dave21478

We have an alpaca on the farm. We were given him by his previous owner who no longer wanted him. They had 2 castrated males (I dont know why!) and when 1 died they didnt want the other to get lonely. We have a few sheep here and the alpaca fits in nicely. He is a wonderful beast. he quickly became "chief" of his little flock of sheep and they follow him everywhere. He stands guard against dogs and foxes, although he is now used to our pet dog and tolerates her. He is a bit timid, but will aproach if you are quiet and will eat out of my hand. If you catch him and put your arms round his neck he wont struggle and will let you put a wee halter thing on and is happy to be led around on it. He has never once been aggressive towards us, doesnt spit (sometimes spits at the sheep if they annoy him though) He makes no loud noise, just the odd wee grunts and bleats and needs almost nothing in the way of care. We are in the Tarn and he is outside with the sheep in all weathers. They have a barn to shelter in and the alpaca is perfectly happy with that. Bear in mind Peru etc where alpacas are common have climates with extremes much higher and lower than France! He eats the grass and nettles etc, and eats the hay we give the sheep in winter. He gets sheared once a year - we do this ourselves, although the first year we got someone in to do the sheep, they were wary of him at first but he posed no problems. One thing to bear in mind is the wool contains no natural oils like the sheep so the clipper blades need constantly lubricated when shearing or they go blunt in a few tens of seconds. In the three years we have had him, he has cost us nothing, never needing vets attention etc. If they werent so expensive, we would get a few more. Not to pose with, but because we like him.  [:)]

The XP power settings only allow me to adjust the standby times etc.   The computer has never had the power management program Im after iirc. I have recently re-installed windows from  its original discs but that made no difference either. I will see if I can find something on the net.    

that only allows me to change the time its stays inactive before standby and the delay before stopping the hard-drive etc. My Acer`s thing allows the processor to run at a slower speed and dims the screen when on battery ( i have changed this as it got on my nerve) I assume this samsung does something similar as its definately slower on battery and the screen dims too, but i cant find a way to change or over-ride the settings

I have an Acer laptop, which has a thing on the task bar which allows me to alter the settings regarding the screen brightness, processor speed etc when the laptop is on battery or mains power. It was set as default to lower performance on battery to prolong battery life.   Anyway, My sister has a Samsung laptop which also has lower performance on battery, but I see no way to change these settings. As it stands, on battery the computer runs a noticeable amount slower, and dvd playback starts to stutter. How can I change these settings? Its running XP.   Thanks, Dave.

Hello, I have been offered a nice job here in France, and before its finalised, the chap is asking for "un titre de séjour et une autorisation de travail." and is also asking if I have a Social Security number. Now, I have been in France for 18 months staying with friends, not working, so have no papers. I am a UK citizen with a british passport. I was under the impression that these papers were no longer needed? If not, where would I get them from and what would I need to get them?   Many Thanks, Dave.

Its probably not worth the saving for the tyres alone, but if you fancy the trip, its well worth it for cheaper cigarettes and alcohol as well. (if those happen to be your vices!) Fags are almost half the price in Spain than here in France, so 3 or 4 cartons saves you your fuel costs at least, and leaves you with enough for a nice lunch.

Someone told me that I only have the right to sell up to 5 cars a yearas a private seller. If I sold any more than that I will have to pay tax. Is this true and if so, what sort of tax rate would apply?

Just a quick tale for those of you registering your cars here in France. Its not hard. Be patient and you will get there in the end.   I have a 1998 Citroen C15 van which I wanted to regsiter here. First step, the certificate of conformity... My local Citroen dealership in UK didnt have a clue. "You need to get that from the DVLA mate, not us..." Citroen UK`s website offered no help, so I emailed them. They replied with a phone number, which I called. "Oh, we can only issue them for cars, commercial vehicles need to be done through the French system. Try this numer....) Called the number for Citroen France and got a recording telling me to send a copy of the V5, A copy of my passport and a cheque for 120euro to Paris, which I did. A certificate arrived fairly quickly.   Next up was the CT. The van is in good condition apart from tyres nearing the limit on the front. I got a pair of LHD headlights from the scrap yard and away I went. Failed on 1 tyre and the brake lights, which was down to a broken switch, which must have broken on the 2 days before the test typically. Anyway, changed the switch and fitted 2 almost new tyres from my dead 106. They were a different profile to the std ones on the van so I put these on the rear and moved the rears to the front to keep the speedo accuracy. They guy failed it at the re-test due to the tyre size being different. Note that in the UK this would have passed. It doesnt matter what differences there are front to rear as long as the two on the same axle are the same, but this is obviously different in France. So, 2 new tyres later and I got the pass.   Then off to the Hotel des Impots to get the VAT certificate. A word of warning here.....go to the branch closest to your house, where your normal impots would be dealt with. I had foolishly assumed that any branch would do as I was only seeking a form for the car, but no, I was turned away from the one in the town where we usually do shopping, and had to make the 90 minute drive to the other big town (our house is half-way between the 2 big towns). Damn. Anyway, once at the right branch He took a photocopy of the V5 and proof of residence, I filled out the simple form, he stamped it and away I went. Why couldnt I have done that at the first plae I went to? who knows. Then off to the prefecture. Seemingly, I could have done this at the sous prefecture of either town, where the three forms above, my passport, another proof of residence, a demand for a carte-gris and 240euro got me my wee bit of grey paper. 240 euros though, I thought that was a bit steep, but then, Id imagine that like the UK, taxes are often higher for commercial vehicles than cars? Still thats cheaper than a couple of years UK road tax I suppose.   All in, it took a couple of months to amass all the papers and get the CT, but I was in no real hurry. I suppose if I had made more of an effort, I could have done the lot in a week to 10 days   [:)]

Im in the Tarn, between Albi and Castres. I have a friend who is also intereted and would have taken the whole lot, but the guy wanted a silly price that was way over the odds seemingly. The only hope is that when the house is sold, the stuff goes with the sale and the new owners might be open to a reasonable offer to clear out what is cluttering up a large amount of space.      

The Farm next door to me is now abandoned due to the owners Ill health. His sons are selling off all the equipment at pretty reasonable prices. While rooting around one of the barns I found an old Peugeot 203 van in reasonable condition. Certainly restoreable. I might ask how much he wants for it as I fancy a new project. There are loads of old horse-drawn carts and horse-drawn farm machines too, all in poor state but good for restoration or for parts. Id imagine it will all get dumped.      

A  wallpaper steamer often does the job, although a lot depends on the material of the surface underneath. I recently attempted to remove a load of crepi from a wee toilet room. It was the REALLY pointy finish where you do yourself a serious injury if you brush against it. Large sections peeled off with ease as the paint underneath came away too, but the rest had to be chiseled off in tiny scraps where the undercoat of paint was sound. Something that was very effective was a big rotary wire brush mounted in an angle-grinder, but the huge amount of dust generated made it impractical.

About 20miles from where I was brought up in the UK there was a US airforce base and there were loads of American cars in the area. It was brilliant as a child to see real-life "knight-riders" on the local streets! When the base was closed, the US cars slowly dissappeared Id imagine due to lack of spare parts.

I dont think UK customer service is "all that". Asda/Tesco offer instant refunds etc because your repeat custom for £100 or so a week family food shopping is worth way more than a few quid loss due to a price error, but the danger is being too soft leads to abuse. I used to manage a car parts shop in the UK and people regularly took the proverbial by returning well worn items a few weeks short of their 1 year guarantee expiry. My response initially would be "wear and tear isnt covered" but they would just take matters to the company head office, who would invariably and unquestioningly refund or replace the parts in the name of "customer goodwill". Eventually I had to give up refusing them as the number of complaints to head office was reflecting badly on my store. I soon learned this was pretty much the norm for all our branches. Head office being over-eager to please was allowing many people to run their cars for nothing! I cant see that sort of thing beng tolerated in a French store, and quite rightly so. Amusingly (well, it wasnt at the time) I once bought somethng from Argos. When I got home I opened the box to find the actual product a shoddy old piece of junk that was obviously a few years old. I imagine someone bought the item, put their old piece of junk in the box and returned it to store under their 14-day no quibble refund. The store obviously never checked the item properly before re-selling it. I returned to store to complain, and was taken aside by the manager. I was directly accused of doing this myself and they called the police. "Obtaining goods by deception" was talked about loudly untill finally common sense overcame the store manages shitty attitude and I was allowed to "go free", taking the old product with me. It took action by a solicitor to get my refund. I dont shop at Argos anymore - not that it was ever particularly enjoyable, who ever thought queueing twice for 1 purchase would be a good idea? I have since learned that its a pretty common occurance to buy things from stores, especially argos, who offer no quibble returns that are blatently second-hand. I heard about a Watchdog program on this, including delights such as second-hand electric toothbrushes.[+o(]

It must be possible, there is MASSIVE old caddillac saloon thing floating about the local village and a few km`s down the road there is a house owned by English folk that have a gorgeous old Trans-Am parked outside on French plates. [:D]

Sorry to bump an older thread, but Its time for me to head back to France again. Speedferries boat is broken and out of action for a month,[:@] so an alternative will be needed. Anyway, Ive been looking into it and Im about to book a ferry from Rosyth to Zebrugge. I can get it one way for £150 or so, using a reclining seat rather than a cabin. This gives me about 2 hours drive in Scotland, the ferry, then the French leg, which according to mappy, is only about 50ish  kilometers longer than my old routes French leg.   The Ferry cost is £120 more than my normal, but I save a nights hotel stay somewhere, and I save the fuel costs for about 800 kilometers driving the length of the UK. Works out quite nicely if you ask me. The saving in driving time is much more of a bonus though. The downside? My trusty Landrover has been forced into retirement due to being made more of rust than steel, so until I source a new one later in the year, Im doing the trip in a C15 van! Ear-plugs at the ready! Should use a lot less fuel too I suppose. Thanks for all help and suggestions from everyone.[:)]  

Hmmm, the price its at is really unbeatable though, no chance of getting the same age/condition for anywhere near it in France. I knew about needing RHD headlights, The tail lights will need changed too due to the foglight being on the other side. Fortunately, its a model with plenty of parts available in UK breakers yards, so price for this will be low. I am still a Uk resident so Uk registration is possible, I only stay in France on a part-time basis for now.

Hi, Im looking to buy a LHD van and found a suitable one in the UK, but the seller says its on Dutch transfer plates. He says its easy to register it in UK, (MOT it then pay DVLA £38) but what about registering in France? Or would I be best registering in UK first then to France normally? Thing is, I read in an old thread here when I searched for this subject that Dutch transfer plates are only valid for 2 weeks? This van has been in the UK for longer than that.

Aye, thats the route I take through France. Boulougne to Abbeville, Rouen, Chartres, Dreux, Evreux, Chartres, Orleon then the A20 south which os free for most of the way. After Limoges though, I have about a third as far again to get to the right exit,(and another peage section) than another two hours on small roads to the house. Nothing will change the fact that Aberdeen to Dover is a 10 to 11 hour drive though, followed by a similar length in France the next day hence my looking for alternative routes like different ferry crossings. Also, MPG isnt going to change either as no other car really has the tow capacity I need. (3.5 tons)

Hi. Thanks for the suggestions so far. I will look into the Hull crossing and see how distances work out. I already use a diesel car, but its a gas-guzzling, environment killing, 4x4. I need this as I often have lots of stuff to bring with me, and often need to tow a transporter trailer when Im down here. Very few "normal" cars are in my budget with the tow capacity I need.  I did the journey once in a Pug 106 diesel, and it was VERY frugal, but the lack of power up the hills and poor comfort means I wont be doing it again in a hurry! 4-5 tanks of fuel was a mistake on my part. I jjust checked my journey receipts and its 3-4 tanks on average, which isnt quite so bad. Something else just caught my eye in a magazine, its a ferry crossing running from Plymouth to northern Spain somewhere. Id still have the length of the UK to drive, but the longer crossing to Spain would leave me with only a morning/afternoons easy driving to get to Albi. I will look into the prices in a few days time when Im back in the uk. (still on a 56k connection here in France as ADSL isnt available. It takes soooo long to find out the simplest information from most websites!)    

Hi, Im just wondering if anyone could suggest a better/cheaper/faster route to my normal one? Currently, I drive from Aberdeen to Dover in one day, then either stay the night in Dover and catch a Speedferry to Boulougne the next morning, or get the late crossing and stay the night in Boulougne or slightly south. I then drive south the next day. 2 full days driving, an overnight stay somewhere, an average of 50Euros in toll roads and 4-5 tanks of fuel. Its not cheap and its very tiring. Anyone think of a better way to do this? Dont suggest flying![:P]

[quote user="J.R."] ......... Incidentally when I had the original pair of tyres fitted (replacing the worn rears of my F.W.D.) car I asked for them to be refitted on the front, as these do the bulk of the work and wear faster. I always do this as it is safer to have the best tyres on the front of a F.W.D. vehicle, for this reason I also swop end to end when they are half worn. The garage refused saying it was illegal, dangerous etc, I ended up rotating them myself after refusing to take the car off of the ramp and to pay...... [/quote]   Hi. Sorry to bump an older post, but I havnt had net access for a while and spotted this while browsing.   Garages will always recomend the new tyres go on the REAR of a fwd car. As you say, the fronts wear quicker as they do all the work, but for safety reasons, the better tyres should be on the rear. Hard cornering, or braking, or lifting off the accelerator when cornering causes the rear of the car to go "light", lessening grip. If the front tyres are significantly better than the rears, the rear tyres can loose traction first, causing the rear end to slide out. This is called lift-off oversteer and for the inexperienced or unaware driver is difficult to control, causing the car to spin round. This is a handling trait of a few hot hatches like 205GTi`s when pushed hard, but applies to all fwd cars to some extent. Having the poorer tyres on the front means that in the same situation, the front wheels will loose traction before the rears, making the car understeer, which is much more controllable.   Although this all sounds like boy racer stuff, I remember seeing a practical demonstration on either Top Gear or 5th Gear in Britain a couple of years back. A normal fwd car (might have been a VW Polo) was driven round a wet bend at a reasonable speed. The idea was to simulate arriving at a corner slightly tighter than expected and having to steer slightly harder than normal. It wasnt anything extreme, just an average curve as might be encountered anywhere. With the worn tyres on the rear, the car spun 180 degres and went off the track backwards. With the worn tyres on the front, the car understeered towards the outside of the curve but was easilly brought under control without leaving the road.    

Ok, Thanks for the information, Very helpfull!   Dave.  

Read the small-print carefully. Both AA and RAC European cover make no obvious mention of this but in the small-print, the covered vehicle has to have proof of service history or they can refuse cover or pursue you for costs after recovery. I run older cars which I service myself and have no proof of servicing, which as far as I can tell makes these two companies useless for me. I cant speak for the other companies, and a quick look on that site above shows at least one (Britannia) that make no additional charges for older vehicles, though I would need to read the full policy to be certain.      

Hello, I have done a search and found a few usefull threads (especially one concerning a horse box) and I am wondering if anyone maybe has any updated information. I have several trailers in the UK and the next trip down will be bringing them with me, but I need to know if its going to be a worth-while venture regarding registration here. The first trailer is an unbraked single-axle garden trailer. Home-made but in good condition. I would say it would be classed as under 750kgs max. As far as I see, no need to register it in France? Second is a heavy-duty car transporter. Max 3.5 tons. It is an "Indespension" make. The chassis plate has a space for EC conformity number but this is blank. Buying the equivelant trailer down here would be prohibitavely expensive so I would like to register it. I have the sales receipt (bought it second hand from auction) but no other paperwork. I assume I will need to contact Indespesion and see about getting a certificate of conformity or similar? the the usual import process should apply? The third is also a car transporter/general purpose trailer but is home-made. twin-axle, braked, built from re-claimed caravan axles and coupling. Its 100% legal in the uk, but registering in France may be a problem. I made it myself so have no paperwork at all. Although the components are serviceable, the axle numbers and any markings on the brake backplates have long ago succumbed to corrosion (assuming they were marked in the first place) What are my chances of getting this registered?   thanks for any help, Dave.

Hello, I have just been pointed to this site, and this is one of my questions! In the UK, I use an ex-RAC a-frame system which has a braking device (over-run coupling linked to a bowden cable which feeds into the towed cars window and connects to a thing clamped to the seat which presses the brake pedal) and wondered if this was legal in France. The thing is, I dont even know if its strictly legal in the UK either! As far as I can tell, its not ILLEGAL, but no-one knows if it is actually LEGAL either, if you see what I mean. A towed car over 750kgs (all cars really) on this device seems to be classed as a braked trailer in the uk, which would hint at it being legal, but people also hint at thins only being legal for recovering a car to a place of safety rather than for transporting cars. Asking at my local polioce station in UK didnt turn up any usefull replies.   My reason for asking is that a neighbour in France is a mobile mechanic and quite fancies buying my a-frame if it is legal in France. He will be towing broken down cars using his French truck. All towed weights etc would be within spec, but we dont know whether the frame is legal to use.   Thanks for any help. Dave.