Garys

I have been looking into the new rules as my UK vet had given me similar information. However the defra reference that Bernice has supplied does not provide the most uptodate information on the subject. When travelling with dogs we are still required to visit a french vet before returning to the UK. Tapeworm treatment has to be done between 1 and 5 days before the journey, and entered into the Pet Passport. The full defra wording on the subject follows: *********************************************************************************************************** From 1 January 2012 tapeworm rules apply to pet dogs only. Not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours (1-5 days) before its scheduled arrival time in the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme, your dog must be treated against tapeworm and the treatment recorded in the EU pet passport or the third country official veterinary certificate. No treatment is required for dogs entering the UK directly from Finland, Ireland or Malta. Your dog must be treated against the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis using an approved/licensed veterinary medicine whose active ingredient is Praziquantel, or an equivalent product. You should check with your vet to ensure the correct treatment is used. A qualified vet must carry out and record the treatment in your pet’s passport or third country certificate. You must not administer the treatment yourself.. The treatment must be carried out every time your pet enters the UK. If, before you enter the UK, less than 24 hours has passed since the treatment, you will have to wait until the full 24 hours have passed before you can enter with your pet. If the treatment was done more than 120 hours before you enter the UK, you will have to have your pet treated again, have the treatment recorded in the relevant document, and wait at least 24 hours before entry. In these circumstances the waiting period and treatment for tapeworm can be carried out in quarantine. Pets being taken abroad from the UK on day trips will need to have the treatment carried out in the UK not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours before they enter the UK on the return journey. In these circumstances, it is recommended that a further treatment should be administered 28 days after return. Pet owners are reminded that it is considered good practice to regularly treat their animals against a range of ticks and tapeworms as part of their routine health management, especially if travelling abroad. Veterinarians are advised to discuss with their clients the appropriate course of action. Dog owners should practice good hygiene when handling their animals. The NHS provides public health advice on contact with pets and preventing tapeworm infection. Why dogs have to be treated for tapeworm The tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis can cause a serious or fatal liver disease in humans. Symptoms include abdominal pain, jaundice, fever and anaemia and tapeworm cysts may develop in the liver. Treatment may involve surgery or lifelong chemotherapy. Without treatment the disease is usually fatal. This tapeworm is not found in the UK, but is present in France, Germany, and other parts of continental Europe. The treatment needs to be given not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours before the dog enters the UK to ensure that the tapeworm eggs are not shed in the UK. Qualitative risk assessments have been carried out on the risk of incursion of the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis and various tick borne diseases. **********************************************************************************************************

Presumably you are UK based? In which case there are quite a few that do offer what you are requesting. Personally I use the Nationwide Car Insurance policy. This is what it states in the policy document .. Cover for driving in Europe "Your policy automatically gives you the same cover throughout the EU as you have in the UK. You don't even need to let us know, as long as the visit is less than 90 days."    

Viv, The service that I use is from Les Minutes. It is very simple to operate. If you click on the link below the rates etc are shown. http://www.lesminutes.com/ Clicking on the Union Jack gives you the English version., and explains all of the options avaiable.   Gary

Having seen your note on this empty van trip, we have just let some friends who have moved away from the Perpignan area back to Kent know about it. They have goods still being stored in St Cyprien that they would like taking back to the UK, so this sounds as though it could be a very good fit. I will email you with the contact details.

Like others posting here, I can also confirm that the 43cm Sky dish does work in France and in fact works as far south as the Med in Languedoc.

I can't answer your specific question on brand recommendations as that is very much a personal thing. However can I presume that you already know that televisions purchased in France are multi-standard as the norm.. (unlike in the UK) .. therefore you will have the pick of the shop. The big stores will usually have loads of display models working for you to select from..

Good luck with the search. We can certainly recommend the Perpignan area. This gets the benefit of pretty good weather.. plus with the proximity to Spain and the Pyrenees, plenty of choice of things to do. The only downside is the Tramontaine, which at times is a pain. One further consideration is that if Ryanair do carry out their threat to withdraw from the French airports, you are still left with additional options in this area of France. Either use Ryanair to Girona, or the new Flybe services which are about to start into Perpignan from Southampton and Birmingham. We ourselves looked all around the area, but opted to buy on the coast at St Cyprien .. which is absolutely brilliant.

On the Internet, there is a site that gives the following information regarding mixed spice. But can't comment on the results. http://www.foodsubs.com/SpicemixEur.html#mixed%20spice British mixed spice = pudding spice To make your own: Grind together 1 small cinnamon stick and 1 tablespoon each cloves, mace, ground nutmeg, coriander seeds, and allspice berries Substitutes: pumpkin pie spice OR allspice

Although I can't answer your price question, I can tell you that when I last looked around it was actually cheaper to buy the whole package including receiver than just the stand alone dish. Never did figure that one out! Take a look at the likes of Mr Bricolage or Brico Depot if you have them near you.

I have had a problem with the page also. The whole look of the screen has changed. However I am still actually able to login by clicking on the option at the very bottom of the page that says 'MEMBERS' You might like to try the same for now..