cabman

Not sure if this should be in the garden section but we'll carry on. Alane,  are you able to be more specific on the setting of these traps? Mine have a little square of stiff wire and a pair reversed of pliers . Presumably to hold them open. Do you lay them prongs up or prongs down?... and so on.

Tony, bizarre behaviour I agree. I wondered why the moderators don't pull the plug on Mr T.K. The answer, it seems, is in the Code of Conduct 2nd paragraph: " Please be aware that it is a message board which from time to time is visited by hoaxers and those not necessarily interested in discussing France and French lifestyle. If you encounter users who you feel are abusing the message boards, please do not respond to them. These users are only encouraged when their messages provoke a response, so the best thing you can do is ignore them and inform the administrators." I guess it takes all sorts.

"Do the French have any totally wastefull things to throw money at that are quite as shallow, vain and pretentious as personal registrations...?"   How about this?  Does it count?   Home > Forums Home > Bring & Buy (or Sell...) Cart wheels for sale Author - Ty Korrigan Topic posted - 12/07/2005 at 19:28 --------------- More cart wheels! This time two pairs offered. Photos available. These would make a super feature in a cottage garden. Pair one: 95% good condition/solid wood 175euros Pair two: In excellent condition 300euros  

"Is that AA related? Because it's pretty much what I had thought before I phoned the AA to ask why my cover hadn't been renewed." Do you mean Europ Assistance? I've had it for about 8 years. Had them out for an oil-pump failure on a Frontera whilst returning home from France in the first year of cover. Transported us and the car to Dover, then provided a local service from Dover to Oxford. Sold the Frontera pronto, but hung on to Europ Assistance. I don't think they are related to the AA, but who knows who owns what these days? I think there is a policy wording PDF link at  http://www.europassistance.co.uk

I have Europ Assistance annual multi-trip policy with medical add-on. I just dug it out, and wording states: "Each vehicle to be covered must be less than 16 years old at the date of departure of the planned trip, or in the case of Annual Multi-trip cover, at the inception date of the insurance".  

You're absolutely right Ron. My wife calls it quality family time. 2 teenagers and a twenty year old - I'm often not so sure!

Thank you Nick. That is a help. I know very little about electricity. My 20year old daughter likes to come fishing, but quickly gets bored if the action is slow. Seems a couple of hours of uni work or a DVD on the computer should do no harm. Probably best to park facing downhill though!

Does anyone know the formula for how long a laptop would run from cigarette lighter plug-in without the car battery failing to start the engine from stationary? The in-car adaptor for my laptop has an output of  +16V  4.5A   Output power 75W maximum.

The existing A28 is free from Abbeville to Rouen. I presume the extended autoroute will include a new bridge over the Seine somewhere to the east of Rouen. Can we expect a new peage at some point?

Great! I was beginning to think there were only vegans on this forum. I see there are a few of copies of the Floyd on Fire book on ebay. I may risk a couple of quid or so. Concerning meat generally, I read somewhere, maybe here, that the French hang their meat differently. I don't remember if it's for a longer or shorter time. I wonder if this could contribute to the cooking process?

I'll also endorse the Moneybookers.com option. I've used it several times during the past year. Good exchange rates and a fixed fee of £2.39. I have internet banking with HSBC and a kind of internet statement viewing with Credit Agricole, so it's all done online.  Takes 3-4 working days for money to appear in Moneybookers account then a further couple of days to withdraw into French account. Moneybookers email me when they've received a credit.   

I've just paid mine online. www.impots.gouv.fr   Took about five minutes, printed my own receipt.

While living in France this summer, we've eaten outside almost everyday. Barbecueing seems a traditional male task in our house, don't ask me why. Problem is I'm no chef, and my barbecued steaks although pink inside, have varied between dryish to shoe leather. I've parted with good money at local butcher, market butcher-van and prepacked supermarket.  I've usually gone for faux filet cut around 2cms thick, grilled 2-3 minutes both sides on a gas grill. Any tips or recipes greatly appreciated before the weather drives us indoors.

I am reasonably happy with McAfee Spamkiller. Probably not the cheapest around, but combined with their antivirus and firewall in the same package works fine and blocks all but the odd one of about 20-30 spam messages a day. Idiot-proof download and fine tuning too!

I was in Celle-Dunoise last week and yes, there still seems to be canoeing available. I have to say I didn't actually see anyone on the water, but there were fibreglass canoes beached beside the little bathing place. Also there is a boathouse containing canoes almost next to the campsite. I enquired casually at the Auberge des Pecheurs (English owned) and received a flyer for the canoes but I'm currently back in the UK and the paperwork is in France. Hope this is of some help, and I'd be interested to know how you get on.  

Thank you for the replies. This forum never fails! It seems a cheap unit is currently fitted so replacement mecanism de chasse it is. Just as a final bit of holding my hand, do I remove the cistern which is close-coupled with 2 bolts? Also, if so, is it better to turn off mains supply and disconnect the UK-type tap connector, or does the ball valve come apart after turning off it's own isolation tap? Any extra bits likely to be needed or pitfalls?    

We have a problem in as much as the cistern flush pipes on both of our WCs don't always reseat  squarely after flushing, causing the cistern to run constantly. The system involves a rubber seal landing on mouth of the flush tube.  Jiggling the pull handle stops the flow, but visitors are usually not so careful, and I remember that pre-wedding scene from the film Meet the Fokkers! Does anyone know if this is this a fixable problem or another of those French plumbing funnies?

Am I missing something in this thread, or isn't Vieux Bruges a fairly expensive Belgian beer?

"The other problem with 3-phase is safety: if you get a shock off mono, it will generally give you a nasty, but you'll probably survive. A shock across phases on 3-phase will probably kill." Slightly worrying! I'm not sure which we have, single or 3-phase.  How can I tell?

You're right about there being a bit of a ruck in the arrivals at Limoges. Same in departures! What some people do, is leave the missus to fight for the luggage from the carousel, while nominated driver swiftly exits customs and presents himself first at the car-hire desk. Then nonchalantly waits with engine running for a quick getaway. Not sure how missus would comment on this subject. Having said that, there are about 4 different desks and the wait isn't too bad, as most people have pre-booked and it's simply sign and collect keys.  I've always got National Citer at Limoges from Holiday Autos. Cars are new but you need to watch out for, and report minor dings and scratches. Anyone know when the big tent goes by the way?  

Towards the end of last year, I asked one of the Limoges taxi drivers for a quote for a ride about 80km east of the airport. I asked just the one, but I remember the rate was around 1euro50cents per kilometre. A bit expensive I thought, compared to UK. Previous poster's experience confirms that rate. I guess it's a bit like hiring London taxis from the stands at Heathrow. Expensive on the meter, but worth trying to negotiate a cheaper fair before jumping in. If it's a regular trip, a local driver from your area would probably cost less, and be very happy to meet you.

I'm in Creuse and get Astra signals as good as in UK with 60cm dish. I was persuaded to use a beeping satellite finder when I was setting my system up. Total waste of money as it beeped for everything it found, and I guess there are a lot of satellites up there! In the end I abandoned the finder and simply found the correct location with my son's scout compass and slowly moved the dish a degree at a time.Took about 10 minutes. One thing I was surprised by, was the lack of tilt required. I have a 60cm oval mesh dish and it's fixed almost vertically. I'd expected to tilt it upwards much more. Good luck and Happy viewing/listening.

Try this: Open Outlook Express. Click on Tools. Click on Options. Click on Connection. Is the box ticked 'hang up after sending/receiving'? If so, untick it and click OK!

Buying a house unseen, in an unknown area, on the opposite side of the World? You should certainly get 10/10 for guts! Luckily, I think you've done okay if it's French rural living you're after; in fact this part of France is about as rural as it gets. We have a holiday home at Bussiere-Dunoise nearby. We nearly always spot wild deer in the countryside when we drive over to Dun le Palestel. (local market on Thursday mornings) Here's a web-site for starters. http://perso.wanadoo.fr/mairiedecrevant//sites/creuse/creuse.htm 

Dick and Ecossais, thank you for the advice. But for this forum, I'd still be going around and around in circles!