue light service, on occasion I can - but I am subject to exactly the same Road Traffic Act as everyone else so, if things go wrong I risk prosecution just like everybody else. I enjoy driving within the law - what's wrong with that? PS I noticed your smiley

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"] True but the cops only seem to be interested in those lanes where you hand over cash.  They don't seem interested in the Telepeage Doofer lane.  Maybe they need the human operator to give them the nod?  Given the length of the queues for paying sometimes, if you are still caught, then you must really have been shifting. [/quote] Not quite sure how the system works, but I know of 1 person who got pulled some 5 or 600 metres after paying their toll. Once back at the Gendarmerie, they showed him the calculated average speed between peages, and fined accordingly!

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"] When we all have to have GPS spys in our cars the very idea of speeding will dissapear.  You will have to download your data each month then recieve a fine by return for the times you transgressed.  Perhaps there will be a sort of Direct Debit to pay it off?  Can we say 'Big Brother' (and I don't mean the crap TV show for social misfits) [/quote] Or you could try exceeding the limit from peage to peage. From taking your ticket at peage A, the clock starts ticking. If you arrive at peage B and the machine calculates a speed in excess of the limit between the 2 peages, don't be surprised if you get pulled. You don't need a GPS spy in the car, just the speeding idiot behind the wheel who takes a bit of card out of a machine![:)] D.

[quote user="powerdesal"] The Professional way  ???????????????[:(] [/quote] Who gave you permission to go in my house?????[:D][:D]

[quote user="La Roche"] In brief, we have purchased a home in France and had a water check carried out on the well. This has shown high levels of nitrates and some Enterococcus in the water sample taken. This has been created from two sources - Old Fosse Septic situated near the Well (we plan to have this emptied and filled in) and from fertilization in the fields behind the house (water source). [/quote] Replacing the fosse and cleaning the well is unlikely to result in a 100% pure water supply being available. If you have high levels of nitrates showing now, this is likely to continue as long as there is active agriculture in the area. Even if the farming stopped completely, it may take many, many years before nitrate levels drop significantly. In many areas of France even the mains supply can contain higher levels of nitrates and pesticide traces than what one expect! I would suggest that once you've got your fosse replaced, and the well cleaned, consider fitting a filter system to the pump on the well. This should solve any problem with regard to water quality. In addition, the Mairie's office should have a notification regarding the quality of the mains water supply. This is often posted on the notice boards outside the office. Keep us all posted on your progress. Daryl

[quote user="Deimos"] [quote user="dogwood"]They only check the passport to see if the treatment has been done. It  takes no more than 2min's.[/quote] Wrong. Actually they do more than this - just that you don't see the other stuff they have to do. Ian [/quote] Err, we're still waiting for your learned knowledge on what they actually do, other than read the passport and send a fax to DEFRA - but that's only on the France to UK crossing!

[quote user="Just Katie "]However, do not be tempted to stay in the new Oradour as this is simply a modern urban sprawl.[/quote] The "new" Oradour was purposely constructed to reflect the grief associated with the old village. There are rules regarding outside decoration of the properties within the village, the placement of advertising hordings, etc. Unlike other tourist sites, the one thing you will never see at Oradour is a mobile vendor selling refreshments as this is also forbidden. Contrary to what "Just Katie" says, visit the new Oradour and you will be impressed by the cleanliness of the village, and the openess of the residents. Incidentally, entrance to the old village is in fact free of charge. The entrance fee is for admission to the centre. Daryl

[quote user="Russethouse"]Usually lots of Military History, and I believe they will ship. We get a newspaper style listing about once a month but the web site is more current.[/quote] Gawd blimey - War & Peace for £2.00! That's my wifes Christmas present sorted![:D]

[quote user="Dick Smith"] Just reading Haig's War Diaries at the mo' [/quote] Regarded as a somewhat controversial figure by some historians, but there are very few in military history that come anywhere near his achievements. (Maybe something to do with a ready supply of the family beverage!) If you can get hold of a copy, Haig wrote a book titled  Dispatches shortly after the end of the war which is also a good read. Known in some circles as the 'butcher', he went on to devote the remainder of his life to the welfare of former servicemen via the Royal British Legion. Have you read any of Lyn MacDonald's books?

Thanks very much for that link RH. It's a new one on me and I'll check it out later. D.

Funny you should mention Tommy. I'm returning to France next week and I've just placed my very well read copy in the 'things I must take box'. D.  

Any military history  books written by Richard Holmes. Rivetting reads! D.

[quote user="Miss Babs"] Added complication, the vendor and Immo are long term live in partners and the Immo had a conflict of interest which hadn't been declared when the price was negotiated.[:'(] [/quote] I wouldn't say this was an added complication - more of a point in your favour. Any conflict of interest should have been made known to you at the onset of you indicating any interest in the possibility of purchase. Daryl

[quote user="Will"] ........ in the absence of any meaningful qualification in estate agency in Britain .......[/quote] Sorry Will, this isn't quite accurate. There is a qualification body - The National Association of Estate Agents offer various grades of membership following examinations for qualification. They administer the NVQ Modern Apprenticeship in the Sale of Residential Property, through to the Diploma in Residential Estate Agency (DipREA). The Association wants more regulation in the industry, but only the most reputable firms insist on these qualifications for their staff. The Department of Trade and Industry proposed that all estate agents join an ombudsman service. Many have already done so, and thousands of complaints are investigated each year. In the absence of a National Standard, the Office of Fair Trading can, and does, ban Estate Agents for life for serious breaches of the Estate Agent Act 1979.   With the introduction of Home Information Packs later this year, even RICS Chartered Surveyors will be unable to complete a Home Inspection Report (Survey) unless they are qualified as a Home Inspector. Interestingly, Home Information Packs in one guise or another, will be a requirement throughout the EU membership and France is already well ahead of the UK in some aspects of the reporting procedure. Those that qualify as Home Inspectors within the UK should have an equal opportunity to practice their skills elsewhere within the EU however, if France chooses to adopt similar measures as those applied to non-nationals wishing to set-up as Estate Agents, I doubt if the opportunity will ever present itself! Daryl

[quote user="Dick Smith"] Then - it is down to the photographer and their eye, trained by looking at the work of good or great photographers and reading about composition and cropping. [/quote] Or simply, be daring enough to experiment!![;-)] Daryl

[quote user="Suze"][quote user="Dick Smith"] This (and all your other shots) would sell to a photo agency, I am certain. [/quote] Why thank you very much kind sir! I love taking photos and always carry my camera with me, which is why I have a compact so it fits in my bag or pocket though I would love a digi SLR with a couple of lens.  Have you got the details of an agency [;-)]! [/quote] Suze, there are an abundance of agencies out there - some good and some you don't want to touch with the proverbial barge pole. I would suggest you obtain the "Freelance Photographer's Market Handbook - 2007". This contains hundreds of avenues where it is possible to sell your work, including agencies. Daryl  

Thibault wrote "I understand that the DVLA sells lists of names and addresses of registered keepers of vehicles to groups such as wheel clampers etc". These details are freely available to anyone who has "good reason" for acquisition, at a price of course. With regard to hackers getting into government databases - governments aren't too bad at hacking either! Don't believe for one minute that your email travels from A to B without interception!

Deauville, A colleague of mine went through the process of re-registering a Hymer, and it wasn't cheap or easy! If I recall correctly, it cost him in the region of 1000 euros. It is not only the vehicle that's the problem, but also the gas and electrical installations must also conform. In your case, as it would appear to be a conversion I think you will find additional problems with regard to obtaining a certificate of conformity simply because the vehicle no longer conforms to its original spec. Hope this helps.

[quote user="diotima"]+1 for Open Office. There are things it does much better than MS Office, like page layout, for newsletters and stuff like that. Its handling of frames (for complex layouts) is far better than Publisher and infintely better than Word; ditto with styles which are sensible and consistent in OO Writer, not so in Word. OO also handles the high-res images needed for professional publishing whereas Word and Publisher mangle them down to 72dpi which is only fit for the Web. And it saves files in PDF format too. [/quote] Totally disagree. I'm a Beta tester for Microsoft and I'm afraid everything you criticise them for in your above statement just isn't true. Please explain how Word and Publisher "mangle" images down to 72dpi? I manage to juggle high resolution images between Adobe Photoshop and MS products without any difficulty! I suggest you  get hold of the Office 2007 Beta and try it against Open Office before commenting further. I'd love to know where in OO you can find in addition to the main Office functions; SharePoint Designer, Visio Professional, Project Professional, OneNote, Groove, 6 x SharePoint Server Programmes, 3 x Groove Server Components, 1 x Project Server. There is a lot more to MS Office than word processing , email, and presentation programmes, etc.

I've asked my wife, who happens to be an Estate Agent. There is a language course available - it's called 'French'![;-)]

[quote user="davieszak"]   I would warmly recommend www.french.about.com [/quote] The site is currently running a quiz called "Are You a Francophile?". One question asks "Do you argue with people who claim the French are rude?" Considering 'About.com' is an American site, I think the question should read "Q: Do you argue with people who claim the French are ruder than Americans?" [:D][:D]

[quote user="Tresco"] Try the Senior Service with a geen lid. Royal Marine? [/quote] Sussed[;-)]

[quote user="Debra"] PS: Hubby just walked past and says Dago must have been in Queen's Regiment - is that right, Dago?  (Doesn't he look all sweet and innocent in that photo??  Or am I just getting old?!)[/quote] Thanks for the tongue-in-cheek[:$], and glad you've worked out the smiley button![:D][:D] Rumour has it that Dago is now selling autographed copies of his photograph.[:D] Daryl

[quote user="Dago"]Now then,  I am an ex squaddie and Daryl was probably a 'ruff tuff' Para or something.....[;-)] [/quote] No way Dago, why jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane that's going to land anyway? Try the Senior Service with a geen lid. Did you get my reply to your email ? PS: Nice Photo!!! [8-|]

[quote user="Debra"][quote user="daryl-et-elaine"] In answer to Debra , because I wasn't![8-)] [/quote]But why be insulted at the suggestion?  That's an insult to squaddies - and for all you know, there may be many squaddies or ex-squaddies on this forum who may be insulted that you are insulted at the suggestion that you might have been one......! [/quote] Here we go again!! Debra, please don't take it out of context. There are other services within the armed forces other than the Army. There is, and always will be good humoured banter, name calling and "insults" between each service, and within each service. Perhaps I should have inserted a [:D] but I didn't, perhaps I should have gone on to clarify my post, but I didn't.  I now consider myself to have received a severe wigging and when I go aloft to Fiddler's Green no doubt I'll suffer the consequences. [;-)]