suein56

[I] We found our house in the small ads of the local paper - have you tried that? Sue

[quote user="Miggimeggi"][quote user="Spg"][quote user="Miggimeggi"][quote user="sid"] [/quote] Thank you very much for that tip Sid.  I dumped Norton (supplied pre-loaded with my new computer) several months ago but was left with bits & pieces that wouldn't go with XP uninstall programmes.  Found the tools to which you refer few minutes ago, ran the programme and it seems to have worked for me too. Great.!!!!!! Anne [/quote] Hi Could someone please direct me to whereabouts you found the tools to uninstall all those rogue bits and pieces of Norton? I have looked at the Symantec site but not found the tools you mention. I want to uninstall Norton from my OH's laptop and should like to be forearmed before I attempt this as I had such an awful time when I uninstalled 2003 from my pc last year - it is still not quite right.  Thanks Sue [/quote] Hi Sue, Sorry I did not  see this post before now.  Try this link http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nip.nsf/docid/2004092711224136?Open&src=bar_sch_nam&docid=2001090510510636&nsf=nip.nsf&view=16c1d01d537bf4d188256d8e0076b346&dtype=&prod=&ver=&osv=&osv_lvl=&seg=ag  I know it is huge but it just as I copied it from the address bar at the site. It should take you to the page from which I started to uninstall the last bits of Norton from my computer.  Someone said "don't" but I removed it about 3 days ago and so far, have noticed no ill effects.   Not being an expert, I just followed the instructions very carefully and, naturally, did not continue to the part about reinstalling Norton. Anne [/quote] Anne Thanks for the info. As I said I am proposing to uninstall Norton on my OH's laptop and as his is newer and more shiny than my old pc I am taking every precaution I can before I face the task. Sue

[quote user="Miggimeggi"][quote user="sid"] I agree with Alfa, AVG is much better from a performance point of view. I've dumped Norton. You can download tools from Symantec which supposedly remove their software completely, including the Registry. Seemed to work for me. Sid [/quote] Thank you very much for that tip Sid.  I dumped Norton (supplied pre-loaded with my new computer) several months ago but was left with bits & pieces that wouldn't go with XP uninstall programmes.  Found the tools to which you refer few minutes ago, ran the programme and it seems to have worked for me too. Great.!!!!!! Anne [/quote] Hi Could someone please direct me to whereabouts you found the tools to uninstall all those rogue bits and pieces of Norton? I have looked at the Symantec site but not found the tools you mention. I want to uninstall Norton from my OH's laptop and should like to be forearmed before I attempt this as I had such an awful time when I uninstalled 2003 from my pc last year - it is still not quite right.  Thanks Sue    

[quote user="miaviv"]I have been looking for a second hand sky box and a friend can sell me their's for £35.  It is 10 months old and a Panasonic TU-DSB30 make complete with card, lead, remote control etc.  Is this a good make ?  Will it work in France (no way to test it before I get it over here) ?  [/quote] Hi We have this make and model of digi-box and it is excellent and works well in Brittany. The only thing I would say is that when we bought ours last year (second-hand) we were told it was about 5 years old. I am sure I read somewhere that they came out in 1999. They were replaced by the TU DSB 31 sometime ago but I cannot remember when. I am sure someone else on here will know better than me. Sue

[quote user="Suninfrance"] Thanks Sue Just had an auto response from Symantec.  I've got to wait up to 48 hours for a reply - they must be really busy [sn] [;)].   [/quote] Hi Jan Zonealarm free version is found at: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=GB&lang=en&lid=nav_za I have always found it adequate - though the paid for pro version is good if you need ultra-tight extra security. Lavasoft, as quoted by Alfa is the host name for 'adaware' which I use too, it is also excellent and free. Sue    

Hi Jan Avg is still free at:  http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1  but I think you have to pay if you want their firewall. Sue

[quote user="mc"] In the next couple of months or so we will start spending much more time at our house in France. We currently have 2 UK cars which we will bring over with us in the short term although I plan to purchase a French vehicle in due course. Could anyone point me in the direction of a UK insurer who will provide unlimited cover for my UK vehicles whilst in France. My present insurers both have limits of a few weeks at a time for the green card. This has been OK until now.  Thanks Martin [/quote] Hi I used Cornhill Direct and they insured my car allowing for 6 months usage in France with no fuss. Sue

Hi I am vegetarian and find the nearest bio shop to be the most helpful. I don't know where you are but bio shops generally come under 'diététique' in the yellow pages, then under 'produits biologiques, naturels et de regime' Obviously everything for sale is organic, but the food is all carefully and copiously labelled with ingredients etc. Their own packaged products are usually the most reasonable but generally there is a good range of branded products too. Advice is freely available if you have any doubts. Sue            

[quote user="Christine Animal"] Thanks Viva, I knew I had it somewhere!  E for euro... I seem to remember that the # means number.  Number 7 would be # 7 (I think...). € (ALT GR works for me Sue).  For me the { is under 4 (upper case).   [/quote] Whoops! Senior moment there - I am so used to Alt Gr then 4 on an English keyboard, didn't think about using E, no wonder I couldn't find the d-mn key, I've been using euros spelt out for ages!! Thanks for that Sue  

[quote user="viva"] Aha! I do know this one. The € is on the E key but you do have to use ALT GR to use it. [/quote] If I do that I don't get €: I get { instead ! Sue

It cost me nearly £800 to get passports for our 4 cats about 17 months ago - I was astonished but paid up all the same. Sue

We had a permutit salt based water softening system in our house in Lincolnshire where there were 2 taps which were not connected into the soft water system - one in the kitchen and one in the laundry room. These we were told it was best to drink from for a straight-forward glass of water, squash etc also for boiled water drinks such as tea, coffee. We were told it was not a good idea to drink water from any other taps in the house. We were also advised to run our outside tap from a non-softened water supply as the softened water would not do our veg crops any good - that is if we did not have enough rain water collected in the water-butt for outside watering. Sue  

[quote user="andyh4"]TU, I think the upper limit for a standard transfer has changed down to 12500€ - which is the point at which banks are legally obliged to report the transaction to the anti-money laudering authorities.  Since this involves more work, there are higher costs involved.  I agree however that this is probabaly the most cost effective way of transferring money from France to the UK (not the other way round however since UK banks charge a fortune for transfers )[/quote] The limit was raised 1 January 2006 from 12500 euros to 50000 euros. This was heralded in large print on both my French bank's website and my UK bank's website. Being cautious I double checked with both of them just to make sure. Sue  

[quote user="Tony F Dordogne"] We insured with AXA locally and after we explained the situation, they gave us a temporary cover whilst we waited for the no-claims letter to arrive and after receipt, they worked out the premium and we paid them then. It's not insurmountable, speak to your local broker, I'm sure that if AXA have this system, other companies will also. [/quote] Exactly the same happened with us with AGF; my no-claims letter from the UK came reasonably speedily after I cancelled my policy but we all had quite a long wait whilst MOH's UK insurance company got themselves sorted out. AGF accepted this situation with aplomb. Sue  

We use www.flexicover.com for cover back to the UK. You can purchase it online or it can be arranged by phone if you have any queries with the online questions asked. My OH has had an angioplasty and has a stent - which causes immediate panic with most insurance companies, but this one seems able to cope with this  - even online.They seem reasonably priced for the cover available. Mind you we have not needed to make a claim yet - so don't know how that would be - but they have apparently 'won' awards for their service. Sue

**In your case, your only choice is to go to CPAM, where it appears from your post, you will be put with the CMU section and pay through URSSAF.** Miki - your explanation was helpful, to the point and very fast. Thanks for clearing that up. Sue

***RobG, not everyone should have the CPAM as their caisse de maladie. It is not always the best first port of call.*** Hi TU I am confused by your statement as I thought we all had to have CPAM as our caisse de maladie - I was not aware that there might be other options. We are filling in forms at the moment to have our income assessed for contributions to CPAM and would be interested in your reply. Sue  

Hi I used to use one of the two computers which were internet connected and available for public use in the local mairie. Sue edit: sorry - forgot to say that usage was completely free for anyone who was staying or living in the commune.

**Now I wait for the (fully expected) avalanche of early retired saying that Newcastle gave them an E106 for ten years ** LOL - our E106 was for 6 months. One lasting 2 years would have been great, but there you go ... (sigh) Sue

Hi Hugh When the man from our local video shop erected our dish we had the same problem as you for a few minutes until I mentioned to him what I had been told about on here and then read on BigDishSat about the LNB needing to be at five past one instead of at 12 noon as they do here for the French satellite(s). He had not heard about that so was very grateful. As he has a fair number of customers who come from the UK he was already aware of the need to angle the dish differently as the satellite(s) we need to access are lower in the sky than the French ones. We have good reception and re very pleased in general - the only trouble is watching UK TV does not improve one's French at all. I now make a point of watching French news etc when at all possible to conteract this. Sue  

**Is it just me or is rental really expensive.  There is only the 2 of us (& the 3 cats) but people are talking about £200-£300 in low season & £400-£500 a week in the summer!!** Hi Ali Sounds as though you are looking at short-term ie holiday, furnished rental listings - hence the expense. We rented an unfurnished, 3 bedroom, detached house with 1000 sq m garden in a very desirable (so I am told as we have a view of the Gulf) area of Morbihan at 700 euros a month, plus bills. We found it in the small ads of the local paper -Ouest-France. We tried Agents but rental property from them was very scarce at the time of year we were looking. If you intend renting through an agent you are right to look now as there seems to be plenty available - in our area anyway - at the moment. Sue    

**it does say 'affine' on the pack which, according to my dictionary means 'slimmed down' so perhaps it's low fat. So, it might be dreadful, I do hope not.** Well it wasn't dreadful by any means - not as strong as the English mature cheddar I used to buy in the UK but back then, having a choice, I used to buy quite powerful cheese. The Casino cheddar  is not at all bad, though it is orange - which I have not experienced before - it made the cauliflower cheese an interesting colour. I have since discovered from my French neighbour that 'affine' means 'matured' when used with goods like cheese - perhaps that is why it is not bad. Sue    

I thought it would be really nice to have cauliflower cheese for tea and so, having bought the cauli, I rounded on the cheese counter and was thoroughly discouraged by what was on offer. So I looked in the pre-packed cheeses in the fridge for inspiration to find Cheddar, 200g for 1 euro 98, 'fabrique en Grande Bretagne', I was so astonished to see it that I bought a pack. I haven't tried it yet - it does say 'affine' on the pack which, according to my dictionary means 'slimmed down' so perhaps it's low fat. So, it might be dreadful, I do hope not. Anyway I am going to try it and will report back. It's not that I/we have missed cheddar - we use Cantal a lot for cooking, but it was just the shock of it being available here in very southern 56. We get UK and every other kind of visitor here in the summer but they are a tad short on the ground in January. Sue

Hi Fumanzoku As I want to cancel Wanadoo in the New Year I have been following this thread with great interest. I have made a note of your comments and the email you received from Wanadoo and also noted the excellent site that Derf aka Les mentionned: ariase. Hopefully, armed with all this info, I might be able to cancel.  Sue

Many thanks to those who replied - and for confirming my gut instinct which was to switch off the chauffe-eau and the water at the mains. Thanks again and [*][*] Happy Christmas [*][*]  to everyone Sue