Coppi

[quote user="Quillan"][quote user="sid"] So you were hoping to use your old lenses... how?  [8-)] [/quote] He can't because it is an OM1. Those lenses are unique but do fit an OM2 after which they changed to the 'red spot' lenses. This is because the shutter is in the lens on the OM1 and 2. Having a digital camera with an 8mp or bigger 'lens' is not much good if the size of the sensor is small like in a mobile phone for instance. You will notice the difference when you start printing photo's above A4 or zooming in and then 'blowing up'. Actually the OM1 was way ahead if it's time and you may find many professional photographers still have one or two around today that they use. Unless you go up to something like a Hasselblad 35mm film is often better than any digital camera although in comparison to digital photo's it's just complicated to use these days what with developing etc. [/quote] Q That's very interesting but tell me how did Olympus manage to fit a focal plane shutter into a lens ?????? As for 35mm being often better than any digital camera it depends on what you mean "better".But then I'm only a simple photographer so what do I know.

Can anyone explain the connection between LD Lines and DFDS. We have used LD since the demise of P&O on the Western Channel routes however we now find that the service appears to be administered by DFDS. Dos anyone know what's going on ?? Les.

We have a maison secondaire in France and spend a lot of time there and in other parts of France. This means that we do eat in restaurants quite a lot over the course of a year and we now find that the food in France is not what it used to be. I would go so far as to say that now one can eat better in the UK than in France. I'm not talking about multi-starred Michelin establishments, of which I believe that there are more in London than Paris. I mean the sort of place where one would stop for luch when travelling or to eat when away from home. I have had some seriously crap meals this year with terrible service. I'm not talking cheap either. So there you have it, for good food at semsible prices come to England. What do others think ?

I hope to go over to France this week-end. Could anyone please advise on the fuel situation in Mortain ? I normally buy diesel from Carfour in Mortain and I wonder if there will be a problem. I look forward to any information

Will do Ronny old mate. By the way the names wrong and I have never lived in Worcester although I do own properties in that fair county as well as others. As for the number of postings, Ronny for every one of mine you have posted 141 times aren't we lucky. End. C

Ron, I don't know what your on but I really think that nurse should check your medication. C

Hi Carolyn I found your enquiry interesting. Ignoring the "doing France" comments, yes, camp sites are much much better in 2008 than in 1967 when I (we) first camped in France. We had an A35 van and an Igloo tent. These were held up by means of 4 pneumatic tubes. Inflating this was just what you wanted after a long hard days drive at a max. speed of 45mph. I forget what the exchange rate was then but we allowed ourselves £5 a day for everything. Since then we have camped with frame tents, caravans, backpacking in the Alps, and cycle camping. We have also had many gite and hotel holidays, it's not been under canvas every time. However this year I had cause to spend a few days in the Loire and I bought a new tent. I must admit that my wife is somewhat lacking in the enthusiasm which she displayed in earlier days. We do now have a maison secondaire  in Normandy. What a difference. There is I feel a certain social attitude which prevails with some people regarding camping but then cycling suffered from the same thing for a long time untill recent years. In aswer to your question. Yes, facilities are very much improved. As for the cost. The cost per night can be less than 10€ through to over 50€ for the emplacement. For a number of years I had a professional interest in this form of vacation. I could go on, and on, and on...............but I thinks that's enough. C

Ron As a Socialist do you think that anyone who has contributed towards their pension and now find themselves in a situation whereby they can comfortably live on less than their income should not then receive the full benefit of their investment. There are such people. Before you aswer do choose your words very carefully. Less Fortunate / imprudent / fiscally carefull dicuss...................................but not here. Finally I have a loathing for socialism but thankfully within 18 months we should see an end to it in the UK. Must go, I have a little boy coming round to go up the chimney to clean it and I really must send someone out to get my "Daily Telegraph" C  

A few years ago I was stopped by security at Portsmouth and asked if I had any weapons. You know the sort of thing. I said "no" and as I started to move I realised that I was towing a trailer loaded with wood for the stove in France and on the top was a long handled felling axe. This was on top of the wood for all to see---unless you are a security officer at Portsmouth. C

G Wrong, I do not look at this forum very often but I was minded to respond to a posting by Ron Avery dated 05.02.08. I really have better things to do in my life than spend time reading about other peoples lives which I usually find pretty boring. I digress. The point which I was trying to make is that H&S legislation has, along with many of the laws and regulations imposed by this government and the EU, become a complete nonsense when related to everyday living. RA, in defence of the H&SE puts up the usual defence of "not me guv" but by the time some of the clowns and "jobsworths" involved in administering many of these regulations the time will come when one will not be able to fart in a public place without the appropriate documentation being in place first. C

Ron The H&S officials have brought it on themselves because of many of their stupid dictates. Example At our local tip in Worcstershire the rail round the hoppers are at chest height. When I queried this I was told that if it wasn't so someone might fall in. To put anything in to hopper you first have to lift it to chest height. At our local dechetterie at Mortain (50) there is a rail raised off the ground but low enough to back a trailer and off load straight into the hopper. In the UK the H&S executive is out of control, being staffed by "jobsworth" with no insite of the reall world. Finally, around 1972, I think, when the H&S at work act was brought into being I worked in an industy where there were real, potential dangers and this act was required. Now it like so much else it has got totally out of control. Finally, Finally. Read "Littlejohn's Britain" by Richard Littlejohn. C

RH Thanks for the info. It looks as if the route has not been fully sorted yet but at least I know where to look now. Thanks again.   C

Hi   Has anyone any information on the Tour de Bretagne classic car rally?. I think that this is usually held during the Pentecost week-end but I am not sure if it is an annual event. Any information would be appreciated.   C

For external drives have a look at Amazon. I have bought 4 from them recently, 2x500GB and 2x1TB, and although I haven't got to cost to hand at the moment I thought when I bought them that they extremely reasonably priced. They are all LaCie. C

Re KathyF's observations regarding the NHS, I feel that she should have pointed out that the service she, quite rightly, gets from the NHS is only available in Wales and Scotland. In England, where the majority of UK citizens live, one has to pay nearly £7 per item for prescriptions and the only way to get satisfactory dental care is to pay for it. All out of one's taxed income. As for pensions and care for the elderly the levels of both in the UK are a disgrace. I have recently had dental treatment in France, a checkup and two small fillings and that was more expensive than in the UK. I didn't try to obtain a refund through the system because I was not sure whether I qualified for one. I had a quote for two crowns, much more expensive in France Recently in France I had a medical condition, fortunatly not serious, which required several consultations and quite a lot of medication blood tests and so on. I paid out around 150€ in various charges but I received £57:58 in refunds. I am not a resident in France. I would agree that usually if one is unfortunate to have a serious medical problem the treatment under the NHS is superb, this is assuming that you do not die while awaiting treatment. So there you are, one persons experience, many will have more experience of the two systems than me but I would prefer to be ill and treated in France and have dental care in the UK. Finally my cat received far better treatment from our vet than my experience of the English version of medical care service for humans. C

What's the problem. Ryanair make it perfectly clear on their web site exactly what you are buying. I think that what various people who critisise Ryanair are really saying is either. 1/ I do not feel that I am getting the service that I think that I deserve even if I am not prepared t pay for it or 2/ They for some reason do not understand what is being said on the website. Ryanair, Easyjet and all of the other low cost airlines have enabled millions of people to travel where they would not have been able to afford it previously. This has been said many, many times but still there would appear to be a section of the populace who do not seem to understand this. The quote about kitchens and heat spring to mind even if it is not really in the right context. C  

For any work involving wood burning stoves I can recomend Jean-Paul Roger who is based in Ger, near Mortain. He did a complete installation for us a few years ago and he made a very good job of it. C

Tony Now look you've done  !!!!!!!!!!! C

Gluestick Brilliant C

Having used LD line ever since they took over the late and not lamented P & O operation I agree with Thibault's observations. LD Line offer a good and reasonably priced service. You will always get the odd bad experience, that's life but then on a site such as this one usually only hears one side of the story. I will give you two of my recent experience when travelling Le Havre/Portsmouth. 1/  The crossing was a bit rough, not bad but there was a quite a bit of movement on the boat. A party of school children were on board and as soon as it got a bit rough there were ill. And I mean ILL. There was vomit all over the lounge area. The stewards worked none stop to keep things under control with not a word of complaint. They were a credit to the company. By the time we arrived at Portsmouth you wouldn't know what it had been like. 2/ Again on another occasion we arrived at Portsmouth and the ramp could not be lowered for some technical reason shoreside. Not an LD problem. We were kept on the boat for two hours before we could off load and during this time we were supplied with unlimited tea, coffee, or soft drinks untill the problem was resolved. There were a few, and I mean a few, moans but in general the attitude on board was good. At all time we were kept informed as to the progress or lack of progress by the captain. Both of these happened within the last couple of months, I have used LD Line at least 12 times this year, the next time will be next week. I am a photographer and I stopped doing work for the British public some time ago because I got fed up with the atitude which now prevails with some Brits. I now work in the commercial sector although I have accepted a commission to photograph a wedding, something which I said I would never do again. However this one is in Poland and should be quite interesting. I digress. The Aussie expression "Whingeing Poms" is with some Brits a truism which sadly is very much on the increase. Incidently I have been traveling across the Channel for 42 years and if the that puts me in the " old farts" category so be it. My Latin is not to sharp  but "expermencia docet" rings a bell. Not sure of the spelling but do look it up. Have a nice day. C

Actually I find the fact that AngloInfo appear to filter out the sort of inane drivel which has tended to dominate many of the topics on this site rather refreshing. C

If you want to enter into a financial transaction, go to a bank. If you want good food, go to a restaurant. If you want to take a car across the Channel at a reasonable cost go LD Line. It's as simple as that. I've been useing them since they since they started on the Portsmouth/Le Havre crossing, many time each year, with no complaints. C

I don't think that you will find a camp site open in March !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Try the Chez Nous web site for self catering accomodation.

I think that you will find that ALL Canon lenses do not fit ALL Canon DSLR bodies. You really have to check. Not sure about Nikons. As for which is the best camera, I have a leaning towards Canon having used them for many years. My  first Canon was a F1 and it is still in use regularly although I have several others.Finally remember the camera is only a tool not an end in itself.

Thanks It's the back of the chateau at Fontainbleau and it's a straight photograph-no manipulation in PhotoShop. C