Eslier

James has been made aware of this.  In theory, the forum software shouldn't allow it but, in this case, it may have something to do with the fact that Will (the first) changed his screen name a short while ago from Will the Conq. so we think the forum software may not be able to cope with this. Will (the second) has been asked if he would mind changing his screen name to Will2.

I think you are right to buy your linen in the UK as much of the French linen is really difficult to iron. UK duvets etc. will be fine on French beds but you might have a problem with fitted sheets as the French beds are slightly different in size. If you stick with flat sheets you won't have a problem. As far as beds are concerned, we have bought several from one of our local market traders. He has a good choice and his prices are competitive. What's even better is that he delivers to the house for free, carries the bed upstairs, puts the legs on and will take away an old bed to dispose of if there is one.

Well, in this instance Dick, your money is worthless. It may be inconvenient to have to log in again to all your frequently visited "member" sites but it can be a small price to pay for improved performance and security. It is a well documented good practice to regularly delete all cookies on a pc.  I seem to recall that you are using a Mac so you don't have to put up with many of the security issues that we humble pc users have to deal with on a daily basis.  Please don't simply write things off as "daft" when you clearly haven't got a clue what you are talking about as it can send out the wrong advice to people with a genuine problem.

It' almost certainly a "cookie" problem.  The best thing to do is  find your "cookie" folder - which you should be able to get to from your browser options - and delete all your cookies. Deleting them all will mean that you need to login with your details and password etc. again to all the sites or forums you use that require this, but if you select the "remember" option when doing so your computer will remember the details again for the future. Do this and you should find you will be able to log back in without any problem. In general, it is good practice to delete all your cookies on a regular basis. Many people do this once a week but I certainly would recommend every two or three weeks at least. You will be surprised how many cookies your computer will accept from various sources, some of which are quite likely to be spyware or adware or simply collecting information about your web browsing. Sometimes the cookies which are used to provide automatic login to sites such as this can become corrupt which is why you can get problems logging in. Deleting them and starting again usually solves the problem and can generally help speed up your computer when browsing. If you don't want to delete all your cookies (even though there is no good reason not to) then go to your cookie folder and delete the "Archant" cookie(s). This then should solve the problem with this site at least.

You are correct that the price of a return ticket varies according to the length of your stay in France but the most expensive return will be equivalent to twice the single fare. Therefore, you aren't necessarily going to save money with two singles but it does give you the flexibility to shop around for each leg of the journey and you may make a small saving.

A report from todays Plymouth Evening Herald can be read HERE.

Wow, it's a bit hard to be thinking about Christmas already !! Dinard is a small airport so passage through it is usually swift.  The only thing at that time of year is the weather can cause problems. The airport did close on a couple of occassion last year when it snowed. When this happened, incoming flights already en route were diverted to Nantes and others just cancelled (always a small risk with Ryanair). Car hire pick-up is easy at the airport although if you book with someone other than the company Ryanair use (Hertz I think) you will get your car much quicker. All shops will be open Friday, Saturday and all day Monday.  Only Christmas Day itself is a holiday in France and everything opens up again on the 26th. You are likely to find some Christmas markets open on Saturday 22nd.

I'm not quite sure how they stand regarding the legal situation.  The parent company that owns and maintains the website is a UK Ltd. company and the servers are based in Florida, USA.  Presumably the franchisees, who I assume are based in France, must be registered as a seperate entreprise in France however there is no mention of this on the websites so presumably the "franchise" must be restricted solely to the rights to sell advertising. If their websites are operated and maintained by a UK company then is it reasonable to assume that UK law would apply?  If so, why are they so worried about complying with every last detail of French law ?   

A lot of cars now have self levelling xenon headlamps. These can usually be adjusted (a small lever on the back of the headlamp unit) to dip either to the right or the left. You often won't find the instructions how to do this in the car manual but a trip to the main dealer should show you how. The advantage for the manufacturers is that they only have to make one type of headlamp so keeps their costs down. Having said that, there are a lot of people who don't bother to adjust their headlamps. It was reported one day last summer that the police at Cherbourg were checking all UK cars coming out of the ferry port that didn't have visible beam converters. There were a lot of fixed penalty fines handed out that day !!

I saw your post on the "other forum" and thought it asked a very good question without being worded in any way which could cause offence to anyone. I think the problem is, that being run as a franchise operation, the franchisees have invested a considerable sum of their own money in the forum. The only way they have to get their money back is through advertising and, lets face it, we all know how hard it is to make money in France!  It is understandable that the franchisee will take money off anyone who wants to advertise. This is all very well, if only they could be up front about it and maybe issue a disclaimer pointing out that it is the duty of people responding to ads to ascertain the legal status of advertiser.   The problem here is that the forum in question seems to set itself on a moral high ground platform using "legality" as an excuse for censoring other posts within the forum - often with very spurious justification.   It certainly seems that double standards apply.

There's not, as you might have guessed, a simple answer to this question and you'll probably need to consult an accountant to get the best advice. In fact, there are several questions here: Firstly, the old favourite: do you need to register at all. In theory the answer to this will only be yes if the B&B is your main source of income in France but, if you read through other threads on this subject you will see that different people have been given different advice about this by officials in different areas. Just look up the posts by "gastines" to see how complicated this question can become. Next, if you end up registering, the choice of regime is quite complex.  If you've had a lot of start up costs, including renovation, then with the reel regime you can write these capital costs off over a period of three years offsetting it against income which can be a big advantage. Your accountant might be able to show a zero or very low profit on your accounts which will mean you don't pay any tax and get other benefits. On the other hand the micro is very simple to operate and you don't have to worry about keeping every receipt. If you don't have a lot of start up costs to write off then you may find you pay less tax with the micro. Get an accountant to look at your accounts so far, your personal situation and your cashflow projections for the coming year and see what advice he or she can give you. Finally, the question of TVA.  You aren't required to register for TVA until your turnover reaches 72000€.  It seems unlikely that a B&B restricted to 5 bedrooms will generate that sort of income so it's not something you should need to worry about. If you were to choose to register anyway then don't forget that as well as being able to claim back the TVA paid on purchases relating to the running of the business, you would also have to charge TVA to guests for bookings which might make your rates uncompetitive. Good luck with your venture. I hope this helps and I'm sure you will get lots more advice.

Any subject you like Dick, it doesn't have to be about anything to do with France. As long as the conversation stays within the Code of  Conduct.

mmmmm sounds good - I might just have to give that a try. Thanks.

Caen to St Malo is a very easy trip. It takes just under two hours by car.    Usually, when BF have to transfer people to another departure port, they offer cash handouts towards the additional fuel costs when people turn up at the port. When they had problems with the Pont Aven the year before last I understand they transferred passengers onto alternative crossings and gave them a full refund of what they had paid.

Dotty, logout of the forum then, try deleting all your cookies.  If you're not sure how to do this, post back with which internet browser ( i.e. Internet Explorer, Firefox etc.) you are using and someone will talk you through it.  Once you have deleted the cookies, open up the forum again and it will ask for your registered e-mail address and password again. Do this using the one you want to keep and hopefully you should login ok.

If anyone is interested in finding images that can be published freely then just do a Google search for "public domain images" and you will find many websites offering copyright free pictures.

On some days it is possible with Condor - sometimes with a change in Jersey  - but it depends on the tides so not the same schedules each week. You best bet is to give Condor a ring.  I don't find their website is that user friendly !

There is no dispute that using a photograph for which you have no rights of use is contravening someone's Intellectual Property Rights.  I agree that this sort of practice is widespread and action is rarely taken by the owners of the photos but this doesn't make it permissable. It should be remembered that Archant, who own this forum, is a publishing company itself and it would be highly embarassing for them should anyone take exception to photos published in their webspace. This is why such posting of photos is specifically proibited in the Forum Code of Conduct. We are very fortunate to have the facility to post photos within the forum. There are other forums who do not allow this specifically because of the serious potential implications of copyright breaches. We moderators are only members of the forum like the rest of you and I for one would like to see this facility of posting photos continue. For that reason it is only fair that we do what is asked of us by Acrhant Forum Admin and do our best to uphold the Code of Conduct. We try to do this in as friendly a manner as possible and are always happy to offer advice or answer questions if contacted privately.

If the photo is one that you have taken or you know the person who has taken it and have been given specific permission to use it then it is fine to post it within the forum.  If you copy and paste a photo from another website, scan something in from another source (magazine etc.) then there is a breach of copyright. The problem is, that as this site is owned by Archant then they could be the ones in trouble if photos are published without permission. I hope that helps clarify the situation.

Setting up a B&B in France can certainly be a much more simple matter than doing so in the UK but then that's only part of the story. Much will depend on how much money you need to make from it.  If your plan is to have a few visitors in the summer, enjoy the company and make a little pocket money, then, as long as you find you enjoy living in France all should go well with ease. If you need to make an income to live off then that's a different matter altogether and will be very hard to achieve on our own.

Unfortunately, Keith, the 24hr return offered by BF, that you refer to, is only available for trips starting in the uk so little use for those of us who live in France.

Good afternoon to your all, Firstly, I am sorry if anyone is concerned that I am "anonymous". I agree that Eslier is not a common name but nevertheless it is the name I use. If you really would like to know, I am male, in my mid forties and live in France. I hope that satisfies those questions. Regarding the issue of Miki, I do not feel that the open forum is an appropriate place to discuss matters of a private nature that take place between another member and the moderators.  I am more than happy to provide an answer to any questions or concerns any of you may have, to the best of my ability, if you wish to contact me privately. I will not, however, be able to divulge any information which has been passed on to the moderators in confidence. The main problem here is that I, and the other moderators, are in possession of information that, due to the confidential nature of forum "report" complaints, we are not at liberty to divulge. Therefore, no one, other than the moderators is in a position to judge categorically whether the decision that was taken to ban Miki was justified. I can sympathise that this may be very frustrating to some of you. I would also urge you all not to believe everything you read. There are some posts within this thread that are simply not true. I haven't done anything about them because, quite simply, I really can't be bothered and am not interested in over moderation. Those people who have been a little creative with the truth know who they are and I can't see that there is anything to be gained by bursting their little dream bubble. On a personal note, I respect the fact that everyone is entitled to an opinion, whether or not it is one I agree with.  One of the most important lessons I have learnt in my life is that sometimes it's ok to agree to disagree. The important thing is to move on or no one gets anywhere. I enjoy participating in this forum and have aquired a lot of knowledge from it as, I suspect, have many of you. Let us not lose sight of the fact that it exists to discuss France and French Lifestyle. Please keep posting constructively. My very best wishes to you all - enjoy the sunshine. Mr. Eslier. PS  Do I get an invite to the "prison food" dinner ?

Yes, I agree, Cabernet d'Anjou is a good choice and, also from the same region, you could try Coteaux de Layon which is a medium (ish) white wine. Although supermarket Cabernet d'Anjou is around 2€ a bottle, if you visit some wine merchants you will find better ones at anything up to around 4€ a bottle.  Better still, if you are anywhere near the Anjou region (near Saumur in the Loire), go and visit a number of the makers and try their wines. You will find the sweetness and quality of the Cabernet can vary quite a bit between different makers and from year to year.

Prices can be found at: http://particuliers.edf.fr/article494.html It will look a little different to what you have quoted as the prices shown are TTC. In essence it will cost you 6,98€ per month more to go up to a 9kvA supply.

You'll know when it happens because you'll here the guns going off and the bells around the dogs necks. Where, could be anywhere. If you are in an area where they hunt then they could be a km or so away or they could be in your garden. Generally, I think, hunting is between September and March but there are exceptions. You'll get to know the days - weekends of course and usually a couple of other days. Morning are usually more popular but afternoon hunts can be a bit more worrying when you've seen them all in the bar at lunchtime ! We have three cats and try to keep them in when there is hunting going on but cats are usually fairly astute and know how to keep out of the way. We've never had a problem. Our farmer neighbout reckons a cat has more chance of being killed by a fox than being shot by a hunter - he's claims to have lost two cats to foxes.