BJSLIV

I know that the Arrow was moved from Boulogne to increase the freight capacity, but with what is basically a freighter at Boulogne, and access to the Ostend route perhaps the freight imperative will be slightly reduced. Incidentally I hope this Irish Sea  ship doesn't encounter the same reaction that the Norman Voyager created at Portsmouth with regards to cramped  public facilities though it's probably less of an issue on the short crossing. I share your fears that the Norman Leader will never arrive in Portsmouth. In any event Arrow seems underemployed at Portsmouth  but I suppose it all depends on how the freight and tourist market shapes up this year. Somehow with the gloomy economic outlook I can't see the increased volumes that Pierre is hoping for materialising in 2010.

it has limited passenger capacity (sources suggest 250 people maximum But it would make to be an ideal companion for the Norman Arrow. The Catamaran could be sent back to Dover/Boulogne when LD Lines additional capacity arrives at Portsmouth  in the shape of Norman Leader which is supposedly arriving this summer........If they don't divert it to Brittany /Spain.[:(]  

This article , from the same consultancy, makes it clear that it is a Paris issue. http://www.bonapartparisnews.com/2009/11/bonapart-paris-are-at-the-forefront-of-exposing-recent-moves-made-by-the-city-of-paris-to-apply-laws-restricting-the-rental-o.html  

Looks like anyone with bookings Dover-Boulogne after mid March can expect changes to their reservations. Its rumoured that the Norman Spirit is being chartered to another operator from Mid March, but no announcements have yet been made. Perhaps the Norman Arrow ,the  catamaran  will be returning. It seems to be underemployed at Portsmouth I suppose there were always going to be changes at Portsmouth with their new larger  ship due to take over in early summer.

Looks like we will soon know how many buses/planes  Ryanair will be running for us this year. http://www.charentelibre.com/article-11-region-ryanair-replique-avec-mepris.html?id_article=308133

Well RA is still reporting a loss so they are not ripping off anyone. Instead they are putting pressure on the authorities to increase the level of support.

 In our nearest large town you have to give way from the right when turning left from a P A d road, the P a D is one directional. You have priority over a car coming from the left whichever way you want to turn. However if a car is coming from your right then that one has priority over you.  

Ryanair are taking bookings on the flights they are currently planning to fly. If their plans change refunds will be made. That's the deal with low cost airlines.

Unless you are very very careful you would be spsending 8 euros every day. Typically 10mb might represent 100 web pages and 40 emails. http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/live/internet/calculator/index.htm    

First clue.... Halfway down the page. http://www.impots.gouv.fr/portal/dgi/public/particuliers.impot?paf_dm=popup&paf_gm=content&pageId=part_horsfrance&espId=1&typePage=cpr02&paf_gear_id=500018&docOid=documentstandard_5693&temNvlPopUp=true They basically act as a double check that there is nothing owing by way of CGT. I have more when I can find it. More detail http://www.fiscalonline.com/Modalites-de-designation-du,150.html    

Its an "arobase"   sounds like arrowbaz    

I can't see why you couldn't use Skype with it From the Orange 3G terms and conditions "Votre forfait Internet everywhere vous permet d’accéder à internet en mobilité sur les réseaux mobiles 3G+, 3G, EDGE, GPRS et Wi-Fi uniquement en France métropolitaine. Il s’agit de pass de connexion « data only », c'est-à-dire de transmission de données ; les usages de type streaming, voix sur IP et peer-to-peer sont interdits" And they block it to make sure. SFR do the same. 

The normal risk of being surcharged if you don't use both halves of the Day Return will apply.

UK to France £15 day trips http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/ukcPassengers/ukcTickets/ukpnausicaafifteen?utm_source=eurotunnel_website&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Nausicaa15&utm_campaign=email_1001MidweekSpecialKIDS

Its an allowance against the gains made in a particular year so it's a one off . However assuming that the property it is in joint names you would have £10,000 each so that would save you £1800!   PS They abolished indexation a couple of years ago when they standardised the rate at 18%

Coliposte v Chronopost In fact they are both subsidiaries of Geoposte, which  in turn is a subsidiary of La Poste! Quelle est la différence entre ColiPoste et Chronopost ? Bonne question ! ColiPoste livre sous 48h. Chronopost livre sous moins de 24h. I think the more significant difference is that Chronopost uses contractors to do the deliveries , mainly to businesses, whereas Coliposte uses directly employed postmen who know their domestic patch better.  If you look on the internet there are dozens of complaints about Chronopost, in particular their drivers dislike of delivering to individuals. regular complaints are the  refusal to use the phone to check addresses, non delivery to blocks of flats,  false nobody at homes, or  leaving signed for goods on doorsteps etc etc. Its unfortunate that M&S are suffering in this way. They have tried to open up this international market,and they have no doubt sourced what seemed to be the most economical delivery route. Unfortunately their chosen partners Royal Mail are tied to La Poste. If they have to go to an alternative carrier such as DHL  it might make the whole thing uneconomic. Can you imagine what  Service Level Agreement discussions between Royal Mail and La Poste must be like? PS I believe that Chronopost drivers are supplied with satnav equipment. I can imagine that if you have an address of the type Blogs, Hameau, 99999 France Then that won't help either.    

Yes the condensate is rather acidic so it has to be disposed of with some care. This conversation reminds me of a case  reported recently in the UK press. BG had fitted a new condensing boiler shortly before the recent cold weather. Due to the condensate freezing in the external drain pipe the boiler was cutting out. When the purchaser requested a visit to sort out the problem he was told there was nothing that could be done, they all do that in cold weather. Presumably correct sizing,  fall, etc etc  are concepts beyond BG.  

there is  expansion of the water, and the excess will run off via the drain pipe   Is this really the result of  expansion?  or  as the previous poster assumed is it condensate?  

If you want to keep your FT line you will still have to pay 16 Euros a month for that so no change there. I don't know how much you pay for your 3 hours of French calls , but if you aren't using it all it's probably not economic. The new deal is probably not much more than you are currently paying, it will include 99% of your French calls anyway with the internet phone. The wifi access may be handy for you , as long as you don't make heavy use of it while you are away, as it soon gets expensive if you download too much stuff. 400mg per month goes very quickly! If its like most FT deals wou could pay an extra 7 Euros per month and get calls back to the UK included. So if you want to stay with Orange it could well be cheaper than you are currently paying. with a bit of access while on the move.      

The VAT paid would be 19.6/119.6 ths of the purchase cost. The VAT due would be the same proportion of any profit.  

If anyone is thinking of getting a new broadband connection, or changing their broadband supplier, the current Dartybox offer may be of interest. Its available until the end of February They will give you a 100 Euro voucher to spend in their shop , plus they will refund any cancellation fees on your existing contact (up to 100 euros) They have a pretty good reputation, as far as ADSL suppliers go, and the cost is roughly in line with SFR and Free. IE 32.95 for ADSL and free calls. The downside is that they don't offer an "FT free" ADSL Nu service, so you will have to continue the 16euros a month line rental, and apparently the Dartybox is mandatory. www dartybox.fr

how will the French deal with the situation where say you bought a UK property for £100k, spent £50k of your own money on it, doing all the work yourself, and sold it £175k. With no builders (artisans) invoices to produce as far as the French are concerned will that that equate to a profit of £75k and a commensurate tax bill ? Logically you would be charged CGT unless you can demonstrate that you have used registered French artisans to do the work.......[;-)]  

VAT applies to the first sale of a property by an individual if that occurs within five years of completion. The initial sale by the constructor doesn't count. In practice te impact on the total proceeds of the sale is very little. This is because if VAT is applied the property the taxes  collected by the notaire are lower, meaning that the percentage of the selling price that the vendor receives is higher. It realy is a  case of swings and roundabouts.    

Oddly enough a TNTSAT box does what it's name suggests and will pick up the TNT freesat channels. I'm sure that it would work with the BBC /ITV channels if you pointed it at the appropriate satellite, but it won't open up the BBC and ITV  HD channels as they are encrypted. The equivalent SAGEM  DTR94250S is available in the UK from john lewis for example at £219. In fact it is better as it has a larger disc!

Seems that a decision will be made around 30th January. The likely outcome is that the budget will be maintained at the existing level, but Ryanair will reduce the number of flights to London, and scrap the Birmingham and Edinburgh service.