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Deimos

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  1. I would not worry to much about the language.  My French is pretty poor and when I learnt (gliders) all the instructors refused to speak any English (although I subsequently discovered one did speak quite good English, they always made me speak/struggle with my French).  When I started they explained that the control tower would understand “Mayday” (implying that they would all have a good laugh when I tried that). People teaching/learning will generally be keen and enthusiastic and thus will make the effort to understand/be understood which is 90% of the battle.  If I can manage with my poor French then I expect most people can. Ian
  2. [quote user="Russethouse"]If I lost my child I'd want to know I had done everything possible to find out what had happened etc - would any of you feel differently ?  [/quote] I had the impression from the reports that Mr Al Fayed was not so much interested in finding out what happened but rather he had decided what happened and wanted the guilty parties (HRH and security services) found guilty.  I had the impression there was little enquiry on his part but rather trying to prove what he had concluded without evidence. But then maybe the papers presented his actions in an unfair light ? Ian
  3. MI6 agent working for HRH with a "contract" on his son.  Seems that Harrods now only has to prove that link and its all “sorted”. Ian
  4. http://newsbiscuit.com/article/2012-olympic-organisers-confident-of-fiasco-249 Something I found funny (and who knows how true). Ian
  5. Deimos

    cork

    I got one in Leroy Merlin last year (probably a different size but they had several sizes available).  In their section that does picture frames, posters, etc. Ian
  6. I have no idea about whether treatment day and travel day count in the 21 days.  In theory DEFRA might help but they are really only concerned about entry into UK rather than entry into France.  I have heard of one or two people trying to get answers from the French authorities (on different issues) and getting anywhere is “slow”.  You might try the Agriculture Section of the British Embassy in Paris.  Their phone number used to be +33 (144) 51 32 56.  A section might be a bit of a grand title as I suspect it is one or maybe two people who are not always at their desk.  However, when I have contacted them they have always been exceptionally helpful and they might be more knowledgeable re: the entry to France regs (or be able to get a quicker reply). Whilst I tend to only use about 3 or 4 different routes, my own dogs’ Pet Passports are checked more and more often now getting close to every time.  However, I have never used the tunnel so have no experience of procedures and practices there. [quote user="sweet 17"] Megan, I wish for all your sakes that I could be more positive.  But our experience is this:  it's not just the jab, there is the blood test and we were warned that the level has to be ridiculously high for the French authorities. [/quote] Blood tests are only required to re-enter UK (and a couple of other countries).  Thus the French do not worry about the antibody level other than the vets checking it conforms to the UK requirements when they fill-in that bit in a Pet Passport. Sorry I cannot be more help but do try the British Embassy in Paris as they might be able to provide a way forward. Ian
  7. It is very easy to make your own.  I made a load a couple of years ago – no up to club standard but great for a bit of practice in the garden. Keep your eye’s open with the Royal Canin 15 Kg sacks of food as occasionally they give away a short rigid tunnel as a “gift” (I have also seen these for sale relatively cheaply in Jardiland (occasionally). There is a book you can buy “How to build your own agility equipment” – which I found not very helpful.  Official heights and measurements of obstacles can be found http://www.dogsport.ru/zadmin_data/paragraph.file_en/629/IFCS_Rules_Revised_July_2002.doc or http://www.ukagility.com/Downloads/UKARegulations.pdf.  Of course you may be able to simplify your own ones if all your dogs are the same Class. Ian
  8. Some of what has emerged is at first appearance quite “disappointing”.  I see that the tax payer has to pay for Gordon Brown to have a Sky Sports subscription (why can he not pay for it himself ?).  And as for Prescott’s grocery bill – well I guess there is a obvious comment there. I can now appreciate why there was so much effort by some politicians to keep their expenses outside the Freedom of Information act.  It does seem good that these things are emerging as, although I’m sure we are only getting one side of the story (e.g. not the side that says that Brown’s Sky Sports subscription if only for visiting Heads of State or whatever), it probably will make MPs more careful and thus maybe more aware that their role is to represent their electorate rather than screw the system for every penny they can. Ian
  9. [quote user="Cathy"]Deimos - Thanks for that.  But presumably you always have to have the dog chipped?  It turns out the the dog that I am hoping to rescue is only tatooed.[/quote] You will need the dog microchipped.  However, there are special regulations that allow for rabies vaccinations for tattooed dogs to be “transferred” to the “microchip” (i.e. for French dogs who are tattoo their history under the tattoo can still be counted).  You will need the tattoo registration paperwork for this to be done (in theory anyway)  However, if the aims of your getting a Pet Passport are to visit the UK then your main delay will be the 6 months. You should get the animal microchipped a.s.a.p.  Get the vet to issue the Pet Passport at the same time as the microchip is done and get him/her to record the last rabies vaccination in the new Pet Passport (previous rabies blue or pink certificates will have the animal’s tattoo number so he can add this OK to the Pet Passport).  Depending on how long ago the last rabies vaccination was the vet might recommend another booster and then a blood sample after a month (can boost the anti-body levels and increase the chances of a successful blood test).  However, if you are planning a visit to the UK, make sure that the additional month delay does not mess-up your plans. Ian  
  10. [quote user="Clarkkent"][quote user="cooperlola"]Funny Csinc because in the UK my cats' passports were issued when they were chipped, but without the blood test bit filled in so they had the documents but could not travel.[/quote] You may be in possession of a passport, but it is not valid until the six months have passed. [/quote] The Pet Passport is valid when it is issued and its validity does not depend on a 6 month wait.  For travel within most of Europe you only have to wait a month (or so) after the rabies vaccination (but most dogs in France will have yearly rabies vaccinations so there is no delay because of this).  It is only to enter the UK (and a couple of other countries) you need the successful blood test and a 6 month wait.  This does not affect the Pet Passport validity for travel to other countries.   Also, the 6 month wait starts from the date the successfully tested blood sample was taken – so you do not have to worry about delays in the lab or getting paperwork back, etc. Ian
  11. In a general sense I hope that newspaper UK journalism does not become timid.  Ignoring the specifics of the McCanns, of course it is wrong to print lies and unfounded allegations but to take a few facts and try and draw a few conclusions (ideally presented as conclusions) is an important function of the press. One thing I have noticed over recent years is how scared the BBC news has become.  Unsure of the true cause – maybe the Hutton Enquiry or some of its various scraps with the government but these days it totally avoids controversial matters.  When something controversial is required (because of its importance) it is brief with no “questions” or related info, no investigation.  Compare the BBC to Channel 4 news and the BBC effectively looks like a department of government PR.  I often watch both BBC and Channel 4 early evening news and even when they are both half hour ones the difference is dramatic. What I think is important is that journalism remains investigative, questioning and prepared to pursue something even when it might backfire on them.   As far as the McCanns are concerned – they seek out publicity but get really uptight when what is written is not 100% positive about them and not 100% supportive.  I actually think the McCanns circumstances illustrate failing in UK journalism.  Portuguese reporters were prepared to actually investigate and question and found some very interesting (and not 100% McCann supporting) facts - real facts in terms of witness statements, conflicting reports, etc..  UK reporting was mostly all pro McCann and how they have done nothing wrong and supporting their sometimes questionable “facts”.  As soon as McCanns get something “they don’t like” its into court, threats, walking out of TV interviews, etc..  This is a general comment on the relationship between the McCanns and the press as I did not read the story that caused the latest thing. Personally I think there are some major questions about the McCanns involvement in this.  Maybe they are guilty maybe not but it would certainly appear they have been less than 100% honest and open with press (and thus presumably the Police as well).  even their own story conflicts with itself. Ian
  12. [quote user="Cat"]There are very, very few people, born in non-francophone countries, that have moved to live in France, that could ever pass for, or be accepted as, being French. [/quote] I am continually taken as a French person on the telephone (at least to begin with – but then they pick up the receiver, answer the call and I open my mouth …) Ian
  13. [quote user="Dick Smith"]Do you shoot as Jpg or RAW? [/quote] For my part: Both. If I’m just “messing around” with nothing serious then JPEG.  However, if there is any chance it might be something worthwhile then RAW.  My main aim in getting this dSLR was to blot it to my telescope and find out just how hard astrophotography really is.  I now have most of the adapters to bolt it on.  For non-solar system objects then RAW is essential as the stacking software apparently makes a complete mess with JPEGs. Ian
  14. [quote user="tenniswitch"]As to becoming tied to Photoshop for future editing, that's true only if you're saving in a Photoshop proprietary format.  You should not have a problem if you save your photos in .TIFF or .jpeg formats. [/quote] As I understand it Photoshop Lightroom has a “system” it uses when you make changes to a picture.  It does not modify the picture file itself but rather stores the changes you make as a sequence of operations – and these changes are stored in its own proprietary database.  Once you have made changes, if you reload the picture file at some point in the future the original image is loaded then the changes you made are fetched from the database and re-applied.  Thus, stop using Adobe Lightroom and you can get at your original file but not the work you put into improving them.  As I understand it this applies to both Adobe proprietary formats, RAW images and standards formatted images (i.e. everything.  I have read that this is a new feature in Lightroom. However, I am repeating what I have read in various reviews and publicity here as I do not have the package myself – I’m at the stage of considering which one to get. Ian
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