Philmco

We're with Caisse d'Epargne in France and just pay in a cheque about monthly from our UK account ; they give a good rate for the exchange and charge €9.15 for the transaction. They are also extremely efficient and pleasant to deal with (especially compared with Britline).

Not annoyed in the least, Chris! Just a bit of explanation for our younger friends (commonly known as useless information).

Back to the threepenny bit! Introduced in 1937 for the new king (Edward VIII); the Royal Mint struck a trial run to circulate to banks and other interested parties with his head on the obverse. However history intervened, and though all samples were supposed to have been returned to the Mint, some escaped into the wide world, and are pretty valuable (along with 1933 pennies!).

A friend hired a Case digger from a local agricultural dealer; no plates, no carnet d'assurance, and running on red diesel. The owner assured us it was fine to drive it about 6 kms down the Route Nationale, through the town (and back again). And no deposit was asked, not even  signature!

These books are a bit like a driving licence - once you pass your test you start to learn to drive!

That's right! Go on, blame me for it! You're as bad as the wife!!! Thanks for the link - I'll keep watching the site, but it seems to be mainly old taxis. Regards

I know it's a long shot but....my W124 saloon (E250TD) with the 5 cylinder motor has dropped a piston somehow at 210000 km (I know they are supposed to last for ever!). Is there anybody out there who's written off an E250TD and wants to sell the motor or buy my body (alright, BODYSHELL)?

I think the unknown ones will be very difficult to find!

Lard in French is "Saindoux" and should be in the fats section of the dairy cabinet.

Don't know, it's Opas' idea not mine!

You'll need to liaise with Dick Smith if you're ordering soya mice on-line, as he has lots of experience in posting kittens in and to various places, and could, I'm sure, help with the packaging requirements, etc.

As a mere man of a certain age, I am of course a very distinguished silver colour, without any artificial aids.

If a mere man dare comment, on Meteo.com, they regularly forecast P M T   -Storms;. Luckily the old girl stopped all that at 39!!

My wife was terrified of driving on the right, and for the usual marital reasons it was no use me accompanying her. I asked the local driving school proprietor if he would go with her for a couple of trips in her car to give her confidence, and it worked! And, being France, he wouldn't accept any payment: "it was your car and your petrol".

In Dick's absence,someone has to nit-pick. Going all the way back to Hagar's post that ZYZYGY was the only 6-letter word in the English language without a vowel, what about RHYTHM?????

Can't help you on timing belt costs, but my local Renault dealer's hourly labour rate is €36.12 TTC.

I always told my kids when they whinged that only boring people get bored.

We bought a couple of the cheapest base units and worktops from Castorama ( but Brico Depot, Mr Bricolage, et al. have similar); when the new kitchen was in, I used them to convert part of the garage into a utility room. From memory they cost about €80 in total.

The show at Limoges is worth a visit!

Chris You could try the Journee de Bois in July or August at La Chapelle Montbrandeix, in Haut-Vienne; you could enter a chainsaw carving competition against the local forestiers!! The Mairie 0555 78 75 69 would, I'm sure, be pleased to put you in touch with the Comite des Fetes. Good luck! Phil

If you hire a Compressor & pot, find out how to screw down the pressure control valve on the compressor; the setting for road guns, etc. isn't high enough for effective sandblasting,

I'm a regular lurker and only an occasional poster, but I do miss Miki's contributions. He probably was rather too committed to his very personal viewpoint in the last few days before his 'expulsion', but sledgehammers and nuts come to mind. Do other posters agree with me that some of their unease arises from a bright,shiny, new moderator carrying out the deed, especially in view of Miki's long membership, and frequently valuable contributions to the forum?

If you are in the Rioja, visit Haro or La Guardia; both wine centres with lots of opportunity to buy in the towns or at the actual wineries in their vicinity. And you can buy en vrac, but the bottle prices really don't make it worth the effort. ( How do I know this? My son lives in Vitoria, but has a house in the Rioja Alavesa).

[quote user="Dick Smith"]. I must admit to disliking the use of 'different to' as it is illogical, and as for 'different than' - that is hard to make any sense of. Or should I say that is a phrase of which it is hard to make any sense, not wanting to split any infinitives. [/quote]   Dick Fowler, MEU, page 113 (in my edition) "that d. can only be followed by from & not by to is a SUPERSTITION..........This does not imply that d.from is wrong:......it is only now usual owing to the dead set taken against d.to by mistaken critics. Couldn't resist it, sorry!! But my pet hate is 'disinterested' for 'uninterested' - there is a big difference.

Tony I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like the new style Rustica; I don't think I'll renew my subscription. On another tack altogether, you mentioned elsewhere that you worked for B & Q; my wife was interested as she spent 13 years with them, and wonders whether your path and hers crossed at any time.