Gastines

It seems that most forum readers like a bit of gossip and as I haven't ventured onto the OTHER site for about 3 years it sounds most interesting. Regards.

I still don't know which forum it actually came from. Regards.

Reading Boiling a frog's posting is what made me think it came from this forum,can't believe it's from A.I. as that is like Exchange and Mart. Regards.

Having just had an e-mail from the Mods. about what is and what is not acceptable on the forum,does this mean I can now return to reading the Daily Mail without criticism? Regards.

To get rid of a Fouine we had in our roof.I had to put two layers of fine wire mesh ,screwed on, around the roof corners where he was getting in.One night we went out with a torch and saw him hanging on the wire trying to chew his way in.Bit odd as in the houses around us there are plenty of open stores/barns. Regards.

Has the UK finally lost the plot. After seeing an ex-cricket captain escorted to his car by 4 ARMED police I thought that just about sums up why the UK is in such a state. Regards.

Can they please design a velo that doesn't sound like Concorde.My B.I.L.has some huge bike that  is so quiet you virtually can't tell if he's freewheeling. At least the sun keeps shining. Regards.

Same as on the ferries,always pay in Sterling. They have obviously realised that by keeping thier tills at 66p-euro they are overcharging everyone 30%. I wonder if there is a law about it?Fraud? Regards.

Perhaps Israel could be moved to a new state in the USA? Centres of religion seem to have moved around over centuries without any major problems. I've often wondered at the logic of founding a Jewish State in the middle of the Arab world. I do remember rather a lot of British soldiers getting killed and booby trapped there not that many years ago. Regards.

I've already been out 4 times today as the water in the bird dishes keeps freezing.They have had a varied diet today of the usual Sun flower seeds,fat balls,broken walnuts,bread but have the extra of Tagliatelli/rice and old weetabix. As I can see 10 varieties of bird outside the kitchen window at the moment I presume they like the menu.One "Redstart",I think,  has been in the garden for about 5 weeks now and yesterday we had 2 Goldfinches eating the seeds on the Hibiscus bushes. I thought they would be long gone by now? Each morning I have to open the greenhouse door to let the nightly collection out.There is a small hole in one sheet of glass and they have found it's warmer in than out. The Jenny Wrens are braving the bird table but not sure what they eat up there? Regards.

When I mentioned Emerson,Lake and Palmer to my music mad 16yr old granddaughter,she didn't know who I was talking about.I did fit carpets fo Greg Lake and Carl Palmer but neither recognised me or asked for my autograph. Bob Harris was on Mastermind the other night and although he managed to beat my 3 correct answers, he didn't do very well. The voice is still the same though. Regards

Could anyone have foreseen last years events? Obviously the Exchequer and the Banks mananged to keep all the problems quiet untill too late and I believe most at the top end seemed to have been bailed out. The general idea now seems to be to make anyone who has any capital to spend it as interest rates are now virtually nil. The only people unaffected are those living on benefits and those with pension schemes bolstered by the taxpayers. I note with amazement that people seem prepared to spend fortunes watching football matches. Regards.

On a recent visit to Bournemouth we noticed that our old house ,sold 10 years ago and on the market again for the last year,has dropped in price from 425k -395k-375k and now 340k/? I think we sold it for about165k and I note the only improvement inside and out is a new garage door, about £300.When it gets back to that price it might be worth buying back, however I note the Council Tax is £1800 a year, I wonder how long it will be before it is in line with the drop in value or as I suspect,increased? Regards.

If buying anything on B.Ferries, pay in Sterling. If you look at the price they ring up in Euros they are still at the 66p rate. Basically overcharging you about 30% if you pay in Euros. Hopefully when the Barfleur goes in for it's 2 month refit they will adjust the tills? Regards.

It seems to be the normal English response these days to kick someone when they are down.I hope they have looked after their own better than the thoughts they extend on this site. I'm leaving you now and I may be gone for some time. Regards.

Take the receipt to your insurance company.ours cost 240 euros. the amount was paid back into the bank in a couple of days. We didn't even know it was covered but the reception girl at the glass firm advised us that it is normally covered by your house insurance. Regards

I'm a workman not a Financial Advisor but HSBC also do a 6month and 1 year high interest bond. Capital as secure as it can be.£50K was 5% Pa for 6 months and 1 yr was5 1/2% PA. You can also have more than one and as we have found in France it is beneficial to have Joint accounts as Mr.A  or Mrs A.,not Mr. & Mrs A.  The advantage in France is that you can then have 2 Epargne accounts and if you partner passes away you can still withdraw cash. Presuming you trust your partner? However I do think that if you have cash in hand and are not too reliant on the interest,now might be the time to make a very short offer on UK or UK owned property. I note in the Bournemouth Echo today that in Poole they built 115 flats to sell from £200k -£500k. have only sold 11 and are now on offer MINUS 30%. Regards.

Ref my point about HSBC. Sue 's post said only if you have previous account. Not so. After having hopeless service from Halifax and HBOS we took our five bob out,sold the shares at just under £10, and went to about 7 or 8 banks and building societies in Bournemouth's main street. Same enquiry,"No UK address,French tax resident, what can you offer". From memory I think in 4 we got fed up with waiting for anybody to serve us, then went into HSBC and they said no problem,suggested Premium account. 5.25% and filled in tax free forms. Debit cards etc can be used anywhere and HSBC branches in most major towns. 24 hr phone service etc. I will be having a scout around in UK in a few weeks time to see what's happening or on offer. HSBC Isle of Man did not offer the same deal or protection. Regards.

Hsbc allowed us to open Premium addount. No UK address. Regards.

Regular feed +clean water seems to bring a steady and varied flock to our birdtable and garden. Hedges all around with a wire fence inside so no cats plus plenty of hiding,resting places. 20 boxes of various shapes and sizes so we have resident families of most of the common garden birds,wrens being the noisiest. European goldfinch my favourite and we did have one nest box with them in last year.A friend from Bournemouth visiting last week spotted 17 types just in our back garden of 500sq mtrs.We are now lucky enough to have a songthrush visiting every day.As the big pond has been filled in a regular unwanted visitor has departed,a Heron. Our visitor got a thanks in Colin Tudge's new bird book ,as being a starter for his interest in birds. Regards.

Is the Governments exercise,along with the Bank of England's help, purely to ensure that anyone with any capital spends it? The interest paid on most investments will be lucky to keep up with inflation over the next couple of years. UK property is taking a dive in most areas but if you think that's a good investment you get clobbered with the extra council taxes/service outgoings plus the Exchequer will have their grasping hand out for tax on any unearned incomeor profit. The only people unaffected by the present problems seems to be those fortunately,or unfortunately,on benefits.We have both ends of the spectrum in our family,one working all hours possible to keep her head above water and one lot who breed like rabbits, don't work and have every gadget going. Two bricks come to mind and yes, you can change the B.I have offered to pay for the op if the bricks don't work. The system at present doesn't encourage the wasters to change thier situation as there is no way,or any jobs, that would pay anywhere near the handouts they receive. And a Happy Christmas from me. Regards.  

All the points you state are well covered on this and other sites. The main difference you will find here is that if you visit the offices concerned with your tax/health/car queries they can be dealt with straight away and worries dealt with. We have found the staff in ALL the offices including tax, very helpfull. The main thing here is to take all the correct documents with you and ensure you get the UK end to deal with things. Finances are now easier to work out and if you reckon on 1 euro equal to 1 pound , that should take care of any increases for a few years. Regards.

The site is  www.newzealandshipping.co.nz click on comments and there are amazing stories from crew and passengers.The ships used to go to various ports all over the world. Regards.

There were quite a few Rangi's. as in Rangitoto etc etc. For List a details of New Zealand Shipping Company click on their website and it gives full deatils. After Peter's visit I can add,not all from NZ,...Hertford/Cumberland/Kent/Remuera/Highland Monarch/Brighton. First trip on The Kent at age 15. Regards.

A long time friend, at the moment visiting us with his wife, often tells us tales of his trips on the Rangi's and other ships. I hoped to surprise him with some news of shipmates and thanks to the wonders of the web,a mystery to me most of the time, I have been contacted by people from New Zealand/Australia and Houston in 2 days. The chap in Houston has a web site about the Rangitki as his father was Captain for some years,New Zealand Shipping Company and he directed me to www.rms.rangitki.com which actually has 4 pix of my pal on it. The Comments on the N.Z.S.C. site are very interesting reading. Peter has now given us a list of other ships he and his late brother Lief served on and we have found the search fascinating. Peter was on the last trip of the Rangitki when it was beached,prior to scraping, on the beach at Santander in 1962. Regards