bixy

A friend needs to convert a Word document to PDF. I have never done this so do not know what to advise him. I believe a software download is necessary. Any help much appreciated. Patrick

Joking aside, it's terrifying to think that we are in the hands of international money speculators, whose only motivation is greed, and overpaid morons [read bankers] who couldn't run a whelk stall, and whose only motivation is, er ...greed. Ah, I think I'm beginning to see a pattern. Patrick

..because on the early news this morning it was said that the revised growth forecasts for the last quarter of 2009 were likely to be lower than originally projected, and in consequence there would be a run on the pound. In fact, the forecasts were revised upwards but the pound still went down. So let me get this right: bad economic news the pound goes down; good economic news the pound goes...down. Uh? Can someone explain? And while you're about it can you explain why RSB, the bank which we mostly own, and which made a massive loss last year, is giving away £1.3 billion in bonuses to its staff, including a hundred who will each receive £1,000,000. Hoping for enlightenment. Patrick

We had a room with dark oak  beams. Not sure what had been done to them previously - staining, varnishing? Anyway we felt they made the room dark so I gave them two coats of a white monocouche acrylic paint. There was some slight leakage of colour through the white which was not entirely unpleasant in that it showed up the grain of the wood. In any case it's made the room a good deal brighter, which is what we wanted. There's a lot of nonsense talked about exposed beams. I built two bedrooms with exposed beams. Cutting the plasterboard to fit, filling, painting round, varnishing the beams - all of it a nightmare. Never again. In all the other rooms not a beam showing! Patrick

Thanks to all. I have now found the push connectors in Bricomarche and they work a treat. They disconnect too. Patrick

Thanks for the warning. Do you think the push connectors are ok for a lighting circuit - 3x60w lamps? Patrick

Thanks for those replies. I will look out for the screwless connectors. Patrick

After spending a whole morning wiring up a junction box and ripping my hands to pieces in the process, I wondered if there might be a better alternative to the dreaded choc bars. I'm sure I've seen a connector somewhere which just entails pushing the wire into the terminal. Any help greatly appreciated. Patrick

Chris n'Julie - What are you on? Whatever it is I'd like to try some - and drift away into cloud cuckoo land, too. Patrick

It's beyond my my comprehension how Conforama stays in business. We have been messed about by them too, but never mind that, just look at this comparison with IKEA. IKEA open lunchtime [ie. shoppers, not shop assistants convenience]. Most Conforamas closed lunchtime. IKEA customer toilets. Conforama nil. IKEA children's creche. Conforama nil. IKEA everything in stock. Conforama wait two weeks. IKEA restaurant, snack bars. Conforama nil. IKEA reasonable quality. Conforama often shockingly poor. Drive past Conforama, the car park is usually near empty. Go to IKEA you are lucky to get a parking place. Speaks for itself. The mystery is: why doesn't someone at Conforama look at IKEA and think, ah yes, that's what we should be doing. No, we don't have shares in IKEA - just based on 13 years of buying furniture in France. Patrick

This was specifically about a 4x4. OH asked the CT bloke when taking in our other car and he said definitely not required for a 4x4. Good enough for me. Thanks to all those who replied. Patrick

It doesn't make quite as much sense when you've still got two perfectly good tyres and at €150+ per tyre... Patrick

I went to get a quote for two new tyres for a 4x4 and was told that it is obligatory to have the same brand on all four wheels. I knew you had to have the same brand on an axle but not all four wheels. Can anyone confirm this? Patrick

Thanks for the helpful replies. I'm very tempted by lambris. I see that Bricodepot do a special ceiling lambris 4 metres long by 25cm wide. This is only going to be a store/general room so not too worried about the finish. How would you fix the lambris to the ceiling joists? I've used one of those lifting machines when helping a friend with his ceiling. Even with two of us and 10mm board it wasn't easy. Patrick

Lying in bed last night, thinking about the ceiling to be plasterboarded soon.  It is always such a struggle to get the board up and fixed, so I wondered if there might be a lighter, more manageable alternative. The board will be fixed to wooden joists and the ceiling is not load bearing, apart from the insulation. All ideas gratefully received. Patrick

Thanks for that. Patrick

Does anyone know if these grants are still available [more correctly allowance against tax], and if so, what is the percentage, are they allowable against the fitting of a Velux, or is it only for replacements windows? Patrick

Some feedback. I tried the hot air gun method and that worked ok, though still very slow. I also tried using a hot iron over a wet cloth. That also worked but was no better than the hot air gun. I've been advised that an SDS drill in non rotating mode with a wide chisel would work. Slightly worried about damaging the tomettes. Patrick

Yes, they are nice, so why would you want to stick lino tiles on top of them! Thanks for the tip John, but I suspect it's going to very hard work. Patrick

I need to remove lino tiles that have been stuck down on tommettes [Why?!]. I would appreciate some advice on how to do this. Is there are a special piece of kit or tool for doing this, for example? Other people's experience would be helpful. Patrick

Thanks for that. Any idea what name Dithane is sold under in France? I would also be interested in bio solutions, if any. Patrick

...on my lettuces. Any ideas for a cure? I have pulled off the infected leaves but imagine it will return. Patrick

I have certainly used telepeage with a trailer. Never crossed my mind that it wasn't ok. I've seen plenty of French drivers too, going through with trailers. Mind you, I used to go through the Dartford Crossing auto pay [£1 at the time] with a trailer, but one day I got stopped and had top pay the extra. Patrick

No need to plant tomatoes - they will appear all by themselves. But seriously this is intolerable - you must do something. Good luck. Incidentally just had ours emptied by a local farmer - €180. A lot cheaper than the big commercial firms. Always pays to ask around - locals will know. Patrick

In your original post you mentioned buying new. In your recent post you mention second hand - so I'm not sure which you are contemplating. Possibly my own experience may be of some use. I bought a three year old X -Trail in the UK, only 13500 miles on the clock, at a very good price. I've just immatriculated it and paid €453, which included the malus of €63. I guess the figures for a Santa Fe would be similar. So not too bad at all. In my view buying second hand in the UK is the way to go. Bit of a hassle, but the savings compared to buying in France are enormous. I have yet to change the headlights. I bought the car from a company called Carsite. They sell cars which have come off lease. I found them very easy to deal with and completely straight. Hope this helps. Patrick