ali-cat

[quote user="Bugbear"]A world without religion. [/quote] Youi beat me to that one - only one I'd wish for.

I completely agree with the comments about the Ferrari garage mechanics. Having watched them celebrate & cheer every time a McLaren or some other competitor's car broke down or crash I was glad to see them taken down a peg or two. I feel sorry or Massa, his family & the Brazilian fans – but as for the Ferrari mechanics ... no sympathy what-so-ever.  It made a perfect finish to an incredible race.

I know the feeling.  We never had mice in the house - until the cats started to bring them in, as little play mates!!  We also sat one morning having breakfast when a frog hopped across our lounge floor - yet another little pressie from the cats.  It does make you wonder ......

[quote user="Junlesley"]Heinz tomato soup![/quote] Heaven in a tin!!! [:D] I'm cooking cassoulet for dinner tonight ..... just one slight difference to the French version - it's veggie!! [Www]

[quote user="cooperlola2"] The chair she had before had those big hand grips outside the wheels, of course, but when you only have one hand that works, you tend not to do much but move in circles! [/quote] This has given me a mental image of Debs that will keep me smiling all weekend now!!  [:D] It's so good to keep hearing about her constant progress.

And you would rather do what - ex colony or not? Sit back & watch another 4 million die? What a strange & disturbing post.

Thanks All. Ali and the cats will certainly enjoy the new burner if all goes well. The deal is that the supplier will install the burner for the full TVA cost of the burner or, in other words, we pay the 5.5% TVA for the burner and the difference pays for the installation.  This excludes of course the costs of the additional materials for a straightforward installation - baffle plate, flue tubing etc - but we know the per metre price so have a fair idea of the total cost. If the installation isn't straighforward we will of course ask for a devis for any additional work.  I'm afraid I'd have to rule out an external flue Sweets.  The burner isn't a necessity - just for a little more coziness and for asthetics and I wouldn't want to lose the look of that side of the house plus a well established climbing rose.  If this is the only way it can be done, and no money has yet changed hands, we'll just have to cancel it. Fingers crossed. Mr Cat        

Have you re-registered him with the French authorities for his carte d'identification? If he is picked up & taken to a vet or animal shelter they will automatically scan him for a chip. Your local vet can organise the change of details if you haven't already done this.  If there is any other information on this you want to know about, please let me know & I will do all I can to help. I really hope you find him soon.

Having spoken again with the vendor/installer I'm a little more reassured.  We discussed and showed photos of the chimney aperture and wooden beams and he discussed various options to suit the particular needs of the installation depending on what they find when they come to install the poele.  The general gist was that they carry out these installations every day and that safety is a primary concern. One remaining concern is that he mentioned a flexible liner to get around the narrow aperture and slight bend in the chimney OR reducing the diameter of the pipe.  If I picked him up correctly he said that one reduction in the diameter of the flue pipe is allowable.  I was under the împression that it was an absolute no no? We'll see what he suggests on Wednesday and I'll try not to be too seduced by the fact that its due to get pretty cold here in the next few days. Mr Cat    

According to tele-text it's to be -3 on Tuesday night in Bordeaux ..... so it could be true.  Woolly jumpers to the ready!! [blink]

Been having fun all day with this!! Ok - my turn!!  Me as a Manga Cartoon    [IMG]http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk325/markatards/MangaCartoon.jpg[/IMG] as a Mucha   [IMG]http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk325/markatards/Mucha.jpg[/IMG] [:D]

[quote user="socket"]  Don't be fooled , its not a real one, you can see her arm up his back----------- it's a dummy    [:-))][/quote] I can guarantee he's 100% real & alive!! Linda can't go out on the bike now without him going bananas to join her ..... & my friend is never able to go out with her sister any more as she has lost her pillion seat!! [IMG]http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk325/markatards/Angus_11.jpg[/IMG]

Hello all. We have an open fireplace in our salon which the previous owners used infrequently and we have never used.  Having thought about it for some time we finally decided to look into installing a poele in the fireplace just to use to supplement our central heating on chilly evenings and provide some 'ambiance'.  We called into a local quincaillerie where the owner recommended a few models suitable for heating one room plus the hallway (10kw) and gave us a few brochures. We called in the next day, chose a boiler and were informed that he would carry out the installation.  All well and good.  We then had to choose whether of not we wanted a black, flexible or inox flue etc and if we needed a chapeau. In hindsight he may have been asking what we needed rather than wanted.  The boiler is due to be installed next Wednesday. What we should have done is some prior research.  Checking to see if the chimney needed cleaned,  I noticed that the chimney is basically a very narrow rectangle approximately 17cm maximum at its narrowest with a slight bend halfway up.  The required flue size is 15cm.  Having now read through the many posts on this forum I'm beginning to worry that installing the boiler will either be impossible or unsafe.  The chimney is actually enclosed within the 3 foot thick stone wall but I would estimate that there is only 4 inches or so of masonry between the chimney flue and wooden beams in the salon.  I don't know but suspect that the chimney breast was not contructed using fire resistant materials. I think we need to arrange for our friend to come out and check that all is well - presumably he won't install a wood burner if it isn't safe to do so?.  I may be worrying unnecessarily but I'd prefer it if the 'ambiance' didn't extend to a house fire! Any thoughts? Mr Cat

Thanks Clair €16,000 should more than cover it ...... I hope! Mr Cat  

Many thanks JonzJob.  If you don't mind I'll PM you for a longer chat. On a related topic,  we are also shopping for a wood burner just for the lounge and 'ambience'.  Is there any limit to how many tax rebates you can claim in a tax year? Mr Cat  

I know this section is meant to be for biking in France, but I thought you might like to see these photos of my friends sister & her dog, Angus. He absolutely loves his biking trips & can be seen most days, wind in fur, around Bangor, Co. Down!!

We need to replace an aging and increasingly cranky LPG gas combi boiler with a similar but more efficient (and non lethal) condensing combi boiler.  At present we rent the citerne and buy the propane from Totalgaz and inherited a service contact with a local company who may or may not have installed the current boiler. Who should we approach first about having the boiler replaced?  A boiler vendor?, installer?, the service company.  I wouldn't intend to go out and source a boiler myself as I want the spec and installation to be correct first time. Also, the information I could find on the net suggested that UK companies could supply a suitable boiler from a recognised marque for around £1,000 to £1,500 excluding VAT and installation.  French sites range from circa €1,500 (Conforama) to €4,000 and over.  As condensing boilers are much more popular on the continent I would have expected a similar or lower price? Any suggestions gratefully received. PS We are on the 17/16 border. Mr Cat        

I can only imagine the great relief to both you & Debs now that you are now seeing MAAF in full swing. Mr Cat & I check daily to see how things are going & it is brilliant to see a photo of Debs looking so determined & positive. [:)]

And does the UK depositors' guarantee apply to account holders regardless of nationality or residence of the account holder or nationality of the parent bank? Mr Cat  

[quote user="Renaud"]So those casually dismissing the OP's concerns should thank their lucky stars that they have pleasant neighbours[/quote] Couldn't agree more. We once had the misfortune of having the neighbours from Hell. Kids throwing hammers around our driveway, using our car as a football goalpost & constantly charging across our garden screaming at the top of their voices.  To some people it could be seen as kids being kids, but to us it was a nightmare.  We stuck it for 18 months before moving – to discover afterwards it was the main reason the previous owners of the house had moved as well.  You have my total sympathy & I really hope you are able to sort something out.

If you were staying in a hotel & dandered down hours after breakfast had been served you'd probably find the restaurant closed & staff in cleaning it or preparing for lunch – so why should anyone expect a B&B to be any different?  Maybe I'm too polite when staying somewhere – but I'd never ask owners of a B&B to serve me outside normal hours .... if I slept in, I'd go hungry!!

Just spotted your reply 5E!!  Name the time & place & we'll be there!!  One problem - Solly's got Aoutat's at the moment - so believe me, you wouldn't want him!!

[quote user="Rose"] of course the other option is we hold a party at home [/quote] Brilliant ..... everyone!!  Party at Rose's house!! [:-))]

She is gorgeous!! I love her on her camouflage blanket – a picture of pure contentment!!  There is bound to be a little weeping around the wound. Ellie suffered the same problem after her leg operation & even after she pulled her own stitches out, the vet said it was ok & would heal on it's own. Our Solomon, being grey, also suffers from a similar problem to 5E's ginger cat when lying on the grey patio flags. I am convinced though that he does it deliberately, to trip us up & is now know affectionately as the “master of booby traps”!!

What gets my goat is the total lack of consistency in the penalties & complete disregard for equal treatment between the teams. I'm not a McLaren or Hamilton fan but seeing how they have been treated over the last two seasons is enough to make anyone question the honestly of the FIA.  ITV showed footage of 2 recent incidents where Ferrari drivers committed worse infringements of the rules ..... & got away scott free. Where on earth did the 25 second penalty come from?!!  I've been watching F1 for over 25 years & have seen races where 10 second penalties were handed out ... oh, silly me ... that would have meant Lewis would still have won & there was still a certain Italian team racing on the track at the time. I really believe they are killing the sport & dread to see what they will do next.