Thumper

I'd be interested to know more, as we considered using LD before Christmas, but found their prices surprisingly steep for a "no frills" service - even more so than BF, and we always thought they were expensive. I'd also heard that the cabins on LD weren't much to write home about, and not enough of them either. Anyone else tried this service?

Sorry grumpy, I didn't know you were referring to the parent websites - thought you meant here on the forum.

I've tagged onto someone else's thread in a different part of the forum, but I'll try here as well. Does anyone have experience of a fully qualified and registered electrician in the Vienne (86)? We've purchased an old farmhouse near Loudun, just on the edge of the Loire region, a few kilometers south east of Saumur. We've now had a mains supply brought in - it never had electricity before - and now need the property completely rewired. Any recommendations gratefully received.

No pop-ups when I'm around either. Can you enlighten us as to what kind of pop-ups you're seeing, and do you see similar pop-ups on other sites you visit? It is just (remotely) possible that your computer has been infected by spyware, and these adverts you're seeing are self-generated. Run something like Spybot - Search & Destroy or Adaware to check there isn't something nasty lurking in your woodshed.  I do see a banner advert at the top of the page, but I wouldn't classify that as a pop-up. I'm also using an older version of Windows, so don't have XP's pop-up blocker.

I ran into several errors yesterday when trying to post to the forum, but it seems OK today.

Just had a quick scan through the Bricoman catalogue, and they claim "over 2000 windows in stock" in both wood and uPVC. Prices vary, of course, but some typical ones are: Twin-opening 100 cms x 125 cms uPVC: 130 euros Twin-opening 100 cms x 155 cms uPVC: 150 euros Twin-opening 120 cms x 155 cms uPVC: 170 euros They also offer the kind that either open conventionally, or with a twist of the handle, hinge from the base instead. Solid wood are marginally cheaper. We fitted one ourselves (90 cms x 175 cms @ 140 euros) in a day, no problem. The only thing we needed to buy extra were the screws (with integral wallplugs - hammer in part way then screw the rest) and a suitable handle.    

Thanks for the advice - we'll give it a go. The irrijardin website looks to be mostly about pool filtration and construction, but we needed that info too, so thanks.

We also have a well we'd like to make more use of. I read somewhere else that you should be able to take a sample of your water - from the well, that is - to the local pharmacy and they'll analyse it for you, but is that universally true? Our local pharmacy is rather small and I wonder if they've got the equipment to carry out the necessary. Apart from discovering if the water is good enough to drink, we also have the physical and technological problem of lifting it 85 feet to the surface. I don't fancy winding that bucket up and down for hours on end each day! Our house is the highest in the village and has the deepest well, so I wonder if anyone has experience of pumping water from that kind of depth? Any advice much appreciated.

I won't take this personally, but I think Chris may be right. Rabbits prefer the tender stuff, and by the sound of the damage you've been getting, I'd also suspect deer. (Is this called passing the buck? [:)] )

Yes, it chould be OK. The secondary indirect coil that you'll be using when you plumb in the boiler should be completely independent, and as Michael suggests, if it does leak, then it will prove that your cylinder isn't as indirect as it should be. Ideally, you don't want the water from your boiler mixing with the stuff in your ballon.

and, on a similar note, can anyone advise me on the correct mix for using on Tufo/Tuffeau stone (I may have the spelling wrong there, of course, one being Italian, the other more likely French)? Our cottage has been largely repointed using a conventional concrete style mortar which will need chipping out, but I fancy trying my hand at the repointing myself.

For future reference, if your French isn't up to scratch, view the item through eBay.co.uk (or dot com) and all the standard eBay text will be in English. It will also convert Euro prices automatically into Pounds, which is sometimes helpful. You'll still be left with all the seller's text in French, of course, but delivery costs and so forth may be easier to understand.

Solved! The file was being hijacked by Realplayer! I truly detest Realplayer and have no idea how it got back onto my machine, so I've uninstalled it (again!) and the file now streams fine straight through Windows MP. The video's great fun. I like your choice of music - some a little tongue-in-cheek I suspect! What are those Chinese/Tibetan guys doing . . . and are you the wine taster/occasional guide and narrator? The image quality is generally very good, especially for on-line material, and I really rather enjoyed my whistle-stop tour of France. Thanks Dave.

Sorry Dave, but I've no idea why it's doing it on your site. I have Windows MP (default viewer) and Quick Time both available on my PC, but whatever I do, as soon as I click on the link (or right click and "open") it initiates a 15 minute download of the entire file. It's probably me, so I wouldn't worry.

Not a road sign, but the topic reminds me that the first version of the Toyota MR2 sportscar was called something else in France - try saying MR2 in French and you'll see why. Strangely, the later version was/is still badged the MR2, so Toyota must have thought it a risk worth taking. For similar reasons the Vauxhall Nova never went down very well in Spain.

We recently purchased a house in the Vienne which had never had a mains electricity supply. For that reason it has also never had a certificate. In October (after three months, but that's another story!) we had the main meter installed, and were allowed to add two sockets (by ourselves) direct to the meter by way of temporary supply. We now have a year to have the whole thing wired up properly. We've been lead to understand that, because of the situation, all that work will have to be carried out by a fully certified electrician - from start to finish - and the certificate will not be issued unless that stipulation is met. Without it we will not be permitted a "full supply" - we currently have 3kw. That also means that the installation will have to meet the full letter of the latest regulations, and they seem very strict. The old days of one socket in a French kitchen with a dozen adaptors are long gone, and the first electrician we contacted has given us a rough idea of what to expect. This includes 12 sockets in the kitchen, four in every bedroom, a telephone socket and TV socket (yes, he says the electrician must do those too, at the same time!) in just about every room, and separate supplies for all major appliances, such as washing machine, dishwasher, tumble drier and so forth. Even though we do not want televisions in every room, or even a telephone for that matter, we will still have to agree to the installation of the appropriate sockets. That, anyway, is how the picture's been painted for us. Needless to say, we're not using that electrician, but that's more because his mark-up on materials was 1000% (the 12 sockets in the kitchen were going to cost over 400 euros, materials only.) If he is wrong, then I welcome any advice to the contrary . . . please!! To add to the complication, the house does have a 12 volt supply based on huge batteries and solar panels on the roof, with a bizarre network of wires, cables, sockets and trunking threaded through the house like a fungal infection. All that will have to come out first. Oh, the joys. On the question of wiring, I believe it will also be illegal to install the familiar three-core cable with uninsulated earth in the UK before long - this year possibly? - but this may only be enforced on new-builds. Similarly, it will also be necessary for new and major rewiring projects to be carried out by accredited electricians too, so the two sides of the Channel appear to be moving closer into line as the years pass.

I've had a look, Alan, and can't see any problems arising from the concerns you may have, but I've not actually viewed David's video. I'm usually happy streaming video on-line, but the system David uses seems to want me to download over 50Mb of file before I can see anything, and I don't really want to do that. On other similar sites the system usually buffers up a few megabytes and then starts displaying the video so that you get some idea of what you're letting yourself in for before you commit to several minutes (or even hours) of download. Is there any way your site can do that David? 

I've contacted the Mairie, and hope that generates something before too long, but thanks also for your suggestion about ArtisanAnglais. I've now emailed four local(ish) electricians through the site and await replies with bated breath!  

Was anyone else on the Mont St Michel last Monday afternoon, January 2nd, on the return trip from Caen to Portsmouth? We've been regulars on the Portsmouth-Caen (or Le Havre in the P&O days) crossings for fifteen years or so, and that trip on Monday was one of the worst experiences of my life! To put it bluntly, the ship was grossly overcrowded, and neither the staff nor the on-board facilities could cope. Aside from the simple safety concerns - I doubt for one moment that there were enough lifeboat spaces to cater for all those people - it was just Hell on Water. There were not enough seats for everyone to sit down, and people were forced to resort to sitting/lying on the floors in corridors and around the stairwells. The queue for the self-service restaurant was over an hour long and when you finally got to the counter, many of the options had run out. I believe the final choice was chips with a selection of sauces! The main a la carte restaurant was almost as bad, and started turning people away within an hour of boarding. That being the case, can anyone explain why the snack/coffee bar restaurant on the top deck was closed for the entire duration of the voyage? Even the drinks bar ran out of crisps and peanuts. Surely  BF must have knowledge of the total number of passengers sufficiently in advance of sailing to be able to anticipate demand for such things? Perhaps they cram as many vehicles into the car decks as space allows and don't bother to account for how many people each car contains. Either way, they did themselves no favours on Monday. The service was a disgrace.

We used the new A28 for the first time back in October, two days after it opened. All a bit of a surprise really, heading north beyond Alençon and suddenly finding ourselves alone on a new section of motorway. We were heading for Caen, and soon discovered that the designated exit lies some way beyond Sées. Following the signs we were then directed to take a route via Haras du Pin to rejoin the usual road near Falaise. Last week, we came off at the old terminus near Alençon and found it much quicker - a Volvo with Jag in convoy had swept past our ancient Transit somewhere north of Le Mans, and took the motorway to Sées, but we arrived in Caen long before they did. (They had to pass us twice more before we reached the ferry - it helps to know the shortcuts when your van only does 60 tops!)  We're now awaiting the opening of the motorway link between Falaise and Sées, which I think is destined for next year sometime, and then we'll have motorway to within fifteen minutes of the house from any Channel port. Must try the Le Mans-Tours section next time.

We're also looking for a fully qualified electrician in the Loudun area to carry out a complete rewire on our property, so if you discover anyone, please let us know.