melmoth

No-one I believe, is saying that one should RELY on body armour. What they are saying is that with thye world's most powerful and potentially lethal hand held machine it would be foolish not to use all safeguards possible. One of the major sources of chainsaw injury is "kickback" - the reasons for kickback are various and it is not possible to completely guard against all of them. A millisecond of grace given by chainsaw trousers might well be enough time for the saw to slow down sufficiently to avoid bad or fatal injury. Of course one needn't wear protective clothing in the same way one needn't wear a seatbelt when driving or a helmet on a motor bike - but in all these cases the most experienced user is increasing the risk of injury in a sudden, unseen situation.

I'm going to France Newhave/Dieppe on the 26th Nov. as a foot passenger - does anyone know if LD lines enable me to take my cat if I'm a foot passenger? If not will any other line let me? If no line will does anyone know of someone coming over who would take my cat just for the ferry trip? (9.30 sailing) Any thoughts most welcome! Brendan

Stan, totally agree - I've just bought a pro chainsaw and am not going to skimp on the protective gear - the sheer weight and the power of the thing is awesome and I know in a kickback situation I'd be totally unable to control it - good gear might give me those all important milli-seconds to get my act together. The only thing is the jacket - I might use my tough leather motor bike jacket rather than spend approx £150 on a chainsaw one - it seems the least useful chainsaw clothing - I see you didn't mention it in your list. Also  do the chainsaw gloves allow sensitive operation of the machine? Also what sort of boots did you buy? cheers Brendan

Hi, I have a choice of buying chainsaw trousers, helmet, gloeves etc. in the UK or in France (I have a Husqvarna dealer near me in France. Does anyone know if these itens are more expensive in France generally - the UK a Husqvrna helmet is £34 and trousers are approc £80. ny thoughts welcome Brendan

No, it's also in France - advertised in Brit Mag I'm told.

Bob, I'm in England at the mement and it's here I've decided to look into buying in France. I guess I'm assuming that they're expensive because everyone says French 2nd hand ones are, but of course I'll check it out. Yes, the dealer registering it would of course be better and he'd be on hand when the engine falls out! mainly at the moment I want as much info as possible before I go back (for good!) next month. Brendsn

I believe there's organisations in France that arrange for French people to come and live with you and you immerse them in English. Does anyone know anything about this? What are the legalities involved, possible money to be made  and any appropriate organisations? I live in Lower Normandy. Cheers Brendan

Hi, My local citroen dealer is a reliable honest man and sells second hand cars, but I'm told that thsecond hand cars are VERY expensive in France and I would do better to buy a LHD in Belgium and import - has any one any advice on this. Obviously I should need to get the car registered whereever I buy it - would this be a problem for a Belgium car? Any help much appreciated Brendan

Hi, I'm thinking of signing with SFR for their broadband/free phone package. Has anyone any experience of this and any advice they can give. Does TV come as part of the deal? Also I have a UK TV which can't receive French transmissions. Is it the French law that simply possessing a working TV, even though it doesn't receive French transmissions, makes me liable to pay a licence?  Does anyone know if a UK TV can receive satellite/digital sugnals? many thanks Brendan

OK well it seems that the cards have a limited validity - can anyone tell me whether LeClerc/Orange etc. PAYG phones work for incoming calls if the credit is expired? Brendan

Hi Do cards for all pay as you go phones in France have a limited validity? If so Virgin seems a good bet - is it? I hardly use the phone but like it for emergences and incoming business calls. Any suggestions most welcome Brendan

Much obliged Herbert. DO let me know if you have any further thoughts. Cheers Brendan

My wife and I have a house and a hectare of land in Lower Normandy and want to buy a yurt (a Mongolian tent) and let it out in the summer months. Can anyone give us advice on the legal aspects of this? For instance where would we go for permission and what might the law require in the way of toilets/showers and insurance? Do we actually need permmission for a business so small (many of the people staying will be friends or friends of friends)? Bearing in mind that this is going to be a tiny business with very little income and also that we both continue to live most of the year in the UK and thus pay UK tax. Any advice, personal experiences etc. would be most welcome. Brendan

Hi Lisa Thanks a lot for all this - very helpful. I'll do all you suggest. A lot of work but, of course, important to us too to get a good idea of whether our project is viable - and I'd hate to lose our French house if everything fell through! Brendan

My wife and I are planning on setting up a sort of "alternative" camp site in Normandy and are thinking about getting a French business loan for this. Does anyone have an any views on how to obtain such a loan, the pitfalls, requirements etc. We own our house outright. In advance, many thanks Brendan

Much obliged to all - problems seem to have been due to my ignorance! However plumber did his job and the system is up and running well - a great relief. cheers Brendan

The plumber has now told me that he hasn't installed the pump that pumps the water from the cooker through the heating coil in the hot water cistern. He says there's no need because the cooker boiler is so small. I find this a little perplexing - surely the water needs to be circulated in order to beterr heat the cistern? Any thoughts on this? Cheers

In France everything is run on mains pressure. esse boilers are not pressurised so the house system has to be changed to attic-tank gravity feed - as the pipes are smaller bore in France (some of them) this can result in very low water pressure. cheers

We have recently had an Esse woodburning stove installed - the plumber  has told us that the  hot water pressure is very week (less that a bar) and we need to install a secondary pump. This is expensive for us - around £270. I can't understand why the presure is so low - presumably the syatem (now converted to English style gravity feed because Esse is English and use non-pressurised biolers) works in England - or does evryone have these secondary pumps? Any advice or common experience would be most appreciated. Brendan

Many thanks Tracteurtom- an enormous help which has diffused a lot of the mystery - a real mine of information. cheers Brendan PS thanks for all other replies too - I'm new to the forum and am vastly impressed with all your helpfulness.

You've given me a lot of interesting things to think about - very much obliged Proxima.  Good point especially about the tents, I think people would actually pefer that. Re walks, actually we're situated near a large walking wood (not in the hunting season!) and that could well be incorporated. Main thing is to create something different that is inexpensive and gives people a different and memorable time out. It's more than just a field, there's trees, shaded avenues etc. as well as the field which is gradually becoming civilised - next big question is which tractor to buy to really get to grips with it. Again, many thanks Brendan I take it you design web sites?

Proxima - very helpful - actually we're planning something a "little" different from your usual camp site and I don't know exactly what category as regards French law it would come under. Basically we're thinking of a kind of retreat centre where people can go for a stress detox - they's stay in tents which we would provide and there would be a mediatation hall cum cinema, Yoga, storytelling and various courses such as North American initiation rites, dances etc. All a bit ambitious but we think it is sorely needed. Of course you're right - we mustn't forget the toilets! Thanks for the warning Katie! cheers Brendan

many thanks - I, too wondered about differing costs UK and France and suspected that buying UK and shipping could be a good option. Because our ground is basically a field there's lots of ups and downs so we would need something quite strong with as wide a cutting width as possible. A French neighbour bought a new Kubuta for approx 1O K euros, at that time that worked out at roughly 6-7 K pounds but now its's nearer 8-9 which for us is a LOT of money. I know it's an impossible question but I'll ask it amyway - what sort of price would I expect to pay for a suitable new or secondhand UK bought tractor? i.e. what's the cheapest you think I should look at below which it's just not worth taking the risk? Basically we want to cut the grass in a reasonably flat field and do other basic large garden stuff like transporting logs etc. Also any wonderful new thoughts on how to get rid of a smalll sea of brambles? chers and thanks to all Brendan

Much obliged Albert, Cassis and all - looks like a great deal of choice - best check out what all the tractor specs mean and bottom line what I need. cheers Brendan

Hi, we are thinking of using our 1 hectare land as a small tent only camp site - can anyone tell us what potential problems there might be? thanks Brendan