Pickles

The EU has proposed that all vehicles, including those based at second homes, will have to be registered in the country of residence of the owner, removing the current exemptions for cars registered in the country of the second home of the owner. It hasn't gone beyond a proposal as yet IIRC. I'd be reluctant to take a flyer based on a one-off response from the DVLA which is 6 years old, reported second - hand in a selectively-quoted letter to a motoring column. It is interesting to note that Honest John's own website contradicts this letter, reporting the official line as recorded on the direct.gov website.

Some of the Tories want to leave the EU: others wish to stay, from what I understand.

The problems around Calais are not going away ... http://www.midilibre.fr/2015/05/12/calais-des-migrants-balances-par-des-crs-par-dessus-une-glissiere-sur-l-a16,1160291.php Last week when we came back to the UK we had a Thule "backup box" on the rear of the car to give us more space for bulky items that we were bringing back. Due to the publicity surrounding the escapades of the clandestines, for our last night in the Pas de Calais we automatically looked for accommodation away from Calais and with its own parking. Similarly, whilst visiting Cité Europe and refuelling, we again took precautions that wouldn't occur to us elsewhere. The situation for the lorry drivers is far worse. And yet the clandestins would apparently be far better off if they sought asylum in France ...

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]I've taken a few of these back from time to time.  No-one batted an eyelid [/quote] On Eurostar?

According to Midi Libre: http://www.midilibre.fr/2015/05/11/paris-il-voulait-prendre-l-eurostar-avec-un-obus-dans-son-sac,1159944.php it seems that someone tried to take an old shell or shell casing back to the UK. Delays all round ....

[quote user="Hoddy"]I think that this is what's happened to us Vette although we weren't insured with SAGA. I've got a horrible suspicion that we've probably been illegal for a few years. Hoddy[/quote] You are NOT illegal - it is just that they would perhaps not have paid out for your own losses, just those of third parties. As stated above, your policy is valid throughout the EU for the minimum required risks in the country in which any incident occurs (ie usually 3rd party risks) for the whole term of your policy. The limitation in time ONLY applies to those risks in excess of the minimum 3rd party risks - ie your own losses which would normally be covered under the comprehensive part of the policy but to which an overseas time limitation is applied by UK insurance companies.

Further to Chancer's post, it also may make a difference if the car is to be abroad for more than 31 consecutive days, so you need to be clear about that aspect as well. We use a broker called Bridle Insurance - easy to find them on the internet and they have given us very competitive insurance quotes catering for our needs.

A transcript can be found at the link below if you can imagine the words being spoken in PJO'R's mellifluous tones: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32657761

[quote user="Rabbie"]Total Yes votes in the referendum 1,617,989 Total SNP votes in this election     1,454,454 So I don't see any evidence for any No voters voting for the SNP this time around.[/quote] Indeed. All the SNP needed to win was for the the ex-No vote to be split - and it was.

[quote user="Rabbie"][quote user="Pickles"][quote user="Rabbie"]So did the voters in Scotland. Are you really saying that voters in Scotland are worth less than voters in other parts of the UK.[/quote] Nope, but opposition party MPs per se have less influence on what policies are enacted than MPs who are in government. Those voters that ended up represented by opposition party MPs, wherever in the UK thay are, are being represented by MPs who have less influence. [quote user="Rabbie"]Surely all MPs should have some influence or what is the point of electing and paying them regardless of where they represent.[/quote] I gained the impression from the outpourings of various SNP politicians and supporters that they were bargaining on getting what I would consider to be an undue and excessive influence as part of a coalition. Compared with that situation, the SNP at Westminster is now just another opposition party with little influence. Much like Labour. [/quote]It rather makes a nonsense of  democracy that the representatives of approx 36% of the voters should have more influence than the representatives of the remaining 64%. It is also a nonsense that UKIP with 12% only have one MP while the SNP get 56 MPs with only 5% of the votes.  And no I am not a UKIP or SNP supporter but it does highlight the need for a fairer electoral system but of course the larger parties are always going to block meaningful reform.[/quote] I agree with you absolutely, but when the public WAS given the opportunity to change the system not very long ago, they voted overwhelmingly to stay with what is misleadingly called First Past The Post. I felt that the case for some form of PR was appallingly badly presented, whereas the incumbent FPTP system was presented via a very slick but utterly content-less campaign. According to the Electoral Reform Society, under PR the results would have been: CON 244 LAB 201 UKIP 83 LD 52 SNP 31 Greens 25 DUP 3 PC 3 SF 3 UUP 2 SDLP 2 Alliance 1  

[quote user="Rabbie"]So did the voters in Scotland. Are you really saying that voters in Scotland are worth less than voters in other parts of the UK.[/quote] Nope, but opposition party MPs per se have less influence on what policies are enacted than MPs who are in government. Those voters that ended up represented by opposition party MPs, wherever in the UK thay are, are being represented by MPs who have less influence. [quote user="Rabbie"]Surely all MPs should have some influence or what is the point of electing and paying them regardless of where they represent.[/quote] I gained the impression from the outpourings of various SNP politicians and supporters that they were bargaining on getting what I would consider to be an undue and excessive influence as part of a coalition. Compared with that situation, the SNP at Westminster is now just another opposition party with little influence. Much like Labour.

Well, Clegg, Farage and Miliband have all fallen on their swords, although Farage gave the impression that this was only a temporary state and that in the immortal words of Arnie's Terminator character "I'll be back". Clegg was always on the back foot because he essentially lost the LibDem vote about 2 weeks after joining the coalition, when it became apparent that he had shredded his party's manifesto and binned it. With regards to Scotland, I reckoned that nearly all of those who voted Yes in the referendum will have voted for the SNP, whereas the No vote would have been split, so without tactical voting the SNP was always going to have a landslide. There doesn't seem to have been much evidence of tactical voting and so the landslide happened. There are now 50 or so SNP MPs who will be spending the next few years in Westminster in opposition with no power and no influence.

[quote user="vette"][quote user="Pickles"][quote user="vette"]It must have been very windy somewhere because, for the first time in over 300 Eurotunnel crossings, I saw a queue of HGV's backed up along the motorway and along the slip road at the Calais tunnel terminal. When we left the Mayenne, it was calm. Eventually the sun rose and it was lovely. As we neared Pas de Calais it threw it down. However, once in Folkestone it was sunny. It stayed that way until we arrived in Cheshire. All in all, a nice trouble free trip.[/quote] When did you come through? We came through the tunnel this morning (arrived at the check-in at 10:15) and didn't see a tailback on the slip road. A couple of the ferry operators had delays today. The rain waited until we were just walking out of Carrefour Cité Europe before the heavens opened. We had driven up to Calais over the last couple of days, dealing with the sidewinds (we had extra wind-catching area because of the roofbox and shelving on the roofrack and back box on the tow hitch) and occasional drenchings. [/quote] Hi Pickles. On Tuesday around 11.00.[/quote] Ah... That explains it. I believe that there have been/will be overnight works at Eurotunnel which have meant occasional overnight interruptions in services which might have exacerbated weather-related problems on other routes.

[quote user="vette"]It must have been very windy somewhere because, for the first time in over 300 Eurotunnel crossings, I saw a queue of HGV's backed up along the motorway and along the slip road at the Calais tunnel terminal. When we left the Mayenne, it was calm. Eventually the sun rose and it was lovely. As we neared Pas de Calais it threw it down. However, once in Folkestone it was sunny. It stayed that way until we arrived in Cheshire. All in all, a nice trouble free trip.[/quote] When did you come through? We came through the tunnel this morning (arrived at the check-in at 10:15) and didn't see a tailback on the slip road. A couple of the ferry operators had delays today. The rain waited until we were just walking out of Carrefour Cité Europe before the heavens opened. We had driven up to Calais over the last couple of days, dealing with the sidewinds (we had extra wind-catching area because of the roofbox and shelving on the roofrack and back box on the tow hitch) and occasional drenchings.

[quote user="Cendrillon"]and ..................................Radio France has been on strike for 3 weeks now. Financial difficulties, Radio France has to make cuts, staff don't want cuts = STRIKE! plus ca change! [/quote] Presumably at some point Radio France will have saved enough from not paying strikers' wages that they won't need to make any cuts this year ...

It's Easter, so to kick off the holiday season nicely, of course the French ATC has gone on strike for two days. Ryanair has apparently cancelled 250 flights.

Apparently passport checks are being introduced today. Great! Did they know that we were travelling today?

[quote user="halfblind"][quote user="woolybanana"]Surely, the breakdown is the proof. Some part of the kit is not up to the minimum life expected of two years?[/quote] There is nothing in the law that states that the life expectancy is 2 yrs, and the fact that the manufacturer only guarantees the product for 1 yr then the case is closed ! [/quote] But the law requires that the product be fit for purpose. Being fit for purpose implies the expectation that it will continue to work for a reasonable life. If you knew that the product was only going to last a year, you wouldn't have bought it and a reasonable person would expect it to last longer than that. The fact that it died so young indicates that there is a fault in the product either in design or manufacture which has resulted in a slow-acting cause that has killed it. The maker's guarantee is SUPPLEMENTAL to your legal guarantee rights, which are that it should work for a minimum of two years. The fact that the maker's guarantee is only one year is irrelevant: you have a basic right to expect it to work for a minimum of two years (and more if it is normal to expect such a product to last longer), and that is guaranteed in European consumer law. The supplier cannot dodge that responsibility (though they will try very hard, hoping that you will just give up).

Best seats? Saab. Always Saab. But Saab is no more so we ended up with a Merc after trying bone-shaking test drives in Audis and various other makes. It seems to be all part of the "how fast will it go around the Nurburgring?" fixation that some motoring writers (and hence car makers) have. I have heard and read that the main French manufacturers (especially Citroen) have opted for harder rides and less comfort than they used to (and which made their name).

The online brochure for the C4 Picasso mentions an FM radio as well as DAB.

[quote user="debabaudus"]I am looking to buy a nearly new Citroen C4 Picasso in the UK, and then reregister it over here (in the Limousin) I am fairly up to date with all the admin required to register, but I notice that the spec for the new UK version of the Picasso includes a DAB radio. I think that DAB doesn't work in France....so could I be left with a car with no radio (just CD and MP3°? Any help gratefully received Debabaudus[/quote] Doesn't the DAB radio also do FM?

I've ressurected this thread because of an article in Midi Libre today: http://www.midilibre.fr/2015/04/04/securite-routiere-le-kit-mains-libres-au-volant-interdit-le-30-juin,1145737.php I could've sworn that this topic came up more recently but the search function isn't playing for me very well. Just goes to show how long it takes from proposals to implementation. The rule that come into force at the end of June are Reduction in maximum permitted alcohol level for novice drivers (ie less than 3 years since passing their test) to 2g per litre of blood. Wired earpiece hands-free kits banned for motorists in cars and on motorcycles. Bluetooth hands-free kits permitted. Experimental reduction in speed limits from 90 km/h to 80 km/h on certain roads. Increased fines for parking on pedestrian crossings, cycle paths and pavements.

The person who made the post mentioning a PDF joined on 6/11/2011, made ONE post, on that date, and has not been back to the board since. His email address may also have changed in the intervening 3.5 years...

[quote user="Quillan"] To be honest and to teach the banks a lesson they should have let RBS go to the wall and the same with Northern Rock. [/quote] Northern Rock WAS allowed to go to the wall as far as shareholders were concerned ...

[quote user="mint"][quote user="Fittersmate"]We also used to pay once a year in Morbihan but now it is 3 x a year. This started when, instead of sending two separate bills for tax and Social Charges, they changed to sending one which covers both.[/quote] Now that you have mentioned the timing, I do believe you are right in that the change took place when they merged the previously two separate taxes into just the one demand. [/quote] I always thought that below a certain sum due in tax, the tax was collected once, essentially in arrears, but above that sum it was collected three times, with two of those payments effectively being "in advance". Therefore, once the social charges were suddenly rolled into the sum due, that took some people, who had previously paid once per year, above the threshold and so needing to pay 3x per year.