Alcazar

Hi admin, I use this function a lot on another forum. I find it VERY useful when viewing long threads, more than a page or so, it does away with having to scroll through posts you HAVE read to find your place. Any chance we could have similar on here? Thanks, Jeff

Don't actually "fix" it until you are sure, they are a b*gger to get off once fixed! And if it DOES come off, you'll not get it to stick again, which will mean sourcing a new holder. I held mine in place first time around to be sure, then fixed it at the next aire. BTW: mine is fixed almost behind, but above the rear view mirror.........perfectly cuts out the sun which always seems to be in position to blind you through the gap the sun-visors don't cover, in spring/autumn. Tip: warm the sticky pad, and the screen if poss, before attempting to stick it on. I did mine in a stream of warm air from a vent on the car. Trying to stick it on cold resulted in it ending up on the floor, twice[:(] Alcazar

When my lads were little, and petrified of wasps, they used to make wasp-traps themselves by carefully cutting a plastic pop bottle in half, then upending the top into the bottom to make sort of funnel arrangement. Some pop or sweetened water in the bottom, and they were ready. Placed at the edge of our emplacement on the site, we had fewer wasps than our neighbours. Nowadays, they just ignore 'em like I do, remember, a wasp won't sting unless you provoke it, (sit on it, stand on it, wave your arms at it etc), and bees are even less likely to sting. I even save them from drowning in the campsite pool. The French think I'm crackers when I'm carrying a very wet wasp carefully out of the pool area to alllow it to recover![:D] Haven't been stung yet............[blink] Alcazar

[quote user="KathyC"] [quote user="Mark"]Erm, I, at least, was joking.[/quote] You were, Alcazar wasn't! [/quote] Too right, I wasn't! Nor was I joking about my last sentence. STOP WHINING and MYOB! Alcazar

[quote user="Alane"] At least you can make an appointment at the office. [:'(] Our local EDF don't make appointments at the office, they have to take a French telephone number and the engineer then calls us to make the appointment. Fortunately I have a French mobile but invariably he doesn't ring until we're back in the UK and then says he can't make appointments too far ahead and never calls back. In the end I gave up. Our French neighbours all say that the local EDF are c**p.   [/quote] As I have found them to be in 87[:(] Alcazar

The WORST thing on this forum, by far, IMHO, is not the moderation, it's those people who take it on themselves to lecture, correct and pontificate over someone else's post. The whole forum seems full of them at times.[:(] By all means correct info that is given but is not factually correct.  Otherwise, MYOB, as they say around here.[;-)] Alcazar

[quote user="KathyC"]I hope to God I never meet either of you on the road. What an appallingly irresponsible attitude to take, just to save 30 odd euros.[/quote] Oh dear, the "holier than thou" brigade are out again. FYI, I do it because we usually have valuable stuff in the car with us, it can't ALL be unpacked and taken into an hotel, and we know three people who have had cars broken into and stuff nicked at French hotels. I drive overnight when there is hardly anyone on the road, and if I feel tired, I stop, get out and walk about. I also drink plenty of coffee. MYOB, OK? Alcazar

Adopt the England football team approach...........whine about it, and then do a really bad job[:D] Alcazar

It's what I do, Scun thorpe to St Mathieu (Sth. 87), or return, in one long blast.........[blink] Alcazar

We've got friends coming to us with their caravan for a week this summer. They are total novices at driving in France, with only a couple of trips to Auchan at Boulogne without the caravan, via the Tunnel, so far, although he has no fears of it. Now I can do them a route down. I have done it so many times that I can almost do it without a map, and include roundabouts, (which exit) and even which lane to be in. The problem is their return. They want to break the journey, camp ouside Paris, and go in on the train for the day, then return on the day after to the tunnel. I've suggested a campsite I know at St Leu d'Esserent, allowing them a ten minute ride to pick up one of those day rover tickets, (Mobilis?) at a nearby station, Orry La Ville. It also gives them a fairly easy route from campsite to A16 for their return, and being north of Paris, makes it easier, the main conglomeration having been passed on the way in. I can't see a simple ruoute from A10 to campsite though. Anyone know of any easy routes from A10 towards A16 round the WEST of Paris? Thanks, Alcazar

Hmmmmmmm, tricky one. NOT tricky to do, tricky to estimate timings. Both Montparnasse and Gare de L'Est are on the Magenta line: going towards GdL'E, you need to look for trains towards "Porte de Clignancourt", coming back towards Mo, look for trains towards"Port d'Orleans". Now the tricky bit: IIRC, Montparnasse involves quite a bit of walking to get from SNCF station to actaul Metro platform. The sites are on top of one another, but rather spread out, like some London Underground stations. Between the two stations are 13 stops, so you MIGHT do it. The Metro ride is probably less than 15 minutes, BUT, are you sure your train into Mo will be on time? Have you allowed for crowds, finding metro station at Mo, buying Metro ticket,  finding correct platform, waiting for next Metro train, disembarking at GdL'E, finding GdL'E SNCF station, finding your train etc etc. If it were me, and I didn't have huge luggage, I'd risk it, but I do know Paris, and especially the stations, quite well. If not, is there a later train to Zurich? Better a later train and a leisurely coffee at GdL'E, than missing your train and the problems thereafter........ Alcazar

Ask again in a separate thread in "Driving" or "Health", no-one will notice that question tacked on at the end. Regards, Alcazar

I assume you're looking at "aires"? The new Michelin atlas shows them all, but be aware that they are real targets for thieves. Every year the French papers carry stories of peiople's cars broken into, and people robbed at gun/knifepoint, of caravans pumped full of anaesthetic gas, and the contents of the caravan/car removed. If you MUST do it, choose a populated aire/service area, and park in a well lit spot. Avoid going right to the back or between two lorries. Better a slightly disturbed night than ripped off. Personally, we stopped this about 5 years ago. Alcazar

If it's a true racer, it will have it's wing feathers stamped with owner's details. Hold it carefully and spread it's right wing to see the flight feathers. There should be contact details. My mate races pigeons. He gets a few that go astray like this, and a few that arrive at his loft that don't belong, (he knows every one of his pigeons by sight!) Responses when you contact the owner vary from "hold onto it, it's worth thousands", for topline birds gone astray once or twice, to "put it in a pie" to those that do it regularly, or are at the end of their racing.   lives. Some owners will send a box and payment and instructions for onward transport. BTW: if you've fed it, and watered it, you may be stuck with it if owner doesn't want it back[;-)] Alcazar

[quote user="Deimos"] Not particularly relevant to your snake nor people posts in response) but one think I have noticed in France is that, if you ask a local “what sort of snake it was”, then you will invariably be told it’s a viper.  A length of hose pipe lying on the ground is “a viper”.  Whenever I’ve described a snake I’ve seen to any local I’ve always got the “viper” with an added “dangerous” response.   Ian [/quote] Well, Ive had the exact opposite. In the Gorge du Tarn, about 13 years ago,  with my youngest, we saw a largish thick snake on the banks of the river. It had Red, Yellow and Black bands along it's length., and was around a metre long. On questioning locals, I was repeatedly asked if it could have been a length of hose? Not unless hose has eyes and a mouth, and rears up when alarmed, it couldn't, and I've NEVER seen hose move of it's own accord, either. Mind, it never moved as fast as I did[:$] Alcazar

Mine took about 4 working days, but when I asked for a spare support for my other car, it took two weeks to come. Alcazar

We flew from Stansted to Rome in April, and returned a few days later. On the way down we crossed the English coast at Dover, flew over Calais, then Dunkerque, before turning inland and crossing Lille. We ended up flying parallel with the Rhine for a long way, and saw the Bodensee, before losing sight of land over the Alps. On our return, we flew right over Paris, (you could SEE the Isle where Notre Dame is), and then followed the Seine to Rouen, before turning to cross the English coast at Hastings, finally passing to the west of Heathrow. A very different journey to our outbound. Both Ryan Air pilots kept us informed about where we were, too. Either airlanes are very wide, or out and back are different. Alcazar

I've been removing grass sods and some soil here for a patio over the last few days, (yes, I know, but I DO have other stuff that takes priority). My blackbird, here in the UK, and his mate come down and watch, as soon as I'm off to empty the barrow, or turn my back, ONE of 'em will be down while the other keeps guard. Yesterday  FIVE adult starlings and about 20 youngsters invaded the garden while I was working, completely ignored me and went about their business of feeding. The nearest one was no more than ten feet from where I was digging. Just out of interest, can anyone say definitively, why we tolerate, nay, ENCOURAGE, birds, but would go mad if we saw a rat, or mice? BOTH carry diseases, and personally, I've NEVER had rat, or mice droppings on my car, washing, patio, windows, head, etc[:D] Alcazar

[quote user="pads"]with yours i would advise GIVE UP screw a perch to the door for him to sit on and two little bowls of food  plus a mirror and call him a pet and give him a name................................take care  [/quote] Oh, I've given him a name, alright, but I couldn't say it in polite company.......... Alcazar

It's prabably the brother of MY mad blackbird, the one that attacks his image in my back door on a regular basis, even though I've put masking tape criss-crossed over it, and an anti-blackbird bit of conduit on the handle he sits on! Yours is probably picking up stones for mine to chuck at my door[:(] Alcazar

Swallow muck? HAH! I spit on your swallow muck![:P] You should SEE the amount of droppings, pellets etc that a barn owl can make over a year! THEN you can come and help me get it off my caravan! NOTHING gets it off! I've taken to using an old plastic scraper I got to clean out an old fridge, after soaking the poop for about two hours in special caravan cleaner. Now THAT's mess[:D]

In the Herault, camping, I once found a smallish hole, clear of plants or debris for about 2" all round, going straight down into the ground, It was about 15mm across. It was where I was going to set up my barbecue, so I was interested, but not that bothered. I thought it might be a mousehole, and if Mrs Alcazar sees a mouse, we're off that site the same day! I moved to look down it and thought I could see a claw! I thought, "Scorpion?", so poked a stiff length of grass down it. Imagine my shock when a very large SPIDER appeared from the hole, holding onto, and actively PULLING my bit of grass! It moved like lightning. I think I jumped back about f our feet, my French friend laughed his socks off at me, but stopped laughing when I got him to do the same on the spider, now back down it's hole, and it repeated the trick! We saw a few of them during the holiday, one running across our groundsheet in the awning didn't survive the journey, but the most scary was the one on my youngest's HEAD when he retrieved a Man Utd shirt off the floor and put it straight on! Serves him right for supporting a crap team LOL[:D] Some local French told us they could bite, but weren't dangerous, a bit like a mild wasp sting was how they described it. Alcazar

There is no rental charge as such, for a bulk tank, at least, there isn't for mine. What you DO pay is a deposit, in the same way as you will for bottles, obviuously more though. Can't remember whgat mine was, around €800 I think, but it could have been €400. When you leave the house/cancel the contract/sell up, they come and dig it up again, and you get your deposit back! On top of that is installation: there was little difference between above, or below ground for us, so we opted for below. It's buried in the garden, just a green manhole can be seen. Me and the wife and youngest son then dug out for pipework, laid it and back-filled, and my plumber did the connections. You need special pipe, a conduit for it, and a mesh to put 10cm above the pipe, before covering completely. We opted for a tank, as at the time, refill costs were lower than bottles, still are, I believe, per kg of gas. We now have part c/h on it too, the tank holds just over 1000kg, when full. Look in your local Pages Jaunes, or on www.pagesjaunes.fr, and give someone a ring for installation, tank deposit charges. Someone will come out and do a site survey, tell you where you can, and can't site the tank. It has to be a certain distance from the house, but reachable by the gas lorry delivery pipe. Alcazar

Be also aware that in France, a bed consists of THREE bits, head/foot, or combinationof the two, with sides, mattress, and a "sommier" or base to fix to the bed sides to support the mattress. We DIDN'T know this, and when our much waited-for bed arrived WITHOUT a sommier, I had to stop my wife from killing the store manager.[:D] Alcazar

Only that one doesn't make a summer[:D] Alcazar