Ford Anglia

[quote user="Gemini_man"][quote user="Ford Anglia"]Oh, and to get back on topic, what's the difference between mulching and just leaving cut grass everywhere?[/quote] The difference is 100 odd Euros depending on what make of machine you have [:D] and what you get for your money is a lump of plastic on a long plastic handle which nicely blocks the grass output shute so the cut grass has nowhere to go and gets "mulched" into even smaller bits of cut grass and left behind on the lawn where in theory it helps stop weeds growing and breaks down putting any goodness back into the soil - in reality that only happens when the grass is pretty short and dry the rest of the time it just leaves lumps of mushed grass cuttings. and just leaving cut grass everywhere is ...... well it's just unsightly isn't it [8-|] [/quote] My thoughts, entirely. Collection for me, every time.

My wife wants a ride-on mower, even though she can't stop herself mowing stuff she didn't want to with the hand held, self-powered one. I even tried marking the position of shrubs, plants etc with canes painted bright red. She just knocks the canes down too. Is it a "woman driver" thing? Oh, and to get back on topic, waht's the difference between mulching and just leaving cut grass everywhere? Thanks.

Drill bits: the "drill anything" type from Screwfix. Screws, especially stainless ones, in bulk. A flooring nailer and it's nails.  

[quote user="Suninfrance"] Bad news for my friend just down the road who only this month brought her beehives over from England.  She was planning on purchasing her bees next month. [/quote] From the website of French beekeepers:  beryl wrote: I have found this http://www.beekeeping.com/sante-de-labeille/articles/vespa_velutina.htm  which shows what the hornets look like.   Unless I'm mistaken, that article seems to say four things of interest: The new hornets are slightly smaller than the indiginous ones. They are also less aggressive, and possess a less painful sting, on a par with a common wasp. (Yes, I know, NOT to be laughed at). They are NOT going to decimate beekeeping in France, since the design of French domestic beehives precludes their entry. They seem to station themselves at the entry, capture a single bee at a time, and take it back to their nest.

There's one or two at Portiragnes, walkable from the canal du midi, lovely area......  

I was once injured by my school tie[:(] I'd removed it, tied each end to the ends of my bike handlebars, and was riding home on my bike using the tie as "reins" when one end came undone.[:'(] Damage to me was slight. [:)]Bike suffered buckled wheel after a car ran over it.[:@]

[quote user="beryl"]I have found this http://www.beekeeping.com/sante-de-labeille/articles/vespa_velutina.htm  which shows what the hornets look like. [:)][/quote]   Unless I'm mistaken, that article seems to say four things of interest: The new hornets are slightly smaller than the indiginous ones. They are also less aggressive, and possess a less painful sting, on a par with a common wasp. (Yes, I know, NOT to be laughed at). They are NOT going to decimate beekeeping in France, since the design of French domestic beehives precludes their entry. They seem to station themselves at the entry, capture a single bee at a time, and take it back to their nest. Lastly, the article seems to think that their eradication is impossible and we have to learn to live with them.

[quote user="Dave Plumb"] The best tip I can give when removing loo's and dealing with old soil pipes is to contact captain Kirk as he is the best at dealing with the klingons  [:D]   Dave [/quote] Now get your coat...........

Ah..............I'm laying chestnut, which is quite pale, and the wife likes it a bit darker.............. Chestnut..............but then, the house IS in the pays des feuillardiers.

[quote user="Chris Head"]I'm totally bored with Danish oil. Anyone got indepth experience of hardwax oil?[/quote] In what way, "bored" Chris?

[quote user="Dick Smith"] French floor finishes come in two parts, a stain and a vitrifier, a sort of hard varnish layer. Takes several years to dry...   Or at least in comparison to Ronseal. [/quote] My eyebrows have now come back down to earth, after I got to the bit about Ronseal. So you recommend Ronseal, then, Dick? "Vitrifier", that was the word...........

I've seen seals for these, and others (right angled, straight, kinked etc), in the DIY sheds. A large backward sloping internal neoprene seal at one end, with a series of fluted external seals at the other. DO lubricate well, fit to loo first, drop/slide loo into place, job's a good'un. One of the things about these sorts of loos is that when fixing you can mark through, then SWIVEL the loo from side to side to drill, place plugs etc, without ever breaking the seal again[;-)] Remember to use stainless screws to screw it down too.  

Hi all, I've seen this stuff recommended on here for hardwood floors, especially new ones. Is this the stuff: http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=PIT10O145WV04CSTHZOCFFQ?_dyncharset=UTF-8&fh_search=danish+oil&x=12&y=12 I've looked carefully at it, but it says it's for doors and furniture....... Also, is that a good price? I have NO idea what it would be to buy in France. Also, can you stain the floor before using it? Our French neighbours say we should stain, then use something that seems to translate as "glasslike", but I can't remember the exact word[8-)] Her floors and beams ARE beautiful, though. TIA

 Bissirieix Alain Malbati 16150 CHASSENON Plan | Itinéraire | Vue aérienne | Envoi  | A proximité Up there with the best, serves 16 and south western 87. NOT the cheapest, and don't expect him to be able to start "tomorrow". 05 45 89 30 24

Tonight, apparently, on "More4".  

I have to admit to being very depressed when the African guy was talking about the undeveloped part of Africa . They have pressure put on them to use renewable resources, such as solar cells for electricity. He showed how they had to choose between a fridge that keeps medicines fresh, or having lighting.........[:(] And went on to ask how you power a steel mill with solar cells. Personally, my wife and I have always recycled what we could, making special trips to bottle banks  THIRTY YEARS ago, when most people asked us "why?". That won't change, for me, but I'm not surprised at the way it's been used to justify taxation. As someone on another BBS said recently, "In the last millenium, religion was often used to keep the masses in line. The environment is now the new religion.........."[:(]

............why's it so dear? I was looking at tidying up some of my wiring, especially in the kitchen, where dozens of wires are on show, but the price of the trunking puts me off. I mean, come on, it's only an extrusion and comes off a machine at about 200 metres a minute. I'm talking about the stuff that's about 50-75mm high by about 30mm deep.

My neighbour's cylinders are 13kg, and kept almost touching the house wall. I wonder of this keeps them warm enough to keep working?  

Did anyone else see the C4 programme last night? VERY interesting............... It's repeated on More4 on 12th March, apparently.

My neighbour uses butane, both her two bottles are outside, in Southern Haute Vienne,. Lowest temperature I've recorded is -13 degrees C, and her cooker worked fine. Nothing to STOP you going to propane, though. Get the correct regulator, make sure the cooker is jetted for it, and away you go. So long as the chicken shed is ventilated, you'll be fine. DO get an isolator for inside though........    

If you DO get permission, decide to go ahead and take one from the UK, I can more than recommend the Wickes ones. Excellent build quality, excellent instructions, and the guy who designs them is on the other end of a helpline, just in case you do get stuck. You'll need a hefty trailer though, or a van: they take up a LOT of space before unpacking, and are VERY heavy.  

In the small town near us, the Sapeurs Pompiers are part-time. The siren calls them from their day jobs/beds, etc to attend for an emergency. We live about 4km from the town, and can hear the siren most days. So can next door's Alsation, who sits in the centre of the road, raises his muzzle to the sky, and "sings" with the siren. Looks and sounds really funny........especially when the neighbour does her best to stop him[:D] Southern Haute Vienne, btw.

I have reasonable French, and have asked many people in our area, (about 6km north of the Dordogne border), how THEY feel about the numbers of English people living there. Without fail, the replies have been positive, ranging from keeping businesses open, to doing up old houses which would otherwise fall into disrepair, and thus paying their previous owners for something that would otherwise be virtually worthless. I've EVEN had one person tell me he prefers dealing with Brits as they are more polite than the French.....

I have to admit to liking starlings. Noisy, dirty, aggressive, bad tempered, I STILL like them. One of the funniest things I've seen in my UK garden was when our freezer went on the blink. Rather than waste the meat in it, I cooked it up for local dogs and the birds. I put an entire cooked chicken out on the back lawn, and watched the starlings come for it. They came in such numbers and so fast that it looked like someone was chucking them over the outhouse roof[:D] Took them less than an houtr to strip it, then I had to go out and take in all the bones so that local cats don't choke on them........

Got any creosote? Dab the plant with that stuff, I guarantee it'll die.