Wilko

Thank you all for your replies. Anton I have an 80 cm dish, had to pop out and measure it though. Will try the  signal strength thingy tomorrow. Thanks again Wilko

"In the UK, my wife worked in one of the largest London hospitals for a while, they provide translators for in excess of 29 different languages and dialects of said languages, free of charge and the cost is taken from the hospitals budget." I think that this is the sort of thing that many people really object to ie the expense of providing a service like this. If the BNP use this and similar examples I think a great many more people will vote for them at the next election. Wilko

Hi We have 2 tvs connected to one external dish ..........when it rains .......no "signal being received" on most channels. However all the news channels work and True movies 1&2. Lastly; the older tv, 6 years, holds the signal for a noticedly greater length of time than the younger tv, less than a year. Can the rain interference problem be solved ? and why is the old tv much better than the new one and why do I continue to receive the news channels but loose Beeb 1,2 3 4and ditto ITV when I assume the signals are all from the same sat...........we are free to air. Any advice gratefully received. PS Missing the M/chef final, Mrs W well pisst off, might have to open another bottle.........I'll do it now. Cheers Wilko

What's P2P networks ?  

We have a great many figs so when Mrs W has made copious quantities  of jam, touch of vaniile added, i take the remainder a couple of kms down the road to my very eccentric neighbour, he does Bohemian in spades. He's a lovely old guy who is into foie gras in a small way ie 20 geese and 50 ducks. He suffered a small credit crisis this year ie couldn't buy new birds so I helped him out. Off we went to a local market, non touristico, to buy the birds...........it was straight out of Peter Mayle, the negotiations were loud but he got a deal.........about 30%. Having bought all these birds I did wonder as to how their transportation would be accomplished, we were in my estate car. Absolutely no problem, bit like how many people you can get in a phone box..........birds were put into card board boxes gently but firmly, so with 70 birds boxed we returned, after a couple of pastis in the local bar. They were in the boxes for around an hour, we arrived back at Bohemia and let them out, they were absolument impeccable after their travels. They are now in the best of health, wandering around his enormous plot and fattenng very nicely.........they just love the figs, which should give the geese and their foie an excellent taste. Incidentally as far as I can make out foie came from Hungary originally and then the Romans took to producing in quantity, the Provence connection, so foie is alive and well, this year some of them will be ours so am looking forward to Xmas and NY Eve. Bon appetit........Wilko

Have a look at Tripadvisor.co.uk.................Nice forum Wilko

Chancer ..........thanks for that. Rgds Wilko

Does the house have any gutters ? It is not unusual for them not to, so to guard against splashback people concreted  the wall to stop the damp, it doesn't work. If you are going to fit gutters the problem might well be solved. I very much doubt that it is a structural problem. Good luck wilko

Hi Glacier 1 how did it go with the VW Gold mk 5 DSG gearbox puchase ? Also do VW have any problems with these gearboxes............anyone know anything. Thanks Norman H for the website. Cheers Wilko

We provide fridges, m/wave, BBQ, cutlery, plates, glasses etc for our guests. The clients clear up after themselves and it is a feature that has worked well in this cedit crunch year. We don't allow access to our kitchen. As I type there are 6 guests in the auvent all eating together, theyare independent of each other, so it also gets the guests to socialise amongst themselves. Wilko

Mrs W  decided to put shower gel dispensers in all the rooms this season. She filled them with an upmarket brand product and then sells their range of products to the clients, a shopkeeper at heart. It works quite well. In the past month we have had 2 dispensers emptied of all the shower gel by clients on the morning of their departure. It's not the cost it's just that folk who have stayed with us for 4-6 nights, you have drinks with etc etc would stoop to nicking the shower gel. In both cases same nationality. It just pi##es us off !! Happy showering wilko

I've been at a bit of a loss for years. I understand the basics, cos I have to...........but otherwise I find the whole subject a complete bore, I just don't do science........ but each to his own. My personal observations are in no way meant to be scientific. Just a preference for salt water as opposed to chlor, and in those days I lttle imagined I would be the proud owner of a pool, as I say I still prefer it but it is all just a non scientific comment. If you invite me I'll pop in for a swim one of these days and we can compare your notes. Happy swimming Wilko Ps I'm a computer illiterate as well cos I just can't make those smiley thingies work !! Should go after "notes"

Hi Jonzjob In my youth, many moons ago, I was a serious swimmer so swam in lots of different pools, mostly chlorine, which at times could become a somewhat painful experience........i didn't like wearing goggles. When I was in my mid 20s I swam in a salt water pool and found it to be so superior to chlorinated pools in terms of water quality and I certainly didn't have to wear goggles. In the past couple of years I have also noticed that salt water seems to be less attractive to wasps, however my only comparison is a friend's chlorine pool which is wasp city on the occasions I've had a swim there. Rgds Wilko    

Hi Teapot Thanks for all your help in this matter............the Javel worked a treat and got rid of the black algae and then I got everything balanced up PH etc and hey presto sparkling water. Just one last question....is there some sort of machine, not poolcheck strips, that I can buy that measures everything in one go ?? Thanks again Regards Wilko

Hi Poolguy Thanks for your reply. I went to my local pool shop and asked for Aqua Clean but didn't have any, will try elsewhere demain. Yes swimming in 34 degree pool lots of fun but hardly refreshing, bit of an oversight there on my part as to the efficiency of the Solarmatt.........think I've got that under control now. I don't have any warranty problems as we designed and built the pool ourselves,  it's concrete covering more steel than you can shake a stick at...........so no problems with a liner....... but thanks for the thought and your reply. Any further advice you deem relevant would be most gratefully received.. Rgds Wilko Ps If of interest to you... see: http://www.maspomona.com/en_swimming_pool_area.htm  

Hi Teapot Thanks for replying. I bought some 9.6% Javel today so I guess i throw some n there...............bit of guidance of how much appreciated. I don't know what the chlorine level is cos the magic box of tricks doesn't indicate this measurement............that's why I asked what to buy that measures everything. The pool is 15x4 metres, depth from 1.10m to 1.80. Thanks for your comments so far i appreciate any guidance you can give me. Regds Wilko

Hello all Could do with a little help here. Background; I bought a Solarmatt to heat the salt water pool, and it works very well...........at heating the pool. I have no connection with this company. Unfortunately this brings a host of problems I have not previuously encountered. My salt content is too low even thought i have added 150kgs of salt over the past 2 weeks...........I assume that this is because the water temp has been upto 34 degrees. I have now 90% bypassed the solarmatt and the temps is 28 degrees. PH 7.3 and salt 4.3 with the pump running for 16 hours. This is all my magic box of tricks tells me. I have black mould growing a little by the water line and although  the look of the water is acceptable i know it could be clearer and more sparkling. Do I need to buy a bit of kit to give me more readings eg cynauric acid (whatever that is) and if I do what do people suggest ?? Also what do I need to do to stop having to buy copious quantities of salt...............short of buying a salt mine ? I would be most grateful for any advice...............but please keep  to laymans terminology as technology not a strong point. Happy swimming Wilko

Hi We take bank transfers, amongst other things, for payment of deposits. I had always assumed that there were no bank charges within the EU for transferring euros. Certainly for the past 4 years this has been the case and we receive 30-40 deposits /annum by this method. I have just received one from a spanish bank and a charge of 15 euros has been levied by my bank. 15 euros is their charge for a sterling transfer from the uk. I have called them but they have to speak to their international clearing department and will call me back this week........speedy service !! Anyone any views on this ? Rgds Wilko

Hi I think that you will find is that TFD is misinformed in this case. If your UK builder is perfectly legit in the UK ie stamps etc fully paid and his workers insured he can come and work here. He would only have to become a registered french builder if he was doing more than the occasional build in France. In the case of 10 years insurance ask him to give you a guarantee from his insurance company. TFD makes a good point about plumbing and electrics.........if they go wrong your builder is a long way away and you might have a problem with a local looking after an etranger's work. Happy biuilding Wilko

Thanks for all your posts, we have started the battle aginthe little blighters. Wilko

Hi Sd Sorry tom be so long in replying and thanks for that. wilko

Hi 5-element Thanks for the reply. I think you are right cos we first noticed them in the larder. We then emptied it, cleaned it, sorted out all the boxes..........corn flakes etc and thought that'll sort 'em out. No Way............they are back with a vengeance and at the rate they are sticking to the sticky card it might be cheaper to buy the card company. Do you have any tips for getting rid of these beasties ? Cheers Wilko

Hi Guys Thanks for the replies. I will try with a fresh mix tomorrow. Rgds Wilko

SD Thanks for that but the point I was trying to make is if i pay the TVA in eg the UK Iwould pay 17.5% as opposed to 19.6%................so do I have the choice as to where I pay the TVA ? Rgds Wilko

We seem to be infested with small white moths, possibly clothes moths ? Our neighbor said they were mites. Does anyone know anything about these beasties, where they nest and how best to get rid of them. I bought some sticky card from Auchan and in 24 hours the card is covered in the little blighters but it doesn't appear to have dented their population. Mrs W thinks that they are nesting in the wooden beams...........is this likely. Thoughts anyone Wilko