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A_Redman

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Everything posted by A_Redman

  1. LAST EDITED ON 19-Aug-04 AT 10:10 PM (BST) I believe the standard French is Toilet Asiatique. I have met them in most of the Middle East. Richard Burton (explorer not ex Elizabeth Taylor) described rather casually killing a Moslem who observed him urinating standing up (which marked him as an unbeliever) during his journey towards Mecca. They atleast gets round the problem of covers for loo seats (see recent posting).
  2. >Do french builders normally skim plasterboard stud walls? I've been told that they don't always bother, and just tape & paint - seems a bit rough, can anybody confirm or deny? > >cheers, >Matt P If tape and paint is done well and the stud work was good the finish can be very good indeed / as good as plaster skim
  3. I believe the main FTA channels which you can pick up with out a card, and therefore using a Lidl digital receiver are : BBC1, BBC2, BBC3 BBC4, Sky News(501), Euro News, The Horror Movie Channel , and a good selection of Radio including Classic FM all national BBC radio except 5 live, . TCM, C4 C5 and ITV now needs a card and therefore a SKY digibox. You can source a four way head which essentially gives you the equivalent of four LNBs for Sky dishes through SATCURE and other UK companies but unless you already have an aligned SKY dish it is probably easier and cheaper to install separate Lidl dishes. The digibox / receiver sends instructions to the LNB to there is no equivalent of a 'Y' devider which you could use with a normal TV ariel.
  4. We run the smallest size sky mini dish just South of Limoges with a 25 metre cable. We loose the signal during violent thunderstorms but not during heavy rain. The SKY 60 cm dish is about equivalent to a 80 cm normal French dish for receiving SKY. My experience of a number of SKY alignments is that provided you get signal quality above half way on the on screen meter then it works perfectly in France. Larger French purchased dishes seem harder to align. The last UK purchased dish and LNB which I set up for a friend did not even have a start point for skew alignment My sole experience of French digital set up was that the onscreen meter responded faster than SKY and as a consequnce set up was easier and much faster.
  5. We currrently have three phone points run from our single French line. Only tricky point was that the point French Telecom connect is labelled 'Tester' amd if this is in use none of the oter points work. The system was wired in be an indepedant French sub contrator who checked the wiring on the two extensions I had wired in ( all 8 wires ) BUT for a single line you only need pins one and three connected and this is all F T connected. I have not found any French equivalent of UK REM number which is a figure for the maximum number of bells, lights , answering machines and phones etc, that you can wire to a single line but ours is OK with two phones and a PC modem.
  6. Friends recent purchase looks very stylish 1930s, Is actually 1870. The only thing which gives away neighbours new house is that it is too true. If you want beams be prepared for a lot of very hard work to put in ceilings which are clean and dust proof.
  7. >I have only just found that promise to me last year that I could keep my card and continue to get all the usual BBC and >ITV freebies after one year of subscription. If you have ceased to pay and have one of the new cards you should still recieve ITV1, C4 and C5 etc. The cheapest cards for these if you have an old card is I believe Punjab Tv which is 72 per year to a UK address. Do a searcgh in this forum and you should find the details. The US sports channel is amore plausable alternative.
  8. Have you Emailed them to ask them why ? When they book have you E mailed to say the no show charge is say 80 % of the room rate as this represents a resonable estimate of your losses thru turning down other bookings ? My broad experience of doing business with Americans is once you accept that we do not speak the same language they are no better or worse than the rest of humanity.
  9. Depends on the exact wording of the Compris in some contractds return of the deposit plus the same again is taken as 'liquidated damages' and the vedors resposibilities end.
  10. BBC 1, BBC2, BBC 3 & BBC 4, CBBC currently the Horror Channel, loads of UK Radio. Money well spent if you can get the dish set up
  11. As of Tuesday evening supermarket price Euro 0.84 a litre, worse case Autoroute Euro 0.94. Longterm French fiscal policy is energy harmonisation therefore diesel wil rise in price faster than petrol. Unless you drice less than KM 12000 per year buy deisel
  12. Pro & Cie how have on offer a dish which enables you to mount three LNBs on the dish. Total cost is similar to SKY mini dish plus second good quality dish so only really of use if you have limited space for the dish. Did not investigate further as Friend wanted to reuse existing Co Ax conduit run and I did not facing coping with a splitter set up. Has any body else tried it ?
  13. The first phone point which FT supply is now marked 'Tester' and if a phone is plugged into it then the other extention will not work. The solution is to wire in a 'phone socket next to the tester socket. Found out the hard way as I had wired in four extentions before I decorated the house and finally had 'phone installed
  14. >1. Is it standard practice for the notaire or immobilier to arrange continuation of the water and electricity supplies or do I need to do this myself? Normally need to do it yourself as you need to sign new contracts and supply billing details. Moght get help from one of the more expensive hand holding agencies. >2. Can I expect the fosse septique to have been emptied? No > 3. Can I expect to receive the keys on day of signing or is it usual for a further period to elapse? We were given ours at the signing of the Acte. I would be worried if I didi not receive them then and there
  15. LAST EDITED ON 13-May-04 AT 04:42 PM (BST) It sounds about normal to me. If the water that is draining out clean then should not be a problem. Try search on 'fosse' for more descriptions/advice. If they are functioning correctly then you cannot tell the diffrence between them and mains drains.
  16. >Can someone please tell me, if this is the case, why one would go through the process of registering in France. No annual car license tax in France Do not have to ship the car back once a year for the MOT Legal requirement to register within 3 or 6 months ? of permenant importattion Would want confirmation in writing of insurance position from company not simple call to call centre.
  17. > Eventually, Procureur made all four of us (builder and girlfriend, me and my, also male, partner - you decide if this is relevant) sign an attestation that all intimidation and violence would stop. If you signed an attestation contact the procureur (I am sure that is not the correct word but it is so close to the correct word that has driven the right word out of my vocablary) and attest that he has broken the terms of the injunction. Have a look at the bills for seret numbers, check that these are correct and have been used for the correct trade (there are links on this site for doing so) If they are correct speak to the local chambre de metiers and ask for arbitration. If they are false denounce him to the local tax office. Suggest you also ask forum users who have had difficulties with builders to Email you with the names and addresses and descriptions of the English builders they have problems with. The late Barry Bucknell used to present a programm an excellent DIY show on BBC TV. There used to be a number of postings about a called builder who shared similar initials.
  18. Assuming you are a UK citizen with full right of abode in the UK. The French Embassy in UK web site confirms that you only need a passport or other proof of identity valid for the duration of your trip. A friend's daughter entered France this March on a psaaport which expired the following day. Post Scweghen I cannot remmebr having anything more than the photo checked on mine in France. I would not fancy running a paspsort that tight outside mainland Europe but I donot thinkyou have a problem. Link below gives chapter and verse of France. http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/asp/service.asp?SERVID=101&LNG=en&PAGID=169
  19. Our first cards (Banque Tarneud now part of Credit du Nord)had to be collected all the replacements have been sent to our UK address.
  20. A couple of links http://www.best-of-perigord.tm.fr/sites/jardins/jardi_fr.html http://www.lacharente.com/nd/jardins.html
  21. A_Redman

    Lyme Disease

    Only about 200 cases a year in the UK so you would be unlikely to Emeet anybody on the forum who had experience of it. Sites below mostly reassuring http://www.amm.co.uk/pubs/fa_lyme.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/376539.stm http://vie.dis.strath.ac.uk/vie/LymeEU/
  22. LAST EDITED ON 22-Apr-04 AT 02:58 PM (BST) LAST EDITED ON 22-Apr-04 AT 02:57PM (BST) Disclaimer I have visited the gite below but actually ended up staying at friends of theirs as they had family down the October week we wanted. We also looked at some of the other properties with French Connections in the area and all looked OK from the outside. If the link is cut as advertising ( all be it solicited) the third site which you get on searching for Gite Rochechouart on Google was the agency we checked out. http://www.frenchconnections.co.uk/accom/145.html regards Anton
  23. Wages of Fear was in HMV at under 10 last week.
  24. At first sight I thought you would be hit for 10% import duty and 19.6% TVA ( 31.56% in total) but French Embassy site in US lists an exemption for people moving permanently to France. Likely compliance issues: The speedometer may not have any kilometre markings meaning either a new Speedo or dismantling and a new card putting in. European taillight colours are amber for turn indicators and red for brake and rear lights therefore you may need new rear lights and indicators Car will probably not have been crash tested to European regulations with low impact bumpers on. Car may not have been tested as compliant with European emissions regulations with Californian equipment on. I think you may find you can overcome the last two by finding a helpful C.T. station. I would also try contacting VW in USA advice. I believe RoRo, roll on roll shipping is available from the West Coast, some links below. http://www.ambafrance-us.org/intheus/customs/5000.asp http://www.autoshippers.co.uk/ http://www.buyclassiccars.com/shipping.asp http://www.movingcar.net/international.htm Despite comments about high cost of second hand cars in France I would do a full costing before spending the money on shipping.
  25. It is an offence to drive in UK other than to a pre arranged MOT examination without a valid MOT. It is also probably a condition of your car insurance.
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