MichaelH

Thank you Ron, In respect of the points you have nade. I am well aware of potential storm damage but this problem has not been coincident with the storms but has been a gradual deterioration over a period of months. There is certainly a daily variation in speed so I often get up a 5 am to download emails when the speed is better. My neighbour has two computers, as have I and combined with many other users routed through the same exchange the system test results are the same or very similar. The DSL test, supplied and downloaded directly from the Orange Assistance site which tests the broadband speed of the line, (if you have enough speed to download it), gives the same result that the line is "Insatisfaisant", unsatisfactory. I have dialled the 3900 number many times and gone through the various pre-recorded options usually ending in the engaged tone, then after a lot of attempts I got to speak to someone who gave me a different number to phone and guess what, it was engaged too. I use a relatively small service provider in Britain to host my website and emails and I have their address, email addresses for technical and accounts support, any query being dealt with within one weekday. But where is the address for Orange or an email address for support, and why should the contact number be at the cost of 34 cents a minute when the advisor is not prepared to accept that there may be a fault with the line? Why not send a technician to test it physically? Surely a company this size should be able to provide adequate support. In the U.K. I understand that there are many instances where there have been similar occurrences of exchanges being unable to cope with the demand for broadband and the eventual average speed being drastically affected. You would not like to go back to dial-up, well I think that I should have the option on my account page to revert to dial-up, because it was far faster and more reliable than what I have now and given the chance I would jump at it. But the bottom line is that there is a company taking money from the account every month, not supplying the service they are contracted to do and you cannot write them a letter or send them an email or easily telephone them and the personnel in the shops are just not interested, they just want you to get out of their shop as quick as possible so they can sell some more unsupported wares to more unsuspecting members of the public. Funny thing is that Orange recently sent me an email offering to put me on 1GB broadband at no extra cost when France Telecoms own figures clearly state that even in optimum condition the absolute maximum speed for our line is only 481k (if only!) Regards, Michael.

We have found that the ADSL connection speed has been dropping like a stone over the last two months or so. We have supposedly a 512K connection but yesterday the download speed was down to 344 bps (yes bps not kbps} and the delay between data packets more than 150000ms. I have found that all other Wanadoo customers in our villages using the one exchange (Luchapt Dept 86) seem to be experiencing the same problems, so it seems that Wanadoo have oversold the capacity of the system. Like the other contributors I have tried to find a contact other than the 34 cents a minute phone line without success. My neighbour spent two hours on this premium rate line but the advisor was totally unprepared to consider there was a fault on the line and was trying to imply at all times that there was a fault with either his hardware or software which was certainly not the case. I have been to our "Local" France Telecom/Orange office in Poitiers 70 km away three times asking for help and failing that, threatening to cancel the contract. On the Orange assistance pages there is a DSL line speed test but frequently the speed of connection is so slow that we cannot download the test before the system times out. When I have got it to work it always says quality of line "Insatisfaisant". I have taken these tests as well as speed tests from the www.internetfrog.com site which are very good and quick, over a week ago but I have had no contact at all from either France Telecom or Orange. I am thinking of cancelling my direct debit to Orange but it is not as simple as it is in England and I am concerned about it. French banks are often less than helpful. Any suggestions or information that may help us in our village would be most appreciated, but my advice to anyone reading this post is very simply----------If you are considering entering into a contract with Orange/Wanadoo for internet services DON'T!!!   DON'T!!!   DON'T!!! and what else? oh yes DON'T!!! Regards, Michael

Dear Euromotorshop, I have a 10m x 5m plus roman end DesJoyuaux pool and is fitted with a heat pump heater which seems a very efficient way of heating. It was here when we moved in. It seems a good pool, easy to keep clean. We have two sets of filter bags so one can be cleaned while the other set is in place. I use the flexible hose supplied with the pool for vacuuming the bottom, as a siphon during the winter to lower the water level as there is no overflow or drain, it is very simple to do. The drawbacks I find are that when I went to the office in Poitiers once I found the woman on duty quite superior and unhelpful and I suspect that spare parts may be expensive. Two plastic rings which retain the filter bags have broken and require replacement though I have bodged them for the time being. Because the steps/pump/filter unit intrudes into the pool space it will be more difficult and therefore more expensive to fit a simple pool safety cover. Because the pump is vulnerable to freezing (and here it has been down to -8 so far this winter), if you were to use an electronic pool alarm such as Aquasensor where the pool must not be covered the whole year round, the pump would have to be working 24 hours a day and at 1.1kw a significant cost plus chemicals to keep the pool clean. With my experience so far were I to order a pool in the future I would definitely get a pool where all pump and filter equipment were separate from the pool surround. Regards, Michael

Here is a paste of the reply to my email to Aquasensor: Monsieur, Nous répondons volontiers à toutes les questions qui nous sont posées directement. Nous ne pouvons pas aller sur tous les forums de discussion parlant des alarmes, sauf à embaucher à plein temps plusieurs employés. Cordialement, Frédéric Ganga, Service Clients.   It seems to me that this company could be missing a valuable opportunity for free publicity direct to their most likely potential customers, unless, of course, there is something about the product that they would rather not have discussed. We may never know.   Regards,   Michael.

Dear All and especially Andrew, Andrew mentions 'when the pool is inspected'. Are all pools going to be inspected or just pools where paying guests will be using a pool? I imagine that people who take paying guests will require insurance and the insurance companies are likely to want a report on the pool safety before issuing cover. But for those who do not have paying guests, will these pools be inspected as a matter of course? The more I think about this issue, the more it appears to be a total can of worms. If I fit either an alarm, cover or fence, they all have to be disabled to allow access to the pool. Lets say that my wife and I want to swim and there are another two families here at the same time. When I want to go out I have to give charge of the pool to a visitor who I may not know well? If the alarm is not turned on again, the cover not refitted or a shoe is wedged into the gate to stop it shutting where does the responsibility lie? It's a bit like car safety belts, but the difference is that it is they are much better understood and more simple to put on or off. Maybe a simpler solution might be to do away with the chlorine put koi carp in and call it a pond! Regards,   Michael

I have today sent an email to Aquasensor asking them to read the forum replies and comment upon them.   Regards,   Michael

Dear Sue, Thank you for your response. I would be very interested to know more about your alarm. I thought that they could not be used with a winter cover fitted. This is my first year with a pool. The previous owner drained the pool by a third at the end of the season and topped it up again in the spring, but over the winter the level slowly increased as the winter cover, though tight fitting is porous. Wouldn't this varation in level be a problem with using an aquasensor? Your experience could be valuable to many pool owners. Best regards,   Michael

Swimming pools are dangerous and always have been which is why the only real safety measure is adult supervision. I heard of some research which suggested that fenced pools were more likely to suffer tragedies because of the fact that the extra security the adults felt meant that they dropped their guard and children being what they found their own ways of getting in. Close to our house is an unfenced 9 acre lake and on two sides of our property there is a river also unfenced. We have no children here at all, and even if we had the recommended safety measures they would still at all times be supervised, but we are expected to spend our very limited cash on this nonsense.  I feel that it is merely a means the French Government to get revenue (from the taxes on equipment and work used) and another example of the state mollycoddling citizens so that in the end they will have forgotten how to think for themselves. We have a 5m x 10m DesJoyaux pool built into the side of a slope which we have to find a solution for. The pool has a tiled surround and behind that for a third of the perimeter is a wall retaining the slope and at one side a few feet away is our lovely abri with barbeque, table & chairs. To put a fence around the pool it would then separate the pool from the abri where we eat during the summer and would have to go up and down the various heights behind. We have many trees near the pool area and therefore have to use a cover, especially over the winter and could not use an alarm. The pool has a roman end and at the other end the pump/filter/steps unit intrudes into the pool so getting a safety cover to fit could be a problem. The cost of a hard abri type cover would be prohibitive. I have heard people say that there will be no inspection of safety on private pools, but there would have to be tragedy for the 45000 euro fine to be implemented, but then if you had such a tragedy the fine would be the least of your worries. I have heard many people say they are not going to bother with compliance, but I am uncomfortable with that. To begin with all materials and equipment had to be certified and fitted by a registered installer and now we hear that DIY equipment is acceptable if certified. Will there be further change again next year? Can you get a DIY pool cover? I would be grateful for helpful suggestions. Whew, now I have got that off my chest I am going to sit by the pool and have a beer. Michael

Thanks to the forum member for their responses. I think the chigger/harvest mite/aouta sites in the US deal with slightly different species and therefore the descriptions of the bite swelling and colour of the mite may be slightly different. Yes I think this is the culprit. It is worrying trying to not bring them into the house as they are too small to see, at least with the standard of my eyes. I have found what may be the adult stages of the mite after brushing a jam jar over the grass and inspecting with a magnifying glass. I have worried about the effect on the cats and the dog but they don't seem to be affected but they have been treated every month with Frontline against ticks so maybe they have been kept free of the chiggers by the same treatment. Should we consider treating ourselves with Frontline? I have kept the grass in the garden and field very short but it does not seem to have slowed them down and the worst bites I suffered were when working high off the ground on a ladder lopping oak trees, so I think they must have been up the trees amongst the leaves. Is the answer an industrial strength flame thrower or maybe the US has a little spare ex-WD napalm? That is what it makes you feel like using. Despite the misery they have caused I feel fortunate not to have had an allergic reaction as some people have had and ended up in hospital.

My wife and I moved to the Vienne in April. Since then we have suffered many insect bites, me especially. I do not know what the bites are from and would appreciate suggestions. They are just like mosquito bites, pink raised and very itchy for several days, but we have never seen the insect biting us. The bites appear at sites all over the body but are more often seen on the ankles, legs, groin, neck and armpits. (never on the face). After a day of trimming overhanging oak trees I had over 200 bites. I have read the forum entries about Aouta mites but they seem quite different. When I take the dog for a walk in the field (short grass) I quite often get three or four. I have sat watching my bare legs waiting to tempt the culprit and still never seen anything. We don't get bitten if sitting around the pool (except occasionally by horseflies). Close inspection and frequent washing of bedlinen has been of no help. I would really appreciate constructive suggestions.