Gardian

Casse buches. Got mine a couple of weeks ago at Castorama (www.castorama.fr), then jardin, bucheronnage, accessoires, casse buches. 54.90E, ref 601425. It's like a sort-of pile driver and deals with all the oversize half metre logs that I get delivered. Works like a dream and very satisfying.

All comments so far exactly mirror our experience. Our neighbours are from Lyon originally (some 200 kms to the north) and say that they still feel like 'foreigners'. As for the builder we are acquainted with, he is a Belgian national, is 31 and has lived here since his parents moved down here lock stock and barrel 25 years ago. They are 'part and parcel' of the village (only 400 souls), yet when Gabriel wanted to buy some land to build his own house, the shutters went up. "Only for born & bred!" He found a piece of land and bought it (from a another Belgian), but when will he really be accepted?  And his kids - born & bred, eh? Moral of the story is that it's fine, but it takes time - probably longer than most of us have got.  Do try with the use of the French. Oh, and keep in with the secretary at the Mairie - she's the one with the real power (as always!)   

Similar 'problem' when we first moved in. I spotted that it wasn't working after a couple of months and rang EDF. "C'est pas normal" said the bloke on the Helpdesk. Appointment made for a week or so later (a one hour slot, "no might be a.m. or might be p.m.") Engineer turned up on the dot, got straight out of the van and announced himself with one word - "Fourmis". The meter was full of them (apparently a quite common occurence around here). He replaced the meter in 15 mins flat and simply got me to sign his work sheet. "Our problem" was his answer to my inevitable question. By the way, he just changed the meter and didn't bother to clear out the ants, so you never know, they might well return! Me plastering the box with honey will be totally coincidental. Just tell them about it and I've no doubt that you won't have to carry the can.  

Dick ............... Colston Ave rings a bell, but can't place it now. I lived in Benfleet Close, which (I think) was off Benhill Rd and which led to All Saints Road and thence to Sutton Green. Lived there from the age of 5 ('52) till I got married in ........ oh, sometime in the early 70's!    I used to walk to the trolley stop and take it to ??? (by St Philomena's School) thence on to school at Wallington CGS. The 654's were a short wheelbase job weren't they - something to do with a hill somewhere en route, but goodness knows why another 6' or so of length would make that much difference. All the stops in those days were named after the adjoining pub - 'The Grapes', 'The Cock' (long after it had disappeared in Sutton), 'The Greyhound' (always affectionately known as 'The Dog') As an obvious 'bus anorak', do you remember the 'RTL's'? Think that's what they were designated. Low bridge, 4 seats to the left upstairs. Went from Morden-ish to Raynes Pk or further. Memory fading.         

Dicksmith - that brought back memories! The '654's were based at Carshalton garage, not far from where I lived as a lad. They used to turn at Sutton Green ......... but I'm getting nostalgic and anorak-ish.  

Forget it ! Best to order through the net in the UK & get the stuff delivered to friends who are coming out. Whatever, you'll spend days and lots of kms trying to find what you want - but that's what being down here is all about, isn't it? But don't hold your breath expecting a result on every trip.  

Will email you later on, rather than bore everyone else and sound too much like a rep for the local Tourist Office!  

Hmm. Point taken. All I was saying is how irritating the erratic distribution is, both in terms of availability and content. Still, to get them at all same day is a bonus (they print in Marseilles overnight). I'll tell the bloke in the Presse what a fine fellow he is tomorrow morning! Still none of this helps Steve and I agree re the online version. SaligoBay & the Midi Libre - yes, it's a scream, isn't it? I buy it sometimes for the weather forecast, but I don't know why I bother. In Summer, well it's always the same. Any other time, you might as well toss a coin. Come to think of it Miki, that's one other thing that annoys us over here .......!    

Just a rant really, but it might strike a chord out there - and just maybe, someone from Eurostar / SNCF might be reading. Ever tried booking either of the above through the internet? It's do-able, but if you want to do anything a bit different, (like 1st class on the Eurostar to Lille, then 2nd onwards) then ............!! The 2 (or is it 3) month leadtime is also a pain. The July - early Sept Eurostar direct to Avignon is a nice service, but why on earth, if they really mean it, don't they offer it for a longer season and / or for more days / wk?  Cost, provided it's reasonable, isn't always a factor. It needs Marketing, with a capital 'M'. By the way, love Ryanair down here to Nimes (simplicity to book, as everyone knows) and hardly ever a problem with 20 or so round trips in the last 12 months for us, family and friends. However, not everybody wants to fly and rail travel is civilised. Why can't they make it a bit easier to spend money with them?      

Yes, it's maddening isn't it? Maybe we should be grateful, because not so many years ago it was the following day (if you were lucky) when the papers turned up. But we're now in 2006 .......... Our local Presse always has 6 or more copies of the S/Times (there must be plenty of other local Brits, though I've never seen nor heard of them)), but only sporadic copies of the others. I've asked about the S/Tele, but get a resigned shrug, bless him. When it does miraculously appear, it is invariably missing several of the more interesting bits. It's not as though it's that cheap - you'd think that someone, somewhere would have a check list that says "Main paper, Sport, Weekend, Gardening", etc, etc. Tried emailing the Sundays distribution in London - no response.  Feel as if I'm a bit 'sad' writing this, but along with our old friend the 'lunchtime closing hours' syndrome, it's just about the only thing that annoys us over here. No solution - just shared frustration.     

Pyrenees - Nice.  Pretty wide area! Have a think about the oak forest area of the NE Gard. Tranquil (almost to a fault), under-developed (happily), and without the inflated property prices of some other parts. Less than an hour to Nimes airport or the TGV at Avignon. Very un-touristy, even in August. Finding good property isn't easy though.   

Just been quoted E60 for double sockets, so your E75 is maybe a bit high, but not miles out.