Brilec
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Posts posted by Brilec
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For details of the new Le Havre crossing see this thread.
http://forums.livingfrance.com/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=295&MessageID=233261
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I don't supose the Newhaven - Dieppe Transmanche crossing would be of interest either then. But they do have 2 new boats appearing next year, promising a crossing time of 3 hours.
And we will have to wait and see what the new operator on the Portsmouth - Le Havre route will be charging, but their news release suggested that they will be undercutting some of the other operators.
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And not all of us are in the fortunate position of being able to charge it to someone else. In fact probably very few are.
I am afraid I don't subscribe to the philosophy that someone else is paying therefore it doesn't matter how much it costs.
Brian.
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I would second what shropshire lass says. I spent many hours looking last winter, and found the same property on several english and french sites. Would it surprise you to hear that in every case, the english site had a higher price? Sometimes by as much as 20%. And I am talking like for like in terms of fees etc.
A couple of other french sites which were very useful. Searching by departement etc were -
www.lesiteimmobilier.com/annonces
www.abonim.com which has private ads on it, but you have to pay a small fee to get the details in most cases.
Also, always check what the terms of the price quoted are, including estate agency fees (FAI) or also including the notaires bit (TTC). As I am sure most know, these make a considerable difference to the end price if they are ot included.
www.immonot.com also has a calculator to work out the notaires fee and taxes.
Brian.
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If you follow the link for the mobile options on www.tesco.com you will see that the cost for calling the various international zones is given for the value SIM. Thus it CAN be used to call abroad from the UK (and very cheaply if it is a french mobile you want to call), what you cannot do with it is expect the card to work in France - it won't.
Brian.
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Will people please stop defending Speedferries.
The more people who use them, the more I have to pay, so please tell everyone it's a crappy service, so that I can travel cheaply, and not be delayed so much by the time it takes to load a full boat.
Brian.
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Eccosais,
According to what I have just read on the Tesco website, calls to Zone 1 international are 20 pence per minute to fixed lines AND mobiles.
Also minimum call cost is 5p, then one second increments.
Brian.
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Motorcycle and car mot requirement, are entirely different.
So it doesn't matter where a bike headlight points? That's not what my MOT inspector told me.
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30 p per min to a french mobile? BT landline charge is 34 pence. A real bargain. It is possible, however, that they only charge by the minute.
Brian.
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I use Clarkkent's route. I am travelling to the Alencon area and the road down to Evreux, Nonancourt, then the N12 is far quicker than the slow N138.
Now waiting on the opening of the A28, but then that brings more problems in Rouen. Pity they have not got a route around the city.
Brian.
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Am I right in assuming the frequent traveller tickets are one way, ie. £390 for ten single tickets?
Brian.
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I have used both, so am not going on "from what I have heard".
Both have their good points. On Norfolk line you can get a full meal, which can save another stop later. You are also guaranteed a comfortable seat. The boat is probably the quietest I have ever used, as they don't take coaches. Also, they are getting two new boats shortly which may reduce the crossing time.
Speedferries do offer a quicker crossing time, but add to that the time it takes to load and unload, and the fact that they often run late due to this (I have waited 2 and a half hours in the past), the overall time may not be quite as good as you might think. I still continue to use them, however. They also only have one ferry, which has been known to break down. Hopefully they will get another one soon, though they were close to achieving this recently when P&O bought it, then leased it out, possibly in order to prevent Speedferries from increasing their service.
In the end, it comes down to which direction you are heading in France.
Brian.
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I own two Italian motorcycles, one 25 years old, the other 14 years. When I got them they both had RH dipping headlights. These were original fitments, and both bikes had been registered new in th UK. Both also came to me with a sheaf of old MOT certificates from many different testing stations. I have now modified both of them to be correct for the UK.
So whatever the regulations might say, it doesn't seem to matter in practice.
Brian.
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Certainly, french sims will work in unlocked UK phones. One other point though, some phones will ask for a security number (5 digits, nokia default 12345) before accepting a new sim. Also, when you put a french sim in , the phone will probably display in french, which can add to this confusion. The language can be set in the phone settings menu. The default is automatic.
Another point. Mobile coverage in rural France is patchy. Before you buy a sim package, use your english phone in the location you want be in, and check which network is best. You can set the network selection manually in the phones menu again. Check each network available to see which gives you the strongest signal. Most UK phone networks have "partners" in France, thus Vodaphone will normally lock onto SFR unless this is not available. This does not mean that it has the strongest signal. I learned this the hard way.
The length of validity of topups does vary between networks in France, with SFR you have to pay 35€ to get 2 months, whereas with Bouygues telecom you only need 25€, and you get 2.5€ extra free. Call charges seem to be about the same though at around 50 cents per minute for calls to french landlines or any french mobile (not just your own network).
For those who live in France and want a UK sim for when they are visiting, you could do worse than the new Tesco value sim package, currently on offer at half price, so for £6.73 you get the sim plus £10 of calls. It can only be used in the UK and texts are 5p each, calls 15 p per minute to all UK landlines and ANY UK mobile. Details on www.tesco.com
Brian.
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Another version is the booking from another country, I recently heard of one from Holland.
A cheque was sent for the full cost of the booking in advance, and then just before the alloted time, the client emailed to say that they could no longer come as his partner was unwell, and could they have a refund.
Yes, you've guessed it, the refund was given, and subsequently the original cheque bounced.
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Opel fruit, are you really suggesting that one needs 3x200litres for EACH appartment? Seems like total overkill to me, unless you have half a dozen inhabitants, all of whom want to run 3 baths a day. You would need a fair sized room to put them all in too.
Brian.
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I did the same with my Citroen, but only use the headlamp protectors when coming to France, so I was able to leave the litle black bits of tape on them. Instant conversion. It does lok a bit Heath-Robinson though with those squares of black tape.
Brian
ITV to go free-to-air
in French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone
Posted
You can find information on the Astra 2D footprint, and the size of dish recommended here.
http://www.astra2d.com/astra2d_france.htm
It seems an 80cm dish should suffice over most of the country.
Brian.