le rouge

When I go back to UK I normally switch off the electrics. Now that I have a VMC installed can I assume I will have to leave the electricity on? Also in the winter surely I will lose some of the heat generated by my 'radiateurs' through the vents to the VMC. Has anyone found this to be much of a problem/cost? Or is it just something you live with due to the benefits of loss of smells, condensation etc?      

The price on Amazon is with one battery whereas the 130.00 I quoted (Screwfix) is with a second battery so probably much the same.

The Bosch PSR18V LI is the one I have been looking at. Seems to be approx 130.00 in UK and 180E in France which would make France dearer so think I will get it here. Thanks for the info on the voltage and yes I will get an adaptor for the charger.  

Thanks George. I must admit I have used phone chargers, camera chargers and a whole host of electrical stuff without problem so I suspect you are right.

I need to buy a new cordless drill-driver. From my initial research it seems that they are cheaper in UK than France. Is that the general view? If so is there any problem with using and English bought charger through a converter on the French electrical circuit which may not be 240v? 

My wife, daughter and fiancee came over for the weekend to visit. I told them they could only come over if they brought hot cross buns!!! They duly obliged. I love 'em (the buns and them!)[;-)]  

[quote user="powerdesal"]A fire extinguisher is always a good idea in any car, irrespective of the legal requirements. ps  Dont forget the cuddly toy. [/quote]   I used to carry a fire extinguisher with me in the car until one day my car caught fire (this was in London not France but same applies obviously) and the fire extinguisher made virtually no difference. Luckily I was outside a pub and the landlord and another guy ran out with 2 large fire extinguishers and used them both up in putting the fire out. This was just an under the bonnet fire. The car was saved but not by my little Simoniz gadget from Halfords. I think they are a waste of money.    

Just for the record and regarding my earlier post saying that on Racing Post and Skybet  I couldnt get live coverage. The theory is that through Skybet if you bet a fiver on a race you can then watch it live. However when I tried it, it came up with a message about 'contractual reasons'. I decided to persevere but the next time I tried it said the race had started (i knew it hadnt as was listening to Festival radio coverage at the same time). I tried changing the PC clock to GMT but that didnt make any difference. I gave up until the Gold Cup then decided to change the clock manually back one hour rather than use the Control Panel GMT setting and low and behold up came the live coverage. So in the future if I have a fiver on a race I must reset my clock back 1 hour it seems. Roll on the National! .....and the postscript is that I backed Kauto Star anyway!      

I thought it was just me. I was incorrectly blaming my electrician who had disconnected my satellite cable from the back of the digibox and I thought he had mucked something up. Having said that he has done something to my aerial as French TV has become unwatchable. Of course he is on holiday this coming week!!! I can just about watch the Meteo on TF1 and TF2 but anything more than that is too much effort. I will try the new settings for BBC 24. Thanks again for the Forum!    

Just wanted to bring this subject up again as have been quoted 950 euros for leveling a 30 square metre area (an old grenier with tiles/pots). Needs about 5cm depth. Seems quite a lot to me. Any advice?    

[quote user="dryliner"]you could watch it liva and have a bet at pmu cafe or log on to www.ladbrokes.co.uk bet a fiver a race and you can see all races live on your computer or www.racingpost.co.uk both are good sites[/quote] Tried betting a fiver on the first race yesterday with Skybet and it did the countdown to the race and looked like it would show me the race, then when the count reached 0 it came up with a message saying 'for contractual reasons we cannot ....blah blah blah...outside the UK'. The same happened on Racing Post for the second race at which point I gave up. In the end I watched a replay of each race which became available between 30 and 60 mins after each race had finished. If you can avoid the heasdlines on the home page and go straight to the 'race replay page' then to all intents and purposes it is 'live' I suppose. It was a good compromise. Only had 1 winner but it was fun. Shame today is off due to the bad weather as was all lined up!!!      

[quote user="dryliner"]you could watch it liva and have a bet at pmu cafe or log on to www.ladbrokes.co.uk bet a fiver a race and you can see all races live on your computer or www.racingpost.co.uk both are good sites[/quote] Tried betting a fiver on the first race yesterday with Skybet and it did the countdown to the race and looked like it would show me the race, then when the count reached 0 it came up with a message saying 'for contractual reasons we cannot ....blah blah blah...outside the UK'. The same happened on Racing Post for the second race at which point I gave up. In the end I watched a replay of each race which became available between 30 and 60 mins after each race had finished. If you can avoid the heasdlines on the home page and go straight to the 'race replay page' then to all intents and purposes it is 'live' I suppose. It was a good compromise. Only had 1 winner but it was fun. Shame today is off due to the bad weather as was all lined up!!!      

Good job I chose to come back on Sunday via the tunnel rather than Ferry on Monday which was going to be my choice until a few days ago. Didnt even get held up by Operation Stack as the A20 diversion was empty early Sunday morning. I was in France long before I would have even left Dover and for £50 more - worth every penny!

Hi John I do have a friend who has SKY and is not too far away but he has never shown any interest in Racing. I suppose I could try the old 'bottle of decent red' bribe! It was ATR on the web I was thinking of but reading the small print it is not available outside the UK for 'legal reasons'. Same with Ch4 on the web. Yes agree about your observations on Mr Pointment. Looks like he will not take part in National now. Cloudy Lane looks a worthy favourite. Thought Natal would win.      

Thanks for your memories and experiences - I shall miss it even more now!! Grrr!    

Just realised of course that I have a French digibox not a SKY box so (as far as I can remember as I am in UK at the moment) it doesnt have a slot and presumably wouldnt work anyway. Have thought about Racing Post and At the Races websites where you can subscribe to Live broadcasts but these are not available outside the UK. I think I am going to have to search for an Irish pub somewhere!! I dont suppose PMU's will show Cheltenham? It would probably clash with sulkey racing from Vincennes or something!      

I keep my FT line for incoming calls as I always give out my fixed line number to macon, plombier etc etc. Also from what I read on here when I first set out I decided that if I went with Orange I would be better to stick with FT as they are basically the same company. Touch wood I have no regrets. All services have been good, clear and continuous. Osie - sorry if I confused you earlier. I didnt mean that I get the whole service for 7 euros! I pay 29 for unlimited ADSL Broadband and VOIP telephone then pay an extra 7 to cover ALL calls through the VOIP to mainland France, 30 minutes per month to any mobile and ALL calls to UK (as long as each call is less than 2 hours long). There is a charge for the FT line per month but I think it is worth it. I never use that phone to call out but of course it is there in an emergency say if my Livebox goes down.  

Thanks Cooperlola I am back in UK next week for 2 weeks so should be able to organise something using these links.

I use Telephone Illimite through my Orange Livebox. For 7 euros per month I get all my calls to France and UK. Even allowing for the odd month when I am in England I am still quids in!  

Certainly be OK on Good Friday (March 21st) as it isnt even a Bank Holiday in France.

I saw Kauto Star run at Ascot and he won with ease. After the race he was a bit lame when they put him in his box. They subsequently said that it was not serious and he would be OK for Cheltenham. Yes it will be quite a clash with Denman - both super horses. I have to side with Kauto who has done it before and if Ruby Walsh has chosen him then who am I to say he is wrong! I havent got French satellite otherwise Equidia would have been an option. I try not to watch too much TV although at this time of the year it is difficult to find alternatives in the evening especially if you have been working hard during the day. Cheltenham though is a must. I already feel deprived of Channel 4 racing and BBC dont seem to show a lot these days! Be alright for the Grand National.  Interesting that you can get a card for CH4 and 5. If someone has more info on this I would be interested.    

For the first time in my (adult) life I will not be at the Cheltenham Festival as I will be in France. Has anyone any experience of where it can be watched? As Channel 4 is unavailable what are the alternatives? Anyone know whether an Irish pub, for example, would show it? I am in the Centre (18) if anyone has any specific info on where it can be seen. As an aside, are there any plans for Channel 4 being available over the Astra satelite in the foreseeable future?  

Thanks Cooperlola. I have always understood that it would be dealt with under French Inheritance law. My Mum's French will is with the Notaire in the town. I have a sister but she is contributing towards costs anyway so we will basically share the property. She has no children and I have 2. The intention is that my children will get the house eventually and she doesnt have a problem with that and needless to say I dont either. Yes it is worrying that the more I spend on it, the more valuable it becomes therefore the more tax has to be paid. However the rates are pretty good and the lower limit is pretty high and I am not sure it would actually cost us a lot. Luckily we are a close family and therefore do not see any problems on that score. Just hope I havent overlooked something.  

My Mother is French but lives in England and has done so for 50 years now. She still has a house in France which she has told me I can do what I like with as it will be mine eventually. A few years ago I forked out for a new roof and did minor indoor re-decorating. I am now thinking about doing major alterations inside which would cost me about £20,000. New bathroom, knocking walls down, new windows and doors etc. I cant stop thinking that the house isnt really mine. I am there a lot either working on the house or supervising others working on small jobs but now that there are large jobs to be undertaken I wonder whether or not I am doing the right thing. I know I should have thought about this before re-doing the roof but that just needed doing as it was leaking badly! I have taken early retirement, get no pension yet and dont want to move to France permanently. Are there any legal implications I need to think about? Does anyone foresee any problems that I may have over-looked? I have looked into inheritance tax and am prepared for that although the house will never be worth a fortune!      

I had to drive to Paris and therefore didnt use either of my tickets to/from Paris. I tried to get reimbursed online but it didnt work. Lollie - Did you have to get your refund at the station? I am 25 miles from the station so would need a special journey and would cost me half of my reclaimed fare anyway!