Alcazar

[quote user="Frederick"] If T B had any guts he would have had Brown in by now and told him he was not having anymore plotting and to clear his desk...If any of the ministers  supporting Brown were unhappy with that .... he could tell them a box would be left on the steps of No 10 to chuck their resignations in. ......Clean sweep is needed  ...start again... to put an end to all this in fighting. ... and  then announce he is staying on in the job . ....  " If he had the guts "  [/quote] Unfortunately, Blair has few guts for that sort of thing, but enough to send other people's kids to die in an illegal war.[:@] Blair's legacy: "the man who COULDN 'T afford to send our kids to university, but COULD afford to send them to die in two wars" Does anyone else feel that GB is getting a bit desperate? Perhaps he NEEDS to be no longer the chancellor when his economy built on sand finally collapses? Then he can say it wasn't HIS fault. Or am I just cynical? Alcazar

[quote user="Russethouse"]LOL  You had to THINK about it [:D][:D] I'd have been snatching his hand off - right up to the elbow !![:D][/quote] Yep, and then spent the next day explaining to the Gendarmes WHY you bought stolen property. "If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is". Really, RH, I'm surprised at you....... Alcazar

[quote user="Cassis"]Easiest rule of thumb I ever heard, applies in most cases - any active verb to do with movement and other verbs derived from them (aller, venir, descendre etc. etc.) plus all the reflexives (natch), naitre et mourir. [/quote] That's how we were taught at Grammar school. Alcazar

Done it...........going north, by accident, two years ago. it was PACKED, we queued almost the whole way and ended up taking over an hour to cross Rouen. My advice: stay on the route I mentioned, it's virtually dual all the way. Alcazar

Next visit will see me leave the house over winter. It has gas central heating, and hot water, which I'll leave on a frost type setting. Question is, what should I do with the pipes leading COLD water TO the boiler, and those carrying hot water, not the central heating water, towards the bath/shower/bidet? The whole lot is at present housed in the barn conversion, which. although rainproof, isn't windproof, and has no form of heating. Ought I to switch off the water, and drain off all pipes, as I used to before the heating was fitted? What about the water TO the boiler? If I drain the pipes, don't I risk having airlocks when I have to switch it all on again to raise pressure? Any advice welcome. Or should I just contact the plumber who installed it all? Alcazar

Rouen can be busy, but is easy: follow signs for the "A13 Paris", as already noted. IMMEDIATELY after crossing the Seine, (about three miles after exiting the tunnel), look for a SHARP right turn, that goes round and under your origianal road, and parallels the Seine and the railway yards. It's VERY sharp and almost hidden, so easy to miss. Later, after crossing the "cowabout", (large roundabout with concrete cows: where do they think they are, MK???), again look for signs A13 Paris, get into left lane when signed, it's easy to get into wrong lane here. On A13, look for a large stainless statue of a sphere with arrows, on your left, called "Sur la trace des Vikings". Start looking for signs off to the right to A154 "Evreux". After that, it's plain sailing. On the return, it's look for the statue, then look for signs for "Boulogne"., both now on your right, of course. When in Rouen, and after crossing the Seine, best advice is "If there are three lanes, keep in the middle one, until you reach the tunnel", otherwise, follow signs for Boulogne, Calais. It CAN be done in far less than 4 hours 30, but bank on that, and you won't be far out. There's a nice Ibis at Chartres Luce, too............ Alcazar  

Can't help with your rights, the legal bit, but I'm intrigued in your statement that there's no way to repair it? I can't imagine a tap, sold at €129 as a bargain, being impossible to repair. What would owners who bought it full price do if it went faulty? Chuck it? I think not. If they won't replace it, take it elsewhere and see if the "guts" are available as spares. Alternatively, contact the manufacturer. Alcazar

[quote user="Laphroaig57"]     Only once was it frustrating to find no "reserve" lane.   That at Carcassonne where about 3 or 4 lanes but all were marked T although none reserved   If this the future then what the point.    If I have to queue in the future at more and more tolls I would not use it out of principle   [/quote] I'll still use mine, especially when alone, at night, in the rain and a rhd car[;-)]

[quote user="KathyC"]We're thinking of using the A28 for the first time later this month and I gather there are viaducts. I know this sounds daft, but can anyone tell me how scary the viaducts are? Are we talking little bridges going over a river or great soaring constuctions ? I'm talking as someone who reversed away from the bridge at Rochefort (yes I know, more dangerous than doing it) and has driven miles to avoid the Pont du Normandie. Some idea where the scary ones are might be useful as I'm adept at navigating around and time's no problem. I'm sitting here shaking at the thought! Thanks a lot.[/quote]   Oh good grief! And they gave you a license and let you out on your own????[;-)] Alcazar

Best of luck, and I really mean that. Every time I've had to queue for tickets, whether connections are tight or not, I've found the French in front of me in usual "French" mode, ie: they need to know EVERYTHING about their train including what colour undies the driver wears and when was the last time he changed them, before they'll buy a ticket. Alcazar

Yep, we chucked the bonnet in the skip at the dechetterie with most of the rest of the stuff..........then saw one similar going for €100 at an autojumble near Sarlat last year! Blast! Alcazar

[quote user="Cassis"]Down, Alcazar, Down. [img]http://www.piercesweb.com/individuals/dallins-pierce/pictures/3rd-bday2002/scoobie-doo.jpg[/img]   I've had as much fun in an MX-5 as a Scooby or an Evo. [/quote] Goodness, that must have been cramped..................oh, I see, you mean DRIVING one?[:$]

Try filling it GENTLY with water from a jug, bottle etc, and see if the level sits higher than when it's flushed. Don't just teem a bucket full in, or it'll just do the same as a flush. It SOUNDS as if the power of the flush is syphoning off part of the water that should stay in the bowl, so destroying the seal of the trap, which relies on water level. You could put a vent pipe in, or an air admittance valve, if it proves to be the case. Alcazar

[quote user="tj"][quote user="Alcazar"] I would add no "twin and earth" type cable, as it doesn't have insulation on the earth, and, Alcazar [/quote] Maybe missed something but all the twin + earth cable I use has insulated earth?   [/quote] Are you sure you're talking "twin and earth"? Not 3-core? The stuff I'm on about is the flat section used for wiring BEHIND sockets, lights etc in the UK, and was, until very recently, red, black and bare earth.. Alcazar

Wife got stung three times on the face about two years ago, while we were collecting pine cones for her school one dusk. It appears that WE disturbed their nest while collecting the cones, and the hornets zoomed out and attacked her as she stood on the road directing us. She had a face like Quasimodo for about a week, couldn't see out of her right eye, and was in a lot of pain. She is now rather wary of any black and yellow flying insects. Alcazar

So far, in our top garden area, we've found, buried: About 100 bottles ranging from tiny to over a litre. Two farm cart metal axles, the ones for those huge wagon wheels, one intact, the other with a broken bearing. A complete metal farm-trailer base. A complete wooden farm-trailer base. Several old fridge/cooker sides in white enamel. The bonnet off a Simca Aronde, A sheet of galvanised metal with around two cwt of walnuts buried under it, all eaten! And around a tonne, so far, of old, broken tiles!!! Add to that lot, about 200 sq m of brambles grown into and through chicken wire which was also buried, along it's bottom edge, up to a depth of 12", and we've had a LOVELY time up there. Alcazar

I would add no "twin and earth" type cable, as it doesn't have insulation on the earth, and, as noted elsewhere, the earth is a smaller CSA than the phase and neutral. use two pole disjoncteurs for everything, Alcazar

An MX-5, Powerdesal ? Are you/were you a hairdresser then?[Www] Alcazar

I can take no credit whatsoever for the folder with manuals, the whole thing is/was down to the better half, when we first bought. Now as far as ENGLISH manuals are concerned.......... Alcazar

Ha....the manual..........of course, why didn't I think of that? I have a folder with every manual from everything we've ever bought! Thanks! Alcazar

[quote user="Dick Smith"]Did you mean this one, Phil? [IMG]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f338/dick_at_aulton/mouse.jpg[/IMG] [/quote] Oh, superb!LOL!  Where do you find them Dick? Alcazar

Thanks for all replies, although I'm still not sure if the dishwasher is the cause, since the fault was also at the very old socket, even with the dishwasher unplugged. I was amused at your comment about my wife being "reluctant to try it", JR, since I told her she had to once I'd got it cured. She was NOT happy, but did so, and felt nothing. After all............I couldn't feel it in the first place, so how else was I to know if it was gone?................Tsk, tsk, women! Alcazar

Our property is JUST inside the border of the Limousin, being around 4 km from the Dordogne, and 16km from the Charente. We have had some nice dry weather, and the neighbouring farmer often complains of insufficient rain before we arrive, (but NEVER after we've gone home!). We've also seen it start to rain and seem unable to stop, in months as far apart as August and February. It often has a Limousine "bruine", like a heavy sea fret, that just soaks everything the minute you step out into it, so yes, it's damp, and as mentioned elsewhere, you can't have greenery, trees etc, without damp. Just look at Cornwall. I once found a site on Meteo France that showed about EIGHT micro climates just in the Haute Vienne, let alone the Limousin! Take into account that damp weather will come from the SW, and the Haute Vienne is the first bit of "high" ground it will encounter, (our house is at 470m, almost the same as the pass over the Pennines on the M62, and anyone who knows THAT area will know what rain is.........), so the rain tends to fall a bit frequently. As I said.......I've seen 6 day rainfall, without any let-up, but I've also seen a week of 30 degrees at the end of October/beginning of November, so it's not all bad....... Alcazar

Putting it away just before coming home this summer, I noticed that the grass box/bag was "knackered". It's made of a thick grey cloth on a steel frame, the cloth being held on with plastic strips, SEWN to the cloth, and clipped to the frame. The stitching is entirely worn away along the bottom, so the bag scrapes the floor, and, the graden being rough, will soon tear. Anyone know if spares are available, or how to effect a repair? Alcazar

..........the wife's three fig trees! I've seen the beggars growing wild all over the south west, south, south east etc, but our three are barren. One is very small, bush like, about two years since it was set, the second is a bigger version, set last year, the third about two metres, and tree-like, set April, this year. So how come my blackberries, plums, pears, apples, nectariners, peaches etc etc are bowed down with fruit, but the figs won't produce owt? Alcazar