briwy

Had the same problem recently. It does sound like the battery,  ours was just over 4 years old, sometimes worked , sometimes not. I emailed Sanef from the website and got a reply within 24 hours asking if I wanted a new one sending in the post.  Arrived within 48 hours and asked for the old one back to get the deposit returned. Pretty good service I thought.

Diesel at Intermarche at Chatterault was 1.20/litre on Monday. Filled up here before and it always seems to be around 10cents /litre cheaper than the motorway services. Its just off the motorway from the A10 Chatterault North junction, well worth pulling off if you need a tankful. qtl { position: absolute; border: 1px solid #cccccc; -moz-border-radius: 5px; opacity: 0.2; line-height: 100%; z-index: 999; direction: ltr; } qtl:hover,qtl.open { opacity: 1; } qtl,qtlbar { height: 22px; } qtlbar { display: block; width: 100%; background-color: #cccccc; cursor: move; } qtlbar img { border: 0; padding: 3px; height: 16px; width: 16px; cursor: pointer; } qtlbar img:hover { background-color: #aaaaff; } qtl>iframe { border: 0; height: 0; width: 0; } qtl.open { height: auto; } qtl.open>iframe { height: 200px; width: 300px; }

This may well have been mentioned before but the A88 is now fully open from Caen to the A28.  Makes it so much easier now than having to go along the old N158. Also the new A65 is open from Pau north up to the A62 Bordeaux/Toulouse motorway. 22euros each way. This supposedly knocks about an hour off the Bordeaux-Pau time.  In practice we found it more like 40 minutes but it does save the drive down towards Bayonne on what has to be one of the most boring roads in France.

Or you could use one of these; http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=194354 Works a treat.

Thanks pads

Does anyone know what the dates are and who is on this year. The official festival site is still showing last years stuff. Thanks Brian

If you are still having problems open Windows Explorer, right click on the DVD drive and choose "Properties" , usually the bottom option on the menu. Click on the Autoplay tab From the Content window choose DVD movies and then choose below which option you want from the Actions window. If you tick the Prompt Me Each Time box then it will do just that, ask you which program to use. If none of the aforementioned programs will play the DVD then it does look as if its a duff one.

Does anyone know if all the "doofah" suppliers charge the same for a given bit of motorway. Weve had a Sanef one for about three years which is fine but as we use the A28 virtually every time we go down to the Pyrenees this offer of 25% off would be good providing the charges are the same. Thanks for any help

Ive just used the Norman Arrow back from Boulogne this afternoon and was very impressed with it. Talking to one of the stewards, (ex Speedferries, as are a lot of the crew apparently) he says the boat is to be laid up over winter and will start on the Portsmouth/Le Havre route in March. Seems the crew are being asked to move to Portsmouth and are uncertain of their job prospects. He suggested emailing LD if you want the boat to return to the Dover route as he reckons enough user pressure may well make LD think again.  It seems that the reason it is being moved is because it cannot carry enough freight traffic which is where the money is made.

Just got back from the Pyrenees and the the Boulogne one was the only one I saw.  Perhaps they will catch on though. Seems a good idea. Had to back up at one above Bordeaux, must have gone through too far and it missed the doofer. I live in dread of the battery running out and it not working  when at the front of a que.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I'll get one in the UK and take it out next time I go. The alternative would mean chasing out the wall and putting gaine/cable in and replastering.  Using a pull cord I can just wire it in above the ceiling.

I've just bought an extractor fan for our bathroom and was planning on using a double pole pull cord switch. However I was told by the assistant in Castorama that these switches are not allowed in France. Could someone please confirm this.   It seems odd that you can have a power socket but not a double pole pull cord switch. Thanks Brian

Thanks Pickles. Mines a Sanef one but I assume that wont make any difference

Can anyone please tell me if the Pont de Tancarville toll accepts doofahs or do you have to pay in the "normal" way

Hi partout. No not written to them yet.   Ill have to leave it until we get back as I dont want to write now just before we go. I know its not a lot of money but its the principle that has annoyed me and the insistence that "the computer says so".  Just a bit surprised that the UK Manager hasn,t got any authority to make a decision on something as relatively minor as this.  All it does is wind people up. Hopefully it can be resolved satisfactorily as we have always been  pleased with their service in the past. If I can get a credit towards another crossing that would be great.

Yes it will John but it just annoys me that I have to do it that way. If they had a reasonable explanation then it wouldn't be so bad.

I made a booking with LD in February for a crossing from Portsmouth to Le Havre and a return the opposite way.  Total cost with an overnight  cabin £302.  Not too bad a deal I thought. Due to go last Friday but due to my mother being knocked over and hospitalised the trip has been delayed for a week. Return trip is the same Le Havre Portsmouth but outward is Dover Boulogne.  Total cost from prices today on the web £192. So a difference of £110 in their favour. LD have now charged me a £10 amendment fee, no argument there, and a further £34 for something that they cannot explain to me. So they  have now made a profit of  £144 as the original outward booking seems to have been snapped up immediately I cancelled it. Spoken to the UK duty manager about it who cannot explain why the extra charge, just says the computer says so. Daylight robbery as far as I am concerned  so shall be writing to them for a proper explanation. As an old Speedferries user I would have been using the Dover service fairly regularly but not now.

Thanks everyone. I have actually found a mention of a site close to the entrance to the gorge called Mas de Bordes so Ill give it a try. Its recomended in the Rough Guide to the Pyrenees so it should be OK.

Does anyone know of a  campsite near the Caranca Gorge please. We are going to walk up the gorge after a couple of days at the music festival at Carcassone in early July.and are looking for somewhere quiet if possible. Thanks for any help.

The mobile broadband dongles are excellent IF you can get a signal. I have one supplied by work and its virtually useless anywhere outside of a large population area so make sure it will work where you need it.  As Ecossais says,   covererage varies from network to network but I haven't found one yet that works satisfactorily everywhere.  I haven't found the network cover charts to be very reliable either,  especially in rural hilly areas  where a signal can come and go in a matter of a few metres.

Is 29 Euros a month par for the course for broadband/phone in France.   It seems very expensive compared with similar packages in the UK. Im thinking of getting a phone and broadband installed and as my French is not yet up to arguing/negotiating standard the English language side of it is attractive.

We took a 4m long roller blind for our patio last year. No problems at all, just made sure that it still fitted under the height limit for the ferry and that it didn't stick out at the back. As the car is 5m long it wasnt a problem.

Thanks for the links and plod, yes I agree entirely. Fortunatley, we will be having a few weeks at our place in the Pyrenees soon after she is thinking of the doing the course so I will make sure she endeavors to use what she has learnt.

Could well be an overheating problem due to dust etc in the machine. Both of our kids have had this problem at times and it has been caused by them using the machine in bed, on a cushion or anywhere but on a hard surface. Giving it a good clean with the vacuum cleaner and compressed air blower usually sorts it out. Hope this helps.

My other half is looking at going on a week long residential course in France. She is more or less a total beginner and is looking for something where you can get tution coupled with going out and actually putting into practice what you have learned. Has anyone got any recommendations from experience for this type of course please. Must be close to a airport where she can either get picked up or good transport links as she doesnt want to hire a car. Thanks for any info. Brian