Clarkkent

French are rudest, most boring people on earth: British poll LONDON (AFP) - The French have been voted the world's most unfriendly nation by a landslide in a new British poll published. They were also voted the most boring and most ungenerous. A decisive 46 percent of the 6,000 people surveyed by travellers' website Where Are You Now (WAYN) said the French were the most unfriendly nation people on the planet, British newspapers reported. The Germans have no to reason to celebrate the damning verdict. They came second on all three counts. French founder, Jerome Touze, told the papers he had been stunned by the thumping condemnation of his compatriots and sought to blame it on Gallic love-struck sulking. "I had no idea that the French would emerge as such an unfriendly country," he said. "I think our romantic 'moodiness' is misunderstood and I will be sure to pass on the message to my family and friends back in France to be a bit more cheerful to tourists in the future." Italy was voted the world's most cultured nation with the best cuisine, while the United States was named the most unstylish with the worst food. The British did not feature in the top 10 of any of the categories. "The British fit in nowhere -- good or bad. It appears that we are so completely average that the voters did not include us in any category," the tabloid Daily Express commented. "And to our shame, four percent of respondents -- all British of course -- said they would only talk to other Britons when they are abroad." This unwillingness to talk to the locals appears to go hand in hand with respondents' perceptions of foreigners. While most said Spain was the foreign country where they would most like to live, they said the Spaniards were nearly as unfriendly and ungenerous as the French. To add insult to injury, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph put the boot in on Saturday by saying in an editorial that the French stank. "The French may like to think that Chanel No 5 is their scent but we all know that garlic and stale Gitanes are much more representative." ....... But is it true?

Alcazar's route is fine. If you want a longer rest between England and France and you are not too fussy about the sea journey you could try Newhaven - Dieppe. The route in France is over 100 miles shorter. You follow Alcazar's itinerary from Rouen, which is only about 35 miles from Dieppe. The English part of the journey is about 30 miles shorter.

There's a firm in Staffordshire - can't remember the name - well known for dealing with quality LHD cars and taking your RHDs part-ex. May save a lot of aggro, then re-register when you get over here. One word of caution. I do know someone who bought a French registered car from this firm. Nothing wrong with the car or the service he received, but there were problems with transfer of ownership and registration in a new department and the car had to be taken to Calais for a new controle technique.

The problem with the Vatican is that it has one foot in eternity and therefore moves slowly. Pope Benedict (or Benoit depending on which side of the Channel you are) is an old man and will not live forever. However, KKK, he has already stated that condoms may be used "to prevent transmitting disease" - which is a very significant step indeed. Perhaps he may just open the door to modernisation sufficiently for his successor to be effective. Incidentally - celibate priests: I was always told (during the indoctrination which accompanied my childhood) that priests didn't marry so that they could devote all their energy to their flock. However, I believe that it was introduced to prevent priests passing church property to their offspring! Anyone remember about 25 years ago, the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris dropped dead in a brothel? It was put about that he had been there ministering to fallen women. I wonder?

... waiting for the Purley Gates to open ... So now we know. Heaven is just south of Croydon. No wonder religion is no longer popular. I suppose I call myself a "cultural christian" ... for the most part the basic values of christianity have shaped the nature of European culture and I find this congenial. However, the continued obsession of the old men of the Vatican with the sex they (officially) deny themselves means that they have driven a wedge between themselves and the people they regard as their flock. The heartland of the Roman Catholic Church now is South America. If it wants to be seen as relevant to Western Europe it has a lot of work to do - and quickly.

An alternative way of getting a print of the photo is to press PrtSc (top right of PC keyboard). This will put an image onto the clipboard. Open a photo editor (or even Word) and click on Paste. You will then have a file you can save.

The shoreside operation, particularly at Newhaven, is amateurish to the point of having a certain charm. I couldn't have put it better. You used to be able to get off the ferry straight on to the train. Cars are now loaded from the old passenger terminal beyond the railway station on the east side of the railway line. One therefore has to drive across the tracks in order to board. Vehicles exit through the old vehicle terminal - which is fine. There is no footbridge onto the ships and foot passengers have to walk along the car ramp to board and leave the ship. But the railway station is just a few yards away. The Cote d'Albatre is quite acceptable but the Dieppe is not.

Dick I used this service over Easter. A few comments: Timekeeping seems to be a problem. We were 30 mins late leaving on the outward journey, 2 hours late on the return. One of the ships used then was fine, the other an aging rustbucket. Cabins seem to be available for (I think) £25 - you apply at the Enquiry Desk. But who needs a cabin on a 4 hour crossing? As far as ports go, Dieppe is fine but Newhaven is the a******* of England. HOWEVER From my perspective the important thing is transportation from England to France at a reasonable price. On this criterion, TF beats BF hands down. Having ships decked out like mini liners is just a further excuse to empty passengers' wallets while they are trapped in a floating prison. For booking try Aferryto.com - but I suspect they add a booking charge.

Does anyone actually iron sheets??????????? Actually, I do. I discovered that ironed sheets take up less space. Not so good with fitted ones, though. Did think of ironing them in situ on the mattress (was it Teamedup who introduced that idea?) but the flex wasn't long enough! Is ironing the new democracy?

It could be advantageous for people to approach their own car insurers and ask if they can provide the equivalent of AA 5 Star as an extension to their normal cover. My insurance includes such cover at a cost which is very much lower than normal retail rates.

I suspect you may pleasantly surprised. My bills are usually estimated. I visited my maison secondaire at Easter, noted the meter reading when I locked up and sent a note to the local EDF office with the reading. Yesterday I received an amended bill containing a refund of Euro38

Dick I was neither demonising nor sanctifying Haig, merely answering a question which had been asked in a previous post.

Butcher Haig. The following is from Wikipedia - it sums it up as well I could. "He directed several British campaigns, including the British offensive at the Somme, in which the forces under his command sustained over 500,000 casualties taking little ground but inflicting casualties on the German army it could not afford and the campaign at Passchendaele (3rd Battle of Ypres). Haig's tactics in these battles are still controversial to this day, with many, including the then Prime Minister, Lloyd George, arguing that he incurred unnecessarily large casualties for little tactical gain." When I think of the waste - in every respect - that was WW1, I want to weep. But I thank God that later much of the world had the moral courage to stand up to Hitler. But Haig then went on to campaign tirelessly for for the well-being of ex-servicemen in such organisations as the British Legion. When he died he was greatly mourned. I believe he was in Alan Clark's mind when he coined the term "lions led by donkeys".

10% of 79,049 is 7,905 (to the nearest whole number). 790 is 1% of 79,049. What can we accept? Even simple arithmetic appears faulty! ......................................... Free the St Malo 1

Could it have been the Chapelle des Templiers, at Cressac, near Blanzac, in Charente?

I returned yesterday. People waiting to board told me about the cancellation the day before. The TMF computer system appears to be very slow and this is the reason for slow progress at check-in. After each click of the mouse the poor girl had to wait ages for a response to appear on the screen. The return ship was a very strange looking vessel called the "Dieppe". It was clean but obviously not in the first flush of youth. Judging by some of the signage it has spent its earlier life in the Baltic. It seemed to take a very long time to empty it of its arriving vehicles and we boarded it about an hour and a half late. It should have arrived at Newhaven at 15.30, I drove off at 17.20, straight into the Brighton area rush hour. Fortunately, the M25 was fluid except for some congestion around Heathrow. But I still arrived home too late to engage in a planned social activity. Would I use the service again? For all its problems it is cheap. If I can save £200 on BF prices then I can put up with its idiosyncracies. Two moans though: My ticket showed a price of £30 - the agent, AFerryTo charged me £41. Was there really an agent's markup of over 33%? The port of Newhaven is disgusting. What sort of welcome is this decaying, dirty, squalid dump to visitors to England?

If this is true (why should I not believe it?) then it will be due to fragile egos being bruised. After all, Miki has been engaged in a spirited dispute with one of the moderators. If I recall correctly, the moderator involved did not like his ignorance of conditions in Britain being challenged by those who may be better informed. Miki is a useful counterweight to the "France is Fairyland" brigade. Lift this silly ban.

Opus Dei was 2Oth century too, I thought what Dick was alluding to but didn't mention by name were the Knights Templar , they were given a mention in the Brown book too if I remember. Dick's earlier posting ... "Opus Dei or New World Order" ... Whether or not I approve of it, Opus Dei is an organisation which enjoys legitimacy within the Roman Catholic Church. It is not concerned with any secret bloodline. On the other hand, "Priory of Sion" is a hoax organisation supposedly guarding this great secret. That Jesus did not die on the cross is, I believe, a standard belief of Islam. The Australian authority is hardly earth shattering. Thank you, SB, for bringing some reason into this dispute.

I'm merely correcting an error which seems to have crept in here. The questionable organisation is not Opus Dei but the Priory of Sion. The Priory of Sion has not existed for centuries but is a hoax dating back to the 1950s or so and has been acknowledged as such by its "founder". The majority of the so-called historical evidence for both Brown's execrable folly and the earlier Holy Blood and Holy Grail is 20th Century Fiction.

Yes, couldn't agree more. I enjoyed the first book but "Angels and Demons" (which is a prequal) was much much more gripping. Are you certain you don't mean "griping"? Almost identical "plot" and most ridiculous escape from certain death ever.

she then went to the UK to do a post grad vocational course and was treated as a foreign student, Many vocational postgraduate courses in English universities are provided in an open market. The university charges what it likes (ie what it thinks it can get away with) and may treat overseas students as cash cows. Such fees may be an important part of the university's revenue.

First time I’ve travelled between Newhaven and Dieppe for years. This was always my favourite sea route because it reduced my driving distance in both England and France compared with Dover and the crossing time was bearable. I also loved the entry into Dieppe, tying up practically in the main street. (Of course, that has now gone and we do at least have an easier access and exit from the port.) Impressions – based on outward journey only: Ship – Côte d’Alabâtre is quite a nice ship. Admittedly it was by no means full, but it was clean and comfortable with lots of circulation space. Food and drink costs were quite reasonable. Main negative was absence of Bombay Sapphire in shop. Port – Newhaven was, and remains, the armpit (polite version) of England. Access for cars is now through the old foot passenger terminal down beyond the railway station. I had prebooked and had to collect my ticket from the terminal sales desk where there was a long queue waiting for service with only two people working there. Several people joined after me. Each person in the queue seem to take about five minutes to be served and departure time came perilously close. Just before my turn, an official appeared and asked if there were any car drivers in the queue – about half a dozen of us put our hands up. My time at the desk – collecting my ticket – took about 20 seconds! It then took another 20 minutes to board the ship. Crossing – Ship left 35 minutes late but arrived in Dieppe on time, crossing time only about 3 hours. We even slowed down before entering the port to allow the other TML ship to depart. The fare was £41 in each direction booked through Aferryto.com. The crossing was pleasant and calm. P***-ups in breweries comes to mind about the organisation at Newhaven, but although this was annoying – you can’t expect Dover or Portsmouth slickness everywhere – the overall impression was fine. I’d do it again because I,m here in france.

Dual nationality is permitted in both UK and French nationality law.

Have I got this right? You have a business in the UK. This business will be your source of income even though you intend to live in France. You are seeking finance in the form of a mortgage in order to buy your French house. If this is the case (and I apologise if it is not) I think you need to seek advice from someone other than the amateurs on this site. I am always worried when people with a UK income want a French mortgage because French interest rates are lower. You have to add the complications of exchange rate fluctuation - movements in the wrong direction has sent many people back to the UK - and the continued cost of servicing a loan in a different currency. Get professional advice.

When I bought, 12 years ago, I told the immobilier that I would find it difficult to lay my hands on a 10% deposit (which would have been about £3000). We agreed on about £800. 10% is just the conventional amount. If you have a problem with this and you are clearly a determined buyer then I don't think you will find it difficult to agree a lower amount.