Mpprh

[quote]I'm sorry it's too late, but you should ALWAYS send important letters by recorded delivery, i.e. you will have proof that they received them.[/quote] Hi SB is right on this. I send quite a few : and the cost mounts up. So, does anyone have any thoughts on avec (or sans) accuse de reception ? My experience with avec is that some people refuse to accept them and they come back unopened months later. Is "sans" a better way to go, since you at least have proof of delivery ? How would this stand up in court ? If it is absolutely crucial : use an huissier to effect delivery. It is very expensive, but does stand up in court.   Peter      

Hi and I paid FF650, say Euro 100, for a Peugeot 406 in 1999, despite having a CoC (OK, it was in Swedish !). Peter  

Hi you don't say that you are driving ? By public transport : Take the shuttle bus from the airport to Montpellier station, then pick up a train to Nimes. Peter  

[quote]"....However, typically with any English sporting success, the reporting is totally OTT and you are are bludgeoned to death by the media"So you don't get troubled TOO much then And for me Sport is w...[/quote] Hmm rather typical of small, insignificant countries. Bit like NZ and the Americas Cup, which now seems to have been converted into some sort of "home of Harry Potter" or some such nonesense. Peter  

[quote]Hi All Advice urgently sought to legalise an ancient Vauxhall Calibra in France. I've been quoted 120e from Opel France for a C of C, what a rip off for a sheet of paper !, there must be a cheaper w...[/quote] Hi Euro 120 is about the going rate. In fact, for a vehicle that old, I'd grab it while you can ! Peter  

Hi just an interesting aside ....... this may be the perfect time for people having second thoughts (for whatever reason) to return to UK : French prices have risen dramatically over the last few yearsThe GBP is weak against the EuroBack in UK it is a buyers marketOnly problem could be selling up in France. But there seem to be plenty of buyers, and successfull buyers, down here. Peter      

Hi here are some stats for Toulouse. You can compare with other locations here : http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/stats/europe.htm Toulouse/Blagnac, France   Latitude: 43.38N  Longitude: 001.22E   Altitude: 153mBitmap JFMAMJ

SB Surely you've heard of the MCC ? Yes the Montpellier Cricket Club is online http://members.aol.com/fontainex/cricketf.html Peter  

Hi the round thing by the pot ? It is a solar powered light ! Peter  

Hi this highlights the difference in land prices. First difference is for building land : varies between Euro50/m2 and Euro 400/m2 here in Languedoc. I'm sure it is much more valuable in Paris. In other parts of france it is Euro 5. The difference is desirability. Agricultural land , and leisure land without planning permission should be super cheap (unless we are talking vines in the Medoc). An example here : Leisure land (including lake) :  Secteur : BLOIS - Vallée de la Loire | Commune : Fougères-sur-Bièvre Bord de la Bièvre, terrain de loisirs de 6800m2, pce d'eau. 24 500,00 € i.e. Euro 3.6/m2 and this on the high side. Building Land : Secteur : BLOIS - Vallée de la Loire | Commune : Cour-Cheverny Dans lotissement du CLOS DE TALCY, parcelles viabilisées de 761m2 (60.933 euros), 774m2 (61.951 euros) et 898m2 (71.657 euros). i.e. Euro 80/m2 and this would be more expensive closer to Blois (and these days closer to the TGV station in Vendome).nous consulter   Mes AUGER, BRUNEL et HALLIER I've chosen Loire & Cher because I know the area. It is (just) commutable to Paris by TGV, and has an active market in land for sale. Worth checking out the national notaire property website to get an idea of the asking prices : http://www.immonot.com/ and there is an interesting article here : http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/articles/languedoc-articles43.htm Peter        

Hmm after a couple of dry, sometimes sunny, days : the rain is back. Taken 5 minutes ago. Peter

Hi can anyone tell me what documentation is required to open a hotel. And what is a a diploma "hotellerie" Thanks Peter  

Hi a couple of pics from today : The water was covering the gates on Wednesday. Emergency water supply   Peter    

[quote]Anybody watching Rick Stein in the past will have seen him just grab a handful of salt out of a bowl and I think a lot of professional chefs do that. In his new program travelling through France on ...[/quote] Hi could be worse. It could be "gourmet powder", aka monosodium glutamate ? Peter    

Hi at least they pay ? Much more difficult to deal with complaining family : why is it raining ? Sarah only has Kellogs fruity woos (or something like that) Why are there lumps in the butter (it is called salt) My vanilla ice cream has brown bits (that is called vanilla) Peter      

Hi another update. Dry, slightly cloudy this morning. Yesterday (Thursday) had consistent heavy rain. We've now had 190mm since Tuesday morning. The Vidourle rose slightly with the local rainfall, but as there had not been high rainfall in the Cevennes, it is no problem. Again it was much worse to the East and on the plain. Nimes & Lunel were flooded again. The A9 motorway was closed Orange - Narbonne and also the A54 Nimes - Marseille. Trains have been disrupted. Thursday night saw 12,000 (inc 5000 school kids) sleep in emergency accommodation in Montpellier / Lunel / Nimes. I've just had the emergency phone service message from Sommieres to say that the town water has become polluted, and stations are being set up to distribute bottled water. Peter

Hi Sommieres seems to have normal insurance rates. But the low parts exclude flood damage. If it is declared a national catastrophe, flood damage is covered, and the insurance is underwritten by the government. Peter  

[quote]Mpprh - absolutely incredible photo. Is your area considered a flood zone in general? Or is this a strange phenomenon that occurs rarely? Over here, round Carpentras, the rain has been coming down...[/quote] Hi This time of year always has heavy rain in the mountains behind us. The warm air off the Med meets the cold air in the Cevennes leading to violent storms. Exactly where the storms are centred decides which valley takes the run off. This year, some of the storms were centred over the low lying plain resulting in flooding from rain run off in the Montpellier, Lunel, Nimes area. Sommieres is a bit of a special case. Speculative building in 1050 AD is to blame ! Tiberius built the bridge in 0 AD (or BC). It was a wet period, so the bridge had 17 arches. In 1050, it was a dry period, and a town was built on the river bed next to the tiny stream. Buildings were built on top of the redundant bridge arches, leaving todays 7 arches. During the middle ages the weather became wetter, and the floor level was raised 3m to try and escape flooding (hence the short, fat arches in the market place). So now, if there is heavy rain in the Vidourle valley, Sommieres is likely to flood because the river narrows at this point.  You can clearly see the path of the original bridge in this photo : http://perso.wanadoo.fr/vincent.besancon/grphotoaerien/sommieres.jpg  The original roman arches form the caves of these shops :  http://www.terroirdeurope.com/sommiere.gif which are built on top of the old bridge. The short, fat arches after a flood in 2003 (you can just see the water line under the pub blind) : It has been raining steadily all morning. And the rolls of thunder are getting closer ! Peter        

Hi Ok, just for SB, here is a normal view looking back at the bridge : The cars weren't driving over the bridge. They were parked there thinking it was high enough to be safe. It wasn't. 400 cars were written off in Sommieres in the 2002 floods. Today, the water receded, but most shops were closed because the stock has been moved to high ground. And it is staying there because more rain is expected tonight, although it hasn't arrived yet. Peter      

Hi I think the original chamfered boards give an easy, and excellently finished, join. If I was using square sided boards, I'd be tempted to create the chamfer by running down the joint (gently) with a grinder - then finish with tape and smooth off as usually. Peter    

Hi Just to report that our village has had 125 mm of rain in about 24 hrs. It is not enormous, the forecast was up to 400mm, and it is very localised. The worry is that the rainfall in the mountains will flow down the rivers today. Already Montpellier, Nimes and Lunel have been flooded from rain run off. The River Vidourle in Sommieres was rising fast last night when I left. An old pic : Peter

Hi   just worth asking others : I know it depends on area, but has this year been worse than others for algae ? Any idea why ? Peter    

Hi just worth pointing out that BA is often cheaper than Ryanair at peak periods on the Languedoc - London route, too. Peter    

Hi Carrefour / Champion have a range of foreign foods. They come in green packs and are labelled delices du monde, or some such. They seem to be imported from the country concerned. Included in the range are : Amaretto macaroons, Crispy Peking Duck, assorted dim sum, Apple crumble, lemon curd, Salt & Vinegar crisps, Shortbread, crumpets, etc They used to have English best back bacon (smoked or cured) but it vanished with foot & mouth and hasn't returned. Peter        

Hi Haven't seen them recently, but there was a double act called les vampes. It followed the philosophical two men in a pub sketches similar to the two ronnies (or derek & clive, but cleaner). The two characters were old bats from a rural village, dressed to match, discussing the business of the villages : the new top of the boulangeres wife, the parisians up the hill, latest couplings, etc. For some reason, my mother in law thought it was disgraceful ! Peter