pip24

I will probably be having a hip replacement in the near future and would like to know if any forum members who are keen on gardening have had this proceedure done and how they cope. My main concerns are digging, kneeling and bending and the amount of time required to get back to be able to do these motions . We have a small lawn/border garden in France that will not be a problem but I have a half plot veg allotment in the U.K that gives me concern as to whether I will still be able to maintain it or not.

Hi. I put tiles down several years ago on a wood floor 9 foot by 9 foot and had no problems by useing the following method:- First screw down the floorboards with more screws. Next with a heavy duty stapler, staple down a layer of chicken mesh (about 1 inch mesh) with an overlap. Then lay the tiles on top of the mesh with flexible tile adhesive.

Hi sweet, Sorry to hear about the foie gras cutter! If you want to cut the foie gras into thin slices a method to do it is to have a pan of water just on the boil. Take a sharp knife and immerse the blade in the hot water for about 30 seconds (until it is hot) take the knife out of the water and dry it on kitchen tissue and slice through the foie gras. The heat from the knife melts the fat and lubricates the knife, making the job alot easier. Keep repeating the process.

Thanks for the reply Nick,     Our fuse box looks like it has trips, but they are cartridge type fuses that come out when you pull the lug down. May be the best bet is to wire a 2 block Tableaux nus in next to the fuse box and feeding the Vmc from there. I am begining to wish that I hadn't put the Vmc in now because I understand that to get benefit from them they have to be on  24/7,  I have been told that the insurance may be void if I leave the power on  when we are not there, because conditions state that water and power should be turned off when the property is unoccupied ! So I will have to check that out as well or find an insurance company that will cover the situation.

Hi,  Thanks for the response to my problem Anton. I have not heard of a Tableaux nus before so I will have to look it up but hope that it is the answer to my problem.   Hi Chancer. Correct, my wiring is more than 1 day old and some of it would not comply with todays Regs !   You say that I need to explain how the VMC is wired. I have stated that the VMC is installed (apart from the electrics) meaning that the VMC is not connected electricaly. The problem is that Regs do not allow it to be connected to a fused circuit. Like many French houses, ours has fuses. So other than having to install a new main unit I am looking for a way to meet the Vmc Regs.

Hi,   this subject is of interest to me because:-     After installing a VMC (apart from the electrics) I now understand that to meet regulations I need a 2A disjoncteur. The electrics in our cottage have a fuse type box so I can not comply with the Regs. Does anyone know if there is such a thing as an independant disjoncteur or breaker or a way round the problem  ?  

Best wishes on your continued recovery Coops, We have all been rootin for you .

Thanks for the websites Clair, you are most helpfull. They were what I was looking for. I can now see why the local Gitem had a problem. It looks like the washing machine is a UK import and spares for the model are not listed. I have sourced the part in the UK and will take it over next time.

Hi    My neighbours washing machine door catch has broken and he needs a replacement part. The local Gitem cannot source the part. Does anyone know of a website in France that you can order washing machine parts from ?  

Thanks for that  info powerdesal. If you read the thread from the begining you will see That I was trying to help someone by giving a simple example. I did not expect to be shot down by Pierre with a "I strongly disagree" and rant on voltage. I do know what the voltages are supposed to be. I think that a post like Pierre's did not help the original posters problem one tiny bit. It would have been more constructive to help, not give an opinion. Obviously you have an interest in electricity, Maybe you are qualified to help the original poster.  

Hi Pierre,                   I have just checked the voltage in my socket and it is 247 volts  would you like to strongly dissagree with that ?

Hi,  Usually appliances are power rated in watts not amps. However the power formula is volts x amps = watts  In the U.K the voltage is 240v.   Therefore 240v x 13a = 3120 watts power consumption. (U.K aga may be rated 3kw) If this was installed on a French system it would be 3120watts divided the voltage of 220v  = 14.18 amps. This is less than the 16 amp French rated unit  You say the aga in France is 16 amps. If the voltage in France is 220 volts and the French aga takes 16 amps the power consumption would be 220 x 16 = 3520 watts (The French aga may be rated 3.5kw) I suspect that the performance would be slightly less hot than the French unit. I hope this is of help to you  

I wonder if Jaqui Smith's sister gives receipts or declares an income in her tax declaration? Just a thought.

Hi  Ernie,                Thanks for the reply,  I had seen the webpage on the ryanair link that you gave. But that page clearly states  "Spain (inc canaries&balearic islands)" not as the Jet2 states as   " All passangers departing from and arriving into the U.K." which I take as going anywhere from anyware. Since posting I have also looked on the Bmibaby site and can't find anything on the subject there either. On re-reading the jet2 statement the wording says " Jet2.com is legally required to provide the U.K. Home office with passport data." which may mean that it is only a legal requirement for Jet2  as opposed to being a legal requirement for all carriers. That would fit in with the borders link that BJSLIV gave us.

According to Jet2.com, under the title "Travel identification" the following is stated; {From March 2009, as part of measures to ensure aviation safety and security Jet2.com is legally required to provide the UK Home Office with passport data for all passengers departing from and arriving into the U.K. You are therefore required to provide Jet2.com with accurate passport data.You may provide this data anytime between the time of your booking and 5 hours before departure. Failure to provide accurate data may result inyou being denied boarding. You may enter the data via manage my booking on the Jet2.com website or via the call centre when making a new booking. } My brother made me aware of this condition after he read it in the smallprint after he had booked a flight. He knew that I had also recently booked a flight with Ryanair and asked me if I had been made aware of this Home Office regulation. I had not been made aware of the regulation on booking , I have also looked through the Ryanair site for information on this new condition but cannot find any info on the above mentioned condition  (all passengers departing from and arriving into the U.K.) I have also looked through Flybe website and cannot find the condition there either.                    There must be lot of people with flights booked who are unaware of this condition. Can any of the well informed Forum members throw any light on this? Phil 

Hi  Dep24,                     Our place is in 24.  We have our Foncieres and d'Habitation bills sent to our UK address. We receive the Fonciere bill around the 7 th of October to be paid by 15 th October. We have not recieved the d'Habitation bill for this year, it ususally comes at about November 15 th. Hope this info is a guide for you. 

Hi,    We have those handles as well. The pin that you need is a taper pin (mostly used in engineering) it is narrower at one end than the other. Once cut to size the pin is gently driven in from the top. It is a very practical idea. If you need to take the handle off to repaint the door you drive the taper pin out from the underside with a punch or nail. Sorry but I don't know where to source the pins from in France.  

Having been lashed in the U.K by storms I made the mistake of looking at "meteoalarm.eu". It rates the U.K as Yellow alert (possible damage) France as Orange alert (probable damage) and Spain as Red alert (will be damage). So France is expieriencing worse weather than the U.K. Is it just Media hype ?  Am I worrying unduely? or is it that bad? Maybe someone in 24 could let us know ?

Hi Val, just a little tip for you. Mix some radish seeds in with the seeds so that when you sow them the radish seeds will come through a few weeks sooner than the parsnips. This acts as a helpful line marker for when you are weeding. You also get the catch crop of radish ! My last parsnips took six weeks to come through, dont give up on them !   

I have just checked the Patient Information Leaflet on Simvastatin and Atorvastatin.They both state that very rare side effects are fewer than 1 in 10,000 but for common side effects, affect at least 100 in 10,000. I read somewhere that the body produces 80% of the cholesterol and that the other 20% is from food so does that make it that only 20% can be controlled by diet ? For anyone that is inquisitive about statin effects this is my experience. I take 80mg Simvastatin at the moment. The side effects that I get are the muscle pain / joint pain /stiffness / ankle swelling. when I was on 40 mg Atorvastatin my problems were much more troublesome. I had the above conditions plus severe mid afternoon energy level loss and worst of all what could be described as memory loss but the consultant described not as memory loss but as concentration loss. ( On one occassion failing to pay for petrol after I had been approached by someone wanting directions. Another occassion when drawing money out of an ATM . I was distracted by someone on the next ATM, I took my card but left £150 waiting to be taken. Lucky for me the money was purged back into the ATM and I later got my money back. When I got home from the Petrol station I found my fuel flap open and petrol cap missing and realised what I had done. I went back to pay for the petrol, the cashier was very good about it, even shook my hand.He gave me the receipt which had Drive Off written on it.  I still keep the receipt ! )  I am sure there are a lot of people that take statins and have side effects but put them down to being age related. I have taken statins now for nearly ten years, the side effects started to creep in after about 2 years. It's a funny thing but even when the dose was increased the side effects havn't seemed to increase with it !  One observation that I do when out at colleague reunions or just at a restaurant is that after being sat down for an hour and a half and people get up to go to the loo, the ones on statins are usually much slower to get up and get into their stride.This is sometimes disguised by Jacket buttoning / trouser rubbing / tie straightening or other procrastination. I feel sure that some of the above points will be familiar with some people. I complained to the consultant about the side effects. He explained other effects to me about not taking statins and asked me to make a choice ! . I did ! I am still here plus aches etc. I cant't say it was the right decision or the wrong decision as my condition ran parallel with two friends who both gave up on the statins due to muscle problems etc.Pleased to say that they are both still with us and  have to admit that they are both a lot fitter than me. Ultimately the choice is yours.    

After watching the child benefit scandal on the News last night I could not believe what followed shortly after. Was it an ironic coincidence that the Benefit Fraud is a Crime Ad was shown or was someone having a laugh? The Ad says "NO IFS, NO BUTS Benefit fraud is a crime and those breaking the law face a criminal record". 7.5million items of security sensitive information has been stolen or lost. So on the same scale of punishment what will the result be? 25 years or Hanging! Will says that the Civil Service Tree is arguably accountable. I agree. More heads should roll for this one. Apart from yesterdays resignation no one has responded with integrity I think that the hierarchy involved should watch the Ad for themselves, remember NO IFS, NO BUTS and do the decent thing and resign. Russethouse, a point that you brought up of mothers maiden name. On family history sites you can tell some one that you may be related and ask to see their tree. This is just one way to get this information. It frightens me. Link this to the above scandal and things go deeper than they seem, if you see what I am getting at.

Victor , After the initial set up cost, I am interested in how much  it costs you a  year to audit and run the S.C.I.     ?     

Hi Sunshine.  The method that I use is to take a cutting about 5 inches long and remove the leaves for about 3 to 4 inches, just leaving the top leaves on the cutting also remove any blooms if you can see any. Then just below the first leaf node cut the remainder of the stalk off. Now take a 5 inch plastic pot, full of ordinary soil ant insert about six of the cuttings around the edge of the pot. At this time of year they are best kept at this stage on the kitchen windowsill for a few weeks and kept just moist. Then transplant into individual when rooted. 

I was told an easy way to remember was, to prune roses on Valentines day. Other days to remember are plant spuds on Good Friday and toms on St Patricks day. Another day to remember is Fireworks Night Nov 5     put the Ram in with the Ewes!

Hi. I had the same problem in the U.K. I resolved it by getting a new connector from B&Q , the connector is slightly offset in the middle so that when you revolve it at the toilet end you can vary the height to connect to the outflow pipe. I never had to move the outlet, just fit the new connector. I have never looked for one in France so I couldn't advise on who would sell one. The connecting size would probably need to be different from the U.K. so importing one in would solve one problem but give you another!. Hope this helps.