Adrian

[quote user="dreamcommuter"] I have no involvement in this one - just thought it was interesting for others A policeman working in Bolton and living in Bordeaux - why don't you watch it click here and comment on it if you feel you want to ;) [/quote]   The most interesting part for me was why an Inspector was out on foot wearing a Superintendent's patrol cap?!!    

Thanks for the suggestion. I've actually now treated the floors but coincidentally I think I've arrived at the same point as you. After much consideration I bought some water based acrylic lacquer from Screwfix called Aqualac. It goes on with a deck treatment roller, dries with a satin finish within 30 minutes and (so far) seems to be very hard wearing. It resists water and chemical spills and doesn't appear to chip or scratch too easily. We did 120m2 in about an hour and it took about 10 minutes to clean up the brushes and roller afterwards. We sat down with a glass of red and by the time we'd finished it the floor was dry enough to walk across. I realize this will probably invoke howls of anger from the 'natural product police' but you have to do what suites your circumstances. Everyone who has seen it has been very complementary (or probably just too polite to say what they think)!  

[quote user="Renaud"] I too tend to book cars from other companies only to cut down on the waiting time. [/quote]   In case anyone doesn't know, easyCar are back in business ( http://www.easycar.com/ ) and serve all French airports that Ryanair and easyJet fly to; generally by subbing the business to the other companies at a reduced rate. Being a cheapskate I generally go for the cheapest car possible, normally a Clio / 206, which is fine for a few days especially as I have not had one without aircon for years. Last month easyCar undercut everyone for a five day break and gave me a C3 for the price of a Clio / 206 but the down side is there are no refunds whatsoever so if Ryanair change your flight...  

I had a very similar experience with the RAC recently. I rang them to remove our adult children from my policy and spoke to an extremely helpful man with a strong Asian accent. During the conversation I asked him what part of Asia he was in but he assured me he was in a call centre in Birmingham. At the conclusion of the call he wished me a very enjoyable evening...it was midday!

Thanks for the replies. As often they have generated more questions so please bear with me... "Try vitrificateur"  - I think I've heard of  this. Isn't it some sort of non solvant based varnish?  Any idea if it chips? "I'll be oiling them" I'm more attracted to this treatment but what type of oil are you using (Linseed?) and where is the best place to source it? Leroy Merlin et al or a specialist shop? Thanks again

I'm about to sand down the Chestnut floor in the grenier and I'd value any suggestions about what I do afterwards (apart from cough lots!) French friends are divided between wax and varnish; the former goes white if you spill water on it and the latter chips and flakes being the main sticking points. I've read through this sub- forum and can't find anything directly relating to floors (although Dick's thread on whatever he is making seemed to suggest that varnish would be frowned upon by anyone with any skill). As I have to do the whole house I'd rather it wasn't anything too expensive!  

Thanks to everyone who responded - My experience the other week was the same as Susan's so I'm grateful for your more recent experience Pippi - it appears that the world has changed in the last few weeks and the French are now taking security seriously. Nice idea about the duty free, Andy, but at Dinard that boils down to a duty paid coke machine!  

(Also posted on the Travelling to France forum) Does anyone know if the restriction on liquids in hand luggage is being enforced at Dinard? It's not being enforced throughout much of Europe and the rest of the world but before I make an assumption and try to bring a bottle of Armagnac over to the UK next week I thought I'd see if anyone knew. I dont want to have it confiscated like my deodorant last year (according to the Dinard security staff it could be used as a weapon as it was flammable but I was allowed to take the Calvados which apparently wasn't!)   UPDATE - Thanks to everyone who responded via the Travelling to France forum - it appears that the world has changed in the last few weeks and the French are now taking security very seriously.

Does anyone know if the restriction on liquids in hand luggage is being enforced at Dinard? It's not being enforced throughout much of Europe and the rest of the world but before I make an assumption and try to bring a bottle of Armagnac over to the UK next week I thought I'd see if anyone knew. I dont want to have it confiscated like my deodorant last year (according to the Dinard security staff it could be used as a weapon as it was flammable but I was allowed to take the Calvados which apparently wasn't!)  

Back in mid June the incoming flight to Dinard we were due to go home on was apparently struck by lightening so the flight cancelled on the spot. We were given a handout stating that although Ryanair didn't think they ought to pay any compensation the law was not on their side and we should send all claims to their head office. I sent my claim two days later but, two months on, have hear nothing. I could claim off my travel insurer (and have notified them to preserve my right to claim) but I would lose my excess and why should I when they have a legal duty to pay! Anyone had any experience of how long I might have to wait or how may chase-ups I might have to send before I hear anything? (I know today won't have helped!)  

I've just been told by our French neighbours that someone is planning to fly to Lorient (from Luton, I beleive) in the summer. Anyone shed any more light on this? It certainly isn't Ryanair nor does it appear to be Flybe. Dinard check-in staff excelled themselves on Sunday, insisting that I put a carrier bag with a small sprig of mistletoe in my hand lugguge so I didn't have 2 bags and then complaining that my bag was 150gms over the limit!  

[quote user="dinks"] My problem is that he has asked me not to put the water on if it’s a RED electric day ? What is a red eclectic day or how do I find out what days are , I  think it has something to do with  electric costing more on different days   [/quote]   If it helps to understand why he said that, on the Tempo system 1 unit of daytime electricity costs €0.0381 on a blue day and €0.3546 on a red day i.e. 8.5 times more expensive! Put in real terms we could use a years worth of normal price electricty in the 22 red days if we didn't make a few basic savings! As of today there are 14 red days left - if history repeats itself we will have none this week while we are in France but loads in the last 2 weeks of January when we come back for longer!

I'm only posting to see what everyone's moaning about! As I have not been able to see who's posted or access my profile for months it's great just to have those two facilities back and be able to join in again - some, however, may say this is a bad thing!  

I know Christmas markets are not that common in Brittany but does anyone know of any next weekend (16th - 18th Dec) We are coming over a week later than usual and this has kyboshed our usual option!    

We have always made it a policy to go somewhere other than our French house for our main 'summer' holiday - so we're off to Turkey at the weekend. This is because however much we love being there (and it has been a lifesaver for the last decade or so) we do need a break somewhere where we have no responsibilities whatsoever and the kids won't suddenly phone and say "We've booked a Ryanair cheapie using your credit card. Our flight lands at 5pm tomorrow so can you pick us up, oh, and you'll need to amend your return ferry so we can come back with you next weekend!"  We go wherever we think it won't rain, and often with friends. Sometimes our holiday has been on the Med coast of France so it isn't France we're avoiding. I'm 'fortunate' in that I worked 54 days at weekends last year so with my annual leave, bank holidays, weekends and deferred rest days I managed 83 days at the French house and 14 in Rhodes! I retire in a few years - it will be interesting to see where we live and holiday then         

Anyone else had a problem with email from France being rejected? One by one all of my French friends have had their email returned as undeliverable about 2-4 weeks later. It's nothing to do with the security on my PC as they are not getting that far. The only common denominators are that my isp is ntl, their isp is Wanadoo and they all live in Morbihan - but they have dropped out over a period of 6 months so it can't have been a sudden change with either isp. The problem also replicates itself using one of my webmail accounts, although so far Yahoo mail seems to have held up.    

Not sure what sort of an answer you were expecting to such an odd question but, speaking as someone who's involved... I spent four days dealing with the aftermath of the last bombs, escaped to our house in France for a week's pre-booked leave and came back just in time to pick up where I left off. Just got home and logged on to see what the reaction would be from France. Funny how thoses who've left are first to reply to a question aimed those who have stayed. Why would this make me want to move? Wherever I go it will catch up with me sooner or later so the earlier I start to learn to live with it the better. Very tired and off to bed - back on at 6   

Just took the test with a French friend who's staying with us and we got 29% - she was more incensed that someone called James knew more about France than she did (oo iz zis Jamez?) than she was about her performance!    

While walking along the beach at Lamour Plage we got into conversation with a French lady who asked us if we knew of any English families who would be prepared to help her daughter (17ish) perfect her English for a few weeks this summer. Her daughter is at school in Paris but comes home to Nantes for the holidays or visits her grandmother at Lamour Plage (Lorient). We have an English speaking French friend who is a language teacher but that was not what she was after as she wanted her daughter to pick up the right accent (whatever that may be!!!). We cannot help her as we will be out of France for the summer but I said I'd post something on the site and pass on any offers. Anyone interested please email [email protected]  Also posted on the Language forum        

While walking along the beach at Lamour Plage we got into conversation with a French lady who asked us if we knew of any English families who would be prepared to help her daughter (17ish) perfect her English for a few weeks this summer. Her daughter is at school in Paris but comes home to Nantes for the holidays or visits her grandmother at Lamour Plage (Lorient). We have an English speaking French friend who is a language teacher but that was not what she was after as she wanted her daughter to pick up the right accent (whatever that may be!!!). We cannot help her as we will be out of France for the summer but I said I'd post something on the site and pass on any offers. Anyone interested please email [email protected]  Also posted on the North Western France forum        

Sincere thanks for that. I've printed the page off and I'll book a weeks leave to try all the options as soon as I get back from France next month! It appears to have happened since the last Norton live update so something on that page should fix it! Thanks again          

Tried that - still no names. I find it a bit strange that everything else displays and works correctly except that field. Never mind, what's in a name anyway?  

I've just been scanning the Forum and none of the names of the authors are visible on any posts! While this makes for an amusing Sunday evening game of guess who said what (and tests ones memory as to who has what avi file) it's a bit frustrating after a time. Is this an LF system glitch or something to do with my system?  

or where your apostrophe shouldn't have been!!!!

Thanks, Alexis. I had already searched the Forum for "Pickled Walnut" but got no hits. I have since searched on 'Walnut' and found the thread you were referring to. I had used Google but, like many things in life, there's nothing like getting advice from someone normal (sic) who's done it before!