Dave Plumb

Thanks Nick No permis as the work was all internal updating to new, seal and screed floors, re-pipe decorate that sort of thing. They have been canny and been charging me for rubish as I left a couple of bags out one collection day, as you can see they are on the ball and I think they will notice the dish and check if i'm paying the TV charge and come round so i'll  fill it out and pay     Dave  [:'(]  

Hi All When I bought mine in Charente it had been empty for a few years and had been taken off for payment of Tax Hab, I have been renting elseware while over doing all the things to make it habital and am now in the position to stay at the house, be it in only two of the rooms, one to sleep and one to lounge about and watch the box over wine and cheese, both only just able to surfice. Now I feel I should register for Tax Hab as the TV dish is going to anounce the fact I'm going to stay and dont want to upset anyone or find bad feeling. 1-  is it still the H1 form.   2 -can register just the 2 rooms and add others later   3 As its charged from Nov will I get a bill back to Nov  straight  away or from the next November ?      

you do ask for a return date when U book out, but its not carved in stone and can be changed anytime at no extra cost within 24hrs of trip return,you just give them a ring. I normally know when I am returning but due to weather reports or delays in deliverys I have changed dates and times while away with no problem, even then I have turned up late or early and got the next boat with no hassle The full info:- They give the crossings as referance numbers to book whenever within the twelve months from date of purchase, they can be passed on and used by others for trips starting both ways so can be used by friends traveling to England from France as well as from England to France. there is no time restriction on lengh of trip. they do have a surplus charge for a few dates on a friday or saturday in the busy times say first day of the school hols when they could be fully booked , they will give U these dates with the reference numbers but as I normally try to miss these dates to miss the crowds it's no problem, saying that I did book a return one by mistake once and was not charged the surplus anyway, worth the cost of just a phone call to them to confirm the any info.   Dave

Hi JR I think it's confusing on the site as they only show an offer for a large amount of tickets but you can book anything from 4 x crossings upward, you can only do it over the phone and no further fee's are involved   Dave

Hi  I buy each year from P&O a season ticket of six return crossings, this year the price is still held at £348.00 making them £58 per return, there is a reduction for more crossings. I find them better value as they run for one year from the date of purchase  i.e. This year I will buy them late April 09 and have to use or loose the last ones before the end of April 2010. there is no cut off point in December as Ld lines and so I can use them for longer, they give you reference numbers to book your crossing and they can be given to frends or relatives to use, they can also be purchased anytime in the year ( LD have a cut off point in April ) so if I did use them all before the end of summer I can get 6 more for another years use from the date I buy them, cant find a better offer  you can only buy them over the phone   Dave

Thanks as I suspected just wanted to confirm     Dave[:)]

Hi Ya I have found the best way for me to run some power and light cables across my bedroom from one side to the other is to fit a box skirting as I dont want to disturb the stone wall,.....  Question- if the front of the box skirting is removable for inspection/replacement of said cables do I then not need to run them inside gain but leave them loose?   [8-)]   Dave

Hi Ya following some work on my roof I googled for roof trusses and found an american site that showed all the frame sizes and designs try as I can I cant find the paperwork I printed off with the details, worth a try yourself. meantime I'll carry on lookin. Good luck Dave  

I recently picked up a FTA reciever with small dish and set it up Dept 79 to Astra 28.2. there is a web site to find.  it found around 600 Tv channels, and 200 radio, not all worked or were wanted so I deleted till I remained with the ones I wanted, most of the freeview but not Ch4 or 5, the hope is they will be available in the future, it's maybe not as good a choice as with Sky but a lot less hassel, if this helps.   Dave

Hi I have just picked up a satalite dish and reciever from lidl, I'd seen it advertised as portable unit for use by campers and caravaners but at a shade off £60 I decided to give it a try for france, comes with positioning details including for France to get GB channels  and includes everything you need to get connected, just connect, position and turn on, it's not freeview but picks up the FTA channels which includes most of the major channels but at the moment not channel 4or5 but their web site says it wont be long Dave   [8-|]

I have made no changes, tried mappy.com today, low and behold GB has returned, maybe it's to do with global warming and only shows GB roads when they are above water at low tide  [:D]   Dave

Weird............... I tried your options,  I am at the moment accessing from England, if I go to mappy ,com I dont have UK offered yet I used to, it suddenly stoped, cant get it with Mappy.fr either, they both stop on down scroll at Ukrain, but found I get UK from Mappy.co.uk   [8-)]

Hi       Mabe it's me but I also use the Mappy.com site for roads in England as well as France, I find the Itineraire infomation very handy but I looked today for a road in London and help with the route only to find Britain is not now on the list of countrys offered to search in fact it seems a little stuck on france, can you find GB or am I missing something.  [8-)]   Dave

The best tip I can give when removing loo's and dealing with old soil pipes is to contact captain Kirk as he is the best at dealing with the klingons  [:D]   Dave

Hi James I Have just got my sim from oneroam.co.uk  claim it dont run out, wont know the truth for a while, same as you, only need it for short periods and normal roaming charges put my back up.  [6]

Picked up a GB daily mirror newspaper today as they had a seafrance offer to Calais. there is a code to use ( TM19E ) it looks like crossings have to be booked B4 the end of March and paid for at booking time to get each way crossing at £19  any duration up to November 2007, there are the dreded terms and conditions such as time and restricted numbers on perticular dates, but I cant get onto the site at the moment so not sure of the impact on ease of travel times. But in case its of use to anyone Dave

Can I call you Sniffy I havent tried in your neck of the woods, closest has been around st Maxent, & chef Boutonne alitle north east of you both times fished the local plan d'eaus they normally have a section for fishing and are well stocked, google for your nearest, they can be fished with a day ticket from the local tobac,    I didnt get much chanse last year with all the hols taken up working on the maison but did get a productive couple of hours hidden by some tree's [Www]on a river thouet, had a small catfish and 4 killo carp along with some small stuff with a small tin of corn   keep looking there must be some water around to dangle your rod    Dave

Just renewed my P&O season ticket at £390 Dover, Cailas, Includes 3 over 5 day trips and 2 under 5, I can extend the short trips for £30 extra at time of booking, I know i can get it cheaper at Speed ferries but I have much more choice of sailing times and  I like the break it gives after driving down to dover B4 the six hour trip to 79.  I can choose any of the crossing times of day I want with 24hr notice. They dont show it on there website you have to ring up to book the season ticket, minimum pay for 5 return crossings and i seem to remember  you can transfer them to others as they just send you booking references to use when you want to book your crossing but havent tried it yet, not untill the pad is ready for friends and they wont have to feel like they are at a campsite cooking over an open fire and sleeping on camp beds, although when that time is near and it is a sunny period i'm sure I will get crushed in the rush. Dave

Hi Russethouse the wall mounted semi pedistal basin bracket should fit inside the pedistal and not show so cant be a problem the size is dependent on  the basin size, if it's a semi countertop then the unit is around 300mm deep x 5 or 600mm wide dependent on the unit it fits into. Dave  [:)]

I always use pva on plaster finished walls to be tiled with no effect to walls due to the pva  and moisture, as said damage is usually due to bad finish or grouting, plaster will soak up water as quikley as boards, I have recently seen 'water proof' pva but as yet, not tried it to see if it is any better but as I havent had a problem up to now with the old stuff I may not know for a long time. Dave

My lipps have turned blue

Hi Ya Found it very easy to pop into and open an account in the local French bank, You will find it easier to do it direct  then doing it from GB, choose a money exchange  company adn send it to your euro acount then tranfer from there to notaire by internet from euro account ( you may need to confirm to bank with fax due to amount for security ) this will reduce your sting on conversion cost and transfer costs. you will find it cheaper and easier to hold to French account in the long run for payments in shops and for utilities. Dave[:)]

Cheers for that, I'm not going back till april but thats still within the time limit, must put it in this visit . keep forgeting as I only seem to transfer money over or take it out, probably the only 3rd party payment i'll ever get   Dave  [:'(]

Hi all Just a little question , I have a cheque sent to me from the Notaire at the edn of the the purchase last year ( not a lot ) but forgot to take it to my french bank last two times of visiting ( pressure of renovation and tying in with opening hours )and wont now get over for a couple of more months,  sorry going on in a tangent.      is there a time limit such as G.B. banks for presenting cheques from date of  writing. Many Thanks   Dave   I'll go back to my whiskey now  [B]  

Hi Ya I took over and used wicks own 5 gallon drum I bought for around -£60  better than the 1 gallon - £26 I first took over and thought would be enough to do the lot, lasted around five mins and coated about 5 mts of wood, It claims to treat for woodworm and numerous other buggy things but I wont be able to give you the thumbs up for a while as I have only just done it and can only tell if its effective if the place doesent fall down in the next few years, I used a manual pump up canister from a garden center designed for spraying fence panels -£15  At least I feel happy its been done, and no buggy dust droppings since.  [+o(]   Dave 79