Leshirondelles

Thought I would leave it a few weeks from my original post to ensure that the spectacles I received from spexmaniac stood the test of time. One month later they are simply great - better than the original pair I bought in the UK - light frames, well put together, comfortable, and with the thin lenses much less eye strain than before - I still haven't broken or distorted them after a month of use - something of a record for me. I'll be having my eye test again in the UK next year but there's only one place I'll be going for my replacement pair!

???? Your advice is sound of course, but I note from the spexmaniac site that they ask for a recent prescription thus one must have had a professional eye test? One thing however does confuse me - how come you've had nasty e mails from these people if its the first time you've replied on this post?

No problems with mine. I have particulary bad reading eyesight which normally means very thick lenses. The first ones I got from Boots (cost around £150) and after six months the lenses fell out - so much for getting what you pay for. Boots also originally offered me thin lenses (at an extra £80) - spexmaniac do them for £40. At the prices they charge I don't mind if the things fall apart after 6 months - I'm still in pocket!

If you had the problem now then you would find it much easier and cheaper. I had my eyes tested in the UK on my last visit then somewhat inconviently broke my glasses a few months later. I found an internet site in the uk for replacements. Just needed to input the prescription details online, choose my frames and presto - new pair arrived in the post. Cost £15 (including lenses) and £2.50 postage. The company is spexmaniac (www.spexmaniac.co.uk)

I broke my reading glasses recently - stood on them whilst looking for my everyday pair! Cost of replacement in France (and in England for that matter) didn't fill me with enthusiasm. I came across this internet site which makes them up from prescription starting at £15 including the lenses!! Shipping to France was only £2.50. You can find their site at www.spexmaniac.co.uk.

Hi everyone, We have just re-launched a website dedicated to the tourist attractions specifically in the Limousin region (www.the-limousin.co.uk). Whilst we already have a lot of content, the speed by which it grows will be dependent largely on input from you. (the Limousin is too large for us to cover by ourselves) So all you gite owners or others who would like to highlight your locality (towns, lakes, attractions) to give more information to your prospective guests then please let us have your input. When visiting the site you can forward links, photos etc on the respective pages. Look forward to being deluged with information Thanks Colin.

We've used a mix of mains and well water for the last five years without problem. The first year we used just mains water, which prompted the local water board man to scour the immediate area looking for a leak somewhere until he found us! The whole episode became a popular local joke. The only thing he was concerned about was the cost to us. Your cloudiness is almost certainly due to algae in the well water. We treat ours immediately after filling with Desalgine, available from Castorama. This comes in two forms - with and without flocculant. Note: if you have a diatomaceous earth filter then you should NEVER use a flocculant - DE filters are extremely fine and will block up almost immediately, they filter water to drinking standards. Desalgine also includes a clarifier which gives the water a beautiful sparkle - its quite pricey (around 35 euros) but well worth it.

Hi, You'll find some details and links on golf courses in the Limousin at www.golimousin.info Colin.

Check out www.golimousin.net - there is a list of trocs etc. on the second hand pages of the Limousin Suppliers pages. Colin.

Hello Michelle, From your description the site you found was mine - www.les-hirondelles.net or www.golimousin.com. Thankyou for the plaudits, I'm glad you liked the websites. As a pure amateur I did them all myself, although I do admit to having a lifetime in computing. Anyway its something to do in the long winter evenings. There is some very basic rules regarding sites for gites: 1. KEEP IT SIMPLE, you're there to sell not to entertain. The more bells and whistles you put on it then the more likely that it will not be compatible with the major browsers: IE, Netscape, Opera etc. 2. INFORMATION: clear and concise and not too many pictures. Those that you have should be good quality with the smallest file size you can get away with. The pages need to load fast. Not everyone has high speed access. You can have the best site in the world but if it takes too long to load then people will simply give up. 3.PAGE WIDTH Make sure the width of your pages are compatible with at least 800 x 600 resolution - so your page width should be less that 750 pixels. 4. PAGE LENGTH Try to ensure that you keep your page lengths as short as possible, people do not like scrolling down long pages. 5. ON LINE BOOKING AND AVAILABILITY - If you can do this and keep it up to date then its a major selling tool - people are averse to picking up the phone, they like to check out the property, see the price, see its available then book it - all in one visit. Its the reason we virtually fill our gites between February and November each year.

Useful practical site covering the renovation of a Limousin farmstead. www.golimousin.net

If you want to take a look at the installation of a Christal pool then take a look at our renovation website www.golimousin.net. My wife and I completed it in around 2 weeks. I have no experience of Christal as installers - to my knowledge they use contractors so I would expect that service varies depending on where you are. Also on the site you will find a short list of other pool installers. I know a few people who have had pools installed by Michaud piscines of Limoges - they seem to do a good job.

Not sure but he may be thinking of Batisolde - its on the D220 near Maison Rouge north of Beaune les Mines. For details of Trocs etc there are some listed on www.golimousin.net. along with a whole host of other info.

Hi, If I was you I would avoid the Machine Mart stoves. We had one during our renovation and although fine for the purpose of keeping us warm during that period they are not to be recommended for long term use. Most are manufactured in China, they degrade pretty quickly and are not the best quality of manufacture. We bought our main stove in England ( a Irish Waterford ) because it was less expensive there (being an import) - we're talking around £1200. The remainder of our stoves we have bought in France - an excellent Supra which we bought for around £350 at Mr. Bricolage, and a modern version of an old standup Deville design which we bought for £300 as bankrupt stock. Best time to buy a stove in France is anytime from mid September onwards - the prices are generally good during this period. If you want some more wood burning links then visit www.golimousin.net - a renovation in the Limousin with lots of other info as well.   Good Luck

Hi, you'll find a list of immobiliers in the Limousin region at www.golimousin.net - I don't particularly recommend any in particular but our visitors have used a number of them and so far no bad feedback   Colin.

You'll find a good glossary of building terms at www.golimousin.net

You'll find a good glossary of building terms at www.golimousin.net

By far the largest for the items you are looking for is the Mill at Aixe sur vienne. Turn right at the last set of traffic lights as you leave the town heading south. Take a right at the fork in the road (about 100 metres) and follow the road down the south side of the river for about a kilometre. You can't miss it on the right.

Forget the brushcutter and all that hard work. More difficult to get now but we asked a local garden centre and he recommended Garlon D12 by Fertiligene. It is truly amazing stuff, not only kills it off rapidly but because it stays in the plant when it attempts to grow again it dies off within days. Doesn't harm any other plants but beware it will kill blackberry bushes any anything of the same gender. The only place I could find it was at Mr. Bricolage.