Keithatdogland

In The Sunday Times Travel section last week someone said they visited 'A Balloon Museum' in France - but there were no balloons! Were they 'avin a laugh?

No, I'm afraid it wasn't like that! It's probably an 'industrial' machine and very efficient. It was a metal tube, similar circumferance to the pineapple, that slid down the inside of the pineapple. There must be some sort of metal slicing blades in the tube. Just an effortless pull on the handle and job done!

On a recent visit to Auchen in Bolougne there was a cheery chap selling pineapples. Every time a pineapple was sold he cut the head off of it, put the main body of the pineapple underneath a 'machine', pulled a handle down and hey presto the interior of said fruit was neatly chopped. Does anyone know what this 'machine' was called and where they can be purchased?

I've been scouring the web for Eurotunnel fares and the best one for the crossing I require seems to be Eurotunnel's own site. Most sites claim  -- 'Cheap, Cheapest, Save Pounds, Won't be beaten, etc'  -- but they all seem worse than the Eurotunnel site. Am I looking in the wrong places or are there genuine reductions somewhere on the web? I'm not a frequent user, doing only three or four trips a year, I don't own a property in France and I prefer the Tunnel to the Ferries. Any help appreciated.

Thanks for the replies. Just managed to get round to changing the dates to October with no problems and no extra cost.

In  January 16th I booked a crossing with Eurotunnel over the Internet for the 24th to 26th March. On January 28th my wife was taken into hospital with pneumonia. She is still in intensive care but progressing reasonably well but there is no chance that we will be able to go to France at the end of March. What are my chances of getting a refund on the ticket or even being able to transfer it to later in the year?  

Logan, I'm not sure how long you've been away from these shores but if it's more than a couple of years you're in for a rude awakening. The horrendous traffic jams, the litter strewn streets, the stupid house price rises and the prospect of extended drinking hours are enough to make anyone leave the country. Go into any town or city throughout the land early in the morning and you will see the rubbish strewn vomit covered urine soaked streets and that alone will probably make you regret ever leaving France. Ps. - I live in central England - ever considered a house swop just to see if you like it back in the UK?.

Replying to the original question 'How do the ferry companies work out their fares?'  -  probably with little regard to common sense! A Seacat fare online in January for Dover / Calais return with one company was a quote of £65 per car in May for a six day visit.    On February 1st it went up to £98 per car.   A week later it went back down to £65! What the heck are they playing at?

Not quite back to normal.  We booked, during August, for a crossing on Oct 22nd at 18.15. They rang me last week to tell me that they had changed over to a 'Winter' service and my departure was now 14.45!  Somewhat a pain as it meant me having to cancel most of the work I had to do on the Friday morning in order to get to Dover by 1400. They told me they had sent an email four weeks earlier informing me of the change.  I had deleted it as the only title on the email was -- Duty Manager UK 'no subject' -- hardly an eye catching title for an important message! But they could change me to a different opperator at no extra cost. The nearest available time to my alloted slot of 18.15 was the 2100 ferry --  ie. arrive in Calais about 2330 French time and still have a drive down to our hotel in Bolougne. So no relaxing French restaurant meal that evening! We have decided to go across on the 1445 Speedferry despite having to incovenience my customers and risk losing some business but it will be the last time we use them if their service is not spot on.  

We have booked on Speedferries for a crossing in October and it is good to hear that the service is used by you more regular travellers. We have used both the Tunnel and Hoverspeed Cat earlier in the year. Although the train journey is quick and reliable we believe that the price is horrendous. The Cat crossing was marred by a puncture when we caught a bulkhead whilst being directed to park, and although the crew helped unload the boot and help me change the wheel, the claim we put in for a new tyre took nine weeks to resolve despite them accepting responsibility. No extra offer of a discount or gratis crossing were made despite the long delay in reimbursing us. I know no service is going to be perfect but with the lower price of Speedferries at least it helps to soften the blow when things do go awry!

Managed to login ok but now find everything is taking much longer to appear on screen -- is it just me and my computer? Front page looks as though it has been set up by some bright eyed and bushy tailed teenager whose eyesight is a lot better than mine. Why on earth was it changed? Happy New Year to all our readers!!

Plese could anyone tell me where I can obtain magazines 'Maison et Travaux' and 'Restaurer sa Maison' in the UK or are they only available in France, Cheers, Keith.

We are visiting the Vendee in December to look at properties, and the area, as well as some decent food and wine. Could anyone give some idea of living costs such as electric, water, community type charges and other charges that are not known to outsiders. We are looking at rural 2/3 bed houses with field or an acre or two within 30kms of La Roche sur Yon, Keith