Andyh<P>------------------------------------<BR><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma>Our French renovation and move story<FONT><STRONG><BR><a target=_blank href="http:www.sompt.com"><FONT face=Tahoma>http:www.sompt.com<FONT><A><BR><FONT

Been away for this forum for a while - are you still looking?

[quote]Andy, To and from Calais (not Folkestone) Friends told us they left from Dover and arrived in Boulogne, was it just bad piloting? I know they do it cut price but someone must have a map onboard...[/quote] Quite right - must remember to open my eyes when typing!!! SpeedFerries of course travel from Dover to Boulogne. The point I was trying to make, very badly, was that they sail from Dover and not Folkestone. Sorry!!

For info, SpeedFerries sail to and from Calais (not Folkestone). SpeedFerries are due to purchase another boat next Spring, but in November they will only have the one boat so there is a slight risk. Their only boat was taken out of action last month to service the engines etc, but apart from that I have not heard of them having to cancel any crossings.

Hi. I'm afraid I don't know the name of an engineer in your area. However, have you tried realigning the dish so that you get both signal strength and quality? It may be that you dish got moved when you were in Spain? There is a good website http://www.satelliteForCaravans.co.uk which I used recently to set up my Sky dish in France.

It may be because Sky are doing a promotion at the moment and giving people channels they don't usually subscribe to, in the hope they will then sign up to them when the promotion ends. Enjoy it while you can!!

Does anyone know whether Speed One is back in operation for SpeedFerries following it's engine overhaul?

How did you get on? I'm not living in France yet, but hopefully when we make the move the team will still be going! ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

Sorry to be thick, but what is PLTH? ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

Hi Angela, According to this page (http://www.internet-guide.co.uk/espotting.html) Espotting is a pay per click advertising search engine, and BA is one of their customers. Not sure exactly why you would be getting their page when you try to access BA though - I have tried this morning and the BA site is available to me (http://www.ba.com) Andy. ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

We tend to find that DIY bits are cheaper than the UK, although they may still be more expensive than other parts of Europe. You have to be selective though, as items such as paint are definitely not cheaper! ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

I used them to transfer money to our Notaire, during our house purchase, and have used them roughly 10 times since to transfer money to our French bank account. They have been helpful, friendly and very professional in all of their transactions (touching wood while typing this) so would recommend them. ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

>The last two or three journeys >have been a nightmare with >people queuing about 10 deep >at the entry to the >stairs, then trying to get >down all at once, some >carrying babies, some, beer, but >ALL, an accident waiting to >happen. I returned on a P&O Ferry in April (Calais to Dover) and there was a fight on the stairs caused by the crush of people trying to get down the stairs. Not very pleasant! ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

That is a great shame, although I suppose we should give a new company some time to settle into their new role. I for one hope they suceed, to give the ferry companies some serious competition. I hope your visit to France wasn't ruined by the journey!! ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

There is a good link on the Useful Posts forum which gives the http:///www.taxe.com website which allows you to look up the amount of tax for each town/hamlet. As I am expecting our first Taxe d'habitation bill this year I thought I would take a look. However, I am now a little confused. For example, for the hamlet I live in (Sompt) it quotes the following taxes: Taux communal - 15,41% Taux intercommunal - 2,06% Taux dpartmental - 7,11% Making a grand total of 24,58% Can anyone explain what these actually mean. I know it means that the total is 24,58%, but 24,58% of what? Thank you!! ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

Message in your inbox..... ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

LAST EDITED ON 24-May-04 AT 12:04 PM (BST) Tasha - has your search progressed any since the end of April? Regards Andy. ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

The quote for the pool we are having was 22,000 which is for everything (including digging) for a 10x5m pool. This also includes lights, summer cover, roller-up and winter cover. The price for a 8x4m pool was about 4,000 less. ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

We are currently renovating our barn into a gite. Our project manager informed us that if we let the gite with a pool we can avoid having this compulsory test. However, if we let the gite and then add a swimming pool at a later date then we will have to have this test once a month for the cost you mentioned. I am trying to find out whether this is correct. ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

Another one is http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/ I have used it in the past and found some good results. ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

Another one is http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/ I have used it in the past and found some good results. ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

Yes, they are a new company. If you try to book for July time then you will get a return ticket for the starting price of 50. The pricing structure is based on the budget airline strategy of sell them cheap at first, and the price increases as the tickets are purchased. ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

Sompt, south Deux-Sevres (79) hopefully next year......... ---------------------- http://www.sompt.com Deux-Sevres (region 79)

I was also wondering why this forum had gone a little quiet over the past few weeks. I know that the regions on this forum have recently been re-organised, so this is probably the cause. However, Spring could also mean that people are spending less time in front of their computers. -------------------- http://www.sompt.com

I was reading the news on www.france3.fr today, and got stuck on trying to translate one of the paragraphs in a story about a factory going on strike, so I nipped over to an online translator and pasted in the words to see what it said. The result made me laugh: Original paragraph: L'usine fabrique 11 milliards de cigarettes brunes et 8 milliards de blondes chaque anne Translation result: The factory makes 11 billion brown cigarettes and 8 billion fair-haired women every year Just shows how dodgy using an online translator can be I suppose! -------------------- http://www.sompt.com

For those living in region 86, there is news that you will all be getting ADSL by the end of 2005 - so says Thierry Breton the president of France Telecom. For more info see the following link: http://www.lpc.france3.fr/semiStatic/404-NIL-NIL-297609.html -------------------- http://www.sompt.com