Andyphilpott

Why not just ask your proposed new insurers for their views! If they want your business it is in their best interests to advise you. Andy

I would endorse what others have said. I have taken a lot of electrical appliances from UK to France and have simply put a French plug on them. I also agree that you should not do this for new appliances in view of the guarantee, but all the stuff I have taken has been recycled from our UK home so that has not been a problem. The only things I use adapters for are items which I take with me such as netbook and camera chargers. Andy

www.xe.com make no charge for transfers and the rate is OK

www.specs-by-post.co.uk Just had 3 pairs from them. Cheap (£15 upwards plus postage) and very quick service

I had this a few years ago when I took my nieces and nephews over for a day trip. The guy at Calais said I was not allowed to take them back without a letter from the parents (which I was not then aware of) so I offered to hand them over to him for a few days and send the parents to get them. They cried He declined Job done Andy

Tom Tom is still good BUT I understand that the new models do not allow third party Points of Interest. What that means in practice is that you will be restricted to using the TomTom Traffic cameras POIs and they are not as good as other independent providers (in my opinion). When my TomTom expires I will not have another for that reason Andy

I had one fitted in the UK and did not need a liner. On the other hand I also have one in my French house and it did need a liner. It really depends on the construction of the chimney. If just brick then as I understand it a liner is needed. If it is constructed of clay pots (these are a hard material with each pot fitting into the one below) as mine is then there should be no problem - so long as the pots have been installed the right way up! Don't laugh - I am told that sometimes the builder gets this wrong! The idea is that any tar/soot etc drops down to the fire. Hope this helps Andy

Just a small point on this which will apply mainly to holiday homes, but if a bubble jet printer is left usused for a while (weeks rather tahn days) especially in hot areas, the cartridge dries up. I had this problem and switched to a laser printer which performs consistently. Andy

Yes I saw that too - I susbscribe to PocketGPSWorld and use their POI safety camera alerts. Bottom line is that when my TomTom reaches the end of its days I will replace it with a satnav which does support third party POI data. As I understand it, it is not (yet) proposed to remove the third party POI functionality from models already sold - although I guess that they could by doing an "upgrade". I have used the TomTom version of safety cameras before switching to PGPSW and it is not so comprehensive. Just a case of a big business crushing the small players to generate more income I imagine. Andy  

As for car hire  I have used Hertz, Europcar and others and as all the prices are there for you to review I do not see how you can be overcharged. I usually book through one of the business on the internet - Holiday Autos etc (although have become expensive lately) Just go onto Google with "car hire Nice" and it will give you loads of choice. If you are concerned about excess charges - take out the insurance available. I hire regularly enough to make it worth me having an annual policy with Insurance4carhire.com. As always - check the vehicle very carefully on pick up and make sure all faults are noted on the hire document. If it is dark when you collect move it to a place which is better lit before checking. Or take a torch!! Most hire companies are OK but employees differ and some will certainly try to take advantage! Just work on the basis that they will try it on and take preventative measures. Enjoy Nice - we will be around 80 miles west of there at the end of March. Andy  

Just a completely off the wall (no pun intended) idea, but could you adapt drawer runner sliders to do this? Whatever you have make sure there is some way of getting to them if a fault develops in the future. Andy

lacote0 0 - I too am a big fan of blackcircles. I have always found them efficient and as cheap or (often) cheaper than anyone else and the garages they work with for the tyre fitting are also good. Quick delivery too. I decided to replace 2 tyres just before heading to France for Christmas and they were delivered to the garage who were to fit them the next day, I was notified of their arrival and fitted the same day. Just as well given the weather over Christmas! I drove to Provence the day before they closed the Chanel Tunnel and was followed down the autoroute by blizzards around 2 hours behind me. Result - one of the quickest journeys I have had for years! Andy

Many thanks everybody that is very helpful. I did see the "...petrole" but was not sure that it was what I needed. Yes I know petrol is essence but petrole seemed a bit too close for comfort!!!!!! Now I know what to look for it should be easier for me to find. All the best Andy

I have a few old lamps which run on lamp oil but despite an exhaustive search of Carrefour/Casino/Castorama/Leroy Merlin I have not been able to find any. I wonder if the literal translation into French does not work? Do any of you know what it might be known as and, better still, where I could get it? I suppose the lamps could also work on parafin but I don't really want the smell of that in the house. Thanks Andy

Just made my first booking of the year using my Caxton Mastercard prepaid debit card. All worked fine except that when paying in sterling it incurred a fee of £1.50 - which I had expected but still less than Ryanair would have charged. However one of my flights is a single trip from France to UK where it is priced in Euros. The Ryanair website "helpfully" offers you a guaranteed rate to pay in sterling, but, no prizes for guessing, the rate is lousy. They offered to fix at 1.05 to £ whilst Caxton card conversion comes out at 1.08. Not much in it (around £12 overall this time) but over time it adds up. So take care to UNTICK the guaranteed rate "offer" box unless you are using a credit card which you think will give you an even worse rate. I am not sure if, had I paid in sterling, I would have had to pay the Caxton £1.50 charge as well to rub salt into the wound! Basic rule as far as I am concerned is book the cheap flights but avoid anyting else as far as you can as. in my experience at least, none of the additional services they offer are good value - that certainly goes for car hire, insurance and hotels (as well as exchange rates) all of which I have priced from time to time and always got a better deal than from Ryanair.