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[quote user="dwmcn"]It rained most of the two weeks we were in Brittany this year in June-July (2012) on a campsite near Nevez. But then, it probably rained all that time in England as well. Next year, Dordogne.[/quote] I'm sorry to hear that you had a wet holiday. I've noticed on the TF1 weather forecast over the past few years that poor spells of summer weather often extend across much of France as a diagonal band running from the south west to the north east, and often include the whole Atlantic coast and certainly the Dordogne. Sometimes only the Mediterranean coast and sometimes only the Riviera escaped. Unfortunately a two week holiday is just a snapshot of a climate. If you check the 2012 weather record for the Dordogne you'll find that it rained on 15 days in June and 14 days in July and whilst it was not very heavy it is an indication of the prevailing weather. The record for Vannes in south Morbihan show that it rained somewhat harder for 18 days in June and15 days in July. http://tinyurl.com/boldvxy The area where we live in south east Morbihan enjoyed almost uninterrupted sunshine from mid July until last weekend and all our gite guests during the UK school holidays had a wonderful time. I don't want to encourage you not to come to France, but don't write off Spain - away from the well known resorts there are wonderful towns and villages that rival anything that France has to offer and the historic sites are fabulous. Steve

[quote user="Gardian"] The Unions and employees have made their point and as I understand it, have agreed to return to work. [/quote] I can't find anything about an agreement to the past week's dispute? There was an agreement reached a week ago that was presumably misinterpreted by both sides and led to the wildcat strikes and the shutdown. What's needed is an agreement to the agreement [:)] Steve  

[quote user="Rabbie"] So taking both theses remarks together you feel that these people having very bad working conditions should not be able to go on strike to improve them if all else fails. Surely people should be able to improve their working conditions in this day and age[/quote] I'm not sure that Brittany Ferries crews have particularly bad working conditions and "in this day and age" I would expect employees would view striking with some caution. The disagreement with some of the crew is about some of the contributions they are being asked to make in an effort to turn the company around.   Realistic employees of many large concerns in Brittany, as in the rest of France, have made sacrifices such as partial unemployment to help save the units they work for, with some success. Brittany Ferries following Sealink into liquidation has been discussed for some time in the maritime press. Steve

Brittany Ferries have lost 11 million euros over the past two years partly because of the weakness of sterling.  The company does 85% of its business in sterling while (probably) 85% of its costs are in Euros. One doesn't need to be an economic genius to realise the pitfalls in that setup. Steve

I can't find anything to say that agreement has been reached. The latest news is that things will be clarified on Monday afternoon. Its a shame that such actions impact on other peoples lives, but that isn't the particular preserve of travel companies. I booked our gite guests and my family on alternative travel as soon I saw the problem ahead. Although Brittany Ferries are sending everyone to Calais, LD lines and Condor have both had car space available on their Normandy routes and BF have said they will refund unused travel perhaps plus other costs. Steve

They cancelled the boats because the uncertainty beforehand meant that they had hundreds if not thousands of cars and passengers at the ports and on their ferries, no-one knowing whether they would be sailing or not - its a pita but at least things are clear now and with the fleet tied up it should concentrate minds. Steve    

All Brittany Ferries crossings now suspended until further notice except Cherboug-Poole Condor service. Steve

Most Sailings cancelled tomorrow Friday 21st http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/routes/sailing-updates Steve

I can't tell you what half mineral half synthetic is as I don't have any here. It is not "mixte" as that refers to suitability for essence or diesel engines. "de technologie synthése" or "100% synthése" will be on synthetic oils. I bought 5 litres of Mobil1 5-30 ESP in Roady the other day at €60, which works out slightly cheaper than Halfords online price of £52 (or £18 for a 1litre bottle!). If you're lucky you may find it in a supermarket slightly cheaper, but I've looked around our local city supermarkets (Vannes) and they didn't have it. Steve

Just trying to bump this up. Steve

I'm not sure if this is quite what you are looking for, but if your son has lived in the UK, and if everything is as it was four years ago, he qualifies for all loans and (particularly) grants that a UK student does. I very luckily found this out by accident but I've seen it discussed here in the education section since. Steve

We have Free €0 and €2 contracts. Unfortunately one can't phone or text outside of France with these contracts - this may affect some people. We have a backup Asda prepay sim that works to and from just about anywhere in the world - at a price - but we're discussing occasional users here. No abonnement and no loss of credit provided there's a chargeable event every six months. "With ASDA Mobile you can make calls from anywhere in the EU from just 28p a minute and receive calls for just 7p a minute. And texts are great value too - you can send texts for just 8p and they're FREE to receive. You can also make calls from one EU country to another from just 28p per minute." Steve

For anyone who feels that they would like to make a contribution: http://www.clubarnage.com/forum/index.php?topic=11625.0 Steve

[quote user="Alan Zoff"] Wish I had met her. Feels as if I had. [/quote] My sentiments exactly. She must have been very special to have touched so many lives. Such a pity that we didn't meet Debs at the classic. Everyone is thinking of you both Ian. Steve

You two deserved a much longer break from health problems than you have had. I do hope that your doctors get you sorted soon. Steve

This might be cheerful if you continue it a little way down the walls: http://www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk/products/anna-french/sky/73488 alhough at only 2.5 metres high you might get Chicken Licken syndrome...... Steve

If an electric heater consumes 1200W of electricity it delivers 1200W of heat, no more although different types of heater deliver their heat it different ways. The economic arguments for expensive electric radiators are based on their controllability - the only way they can be cheaper to run than other radiators is if they have switched themselves off more often.   Leroy Merlin says that an average room requires 1000W heating per 25 cubic metres, in the UK 1000W per 15 cu metres is recommended. Go for fast radiators with fan or some radiation effect if the room will be unheated when not used, or slower (oil, chaleur douce or storage) radiators if the room will always be heated.  In either case the wattage must be sufficient for the volume if electricity is the sole heating source.   Leroy Merlin has a good fact sheet on choosing electric heating that also explains in diagrams how the heat is distributed by different types of heater:   http://www.leroymerlin.fr/multimedia-storage/7/dbc3deeaa0e2bbcd8b7571cf638b618-reussir_prise_de_mesure_chauffage_electrique.pdf     Bear in mind that open-element heaters dry the air which is great if you enjoy picking your nose [:)].   Electronic thermostats control a radiator more accurately than mechanical ones.   If it is an option, an intelligent programmable electronic thermostat mounted in the occupied part of the room, coupled to a contactor controlling simple radiators in the room, is a better way of achieving a "central heating" effect.   If you can insulate and draught proof individual normal sized rooms and heat them only when they are being used, then your electric heating will not be particularly expensive to run.   If the wattage chosen is too low and the heater struggles to maintain a comfortable temperature, you will feel chilly as your body will be contributing to heating the room.   Steve

[quote user="cooperlola"]I, on the other hand like skinny men (if you ever met Mr C you'd see what I mean) - I guess opposites attract.[:D][/quote]  No chance for me then! Kristen Scott Donkey yes John, but mostly because I felt sad for her in her role in 4W+1F, rather than thinking her pretty like a 904. Similar nose though..... Steve

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18912742 just assuming you're in a position to do something. Steve

I've always liked racers that looked as though they worked straight out of the box - no add-ons necessary. For sheer pretty I like the 904GTS...... and Keira Knightley. Coming down to earth my 1.2 8v Punto elx is missing a cylinder when I start it up and has a water leak, I like to tackle these things professionally, can you still get Radweld or will powdered egg work?............. Steve

If you connect your TomTom to your computer and open the TomTom folder in My Computer then open the Western_Europe folder, you can delete the Radar_FR_TomTom.ov2 file which is the French camera database. Don't delete the Fartkamera file though, thats an option that not many people know about.... Steve

We're not into proper photogaphy but here's our best photo http://www.relaxcheznous.com/cobra_daytona.jpg taken by our son. A bit blurred, but he got the wheel in the air! I think this one is before your time (he said politely) but I've scanned my old photo of a Piper car (a 250P?) http://www.relaxcheznous.com/pipers_car_scan.jpg taken around 1965 on out of date film - hence the odd colour, it cost about a week's wages to buy and process a colour film in those days! Thank you very much for your offer of ACO grandstand seats in 2014. On reflection I should have joined myself before buying tickets following JJ's post but didn't cotton on to the free "pilotage"? days that I'd like to take advantage of. Thanks again, Steve

I've a bit more time now........ We had a great time thank you. We watched the first two grids race on Saturday from our grandstand and then wandered around the village to see if we could spot a) The bar in question, and b) A red Corvette. Well, we found b, several in fact but then the heavens opened and right afterwards their owners whisked them all away somewhere to be blow dried or something. For some reason I was looking for the Club Arnage Bar and no-one, including the little train driver knew where it was - no wonder as it didn't exist and I should have been looking for the Courbe Bar, but I didn't know that until I got home and re-read the thread.....I think that we may have seen your car though if it was parked in the Morgan club parking on Saturday afternoon, unusual colours although the shop at Loheac museum sells a model one just like it. Unable to find the wrong bar, we decided to give that a miss especially as it clashed with dinner, but over the rest of the weekend I got some very frightened over-the-shoulder looks from several women on mobility scooters that I followed looking for that sticker! We drove out to Indianapolis/Arnage at 11 and watched the racing until 2.30AM and then got some shuteye before watching the faster grids from 8AM onwards at Ford and Dunlop, and looked down on the Esses from Tertre Rouge (and all points in between). Another wander around the village before downing a can of Red Bull and leaving to get home in time for the end of the tennis.... I renewed my acquaintance with all those racing cars that I watched, studied and occasionally got a ride in as a youngster and was surprised how I now liked the appearance of some cars that didn't excite me much back then. Those that stirred me then though were still thrilling to watch now, particularly the Cobras twitching their tails out of the corner onto the pit straight - I guess that the better grip of their modern tyres has been matched by performance upgrades on the original engines that keeps the car as fun to watch as it always was. (Mind you, seeing Jack Brabham's arm movements in his open Cobra as he tried to set it up for Paddock takes a bit of beating!) Four speed gearboxes in those Cobras too - onto the pit straight in third and not changing up until the end of the pits, wonderful to see such a spirited drive from David Hart matched by a wonderful soundtrack. The compleat Cobra - it sounded like he was machine gunning the pits! The T70s were wonderful too, my T70s were the open CanAm ones that knocked the formula one lap times for six and led to the closure at the time of Goodwood as a race venue. Francois Fillon in a M1 too....respect. I've always assumed that at the 24 hours the cars settle into a procession (one reason why I've never gone), but at the Classic weekend each grid race was a blast to the flag, with minor issues fixed between races and earlier rivalries resumed in the following race. Generally great viewing too although it was a pity that the "any grandstand with any grandstand ticket after 8PM" concession didn't carry through to the Sunday when we could again only enter the (crummy) stand we had tickets for and we couldn't use it go into other stands that were two thirds empty. Thats my only grouse. I suffered a bit from all the walking on uneven surfaces and why I thought I would be comfortable in a little tent I don't know! I think in 2014 I'll bring Sue and stay at a hotel that we'll book well ahead. Thanks for all the advice and link to the Club Arnage website that contributed to us having a great time! Yup, shame about the biscuits, I was so proud of that touch...... Steve

Huh. We ate both packs of Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Ginger and Oatmeal Cookies that I procured specially on the way home. Steve [;-)]

Well, Cooperlola said to meet her at a bar at the LM Classic... Steve