jamesg

John if you use Firefox and Thunderbird you can transfer all your passwords settings and emails with this: http://www.mozbackup.org/

If you change your mind and get a French one, I just bought an Acer online at a very good price.   It arrived in just under 24 hrs from placing the order.  Post again if you want the name of the supplier.

Hi ltf, I am having problems with Firefox too.   Mine seem to be related to google-analytics and are only a problem on some sites I need to log in to with a password.   Are you getting any error messages?  

That does sound painful Leo.

How about BOClean?[:D]

Suggest you turn on automatic updates.

[quote user="dreamer"] Also, has anyone had one of those seemingly very expensive all-year-round covers fitted?  Are they worth the money and any ideas on cost and a local company to supply/fit one?  Many thanks.[/quote] Not sure what you have in mind here, but if you mean an abri, bear in mind that you should achieve a discount of some 30% if you deal direct with a manufacturer such as Abrisud, rather than a local pool store. Cost depends on size, but maybe 7000€ for a 9 * 4 metre pool. A roller cover would maybe cost you around 3000€ but is unlikely to help heat the water.

I don't know whether you can read French, but if you can there is a forum where all these things are discussed: [url=]http://www.eauplaisir.com/annuaire/forums/index.php[/url]

Hi tel, This was in North Wales.   It was a new house and our water bill turned out to be from next door's meter and vice versa, we eventually got a £400 refund.   The electric bill with our name was addressed to two doors along with their reading.   The gas bill was not from our meter reading either and we were pursued by debt collectors for refusing to pay their overcharge. Finally the direct debits took ages to be operated correctly. After we left there we again had the debt collectors after us for the final gas bill, even though they had taken the payment by direct debit.   They were running up our UK mobile phone bill while we were in France.   In the end they apologised and sent a compensation cheque.

When we bought our house, we called at the EDF and Water offices with the seller on the takeover day and gave them the readings.   At the same time we gave them the RIB for direct debit and had the accounts transferred to us.   In the UK it took 2 years to get it all up and running, but here it was instant. If they are too far away I imagine a letter would do the same.

[quote user="Russethouse"]jamesg- have you ever been to Dorset ?[/quote] I love the south coast, but I have never had to wait 10 years to take over.   I don't suppose he has got bored with it all yet, so any holiday would seem like a waste of time.

[quote user="Frederick"]Tough on Gordon  Brown having to leave Dorset at the start of his hols to attend a meeting today ......havent they heard of video conferencing in No 10 yet ?.... he is not having much luck since he got the job is he ? .......[/quote] I expect he is still so excited about finally having succeeded in pushing Blair out, that he won't be worried about missing a boring looking holiday.   He was probably delighted to have an excuse to go back to hear them all saying 'yes prime minister' He will be looking forward to taking delivery of the PMs plane he 'gave' the money for when he was the Chancellor.

Hi Mark, Nearly all the campsites around there close at the end of September, including Municipal Les Ondines on the left as you enter Souillac from the south, by the Dordogne. I have stayed there when it was closed but maybe it usually has a barrier. There are a coupleof small sites about 5 km out to the west which say end of October.   I can post the phone numbers etc if they would be of interest.

[quote user="Patf"]He may be an imaginary being but his influence has concrete results. [/quote] Yes a load of trouble like any religious fanaticism.

We had exactly the same problem when we lived in North Wales.   Annoying the English is a popular hobby there too.   Visotors used to say that they switched into Welsh when they saw an English persion approaching.   Maybe that's what happens here in France. [6]

Having read through all these I can't help wondering about the posts that have been censored for the sake of political correctness. Why can we not be allowed to judge these comments for ourselves?

About 3 weeks ago we stayed on a campsite on the bank of the Seine at Pont de l'Arche just south of Rouen and there were otters swimming in the river just by our pitch. There seemed to be a family of them.

Hi From Peter's figure I would guess the boat is about 8 metres and 10 to 20 years old, or maybe newer and slightly smaller. This tax rises with tonnage and engine size and for a 10M sailboat with 20 HP motor was just over 250 euros in 2003. The tax of the same amount for foreign reg boats with resident owners or users is called "un droit annuel de passeport". Boats with flags of convenience are surcharged 3 or 5 times the amount. Presumably this name comes from the old "Passeport du Navire Etranger" which was known as the green card. I have the first one issued to me at Menton Garavan in June 1970 and stamped out at L'Aberwrach in September. If you wanted to leave your boat in France she could stay without duties as long as you handed this in to the duanes. In fact people used to stay on board without dificulties after handing in the card. James

On a slightly different subject, the french customs pay regular visits to yacht harbours looking for U.K. and other registered yachts whose owners are residents. They were asking if you have a carte de sejour but no doubt they now have another definition of a resident. French regisred yachts are required to pay a substantial annual tax and there is also a charge of the same amount under another name for resident owners of foreign flag vessels.