Eslier

[quote user="Blanche Neige"] Our reasoning was it might save them using the bed with the fresh linen as a horizontal surface for sorting out their bits from their grubby cases.   Eslier, I do agree, where can one buy these suitcase stands? [/quote] Haven't found them yet, it's just another of those things on "the list" to sort out. If anyone finds them first then please let me know.

Use Outlook Express to download your messages then you can keep them all indefinitely if you so wish and your Wanadoo inbox will be empty.

We thought about suitcase stands, especially for people who only spend a night or two and therefore don't unpack the entire case and discard it in a cupboard.  Our reasoning was it might save them using the bed with the fresh linen as a horizontal surface for sorting out their bits from their grubby cases.  Also if they can't house their case safely, there is the danger they put it on the floor and could trip over it in the night!  I would  they would be useful - they do fold up against the wall don't they when not in use?

[quote user="Will "]It is only temporary until the new Bretagne 2 is delivered, specially designed for the Plymouth-Roscoff route. [/quote] Not that "temporary". The new ship is not scheduled for delivery until October 2008 so that's three summer seasons the ship now not so fondly nicknamed "Le Funnel" (you'll know why if you see it !) to carry passengers back and forth between Plymouth and Roscoff.

Having done this area escorting school trips on a number of occassions I would say Utah Beach - the museum there is very good with an excellent AV show, and the beach area is unspoilt. Following that, head just a few km inland to St Mere Eglise to see the parachutist hanging from the church tower (you must watch the video of "The Longest Day" before your trip) and the American Airborne Museum. All very moving and plenty to see.

[quote user="mascamps.com"]As far as I know the automated stations only take Carte Bleue (ie French Visa/Mastercards: not even French Visa Electron/Maestro as far as I know) [/quote] I can assure you that a Eurocard/Mastercard debit card issued by a French bank (mine is from CA) works fine at all filling stations. To be fair, mine also has a CB logo on it as well as the Mastercard logo.

If convenience is more important to you than cost then try the Eurotunnel "FlexiPlus" ticket (used to be called Club Class). You don't have to book a specific time train, you just turn up and are given priority boarding onto the first train. You go straight to the front of the queue and are boarded first - so first off the other end too. There are also other benefits such as priority check-in lane, special lounge access with free non-alcholic drinks, snacks and newspapers. It's a great service and well worth paying extra for if you don't like hanging around.

I suspect that the French are just not inclined to invest money simply to make life a little easier for English tourists. It is unlikely that converting all the fuel pumps would result in enough additional business to cover the cost of such an exercise so why bother ?  Whilst it may be inconvenient for some, most Brits will find a way around the problem, even if that means staying in a hotel for the night and buying fuel the next morning. Rightly or wrongly, it seems to be a case of  "I'm alright Jaques". It would be interesting to know whether the new American Express "Travellers Cheque Cards" will work.

I would have no objection whatsoever about carrying an ID card although I do have my doubts about the British Government's ability to set up and administer a system that can work efficiently and to good purpose. An EU wide ID card sounds like a far more sensible idea to me. Personally, I subscribe to the "if you haven't got anything to hide then you haven't got anything to worry about" point of view. To be effective, it should be compulsory for all and issued free. I carry my UK photocard driving license with me in France and use it on the odd occassion I am asked for ID to support a cheque. I've never had any problem using it although I often have to point out which is the "number" as it isn't obvious (starts with the first five letters of the surname).

Did you forget to pay your Tax Fonciere or Tax d'Habitation at the end of last year ?  They have the power to take it straight from your bank account if you don't pay.

I post the following sign in our one and only such toilet, and it seems to get the message home ! [URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img306.imageshack.us/img306/9388/toiletmulcher3kk.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Please feel free to use it if you wish.

You are right, a long term let could mean that you are stuck with your tennants for three years should they choose to stay. A holiday let would be ok but must be for no more than six months. If you allow it to continue beyond that period then it could automatically become a long term let. It could, however, be very awkward for you to ask them to leave if their house isn't ready (which it almost certainly won't be if it goes like everything else in France) after six months. My advice would be to decline the offer as politely as you can, unless you get on really well with them and you feel they would be sympathetic to your situation and not take advantage.

All Ryanair's flights to France - about 80 in total - were cancelled today.  Although it might have been possible for them to operate some services this might have lead to planes being stuck in French airports not being able to move on. The implications of this to Ryanair's scheduling could have been huge and might have taken days to get back on track.

My understanding of this is the same as teamedup. All lets of more than six months come under the: "Loi No. 89-462 du 6 juillet 1989" which provides a minimum contract term of three years. Furthermore, the owner must give at least six months notice prior to the end of the three year term if they wish to end the contract or it will automatically be deemed to have been renewed for a further three years. A contract can only be for a shorter period (less than one year) where the owner can prove family or professional reasons why this should be necessary and these reasons must be clearly detailed in the contract. In such curcumstances the advice of a Notaire should be sought before entering into such a contract to confirm the legality of the clause - or risk that it might be challenged and fiond that your tennants can stay for the full three years. As far as I could find out the only variance from this is for furnished accommodation which is treated as a holiday let and restricted to a maximum of six months.

Ouest France has, today, published details of Brittany Ferries performance for last year. The article can be read at: http://www.ouestfrance-bateaux.com/scripts/consult/actu/DetailActu.asp?IdCla=7935&IdArt=290799&IdThe=51 Passenger numbers are up around 10% year on year and around 31% over three years.  Profits were 17,6million Euros, out of a turnover of 365million Euros which is about 5%.  

If you have mains water then use that - it won't cost you too much. You need to expect it to take a long time though, maybe around 24hrs. (Ab, please don't shout - perhaps you aren't aware but typing all in CAPS is the electronic form of shouting in "netiquette" and considered bad manners - hope you don't mind me pointing this out)

If you are buying a new or relatively new one then normal unleaded SP95 with added 2-stroke oil. Stihl littles plastic files of oil which give you the perfect mix when emptied into a stanfard 5 ltre plastic can of petrol. Some garden appliance shops will sell you petrol/oil mix dtraight from a special pump. The man in my local shop always assure me that you shouldn't keep the mix for more than twelve months but I must confess that I often do and haven't had a problem yet ! You will also need special oil for your chainsaw. Take a look in the shops and you will see that you can buy special plastic cans with one big compartment for the petrol/oil mix and another smaller one for the chainsaw oil.

Never mind how old it is, the Panasonic boxes are probably the best ones available and that model is absolutely fine. At £35 including a remote and a card you are being offered a great bargain - buy it quick before they realise it's worth much more on ebay !  It will work absolutely fine in France. If you don't want it then let me know, because at that price I would buy it to keep as a spare - I already have five Panasonic digiboxes in use.

Yes you need to use them. They're cheap enough to buy and available in most supermarkets.  You would probably find that an adapter for your English ones would be more expensive than buying a new one.

Floculant should clear it and then you just need to vacuum  up the residue, but your problem may be a build up of stabiliser which means you may need to empty about two thirds of the water and refill. I am sure Andrew will be able to advise the best course of action.

With that sort of distance to travel and the need for that many trips it will probably be cheaper to buy a second hand van and then sell it when you have finished with it.

You'll need to shop around but you'll probably find the best deals will be offered by the smaller independent companies. Their vans might be a bit older but are likely to be well maintained.  Unfortunately charges are high for taking a van out of the UK as the insurance companies want a big premium. Most hire companies also include AA or RAC European cover in the deal so they can be sure their van will be recovered in the event of a serious breakdown. If you already have European AA/RAC cover for your car then find out if it includes vans 9or ask the cost to add on) and see if the rental company will accept this to save you paying for more cover. Most importantly, make sure the rental company provides you with a photocopy of the V5C and a letter authorising you to take the van out of the country. The customs people are getting quite hot about this and often ask to see the documentation for hired vans. I have been asked twice at Portsmouth. It might also be worth checking the cost for hiring in France (i.e. fly over and pick up van here) as there are no insurance surcharges with French green card cover, allowing you to drive in any EU country. The "per km" charges can be higher though so work out your inclusive mileage required carefully before getting a quote.

We have four properties which we let, and deliberately don't show availability. The main reason for this is that, sometimes clients can be "sold up" to a larger property and occassionally we may choose to upgrade a client to a better/bigger property if we wish to create availability in quiet periods. If we showed the availability on our website then we wouldn't get the enquiry and lose out on the opportunity to take this decision. We also sometimes find that people can be persuaded to consider alternative weeks if offered. We advertise with Cheznous and sign up for the availability calendar because if we didn't then our properties would be excluded from date specific searches. We don't block out any of the weeks until all properties are booked for the whole month for the same reason as above. I guess many advertisers do this so don't take too much notice of the Cheznous availability. However, having made the decision to operate in this way, we check e-mails at least three times per day and make sure enquirers receive a prompt reply.  Also, by receiving the maximum number of enquiries, regardless of availability, we are able to monitor the effectiveness of our advertising, not to mention getting the maximum exposure for our properties. I know for sure that a friendly chat on the telephone has resulted in people coming back and booking the following year even though we were unable to offer them anything at the time.

Try  "Pommy"  it comes in champagne bottles but is just sparkling apple juice. Most pleasant alternative to alchole, and available in all supermarchés.

Yes, Clarkkent, I agree.  The March Living France article was both illuminating and very truthful.  Moving adolescents is very tricky, not only because of their education, but also because friends and the social scene matter so much to them at this stage in their lives.  It is all part of who they are.  We moved to France during the all critical A2 year, but left our son back in the UK.  This meant his application to uni was easy because he had never left the system.  Typically his younger sister decided she would not come to France either, and although she was quite young at the time, we think we escaped a lot of grief and conflict by letting her make her own decision. As other members of the forum say, those who move teenagers to foreign parts are very brave!