sid

OK that's four of you; I guess the rest of us, and the French, too, WILL be watching. [:D] Never mind, each to his (her) own. It'd be a dull place if we all had the same likes and dislikes.[;-)] Sid

[quote user="pcwhizz"]umm, these belt driven ride-ons are for cutting the lawn, not the field [/quote] We don't have lawns here... because of the moles [:D]  But you are correct, these mowers can't be worked too hard. I had never owned one previously. It can be difficult to find out which is the correct belt especially if it breaks; the new one appears to be slightly smaller. You really need the manual and parts list. I tried Bricomarche, who market these machines (Bestgreen) but they weren't very helpful as far as stock parts go. It's quicker to source them yourself unless you can see it on the shelf. Try Googling "American Yard Products", there's some info on various spare parts. Sid

I should have explained that many of these 'budget' mowers (as opposed to the big names like Honda and so on) are made by the same company and just badged for the particular outlet. Have a look at the manufacturer's plate, usually under the seat. Mine is Bestgreen but is made in the USA by Frigidaire Home Products. I inherited mine with the property when we arrived 3 years ago. It's worked very well except when I tried to make it work too hard on grass that was over a foot high when we arrived! You may be able to order a belt locally; if you do please let me know! Regards Sid

Hi nephilim I have a Bestgreen ride-on too. It's a Bricomarche marque I think. I've had to replace the cutter belt a couple of times in the last 3 years. One broke completely when I tried to cut grass that was much too long. At that point the tensioning spring also snapped! I've found it difficult to track down spares here, apart from blades, and I got my belt and spring direct from USA. It arrived in about 5 days, which I thought was excellent. It sounds to me as though your tensioner spring may be 'tired' and the belt worn too. Somebody, Bugbear I think, posted a link on here for a supplier but I can't find it at the moment. I got my stuff here: http://www.ordertree.com/index.asp It took a bit of searching, my belt is pn 144200 and spring 131950. Sid

We have a 1.9dci Megane estate (break). We've had it from new and it's 3 years old now with 62,000 kms on the clock. It's been great and has cost us only for routine servicing. I don't think I'd be happy with a less powerful engine though; I tow a trailer quite a lot, often up to it's maximum payload (the usual sand, chaux etc). It's my first diesel-engined car and has completely changed my view of 'oil-burners'; it regularly does over 1000kms to a tankful of fuel. We bought ours through an import company in Mulhouse and saved about 4000€. Regards Sid 

Another MG nut here too. I had a 1937 TA (my very first car) and then a 1952 TD. Good luck with the move. Sid 

Pickles I've made up a new lead and plugged it in correctly as you suggested; it's working fine with no interference on the ADSL ... thanks! Sid

Hello Pickles Thanks, that's what I suspected but didn't actually know. I didn't want to go to the trouble of buying a new lead if it wasn't necessary. Yes, I have filters on the other equipment/sockets. As for adaptors; don't I need an RJ11 rather than RJ45 (ethernet) plug on the other end? They are different sizes, aren't they? Regads Sid

Can anyone please tell me whether both sockets ('modem' and 'phone') on an ADSL filter are filtered in the same manner? We have a variety of phones in the house but my wife uses an amplifying phone (BT) which we brought with us from UK; she has a severe hearing loss and this works a treat. However I have plugged it into the modem socket on the ADSL filter simply because I had a RJ11 lead handy at the time (obviously the BT plug wouldn't fit). I've noticed that it appears to be causing some interference with my broadband connection. It's taken me ages to pin it down to this because the problem isn't apparent all the time; it's worse in the evenings, which seems odd. Things seem to improve when I disconnect the phone, so it's looking that way. So, the query is... should I simply obtain a French phone plug and wire the lead into this and use the 'phone' socket on the filter instead? Is there in fact a difference in the signal which comes out of the 2 sockets on the filter or are they the same? I know that not all UK equipment works in France, but in all other respects this phone is OK and of course we'd like to continue using it because of the amplifying facility. (Sits back and waits hopefully for a flood of replies [blink] )  

Hear, hear to all that! Sid

[quote user="Anton Redman"]The UK had the same thing  died in the early 60s[/quote] [blink]  Anton ... UK had what? I remember that local taxation offices each had certain pairs of letters RNA for example (the NA being the identifying pair) belonged to Manchester, and some pairs belonged to County taxation departments, but it didn't die in the early 60's, we just got a year letter added at the end in 1963. Then it got reversed so that the year letter was at the beginning. Have I missed something? Sid

Good info Ab, but it ain't arf 'ard reading all those caps. [;-)] It's referred to as 'shouting'. Look for the caps lock. [;-)] Regards (quietly) Sid

There is a special plasterboard, a rose colour, which should be used where a fire/cheminee is to be installed. I presume it has some fire retardent properties. Sid

[quote user="Bugbear"] It was, with hindsite, too heavy a job for me (old git) and I wouldn't entertain doing anything like that again. [/quote] That's not what I wanted to hear! [:-))] The timbers were too heavy for one man? I've already convinced Mrs Sid that I can do it myself; she thought it was too a big a job for me! There's no hurry, so it can be a winter project! [blink] Sid

Hi Gary I hope the shoulder is on the mend. The weather has picked up at last and now that most of the holidaymakers have gone it's even quieter on the roads. The covered patio area looks good; have you constructed the roof yourself? How did you go about calculating loadings etc. I ask because I have a 21m long stable which I'd like to re-roof so that I can store the car and caravan under cover. I had a ridiculous 'devis' which I can't afford anyway, so I'd like to tackle it myself. Yeah, I know this is not motorcycling... I'll pm you if you prefer [;-)] Sid

I guess it was my own fault for not checking yesterday but I thought the ride might still be on. I rode up to Sauze Vaussais SuperU this morning but nobody was there. I had a gentle meander up to Parthenay and back by a circular route on the minor D roads, 230kms and back for lunch at home. Fantastic roads, fantastic weather. Sid

If you're installing a new flue I'm pretty sure that there are regulations about distances from combustible materials, ie joists, beams and so on, 16cms I believe. You may have to run the metal flue up into a chimney constructed from concrete blocks, specifically for this purpose, in the loft space. It would be best to speak to a 'chauffagiste'. There's something about the height of the chimney above the apex of the roof too. Have you tried Googling for this info? "construire cheminee" for example? Sid 

Hey Suze, I think you DO detect a hint of desperation. [:(] So what are you saying? "I'm alright, Jack"?  I think the OP was rather bemoaning the loss of a good link with the North of England, and I too will miss it this winter. There is obviously some incomprehension of the withdrawal of the services when there does seem to be a demand for seats.  There can be many reasons why people need or wish to travel to UK, and furthermore circumstances may change, so that for example the declining health of an eldery relative, birth of a grandchild etc etc. mean that visits are now required. Those who are not "Billy-no-mates" may also wish to simply visit friends! In view of your comment I hope that you don't find yourself in a similar position. 'Desperate' Sid  [blink]  (who will probably drive after October)  

Isn't this one of the things we like about the French system of house purchase? It focuses the mind wonderfully; you only sign the 'compromis' if you intend to go ahead and see the deal through. How I wish we'd had this in England where our house was 'sold' 5 times, to various time-wasters noly to have them pull out at the last minute, and with absolutely no redress for us. Sid

Episode 2. I think this one is going to run and run! I contacted 3900 Orange assistance tonight. The advisor there wanted me to connect my Livebox in order that they could conduct some diagnostics. He was insistant that Netgear would not suffice for their purposes. My Livebox is gathering dust in the loft, and I've lost the power supply for it! Anyway, I don't want to setup the Livebox, I don't like it. So, we had to agree to disagree on the solution proposed and I bade him goodnight. All during this call (15 minutes-ish) the LED on the modem was flashing orange indicating out of sync (I think). About 5 minutes later it settled to steady green and the phone rang; it was the 3900 advisor asking if my connection was OK now. I said that it was, and asked what he had done. He wouldn't say but advised that if it happens again (tomorrow night I guess!) I must be prepared to connect via my Livebox. I can't believe that the problem has disappeared for good and it looks as though I'm going to have to fork out for a Livebox power supply. I'll start with Ebay, but obviously it needs to be a French-type plug. I'll let you know what happens next! Sid

Some interesting comments so far, thanks. I've discounted filters etc because it works well for most of the day. I wondered about contention but it's odd that it starts every evening at the same time, round about NOW in fact, so I can expect to have to re-type this message several times before it's accepted! I don't need to reload the router because it just re-connects automatically. We live out in the sticks and it is very quiet here; I'd be surprised to learn that the locals were all sitting at their pcs at past midnight! I have to call Orange/FT assistance again when the problem is actually happening. I'll let you know what, if anything, transpires. Sid

Anyone had this problem? My ADSL connection, which works fine for 21 hours out of 24, has suddenly (about a month ago, but I've only just got round to trying to fix it!) started being very flakey from around 9pm every evening. I use a Netgear DG834 and what happens is that the 'internet' LED starts flashing amber, which according to the manual indicates 'ADSL training'. I guess this is a synchronisation problem. It's really irritating because if an email is being sent (and I send loads) it has to start over again when the connection is re-established. Sometimes large emails don't go at all and I have to leave the pc to sort itself out when I've gone to bed! I've just phoned the Orange assistance number and for 10 minutes at 0.34€ per minute I eventually reached someone who tells me to phone back this evening when I actually have the problem happening. I assume (or I hope) they're going to run some diagnostics. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has had anything similar, and how was it resolved (if at all). Sid  

Oui, c'est moi!  [geek] Sid

Hi Gary and welcome back! I've made a note, thanks. I hope to do the September ride. Ride-outs in Poitou-Charente! If we're going up north to see SD we'll be in Deux-Sèvres. [:)]  (There's always one smart-a**e) Sid

[quote user="Sunday Driver"] Finally, if you are UK resident, then you can keep the cars in France for up to six months without having to re-register them here.  However, if you're are living here in France, then you'll have to take them off the road because it's illegal for a resident to drive a foreign registered car. [/quote] Hello SD I've just spotted your reply to this thread. Could you clarify this last statement please. I live here in France; are you saying it would be illegal for me to drive, for example, my son's car when he visits? Sid