Paulhogan

I think you will find that all TV pictures for all the actual competitive events were provided by Olympic Broadcast Services, BBC were just another company taking the feeds and adding their comentary and studio sessions between events.

Hi As far as I know Prednisilone is not an equivalent to Piriton they are a corticosteroid and is usually used for control of asthma or inflamatory conditions and you generally take a short course, I doubt taking one or two would have any effect. They also have quite a few side effects. See http://www.patient.co.uk/medicine/Prednisolone.htm Hope the itching stops

Hi Sevendaver We bought an E Leclerc SIM about 2 years ago and from what I can remember the store had to send a fax or make a call to activate the SIM and we also had to make a call to activate the SIM. From memory the SIM as activated by the time we got home about 2 hours later. My french is pretty basic, no-one in the local E Leclerc spoke english, but I don't remember the process being that difficult. Just make the call to the number given and you may be pleasantly surprised. If not successful take the BB and SIM back to Tony and ask him to check if the store had done what they needed to activate SIM, if they have, then ask Tony to make the call for you to activate the SIM. We have been very pleased with the phone service from E Leclecrc and have not experienced any problems over the last 2 years.

Hi Burgundy Boy We swapped our old liber-t, which was about 5 years old, for a new slimline one on the way back to UK in late August. We stopped at the Sanef offices signposted off the autoroute just before the start peage north of Paris on the A1. We had used a UK credit card to pay the monthly invoices but when I changed the liber-t I had to change to a french bank account, not even a french debit card was acceptable, it had to be via a french bank account. I think this is to be fully implemented to all accounts held by non french residents by December this year if I understood correctly. Paul 

Hi We have not been to central Paris since June 09 but we ate at Cafe Constant at 139,rue Saint Dominique, the food and atmosphere was excellent on a a very busy Saturday night. They do not take bookings so it is a bit of a gamble to get a table but worth the short wait at the bar. We thought the prices reasonable for the menu but everyone has there own version of reasonable. Why not check out Tripadvisor.com for Paris restaurants. Paul  

The reason you may not see so many cars without headlamp converters is possible down to an increasing number of cars are fitted with Zenon headlights and you cannot fit headlamp deflectors on these lights due to the increased heat. I believe there is a new EU law which states that all new cars must have a means of converting headlights from inside the car, I believe new Audis and others have an option within the onboard menu system to lower the beam to prevent glare.

Hi We took a UK washing machine over to our house and the hose connection fitted the french pipework washing machine connector with no problem. I think all machines are now cold fill only, most houses have only one connection so you may need a Y connector if your machine is hot and cold fill.

[quote user="mattjazz"]Thats absolutely fascinating. Is there a similar one for commercial aircraft do you think?[/quote] Have a look at this site, I found it earlier this year when my son flew to Oz. The range is limited by US and European radar so coverage over Russia, etc is zero, but could be useful. http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightTracker/flightTracker.do Not sure whats happened to quote!!!

Hi Sorry to hear of problems with Sat Nav. I have used both a Navman and a Sony in France and have never had any problems either around Paris or in pretty rural areas. As for Paris I regularly travel around Paris by any of the three usual routes, (Francilienne , A3/A86 or the Periferique) depending on the traffic reports via the overhead signs and only generally experience problems and long delays due to accidents or during rush hour. I would also endorse the use of Mappy.com for route planning prior to departure. Good luck with trip Paul 

Hi, Watched the stage today, hats off to the stage winner and his team mate, Ricco said yesterday that Piepoli would win the stage. Any one heard any news on the Moto rider who crashed into the rock face next to the road on the way down the Tourmalet, looked bad on the TV?   Paul    

Hi We have used the N104 many times to get from A1 to the A6 and in the reverse, generally it's been pretty clear but is sometimes very busy for no apparent reason. It has been congested around the Evry area in last few years due to road works but last time we used it, on a busy Sunday evening last October, it was clear. We have also use the A3 / A86 route and the Periferique at various times, usually on Saturday and Sunday mornings and evenings, some trips busy, some trips very little traffic. it just seems to be pot luck. Best advice is look at the overhead signs as you approach the various junctions and take an informed guess as to best route. Good luck Paul

Hi We must have been extremely lucky on our trips since the infamous Calais ramp fiasco, or they know when MOH is on board and dare not sail late, she hates to be kept waiting. We rarely have any delay, have been accomodated on earlier and later ferries with no problems, even turned up with 15mins to go before departure and been told to drive straight onto the boat and the ramps closed and lifted right behind us. Went over at Easter on Norfolk Lines as they were offering some really good deals, less than £50 return, makes little difference to travelling times as we are on the Eastern side of France. On the way out left Dover on time, and arrived in Dunkerque on time. On the way back we were delayed, our own fault, too laid back about the time. Rang Norfolk Lines expalined we were running late and asked if possible to reschedule to later sailing, very easy to deal with, no surcharges or amendment fees, they actually seemed to value our custom. We shall use them again, boats were very clean, pretty good food at reasonable prices and joy of joy no coach parties of badly behaved school chlidren. All in all pretty happy with our recent cross channel experiences. Paul  

In the last 4 years we have been over to France many times, our car has only the blue EU type GB area on the number plate and we have not had any trouble with Gendarmes even though we have been stopped a couple of times for document checks, along with what seemed like half the population of our local town and once would you believe it at 9:30 on a Sunday morning for a breathalyser test. But as they say there will always be one!!!!! Paul

Hi David We regularly travel around or through Paris on the way to our place in Burgundy so we are reasonably confident on directions without too much referall to a map. I bought a Navman satnav early last year for day to day use in the UK but also got a set of European maps so decided to test it out on one of our trips. We found it to be pretty accurate getting all the way through Paris using the Periferique, not the route we would have chosen on a busy Sunday evening but nonetheless kept us on the right track. We also tried it on the way home but this time I decided to ignore the directions given and took the A86 / A4 route around Paris, the Navman recalculated the route each time we deviated from its suggested route and we had a really easy journey. So my advice would be give it a try, check which road type preferences you have set for journeys and just use common sense. Paul 

Went on Saturday, thanks very much Living France for the tickets. First visit for 3 or 4 years, last time we were on the verge of buying our little piece of France so wa very much an informatioon gathering trip. This time no such pressures so we had a great time looking around the various stands but like Will was surprised at the lack of regional tourist boards, no Gites or Logis de France, and fewer individual artisan stands. Watched a couple of the demonstartions in the Food Theatre and listened to Philip Faiers recounting his 50 day journey along the GR10 in the Pyrenees and sampled the food at Le Gavroche. All in all an enjoyable day. Paul