WJT

[quote]Dick,Many moons ago, I took our two eldest kids (they were just little kids then) to see Groundhog Day and I kept looking at their blank faces ! I couldn't help, it took me all my concentration to try...[/quote] Oh dear, I'm afraid Groundhog Day is one of my all time favourites in spite of normally not liking Bill Murray at all.

I am soo sorry about your news, can only imagine what you are going through at the moment. I am certainly no expert on this matter but if it were me, I would be honest and tell the truth. She will eventually come to terms with it and again only my opinion but the worry over it being lost would be very stressful to say the least and also a pretence by you would also have to kept up which could add to your stress and sadness. I am so sorry again.

Hi Ty, luckily they don't need it I am sure the likes of you would rather see Russia or China be the superpowers of the world. Unfortunately for the rest of us, your wish may come true sooner rather than later with the latter. By the way, Ray I would take the Yankee comment as a compliment. I think I do detect a little jealousy there, there are always those that turn a bit green of success .

That is terrible and a bit worrying. Out of interest Washy, whereabouts are you located?

I will start by apologizing to the person on the other site for stealing this from them but I thought it was worth pasting because I think it was the same -- that started the same thread on that site.   His Post: I think it's sometimes worth reading beyond the screaming headlines a little... none of the hurricane victims had gone hungry as a result the embargo was initially overlooked in the chaos that followed the hurricane that devastated parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, officials said. One US official, who wished to remain anonymous, told the AFP news agency: "In disasters people have to make quick decisions, commodities have to move quickly and... mistakes always happen." The US Agriculture Department eventually blocked distribution of the packages on 6 September, by which stage about 118,000 of the ready meals had already been sent out to victims. the decision to stop the distribution of the meals would not leave victims hungry "By the time our inspectors were on the ground, we had confirmed that there was no longer the emergency need," Washington was looking at other countries to donate the food to, but had not yet found any takers. "We are looking to use these MREs in the same spirit of charity and goodwill that they were provided to us. "We would certainly hope that other countries in need, or other needy populations would be able to make use of them, and we certainly invite any countries that see a need to contact us," he said. (Taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4344168.stm) The bottom line? US health and safety policy quite properly has an embargo on UK Beef following the BSE disaster. When this aid arrived it was initially distributed. By the time the initial relief effort was over they realised that official policy was to keep British beef out of the food chain. They're now warehousing the excess (at a cost of £9k a month) and asking around the rest of the world to see if anyone else wants it. So far it doesn't seem like anyone does. I'm no fan of Bush, but to try to pin this on him or the US government isn't really very fair. After all, they're not the country with the big historic BSE problem... Still, keep the red top headline writers in a job.

I for one love France but loath hunting  but particularly when it is dangerous and not sporting. I also feel strongly about cruelty to humans and animals like many French people living in France. With the attitudes of people like the previous poster there would be no progress or enlightenment on just "the way things are done" and turning a blind eye. Would have served well amongst the Nazi's I do believe

Hi, sorry, I responded very quickly with my very happy reply before actually reading the article. My French really isn't up to much but from what I could make out, it still sounds as if there could be a chance that it may not happen. Did I read this wrong or did I just miss something?

That is great news Babnik, thank you. Now hopefully a little pressure is off and we can take our time in making our decisions on needed works. Thank you very much indeed for the information.

I could be wrong but I thought this was also the case with regular Sky. When you sign up for Sky or Sky+ don't you agree to have it connected to a phone line for the first year? After the first year I understood that then it would not be obligatory. Therefore, if you currently have Sky+ in the UK and have it connected to a UK line for over one year, could you not then take it to France?

Well done Clair, thank you.

Well done Clair . I had pretty much given up on it after a recent post saying that the poster knew someone that attended a meeting in Brive to say that the project was cancelled. Very happy to hear it is apparently going to happen. Now, fingers crossed that the flight path isn't over our heads .

Hi Jetlag, thank you very much for the information. I did phone phone the people at pick quick as you suggested but unfortunately, I am just too far for them to deal with. However, he suggested I look at the triton-chemicals.com website of which I did and phoned. The man there suggested that I take a look at the Isola Platon product for our situation. Must admit,it is a bit difficult to explain the situation by phone and figure out the best solution for us but will be looking into it. Thank you again.

Hi Jetlag, the link looks very interesting. We have been told that if we put something directly onto the stone wall it could cause other problems. I have never really understood this. We have been told to put a drain and have enough space for ventilation between the two walls with ventilation holes in the tanked or second wall for the air to circulate. It does seem to me that if the wall was made impermeable to water or damp that would sort it. The walls are stone built directly onto rock. Can you think of any reason that this would not work or why we have been advised not to?

[quote]If you prevent the damp from getting out of the bottom of the wall, then it will just come out higher up. Better to try and find the cause of the damp, and fix it. If the damp is coming from below (le...[/quote] Hi Nick, can you tell me what green placo is? It sounds like something we need. Unfortunately, we have terrible damp as well, the ground level outside of one wall is probably 2 meters high. However, we cannot dig because the house was built on the side of a hill and built right into solid stone on that wall The land slopes quite dramatically down to the house which also increases the problem with water. It looks like the only solution for us is some drainage on the inside and building a second wall in front of the drain (tanking, from what I have been told)). I would love to hear any other suggestions if anyone has any because obviously this is not the most ideal situation.

[quote]I have had ADSL from wanadoo for almost a year now and although I can only use the slowest (512Kb) due to my distance from the exchange it is still 20 times faster than my old dial up. I have had very...[/quote] Just out of interest Mandrau, can you give us an idea of what the monthly fee is?  We would like ADSL but don't know how feasable it would be because we are not there permanently at the moment.

What amazes me is that the government is talking about potentially not allowing expats to vote and are considering not paying them the pensions they have paid into for all of their working lives but at the same time they are considering allowing prisoners the right to vote. It almost sounds like a similar situation to what was mentioned about Thatcher but in reverse. Perhaps one day we will have more rights and benefits being "Locked up in the Sun"

I am not sure if this is in the right section. However, in the French Property News magazine there was a letter from an individual that stated there could be a Pension reform in the UK that would eliminate paying the state pension to anyone not resident in the UK. As the letter stated this may be fine for a non-UK national that never paid any NI contributions but not fair for an expat permanently resident outside the UK , who has paid NI contributions throughout a full working life. The writer stated that they wrote to their MP asking for clarification. He, in turn wrote to David Blunkett but received a reply from Stephen Timms, of the DWP acknowledging this option is being considered, but emphasising that no decision has yet been taken. He goes on to highly recommend that anyone affected register as overseas voters and write to their MP's expressing concern and asking for clarification. Does anyone have further information on this?

Information on www.chattersoft.com. click the tab at the top that says Products. I was thinking of ordering but thought it sounded a bit too good to be true. Has anyone heard of it or tried it?

Hi Aileen, can you say where you got this information? It does seem to contradict what I have read also the article posted by Clair in the South Western section. The article states that the project is meant to start in October and even a visit from Mrs. Chirac. However, your statement does make sense with all of the other airports in the region.  Too bad though if it is true, would be very convenient for us

My favourite program at the moment is "A Place in Slovakia". It carries on in the same vain as the Nippy and Nigel saga in "A Place in France". It is absolutely hilarious. However, I think the best bits may be over. It is about couple buying a Chateau in Slovakia and wanting to start up boutique hotel. An example is in the beginning she would see a photo on the internet showing a lovely chateau (with 52 rooms) and she would go on and on about this is the one. When they arrived it sat on a hill overlooking a motorway surrounded by communist style blocks, the inside was like a bomb went off, roof caved in etc..  She continued to be as upbeat and decided to buy the Chateau they ended up with the moment they walked in the door without knowing what it included etc.. Must admit, it does make me feel a bit better about the renovations that we are facing at the moment.

I wouldn't know how to do it myself but I for one would love to see photos of favourite places and even properties of posters. I think it is a great idea!

Hi, I am sorry, I really don't want to hijack this thread but , I found what Paysbasque said about sheep very interesting. I have heard this before about sheep being dumb but I have seen a few things on this to the contrary.  I have seen where someone had a lamb and kept it indoors and it was trained just like a dog. As it got older was treated and acted just like a family pet, became very cheeky, playful and loyal to the family. Also, another program I saw said that it could prove that sheep (and cows) mourned for their babies when they were taken away. Please tell me it ain't so. Always wanted know if this was true. P.S. I have another question about ducks and geese but will save that for another time

Hi, I just use ordinary vegetable oil for removing the sticky glue left from lables. By the way, I also use it to clean and shine my stainless steel appliances and splash back here in the UK, it works wonders.

Well, if it takes an outsider to point out barbaric behavior and try and make a difference in an area that is now one's home, (when it comes to guns being shot at your house or cruelty to animals) I for one say, so be it and well done for those brave ones

Hi Clair, well done. It was exactly what I was looking for at least. As you, I would also be interested to learn which low cost airline will be flying from London but from what I gather they are still in a bidding situation.  Because Ryanair flies to Limoges and Bergerac, I can't imagine them flying into all three.  It is very good news for us as far as convenience, just hope because of the size (according to the article it will be much larger than the Bergerac and Limoges airports) there won't be a problem with air traffic noise. From what I can gather it will be about 20 - 25 minutes from Sarlat in the Perigord Noir.