Liz

Thanks Will.  I did find it by the tried and trusted method of scrolling through recent posts! Liz

I think you have the answer to your question but, as I had never heard of Strong, I thought I'd look them up.  The result is at http://www.strong.sat.hu/product.php?selview=185  A language I don't even recognise and I am fascinated by the price - 14900 HUF apparently reduced to 14900 HUF!  If you go ahead with the purchase I hope the instructions will be in a language you can read.  For what it's worth we have had a number of FTA sat receivers and the instructions are always in English (well sort of).  The other thing that occured to me is whether you and your Dad want to connect to the same dish - if you do I think that might be the subject of another question. Liz

Same here, Ron.  But if I were to employ someone to negotiate I think I would prefer them to be able to spell the word. Liz

Thanks Val.  I felt sure there had been some info on the new ferry on the Forum which is why I did a search!  Bit of a waste of time. Liz

I've just had a message from Brittany Ferries about their new boat Roscoff/Plymouth from April.  It sounds very small and it doesn't look to be cutting edge ferry design - no reclining seats for one thing!  I hope not a return to the bad old days of the Quiberon.  Does anyone know anything about it? BTW I did a search for Pont l'Abbé on the Forum.  It came up with 2 posts about kids selling goods as part of their commercial BAC - fascinating  but hardly relevant. Liz

Thanks for that.  I have just had a look and it is there. I think it goes down on the report card as 'Alice could do better'.  It seems that in order to check that I am not going over my 20 hours outside 5h/17h I have to add up the all the times shown on page 2.  Doh!     Liz (29)    

[quote user="Opel Fruit"] There are either manual or automatic VMCs. The cheaper manual ones (40-50 Euros) come with just a speed control switch. The general idea is that they are controlled by a light or a seperate on/off switch somewhere. They shouldn't be running 24/7, but often are where there has been a damp problem. The other type, which are about 15-20 Euros dearer have a Hygrostat in them that detects moisture. The VMC thus switches on and off according to the level of moisture in the air at ANY of the inlet ports. These usually come with speed switch too, which allows variation in extraction power. [/quote] Opel Fruit, I am curious about this.  I am sure what we have is the cheaper kind and I can distinctly remember that the instructions said that it must be hard wired with no means of turning it off.  There is only the speed control switch.  I thought that was the point of the VMC, it works all the time with a boost if, for example, you want to clear the bathroom after a shower.  In fact we put ours through a time switch so that it is not on all night and were conscious that it probably contavened the regs.  Have they changed the regs? Liz (29)

Just in case Bill's gone off conquering try http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/ and put in 'bennes location' and Department 50. Liz (29)

I am afraid I think this tippng lark is crazy.  These are puplic employees doing their jobs for which they get paid.  Fair enough if they 'sell' you a calendar or if they have performed some exceptional service (in which case I would give the tip at the time) but I certainly do not go out of my way to find  the postman etc. at this time of the year. Liz (29)

I have the same suspicion as you regarding ADSL, Levington.  Anyway I am glad to see that the consumption info may have returned, I've been looking for that and will now have another go.  I too have e-mailed with no reply.  We wait and see I suppose.  How I detest that smirking young woman in her underwear, or is it what we used to call, a frock? Liz (29)

It's so much quicker.  I've got to Page 5 on this topic in very reasonable time, before I never used to bother to look at anything beyond page 2, it took so long.  I used to like being able to hover over a topic and get the first few lines, I see someone else has mentioned this.  Any chance in getting that back? Liz (29)

I agree, It is very small and in parts very faint, I have eye strain already.  Someone said that you can alter settings by going into Settings but all I can find is some stuff about Blogs.  Could someone please tell me how I can alter this? Liz (29)

[quote]Thanks for all help regarding RIB, knowing what words are and knowing what they actually mean is not always the same thing, being a new home owner I am just beginning to build on my campsite french. ...[/quote] I hope you're right but I can see a code on my RIB that isn't on my bank statement.  Generally if someone says they want an RIB that's what they want and no room for compromise (this is France ) and you won't get whatever you send returned to you either. I once had to come all the way home to get an RIB because I had used up all there were in the cheque book and hadn't thought to carry spares. Liz (29)

[quote]Hi All,I have read every post I could find about the merits (or otherwise) of steel frames versus wood for stud walls. Rigidity seems to be the main issue, so I still cant make up my mind which to use...[/quote] I think you will be surprised how rigid the metal stuff is once it is all in place with the plasterboard fixed.  It seems very flimsy as individual pieces but in the end it is all very firm and I doubt if anyone could tell whether you had used wood or metal when it is all done. Never tried adhesive but self tappers are pretty easy to fix, we do put in a tiny pilot hole.  Door frames will fit round the uprights + board.  It is all so simple even a woman can do it Liz (29)

I agree.  There were many parallels, including the company owner who said she must really make the effort to improve her English.  I was also intrigued by the woman who had been in England for 20 years and, although she spoke English very well, still had a marked french accent whereas her husband could almost have been mistaken for a native speaker.  It makes a change, after so many programmes and articles about British living in France, to have the other point of view. Liz (29)

Being in the far (wild) west this is passing over now.  For details take a look at http://www.meteofrance.com/FR/index.jsp and click on the little map of France on the right hand side titled 'Vigilance Meteo'.  Gusts of 165 Km/h recorded at the Pointe du Raz this morning! Liz (29)

If you deal direct with a french owner or agency I think you will find that they will treat the payments as you have described, 25% deposit and the balance on arrival.  AFAIK that as the law.  If you book with a UK agency they will almost certainly take the payments in the British fashion, ie a percentage deposit, not usually as high as 25% and the balance some weeks before arrival.  You will probably also find that somewhere in the small print it will say that the contract is governed by English law.  I am not at all surprised that you know of owners (British I assume) that do things the 'British' way maybe for convenience or maybe because they were not aware of the French law. Liz (29)

[quote]Anybody any ideas about how easy it is to install a bathroom extractor fan. Electrics is no problem, it’s making the hole in the external wall I’m more concerned about. Does one just set about the w...[/quote] I know what my OH does.  Put through a pilot hole at the centre of the circle.  Then daisy chain drill around the circle.  Then hack out with a chisel and swear a lot . Perhaps someone can come up with a better method! Liz (29)

You need to contact CDI Non Residents, 9 Rue d'Uzes, 75094 Paris Cedex.  It's a while since I had anything to do with them so I hope this is still current, they may even have a web site by now.  I don't know what the level at which you start paying tax is but there certainly is one, but you have to declare anyway. I think the cheques you mean are Cheques Emploi and that is the limit of my knowledge!  They do get a mention from time to time and you could try a trawl through the Gite owners section. Liz (29)

I'm no expert but since when did that stop anyone replying to posts on the Forum?  You don't say when but my impression this is now, so very low season. For a place sleeping 10 it doesn't sound too bad to me particularly if everything is included.  A lot depends on the location, if it is a particularly touristy spot it wil attract a high price.  If the dishwasher doesn't work and the owner is nearby why don't they get it fixed or negociate a reduction?  Surely they knew there was no TV before they booked?  You could have a look at the Gites de France web site to get a sample of prices although many owners don't open up in the winter. Liz (29)

[quote]The only person who seemed to have an idea of how things work in france was the Parisian chef and he was working himself into the ground, poor man. I felt sorry for the woman in Normandy. She felt th...[/quote] I do agree about the camp site situation, Mistral.  There was something missing that we were not told. OK so Mme le Maire didn't have a budget but somebody does, most villages are very keen to advertise what they have on offer in the way of Commerces etc.   I too wondered about the kids, they must have gone to the village school and the local College surely? As for the restaurant man and the young woman in Normandy I could only hope that a number of people who ask questions on this Forum have taken careful note.  The problems of a very small businesses were very well illustrated I thought. Equally the isolation of women with small children and very little command of the language, possibly expecting all their rural neighbours to fall over with enthusiasm to make friends, was well shown. Liz (29)  

[quote]Hi all Can anyone reccomend how we should finish our newly laid floorboards? Do we stain them first then clear varnish or is there a stain & varnish product like we have in the UK? We looked in...[/quote] You could try vitrificateur parquet which is a (usually polyurethane) varnish specially for floors.  You can get transparent or tinted and in gloss, satin and wax (cire) effects.  We used transparent 'cire' on average quality, light coloured floor boards and were very pleased with the effect.  The trick with this is not to expect to be able to put down one coat or even 2 (it might have worked on Changing Rooms but it doesn't in practice!) but at least 3, sanding between coats.  There are lots of different makes widely available in the DIY shops. Liz (29)

[quote]Evening all, just a quicky, can anyone tell me the french for the metal rails and uprights that are used for stud walls, and a vague price compared too wood? Cheers[/quote] I am not sure if this is what you meant but the price of rails is about 2€15 and montants are 2€25 to 2€70  depending on length, according to the BricoDepot catalogue. Liz (29)

[quote]Evening all, just a quicky, can anyone tell me the french for the metal rails and uprights that are used for stud walls, and a vague price compared too wood? Cheers[/quote] I am not sure if this is what you meant but the price of rails is about 2€15 and montants are 2€25 to 2€70  depending on length, according to the BricoDepot catalogue. Liz (29)

How fascinating.  I am surprised that our Department has such a high figure at 129 when it always seems to me very rural and quiet.  No vast areas that have no population at all I suppose. I have been collecting car numbers (a silly childish pastime), starting at 01 and I got stuck on 11 for months until a couple of days ago.  Now I see why, not many there and they certainly don't get about much .  Liz (29)