Markradland

I had the joy of waiting to catch my ferry as a foot passenger on Thursday whilst they were taking their vote to strike. Back to my house (60 miles) along with 2 others I picked up at the port. Early Friday I phoned and received no relevant information. Later I phoned, by chance, to be told they would take foot passengers to Cherbourg so stop lunch, close up etc. within 20 minutes and back to the port. Brittany Ferries provided a coach to Cherbourg and a basic hotel overnight. Saturday we had to get a taxi to the terminal for the Condor sailing which was understandably very busy. A coach was provided at the other end to Plymouth. Whilst I am pleased with the effort made to get us home, it still took three days and quite a lot of incidental expenses. I have kept some of the receipts and will see if they will recompense at least some of them. I am sympathetic to workers being able to strike but do not agree with the wildcat nature which I do not think would be possible in Britain under current law. Crossing many times each year between Plymouth and Roscoff I would be devastated if the firm went into bankruptcy. Mark

I had the joy of waiting to catch my ferry as a foot passenger on Thursday whilst they were taking their vote to strike. Back to my house (60 miles) along with 2 others I picked up at the port. Early Friday I phoned and received no relevant information. Later I phoned, by chance, to be told they would take foot passengers to Cherbourg so stop lunch, close up etc. within 20 minutes and back to the port. Brittany Ferries provided a coach to Cherbourg and a basic hotel overnight. Saturday we had to get a taxi to the terminal for the Condor sailing which was understandably very busy. A coach was provided at the other end to Plymouth. Whilst I am pleased with the effort made to get us home, it still took three days and quite a lot of incidental expenses. I have kept some of the receipts and will see if they will recompense at least some of them. I am sympathetic to workers being able to strike but do not agree with the wildcat nature which I do not think would be possible in Britain under current law. Crossing many times each year between Plymouth and Roscoff I would be devastated if the firm went into bankruptcy. Mark

I bought the devolo dlan 200 AV wireless N starter kit. Despite the reviews about the product which say it is easy to set up, it was a nightmare. The wireless is very effective but it has taken me hours to get the laptop to accept the code from the product. I have given up with my phone. The on-line handbook is 57 pages of gobblygook (to me). Mark

I have had many scam e-mails from all sorts of banks which generally go into my junk box. However today I recieved an e-mail, from Paypal, addressed to me by name and telling me that my credit card had been removed. It looked VERY realistic and I tried to log in. Fortunately my security software saved me and I then sent the e-mail to Paypal and deleated it.Please be aware. Mark

You could look on e-bay. Large numbers of very cheap books. I am sure many are within  copyright even although they claim to be legal. I bought a disc with 5000+  books for a few quid. I was pleased with the selection although some of the scanned books are difficult to read due to poor scanning technique.

Hi Woolybanana, My wife has been researching just this, though not gone ahead yet. Her plan is to publish in MOBI, EPUB and PDF on her own website - annmade.co.uk under a 'books' tab to cover downloads for the kindle, the Sony, the Nook and straight computers, then publish with kindle on amazon. Here are a few notes she has picked up. 1 Check where you are publishing from. The UK is ok as you can get the 70% to you and 30% to Amazon deal - but France does not get that at the moment (see list on   https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A30F3VI2TH1FR8  ) 2, it is so important ot get your work proofed by someone else - someone who knows how to proof read*. Many ebook customers post complaints about poorly proofed work * this is what she is getting sorted now. 3, read the formatting guide and watch out for the automtic formatting - apparently it doesn't always translate well into kindle (so others say - not tried yet) https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help/ref=hp_kdp_formats_navbox?topicId=A2V645S25NG1WN   and   https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A2RYO17TIRUIVI For an amazing true story of self publishing ebooks see this blog... you'll have to go right back to the beginning to see how she did it..http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/ Regards Mark

Thanks Chancer. They still work and I take care to make a call on them every four months to keep the number live. I only keep them for emergency use and have about 20 euros on each. Regards. Mark

I still have two NRJ SIMs with an 'unlimited' expirary time from 2006. I seem to remember that someone posted some time ago to say when they would expire after the contracts were modified. Can anyone let me know how long I have left? I have looked in search without finding it. Thanks Mark

I leave the car for about a fortnight at a time, although it has been longer. As for recommendation; that would be more difficult. I use Greeen Flag as a European breakdown  cover and therefore make sure that my car is less than ten years old. Personally I like popular estates; cheap to run and repair, as well as able to carry goods. Mark

I park as close to the terminal as possible. Flat batteries have not been a problem but I keep a booster battery in the boot, just in case. Mark

I leave a car just outside the ferry terminal all summer. It is, of course, properly taxed and insured; unlike many others parked there. When I first bought my house and wanted to travel about fifteen times a year as a foot passenger I E-mailed Brittany Ferries and asked if it was OK, and they said it was. I have not had a problem in six years. Regards Mark

Liz I sailed on the Armorique last week. It is a lovely ship with plenty of comfortable seating and excellent cabins. There is no formal resaurant, but a good self service and a cafeteria. As for the 24 hour crossings; if you get the Cornish Guardian weekly paper you can get a cheap 24 hour crossing without handing in tokens.  Use www.brittanyferries.co.uk/09cg1 before 2nd March. 2 people + car + cabin for £58, or with reclining seats for £40. Also be aware that you can spend up to 30 hours in France so could go on Wed. night and return Fri. afternoon. You can possibly also get a good deal with your Property Owners Club card for a 24 hour crossing. Regards Mark

Paul We were in a similar situation six years ago here .The house we were after was being sold by an elderly lady and her son. The lady was in a home and had developed Alzheimer’s. The son had to apply to the courts for the French equivalent to a power of attorney and then had to go to court again to get permission to actually sell the house. All this took the better part of a year. We did not mind this as the price was fixed and it gave us more time to save up. Hope this helps.   Regards   Mark  

I have used Freesurf.fr for about six years. It was easy to set up and has never caused any problems. Regards Mark

Thanks for all your replies. I will try your suggestions. Mark

When receiving Sky through my Panasonic receiver over the last few days I am only receiving the picture in black and white. Could anyone confirm that it is the box that needs replacing or is there something I have not tried yet?   Thanks in anticipation   Mark

My earlier reply was not a response to woolybanana. Woolybananas comment slipped in whilst I was typing. Mark

You will have no problems. I have done this twice. Regards Mark

If I understand the correct type of parquet - Brico Depot sell it in oak at a very reasonable price. Regards Mark

We took well over a year. In the first instance the negotiations took several months as the vendor wanted to sell part of the land as a separate building plot and we wanted to buy it as amenity land – and for amenity land price. Then the mother of the vendor who had to also sign had a form of Alzheimer’s so the son first had to go to court to be allowed to take over his mothers affairs and then a second court case was held for him to be allowed to sell the house. None of this mattered to us however, as we got the house for a good price and it gave us more time to save money. As long as you understand what is happening it is generally fairly smooth. Good luck. Mark  

Odd entries withinn my Credit Agricole statement:   1. Compt Service account :   **COTISATION OFFRE CS CONFORT     - Debit 7,80 Euros   2. Compt Livret account :   VIR.CAPIT.INT.05BRUT                               – Credit 107,00 Euos   Does anyone know what these are likely to be? I have had the account for about 6 years without any strange additions or subtractions. For the first I have not taken out any subscriptions that I can think of. For the second, it is unlikely to be interest unless Credit Agricole is now giving about 22% on their savings accounts- I should be so lucky.   Thanks in advance for any suggestions,   Mark

I cannot help you with your original question Ronan, but I am near to completing a renovation of a holday home near to Plonévez-Porzay at Plomodiern. If I can be of any assistance for information about the area of souces of supplies I would be happy to assist. Regards Mark

This might seem odd but it is posible that you have left a floppy disc in the drive. Regards Mark

Is it possible to have a British architect to sign off a ‘permis de construire? I want to convert a small single story, attached barn into a bedroom. This will be a straightforward job for me but will take me over the 170 metres square. I can do the drawings myself, and have an architect friend in England who could sign them, if permitted. The limited nature of the work would make the cost of a French architect disproportionately expensive. Unfortunately I cannot search the archives, as I cannot get the website search to work. My dial-up at home keeps timing out and the broadband at work does nothing when search button is pressed. Thanks Mark

Thanks everone for your replies. I think I will have to get a neighbour to check after a storm. Mark