Deauville

Similarly - does anyone know if there is a 'Spring Fair' at La Latiere (Val de Dronne) this year? Great place for plants and stuff, last year's was end of April/begining of May but so far haven't seen any advertising for this year.

Can I hop onto your thread Cheryla? I'm looking for a kit pool (D.I.Y. semi-installed to a depth of about 500mm) in the Dordogne (between Bergerac and Libourne) Something curveatious(?) of about 30 - 35 sq m area, has anyone got any recommendations please?

Thanks SD - I wasn't far off on the value. I don't understand the 'franchise' ammount stated on quotes that I'm getting, is it simply the excess that they charge on total loss or is that worked out on a percentage basis e.g. on Groupama quote it states 4,90 PRVP soit:698€ for incendie,Dommages collision,Dommages tous accidents. This is the same on two separate quotes - one for 872€ the other for 1366€ - the agent dismissed the latter when I told her the value (3500€)

I initially posted this in 'Motoring' and couldn't work out why no-one had responded after 3 days- Thanks Bob T. Can someone please explain the intricacies of French M/C insurance as it relates to theft/total loss claims as I'm confused by the format of quotes that I found on t'net, coupled with the fact that my local Groupama agent stated that in France the value of bikes is regarded as 'minimale' Is there a French equivalent of Glass' Guide so that I can get an idea of its market value over here? (I'm sure at least three of you will give me all the info I need - better than a reference library!)

AH!!!!!!!

I'm going to reply to my own post as I can't beleive that it's been here for three days and no-one has responded!

Thanks Andrew, the ozone reference was in relation to the debate on the merits of saltwater systems and their possible environmental issues. Saltwater appeared to be the way forward until recently but would now appear to be dropping out of favour, or has my research reached the wrong conclusion? Are saltwater systems a good alternative in your view?

Before attcking the ground with the mini-pelle I thought I'd best do some research and have now got to No.3 on the list - 'what filtration system?' It will be a modest sized, semi enterée, unheated pool with very light use and we don't fancy the idea of smelling of chlorine, or depleting the ozone layer or breaking the bank. Any advice greatly apreciated, Thanks

Glad to be of service - the grass (and weeds) grow fast here in V-d-L

Danny, VCR's WERE good, but what about the old Phillips 2000 system? Way ahead and so much easier to programme!

How do I delete old threads from 'My Forum'?

We don't have a Costco in Montpon!

Thanks Bob, I'll try the Nero tool. The DVD recorder is new and the manual (such as it is!) states that it will read/write + and - discs

If you go down onto the 89 and turn left towards St Seurin-sur-l'Isle there's a place on the right (look for the yellow car!) that has a range of new and second-hand mowers both on the forecourt and in the show room. If you carry on to St Seurin there's a couple of other places, including a Weldom who have a range in at the moment

I was afraid that might be the answer! I'm waiting to try the test you mention. Back in the days of steam power I ran W98 and the machine would accept any old rubbish, the I (foolishly) upgraded to W2000 and it really started to get picky. I've since had a French XP installed so maybe it only wants to be fed with French discs now!

I've just received a small quantity of Verbatim discs from a well-known UK internet site (about a third of the cost of the French equivalent - including the postage!) and found - wait for it!!! - they don't work! The +R, +RW and -RW discs are all fine but when I try to use a -R in my DVD recorder it shows 'disc full' and when I  put one in the P.C. my DVD icon changes to CD and the machine doesn't recognize the existence of the discs. Any thoughts anyone?

Best of luck with the idea of teaching the little dears to drive over here, having done it in the UK the thought of teaching defensive driving techniques to newcomers against a backdrop of extremely unpredictable other drivers frankly scares the bejebbers out of me!

Can someone please explain the intricacies of French M/C insurance as it relates to theft/total loss claims as I'm confused by the format of quotes that I found on t'net, coupled with the fact that my local Groupama agent stated that in France the value of bikes is regarded as 'minimale' Is there a French equivalent of Glass' Guide so that I can get an idea of its market value over here? (I'm sure at least three of you will give me all the info I need - better than a reference library!)

I hope Sunday Driver picks this up as I've mislaid his contact details. I have at long last embarked on the re-registration process for two vehicles that I have brought from UK (both off-road at present before anyone jumps on me!) and I have a couple of queeries. Firstly I need to visit the Centre des Impots for my Quittus Fiscal but I have read that I may need to provide the puissance in respect of each engine - is this correct and if so how do I find it? Also S.D. stated in one of his responses that the gas installation on my aged camper would have to be checked by a Bureau Veritas but all I can find in Pages Jaune is reference to what appears to be buildings inspection - would they be the same body responsible for both vehicle and buildings? When I visited the DRIRE last year the very helpful lady there gave me a check-list of the required documentation for the re-reg process but there was no mention of a gas certificate - any comments (the van is a pukka Hymer originally registered in Germany) Thanks

Having just gone through the same procedure ourselves when our E106 ran out (quite painless) we are now waiting for a replacement Carte Vitale for madame. The very helpful guy at our lcal CPAM told us to pay up and hang on to any prescription/treatment receipts and then submit them when the new Carte arrives. Then the remboursements will be made as they had been before

BJ suggests that I cannot claim back the excess when the materials are used by the artisan and I appreciate the logic of that However is it possible for me to claim for materials that I have used myself, unfortunately my French isn't up to the standard required by the 'simplified' form suggested by Bikerchick

I'm not sure whether this belongs in 'renovations' or 'finance' so I'll start here. I am renovating and having the essentials - gas/electrical/plumbing - done by a French artisan, the rest is all DIY/Brico. I have purchased all the materials myself, including those used by the artisan, and have obviously paid 19.6% TVA, he is working at 5.5% TVA but we came to an arrangement that suited at the time. Now I'm wondering, in light of an article in the current 'Dossier Familial' if there is any mechanism for claiming back the excess TVA - any thoughts?

Sorry to butt in on somebody else's question but I can't find my original post and I'm hoping to get clarification on something I asked! I want to run two FTA boxes but someone said that I can't split the signal and I would need two LNB's and cables, but WHY can't the cable signal be split? It can be done with a conventional aerial so why not with Sat?

Great stuff Chris but where do you get the LED's from?

Reading the posts about glueing tongue and groove may just pre-empt a problem for me as I guess the same is true for shutters as for doors? In due course I shall need to make some shutters and I was probably going to glue them - obviously wrong!