David

Rouen and Chatres I find is the best route to go South. Rouen can be a bit of a nightmare but only when the Le Mans 24hr is on. Otherwise a nice relaxing route. Have a good journey ![8-|]

    I do wish that people would not insinuate that the Police get the money from Cameras. I wish. The money goes straight to the Government via the 'Central Ticket Office'. As a now retired Police Officer and Grade 1 Driver (allowed to go faster than 30mph) I was always taught to be more less always looking for exits if confronted with an idiot. If it meant go through a hedge, someones drive etc. then so be it. Just make sure there is no tree in the way. Best way of getting killed. This all applies to bikes as well. Hedge and all. Might hurt but it it slows you down.

    I understand that Brittany has a lot of Cycle routes that I would like to use when we are in France next. We can have a leisurely look for possible purchases. Where can I obtain details of the routes, is there a map that can be bought? David

    The last time I was in France everywhere I used my Sainsbury's Credit Card allowed its use with the PIN. Petrol Stations and Supermarkets and every shop I went to. I did'nt use it  in Restaurants though just in case they took it out of my sight.

    I'm on my way to Carcassone this Saturday from Boulogne. Route A16 to A28 )Rouen) then Le Man and A28 still to Tours. A10 to Poitiers E62 to Limoges. Then A20 to Toulouse the A62/A61 to Carcassone. After which we turn off but just follow the Autoroute through to A9 and turn off right to Perpignan. A synopsis of our route. Hope that helps. I have a complete route typed up for us for my wife to follow (Ha Ha). I can e-mail same to you if you want but make it quick as I wont have access to a computor after Friday night. David

As a Non Believer and devout Athiest (if you can say that), I believe that anyone has the right to believe as they see/feel if that belief assists them in their Loss or otherwise. So long as whatever Religion does'nt think they are 'g..d's gift 'so to speak to the rest of  the world then that's fine by me. Trouble is religion is Trouble do on the whole. My opinion, so don't castigate me. David

Technically this not THEFT but a Debt. If, however, the Credit Card/s were obtained Fraudulently and then the Goods were obtained using that/those Cards, then that would Constitute Theft under the Fraud Act, not under the Theft Act. Just by clearing off to another Country does not mean that the Debt will be absolved. Most Countries have cross border agreements whereby Debtors can and will be pursued. A few countries do not but unless you want to live in North Korea or similar you will/can be arrested and dealt with accordingly. Basically, it is just not worth it. Better approach the Banks concerned, own up to your problems and it can be sorted. Otherwise you  will NEVER be able to obtain Credit/Morgage etc. in the future. David

BB, I think you will need to have both your computors networked together. This way each can use whatever facilities each computor has. If you have a Wireless link, Netgear or similar you would have to be certain that it is secured. Otherwise anyone nearby could access both computers. Also, don't forget that the main Computor (Attached to the printer ) would have to be permanently on, as would the printer. I have a wifi laptop and my son has the main teminal but the printer is in our lounge. I just plug the USB link in when I need the printer. My son e-mails me a download and I print it out for him. Perhaps you can do the same. David

As and Ex, well Retired Copper, if I was honest, I could'nt wait to retire. Our hands are tied to what we can and cannot do, paperwork is more not less and we have 'targets' to achieve. What a load of ' B..l...cks. We can stop people but cannot ask them who they are or where they live, unless they have committed an offence. Although there are ways round it using what is called PACE. Luckily when I joined I was 26 and had seen life. So when they told me I had to do this and that, I told them where to go. Did'nt go down to well mind but for some reason I never got told off. Not only that, the Coppers joining now have to work for 35yrs and only get a maximum of half pension. Admittedly they pay less into it, only 8% I think not the 11% I had to. But then the MP's dont pay anything, Civil Servants only pay something like 3%, it's all for those in the know and none for those they care nothing about. Well, that's my rant over. Have a nice day everyone. David

    Insure and Go suck. Try Moneysupermarket.com if you can sort it from France. Insured my lad to go to NewZealand which through various reasons fell through so I thought I would try and amend the Policy (Alternative Country and dates) like you can with most. Does'nt say you can't in the Policy Book. Did'nt want to know. Wont answer letters or reply to phone calls. It's not as though the policy had even got close to starting. Checked out the Money site and got what I wanted for half the price (well I will have when I book it, if Insure and Go don't get their act together). It's all with the Financial Ombudsman now. David

It's been a while since I drove any distance in France so just a query about availability of Petrol. I seem to remember that most Petrol Stations were closed on a Sunday apart from those on the Autoroutes. Is this still the situation? I will be driving down to near Carcassonne leaving Boulogne on Saturday arriving Sunday. One of my longer routes probably, avoiding Paris and half of the Autoroute network going via Rouen to Le Man then Tours. Poitiers, Limoges then Toulouse and on to Carcassonne. All worked out and sorted but just need to know about Fuel stops really. I shall be stopping overnight somewhere after about 4/5 hrs driving so will need to refuel then. probably Poitiers or Limoges. David

Still very slow, takes ages to load up. I can go and make a Coffee and it is still churning its cogs. Is anyone listening?  Well, at least reading this? David

It's his Wife I'm glad to get rid of. Loud/ Wide mouthed sponger that's as much use as a Bag of Rubbish collected every fortnight. Hate to imagine what she is like as a Judge. Heaven help anyone (usually the Government at the moment) that comes before her. Greeny to the core. David

They have average speed cameras on the M6 about junction 30 onwards I think but as I never use that hell hole of a road I acnnot be certain exactly where they are. As an Ex Copper, to say I have never been guilty of speeding would be a lie. As would every one else. I do speed but appropriately. Never in 30 or 40 but 50 onwards I do take liberties. However, I do have the availability of more than 2 eyes. Police training I'm afraid, look in all mirrors every few seconds, look out for Fluoro Jkts and cars with excess ariels teh list goes on. As yet, not a point or even a 'Stop' who goes there in 35 yrs. How long that will stay is another matter as I'm getting older by the minute. David

 Same here. Must have been a server down somewhere I suppose. The same goes for the weather forecast page. That is still down. Have'nt had access for days. Only want to know how the weather is near Carcassonne as we are coming down 2nd June. David

This is the Main Ingredient in Weedol (or used to be, I don't have a garden now so don't have to use it). As far as I am aware once it has dried/sucked up on the plants being killed it's safe for Wildlife. Domestic animals can wander about freely without fear of being poisoned. Provided any animal does not or is not likely to eat anything that has been sprayed then they will be fine. David

As an Ex Biker this is not dissimilar to what occurs on British Roads. If I had not had the training ( Police and IAM ), I'm sure that I would have been killed several times over by now. David

I don't see the problem myself  probably as I use Mozilla Firefox. If it's possible, download Mozilla and it will put an ICON on your desktop. Use this and it will load Mozilla but you can still use a MSN Hotmail account for your e-mails. I used to use AOL as my e-mail account but accessing from elsewhere proved to much of a pain so changed it accordingly. AOL is still my ISP but I don't use them. David

I have a HP 900 which is a Printer/Scanner/Copier and Fax and also takes Photo Cards from a variety of different formats. Works brilliantly on all aspects. Cartridges are not cheap though but do last a long time. Obviously depending on throughput. Prints out thumbnails of photos which can then be chosen by marking the print for size etc. put back in and the machine does it all. David

In reality a Driver can be reported to the DVLA by any person who considers that person to be a liability on the road. Obviously it helps if that person is someone either Medically Trained or is a Police Officer. Their opinion is acted upon ( I know that for a fact as I have done it myself ). Usually though they will write to the last known address, so if they are now in France it wont help. But they can revoke a licence if they feel it necessary. David

I suppose it all depends on the cost but you could use a Vodaphone data card (2 types) which can either be plugged in to the usb port or the PCMA Card slot. There is a usage limit depending on your monthly outlay but I use mine when I take my Laptop to our Caravan at Exmouth. A little slower but works fine. Lokk at the Vodaphone website and it will give you all the costs. May save having to set up a phone line and ISP etc. David

When I last went through France via Calais and into Belgium I did'nt see any Rapeseed but then it may have been the wrong time of year. As I understand it, rapeseed Oil contains more of the Omega 3 and 6 and the better cholesterol type fats than Olive Oil. At least that's what they said on the TV.

Is it worth getting a French Sim card for my mobile, to use in France. I know if I do calls within France will be cheaper for me to make and calls made to me wont be charged to me but the caller. I can obtain a Sim over here (UK) for £35 or so with about 5 Euro Credit. Would it be cheaper to buy a French Mobile when we come over as it will have everything including Credit  (I presume). David

See if you can find Rapeseed Oil. Although  I don't remember any Fields sown with Rapeseed in France. Much better for you, better than Olive Oil in fact. They have just started cold pressing Rapeseed here in the UK. David

 Has anyone seen this?  www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1751520.ece I don't know whether posting this is allowed, although anyone can get it on the net anyway. Is this just Journalism or is there a degree of accuracy. David link made live by a moderator