Thebiga

Hi everyone, I am looking for someone to go out on rides from time to time and generaly talk bikes etc. I'm in Loire Atlantique not far from Chateaubriant so if anyone is looking for a rideing buddy then please get in touch. Cheers

Mine has only one resctriction from the uk power rating and that the uk model has 32mm intake trumpets in the airbox and the French one has 28mm. Restrict the air ,Restrict the power. Very cheap restriction but does the job it was meant to do.

If the rules are going to be nothing but a small fine people like ferrari are going to do it again & again. I know its not Massas problem atall he was basically told to move over by the team and had no choice really as they are the boss. Strip Alonso of his points and that will hurt them as thats what needs to be done to stop this sort of thing from happening.Alonso had no problem with getting by when told to did he? As they say points mean prizes!

Did leave them alone until they started coming up all over one of the gite gardens! Had to do something then, so the main tree came down as we were re doing the garden. I agree with you that I love the leaf shape as we love tropical plants and they look like them. Also the colour of the leaves in the autumn is something else. I must admit that the others we have here have stayed in a pretty much tidy clump with the odd stray but this one went mad!!!

Thanks people, Lovely plants to look at but in a pot only I think. Theses were planted by the former owners, A bit like the small bamboo they planted near the swimming pool which is a runner and not a clump former. Thats what happens when you don't know your plants. The four foot square bamboo and 1.2m high is now 20ft square and 4.5m high and I have to keep chopping off the outside bits even though they pop up 20ft away. I just go round every spring snapping off 40 new shoots a morning!! I'm sure I going to find a panda one day..

Thanks everyone i'll give something ago. We did have some bug killer that we have had a while so I gave that a go and they do seem to be less today. Lets see what happens when the sun comes out as they did seem to multiply a bit with the sun so lets see later.

Our Broccoli was growing well and still is, but we are getting lots of holes on the leaves and what seems to be doing it are some tiny black beetles! Does anyone know what these are and how we can get rid of them? Cheers

I never planted one of these and wouldn't unless it was in a pot. We have several over our property and they look very nice but everywhere they put a root up comes more of them. I chopped one down and poured weed killer into the trunk and its still putting up new shoots all over the garden even 25ft away from the original tree. Its really spoiling a nice little garden. Its like a very rampant weed really and itrs grows very fast gets five inches tall in about 4 days. Now in my book thats rampant. I just keep snapping them off and they just kepp coming up. I did think about spot weeeding them but it will make the lawn look terrible. Any ideas?

Thanks for the extra info guys, I do like the drak and iridium visors and it will be daytime use only.

Thanks for that.

I have a question that are dark or iridium visors legal in France for daytime riding. Thanks.

I ordered my flatscreen tv 37" Toshiba (Regza) from Amazon uk with fantastic service and very low postage. Perfectly fine for watching french TNT via in built freeview and running a sky digibox from the satellite at the same time you just change channels. I must admit with the football on at the moment to switch from normal sky reception to french TF1 (HD) and see the same game the french TNT (HD) is way, way better. Makes me want to get a SKY or other HD box.

Hello, I atleast know that if we take our cat back with us to the uk that she has to have a rabies shot and then tested for 6 months is this correct? The other problem we have is that no way will she be able to be cooped up in a cage for the trip back to the ferry the croosing then 5 hours the other way so we are looking at getting her transported by plane. I take it that she can be sedated first but has anyone done this and ifso did it all go to plan and what sort of money did ity cost? The inlaws are staying in France and I would rather leave the cat with them as its happy here but our children do not think the same! Thankyou for any advice.

Someone I know has some space in a large hangar and they are hoping to store caravans in it overwinter. Do they have to have any sort of license or more so insurance for this. Thanks.

1. Frankly its not worth the effort unless you are taking more than we do in a season. 2. No bother about reading chapter after chapter I shall leave it here, But of course unless someone answers the chapters die up. 3. Perhaps we have learned something about people running this place, some good some bad. 4. Never have a problem with any French guests but when we do have problems its always the brits. 5. First time running our own business and probably our last but weve had a great time overall here in france and the lifestyle. Also it beats looking out onto another block of concrete. Still woun't take any breakage deposit though we like to trust our guests and most we can.

Jimmy, How do posts not agree? Perhaps it was the fact that we had just got rid of some guests that we would not like back and fancied a general rant. You never have days like that then? We do not take a breakage deposit because unless you bank the cheque its not worth anything as a deposit is it. Well when it comes to doing taxes etc at that time of year it can look very funny to some french jobsworth that you may have taken more money than you have said you have. This could open up a whole can of worms really. They can see that the money has come in and that you have then sent out cheques for the same amount, It could even look like money laundering could it not. We don't take any breakage deposit because of the problems it may cause down the line, its bad enough having the everyday RSI hassles etc without other ones aswell. It makes no difference whether my posts seem to agree or not at the end of the day. Some guests P*ss me off some don't. Some horrid children go around wrecking the garden, some don't. Some people on this forum seem to be looking for a argument and pick posts to bits and some are very helpful and don't.

I've seen it a few evenings now and have before and you just cannot believe that more people don't die. They have so much skill but all it takes is to be a couple of inch's out and thats it. But as you say amazing speeds.

I must admit that we do have one gite that is on electric heating and in 2 years I have forgotten to turn it on for the first guests of the season. We have always been very sorry and have always turned it on straight away and have hot water in a hour. We also always have gone around with the bottle of wine to apologies. These things happen from time to time with most people I would imagine or atleast the ones willing to say it happened. Never had any essential items missing or broken. Plenty of things broken, Stained, torn etc and never told about them. It always gets me that they don't say as we don't take a breakage deposit so how could we make them pay, We just like people to be honest and upfront and unless its something really expensive thats been abused were cool about it.

Catalpa ,I cannot agree more.

It does need to be barley straw. As it rots down it does something that clears up the algae problem, How it does it I don't know but it does. In some canals they chuck bales & bales of the stuff in and it clears it no problem. Some good pond shops/centres in the uk used to sell small bundles of the stuff wrapped in mesh which you then put in your pond. If you have a large pond and can get a bale then its a bargain.

NO not the spelling,Grammar,Punctuation police, Please. Its bad enough being the holiday police.

That sounds about right Clair....

Not bitter atall Jimmy, Just fed up with having to live on such a small amount of money most of the time. Plus other family reasons for going. Love france and this place but its time to go and you don't know me so don't judge me.

That is exactly right. We are up for sale, but bad guests are not the only reason.

Thanks very much.