Linnorton

You can order raclette cheese on the internet for UK delivery.  Can't remember who from but I was in the same situation and did an internet search and a couple of companies came up.  Alternatively get someone to bring you some over.  At the moment I've got orders for goats cheese and raclette cheese to take back on Monday but as I'm travelling by boat and train I might be a bit whiffy by the time I get to destination!

Thanks for that, I'm booked on it on Monday.  Now going to try and change but have got a rail ticket booked and may have trouble changing that.  I didn't think I could get more fed-up with BF but I was wrong.

Not hours on the phone, hours on the internet.  Just had to pay £30 for a single foot passenger fare (an increase of £7 on last month).  If I'd booked on BF French site it would have been 56 euros.  At the same time for 86 euros, I've booked a 3 day return from Le Havre for husband, myself and car. A complete no-brainer.  I'm beginning to think BF have got a death wish.  They certainly don't seem to want the business.

I've been told that there is a French registered LPG installer in South Manche whose work is very good.  Does anyone know who he is? A friend wants to contact but the person who told us about him is on holiday and we don't know his name.

Only in my wildest dreams do I allow myself to imagine Stena running from Southampton to Cherbourg again.  The brilliant restaurant, the excellent shopping opportunities, great disco. The quiz, bingo and cabaret on the afternoon sailings. The 30 minute shorter journey from the West Midlands. I know the ship is running Cherbourg to Ireland now but I dream of it being brought back.  I was very fond of the Stena Normandy, or St. Nicolaas as it was when it was on the Harwich-Hook route. The perfect ferry in my opinion.

Will, can I ask how they compare in size with the sister ships operating Holyhead-Dublin and Harwich to the Hook? They always seem bigger to me than any other fastcraft that I've used.

Thanks for that info, very informative.  Is this the boat they went all the way to Tasmania to collect?  I thought it was supposed to be the biggest fastcraft in the Channel but doesn't sound as if it's any bigger than the Condor one.  I'll be using it as a foot passenger but having been to Cherbourg airport yesterday, it's a real shame Flybe probably won't continue there.  So quiet and troublefree, it was like going back in time.

I'm trying to find out if gite owners find it worthwhile to have their websites available in languages other than English.  With a random search I can't find many English hosting sites that offer other language options but a search in French or Dutch does bring up multi-language sites. Is it worthwhile? Any opinions gratefully received.

[quote]Many of the cheap flowers you buy in shops and more importantly supermarkets come from Africa, the ethics of this is very suspect when you take into consideration the damage that this causes to the la...[/quote] Don't know what the Dutch think about African grown flowers but guess it's much the same as African market gardeners think about the Dutch dumping their second grade vegetables on the African market, effectively ruining the market for traditional growers.  Add food and flower miles into the equation and nothing makes sense to me.

I think that when you add up the fares for both Condor and Brittany ferries for what are only long weekend tickets, they are not cheap.  Certainly wouldn't expect any operator, including Speedferries to do the Western Channel routes for the same price as Dover-Boulogne, that would be stupid.  However, I think a better price than £550 for a two-week return in Summer should be achievable.  I know if I was booking a Summer holiday in France this year, I would travel Dover-Calais or Boulogne, factor in a couple of nights in an hotel and still be quids in. It's hard luck for those areas served by Brittany Ferries that won't get as many Engish holidaymakers this year. 

Good.  I hope that P&O have lost loads of money due to the berth damage.  They're certainly trying to make up for it with their latest fare offererings.  Exactly mirroring Speedferries in the hope of seeing them off.  I heard a rumour and it is only a rumour that Speedferries are looking for a couple of ships for the Western Channel.  May not be true but it's something to dream about.  Speedferries or Stelios, I don't mind.

What current trading conditions are they then?Oh, of course, the ones BF have created with sky-high prices.  Came over as a foot passenger on the Val de Loire yesterday ( no more car for me at those prices).  They carried 14 cars, 3 trucks and about 15 foot passengers and that ship is massive.  I was talking to someone who had travelled Dover-Calais last weekend and he reckoned Dover Docks were heaving with travellers. You pay your money and makes your choice.

Yep, that's the one, from the description I have.  I'll let you know about tonight but not before 1st March because I'm off to UK tomorrow and can't post on the Forum.  In England I will be mainly eating bought sandwiches and chill-cook microwaveable stuff that all tastes the same, whilst working a twelve hour day.  Poor me.

Yes, I saw on the Tartiflette cheese wrapper that white wine should be added but lacked the confidence to put it in.  Will do next time.  Love raclette as well when it's kept simple, new spuds, cheese, gherkins and good dry white wine.  Got a brilliant recipe for a leg of lamb marinaded for 2 days in red wine, though preferably the lees should be used and you make a fresh pineapple compote to go with it.  That's from a recipe book called the Meres of France, as in Mere Poulard and omlettes.  Making myself feel hungry.

Thank you all for the recommendations. We're going to the Maritza tonight and will try the others soon.  There is a restaurant in Cherbourg that I think is great, simple. limited choice but assured cooking and a good selections of wine by the glass. The proprietaire will suggest a glass of wine to go with the meal. I love it because it's so foody but not pretentious which is what I was hoping for in France but rarely find. The  only problem is I know where it is but not what it is called. Perhaps those of us in the Cotentin peninsula can find a way of storing restaurant recommendations.  I would agree that we can all probably cook better than a lot of the restaurants locally. My tartiflette is great and I got the recipe from the River Cottage cookbook. There is apparently a wonderful restaurant in Isigny but I'm waiting to find out the name from a French friend.

I'm always asked for my passport when using my debit card in Leclerc at Carentan but they rarely ask for it in the branch in Coutances.  I've never had the card rejected though.  Champion never ask for my passport so I tend to shop there.

Having endured one of the worst meals ever in Carentan last Friday night, has anyone got recommendations for restaurants in the Carentan area?  The Hotel is ok and I believe the Auberge is good but pricey but is there anything else?  I'm fed up with being served stuff that's a cross between school dinners and canteen fare and we eat out less and less.

I have no strong feelings either way about rough shooting but do wonder what the rules and regs are in France. A friend has been approached by the local chasse who want to shoot over his recently acquired land next Sunday, the quarry apparently is foxes.  The land consists of lake, woods and field and there are old "reserve" signs around.  Shooting rights weren't mentioned by the notaire at any stage.  What is the situation legally?  My friend has said they can shoot next weekend but that he will be present to observe. He's put up fencing where required, taken out insurance and erected "Defence d'entree" signs as requested by the insurance company.

Thanks for that, will try both.

Does anyone know a dredging company in Manche?  We need to have the silt sucked up from the bottom of a 2 acre lake. Must admit I don't know what to look for in the Yellow Pages.  We're also in deed of a punt and have no idea where to start looking for one. Would be eternally grateful if anyone can point us in the right direction.

It's one of two things. Either you have moved it and it doesn't like the new situation; they are best in light but not direct sunlight or you have overwatered it.  

The BB motel chain have a place at Bolougne if you want bog-standard and very reasonable.  Think a 4 bed family room with mezzanine and shower room is about 32 euros and the breakfast buffet is good value. They have a website and you can phone a central number in Paris to make the booking.

You're absolutely right of course. I can remember having scant sympathy in the 70's for commuter owners of Essex 4 bed detached houses who sold up and bought rambling piles in Norfolk for the same money and then whinged like mad everytime their train fares into London went up.  I think though that the main objection to Brittany Ferries having a monopoly on the Western Channel routes is in the potential for abuse that exists. This is a company that does not publish fares and who will only quote for a specific journey on a specific day. I consider their current advertising in the UK press to be misleading and the small print is very small indeed. I wouldn't expect to go into Tesco's and have to interrogate a computer to obtain a fluctuating price for each item I was thinking of purchasing. I'm all in favour of company transparency these days, it reduces the potential for suspicion and mistrust. At the moment I'm afraid I don't trust Brittany Ferries and I'm not certain they fully comprehend their marketplace.

I've just had a look at the Competition Commissions website and it's perfectly possible to make a third party submission against the merger.  One gentleman who commutes weekly from Reading to Cherbourg has stated his case and I will certainly be adding mine.  Those of us affected can grumble like mad but I do think that unless we put pen to paper we will just have to put up with fares that by my reckoning look like doubling this year.    

Have just been speaking to a friend and she too will cross via Le Havre for as long as it runs.  It's not really an option for me and it is easy enough for me to leave a car in the uk.  What would be really helpful would be to locate cheap parking in Poole or Portsmouth so that I could avoid using the train.  Fares from Stafford to Poole/Portsmouth have gone up from £57 return to £71 in just over a year. Perhaps we should be trying to get a coach company to run Normandy to England once a week.  Have a feeling doing it that way could be cheaper even for foot passengers.