sid

Thank you Hereford and idun. We qualify by having been here in France for only 12 years, so I'll get on and register pronto.

My wife and I registered to vote in France a few years ago, mainly to be sure of having a say in the selection of our mayor. I know we can vote locally here (France) but not for national issues; does this exclude us from having a vote in the EU Referendum? I can't find an answer on the websites mentioned above.

To the first part of your question..."yes"; to the second part I don't know about permission. There is such a business not 10 miles (oops, 16kms) from my house. I really expect that permission would be required for the change of use, and perhaps it would depend on the distance from neighbouring houses? (In the instance I mentioned the neighbours are some distance away, 500 metres at least). I'm sure the council would be interested in collecting some taxes if the property use changed from residential to business. We know that some people just go ahead and don't worry about formalities though, don't we ! Just my ramblings! You want to start a business or you have one starting up next door?

You'll see that I started this thread last August and I've continued to run W10 since then on both of our laptops without serious problems so I'm quite happy. There have been some minor niggling issues though, and as a result I've gone back to IE11 as the browser of choice. Edge was quick and I liked it at first but it doesn't support add-ons like Java. I haven't bothered to see whether the situation has changed since then. This lack of add-ons makes it difficult to reply to this forum for example, the formatting looks nasty in Edge and there's no longer access to the smiley icons to insert inside a message, but this could be the flakey forum software. EDIT Actually the icons seem to have disappeared in IE11 too now!! Microsoft have taken a firmer line with updates which I'm not particularly fond of; you can schedule your W10 update but can't refuse it. I find that after some updates there have been changes made to some of my settings, annoying, unnecessary, but hardly life-threatening. The Canon problem I mentioned in a previous post is one example. I got the Wi-Fi transfer working last October I think, but now it's stopped again and I have to use the USB cable. Is it W10 or Canon? I have my suspicions. I think I've made the right decision in sticking with W10; the irritations can be worked around (although we shouldn't have to do this), and the older OS will lose their support eventually. Most or all pcs are now supplied with W10 so it's obvious where the focus for development will lie. W10 is far easier to use than W8 and I have it set up in the "classic" Windows layout; I don't have a touch screen and I don't need the smartphone "feel". (Nor do I need to refer to programs as "apps", but hey-ho).

Well done Pierre! I buy quite a lot of stuff from Decathlon. When we lived in the UK it was one of the places I avoided, being a bit of a "brand snob" in those days, but since moving here I've found that the quality and range has improved and I'm pleased to say I've lost that snobby thing as well !

I don't know about blaming the government, but I think it's all the fault of the BBC ! When you get weather forecasters called Sarah Blizzard you can only expect bad weather. It's time they employed Monty Sunshine or at least Andy Fairweather!

Similar problem here, only since the website was DDOS'd, I'm using W10 and either IE11 or Edge and I get a message "Hmm, we can't reach this page" from Edge, or "This page can't be displayed" from IE11, but a refresh then brings it up. Happening with the news and sports pages which are the only two I link to directly. I wondered if they had somehow slugged it in an attempt to prevent a recurrence of the last trouble, just checking, friend or foe!

It's been so long now that I can't remember exactly what happened with my eBay and PayPal accounts; I think it was around 2005 that "they" realised I was no longer living in UK and insisted that I change to an eBay.fr account. I had a UK credit card registered. I changed the eBay account to French and the PayPal changed with it (they were part of the same organisation at that time, as ANO points out the split happened fairly recently). All has been well since then and I use PayPal a lot, not just for eBay purchases, and have had no problems.

SPOTY is another rigged show. It even featured a plug on the BBC News today! On the News !!!! We have to choose a winner from a list compiled by the BBC... how fair is that? Now then, do I vote for Lucy Bronze 'cos I'm a ManCity supporter, or Lizzie Armitstead or Chris Froome 'cos I like cycling, or just give in and vote for Andy Murray like everyone else? Reckon I'll watch a DVD instead.

CoinSIDentally, this is the firm I've just ordered a Makita plunge saw from. Ordered Monday afternoon, arrived Tuesday morning. Best price anywhere! It's the second time I've bought from them this year. Another very satisfied customer. Sid

You are correct Norman, but I wasn't saying that my OAP is taxed in UK, merely that I have a fiscal connection, namely I receive money from UK, therefore I'm connected.  

I'm finding more and more French online traders who are really on the ball; price, delivery and general service. It is unfortunately matter of trial and error though. Reviews do help. I've just today ordered a Makita plunger saw from a firm in the south of France; despatched this afternoon and it'll be here in the morning. At least 100€ cheaper than the next best trader. I've used this firm before and had excellent service. I've got 2 good electrical suppliers, a site for washing machine/dishwasher parts, a supplier for my ancient motorbike's parts, and of course Amazon.fr I now hardly ever buy from UK (so no need to replace the plug on electrical items either).  

I really don't see what paying UK tax has got to do with this. UK citizens, resident or not, should be allowed to vote on this question as it directly affects them. As it is, it's simply a way of excluding a large number of people who may be more inclined to vote to stay in the EU (or at least to stay half in, as we are now!). People with a fiscal connection to UK surely includes those on state pensions, probably the larger percentage of those living in France for example. I feel really miffed that having paid my taxes and NI (and in my case my company taxes and NI contributions too) I will be excluded from having a say... that is, in another 4 years, since the rule incudes a 15 year limit. People who keep banging on about us having made a choice to live abroad need to get real ! The whole point of the EU is about freedom of movement.  

Yep, I'll second that, I like the store (Soyaux - Angouleme). I've had excellent service from Castorama (Niort) too this last couple of months, ordered a kitchen and was advised to wait 10 days for a 25% discount, and after-sales service has been good too. At last, a couple of stores where they don't just shrug their shoulders.  

[quote user="Quillan"]Just to say, and I know this is off my topic a bit, "Windows 10 is available free for the first year". This means if you want a copy after 29th July 2016 you will have to pay for it. Those that have already updated will pay nothing even after the first year till it's "end of life". Windows 10 is the last and final version of Windows as we know it and a brand new product will replace it. The next operating system will be what is called a "servicing " product which means you will pay an annual subscription to use it and a lot of it's features will cloud based, a bit like Chromebooks. So it may pay to turn back on your updates in Windows 7 and get the update (if your computer can support it) before the end of July next year.[/quote] Are you sure Q ? I understood that W10 would be the final version, and that from now on there will just be updates to it, not a brand new product? I'm very happy with my PC running W10, which I converted early on and reported on here. One exception though... I've ditched Edge and resumed using IE11. I liked the "bare bones" that Edge provided, it seemed faster, but it does not support Java. I found it impossible to print orders from web pages too. No problems so far with updates.  

[quote user="Théière"] Ah, maybe the real reason they drive 5cm off your rear bumper [:-))] [/quote]   Now don't get me started on this again!  [:-))]  

Ian, we've been in the same boat with battery breakdown; isn't that the normal way of things!! Ours gave out at Santander airport where the car had stood for 2 winter weeks. I got a jump start from a group of young guys (this was 11pm at night) and drove all the way home without turning the engine off! For toilet stops I left the engine running, and we took it in turns to nip into the loo! Once home I was able to jump start from another battery the following day, and drove to a supplier in Angouleme where I got a battery for 90€. Phew! Has anyone on here had to replace a battery on a car where the engine has the Stop/Start feature? Apparently they are more complicated (read "expensive"), having a sensor or something to monitor the battery condition and inform the car's ECU. Out of interest I've looked on a couple of the usual car parts suppliers' sites but my car, a 2012 Renault model, is not listed !! The engine type is missing if I do a search by make/model/year etc, or it comes back "we couldn't find your car" if I search by immatriculation number! It's not that I need one yet; I'd heard that they're expensive and just wondered how expensive.  

I had a similar occurrence a couple of years ago. I had been using a DG834 (UK model) which I had bought back around 2002 and it had never let me down, then suddenly I started getting very poor access. I called FT to ask them to check our line as it was consistently slow for over 2 weeks. The tech came to the village, checked the local line, and then came to the house and plugged a handheld device into our phone socket and declared that we were getting the promised 2mega access. He pointed to the modem router and said "that's the problem". I didn't know whether to believe him but decided to purchase a new one and now have a DGN2200v3 which works fine. I haven't bothered to try the old one again, what's the point? I suspect that this could happen with any make, just like TVs or kettles eventually stop working. Not many of us would have spare modems to swap in/out. If you're on a Livebox presumably you could take it to the shop and get another? Incidentally I never turn my modem off. An IT engineer told me a long time ago that turning electronic stuff off and on was one of the main causes of eventual failure. Maybe this is no longer true but I'm a creature of habit! I get dropouts when it rains heavily! I suspect a connection box on a pole somewhere has not had its lid fastened on properly. I really envy these people on 20mega or more. Our son in UK has 50mega (BT Infinity). I don't think we'll ever see the day here!  

OK folks, mystery over, this was my fault. I posted a query about whether this car was proving to be a good buy, but then I found from another thread that JR had passed away. Embarrassing error on my part, so I had my post deleted. I didn't expect the thread to remain current. Apologies.  

4K...! Well done that man! [:)]  

I remember Seamons CC, I used to ride your (their) 25, a middlemarkers event from memory, so that tells you how fast I was. I was a member of Glossop Velo. I'm a little older than you, and indeed it is harder work now. I've retired my Dave Lloyd "Special Lightweight" with Campag and have bought a Giant road bike with straight bars for the more comfy position. Jury is still out about whether it was the right choice.  

[quote user="vette"]I take it you remember Tommy Simpson then Sid. 1966, in those days I used to ride every day from Peel Hall to Trafford Park engine sheds where I worked. Happy days indeed. Les.[/quote] But of course!! In many of the photos of his last minutes you also see Harry Hall who was a mechanic on the Tour at that time. Harry had a bike shop in Gorton and then in the city centre; do you remember that? Bike shops all over the place then though. I lived in North Manchester then. Happy days, yes indeed.  

My usual advice: come and visit during the winter!  You may be surprised by the cold snaps.  

[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]The closest to me next year is Saumur. A couple of years ago it went passed my house and have lots of cadeaux to prove it. Seen it in Alpe many years ago and was in Alpe this year but decided to leave the day it was due to arrive. Apart from Alpe, Paris is the best stage.[/quote] Paris is the one stage I would never go to watch. Simply a parade round and round that same old circuit! I've followed le Tour since 1966, but I was only a lad then and never actually saw it in the flesh! Reports were hard to come by too, relying on 2 or 3-day old copies of l'Equipe from the main WH Smiths in Manchester centre. I used to get le Coureur (Sporting Cyclist); lovely magazine with fantastic B&W photos of my hero Jacques Anquetil. It was another 15 years before I saw the race in real life (Nice 1981). I digress!  The Tour rarely goes to the Alpe d'Huez on consecutive years. I have ridden that climb and Ventoux, and a couple of the Pyrenees climbs. Disappointment here about the route too, but it looks as though the Saumur to Limoges stage will be within reach; I just need to see the detailed route when it's published next month(?). The crowds on the big climbs are very rowdy these days, not what I like to think of as "proper" supporters. Most of them just seem to want to drink for 2 days and then get on TV.  

I've never used iPlayer so I won't miss it either. Is there really that much on UK TV or radio that you can't just record it in the first place? (Humax for example). We rarely watch any live TV (I know that's the idea of iPlayer) but we record anything we want to watch (which is the whole point of having a HDD in the receiver) and have never found a need for iPlayer. I don't know why the UK broadcasters can't just come up with a system for allowing viewers abroad, who don't have a UK licence, to subscribe instead enabling them to access via the internet, and do it legally. I presume there are other restrictions placed on them such as not being allowed to broadcast outside UK.