Gemini_man

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]No, no - I'm sure that some people with these trees are quite nice really [:$][/quote] nothing wrong with tarts - I'm quite partial to them myself [:P]

agree with his old aunt - it ain't nice but it works or a good slice with a garden trowel has the same effect alternatively gather them all up in a bucket and sprinkle salt on them - they will soon die a very sticky 'orrible death.

[quote user="Bones"]The best way to avoid viruses etc is to dump internet explorer for Firefox. It's free. You'll notice a huge drop in adware etc. I used to use adaware but find myself using it less and less since changing to Firefox - no point! If you're behind the livebox you're double covered and if you then add a half decent antivirus/firewall you're sorted. [/quote] download Spybot and run it - you will find a load of malware despite Firefox and your Freebox. i run Adaware and Spybot every week or two and Spybot always finds lots more malware.

have a look here: http://tinyurl.com/32hg9r

I don't have gites but I am involved with them ....... in my opinion it just isn't worth the hassle trying to get holidaymakers to understand the local re-cycling rules - they're only here for one or two weeks so I say: all bottles to the bottle bank (directions) and everything else in black sacks as household waste. the amount or re-cycling lost is probably not very significant. :)

Hibou, I'm not disagreeing with Poolguy but if you've been having a lot of rain recently that will introduce plenty of dust and particles into the pool which are then left as patches of sediment by the floculant that you use, basically that's it's purpose: to gather together quantities of fine particles which are in suspension and leave it on the bottom of the pool. In my experience if you have a significant amount it's best to vacuum it carefully and slowly to waste. I would then plan to change the sand at the end of the season, as poolguy says: 4/5 years is about time to change.

[quote user="Maxine"]I have tried Tiscali, Orange and found them wanting. Switched to Teleconnect and my troubles are over. No contract, cancel when you wish! Helpline and instructions all in English. 'Free' calls to UK and others for 5 euros.pm.There is no contest! [/quote] I looked carefully at Teleconnect before deciding on Free - agreed about the help line being in english etc but i was a bit concerned about a) they only guarantee 94% or  96% connection time to adsl (but i expect that's perhaps normal) and b) i was rather put off by their terms and conditions which are here but in larger type than they give: Price list effective 08/02/2007 ADSL Subscription €29,90/month Rental of Wi-Fi modem FREE UK2U virtual number in UK FREE Additional phone line FREE 2 hours/month calls to Anglo zone* FREE 2 hours/month call plan covering 40 countries** €3/month Unlimited calls to Anglo zone* €5/month Unlimited local and national calling*** €5/month Activation Fee €30 Exchange of modem for upgrade model €45 Non-return modem in good working order €160 Service cancellation €45 Reactivation after line cut €45 Reactivation after suspension €25 Transfer of subscription to another line €45 Surcharge for service without preselection €5/month Rejection by bank of direct debit €15 Receive invoice by mail €2,50/invoice *fixed lines in UK, Ireland, Australia and fixed and mobile lines in USA and Canada. **Call plan applies to fixed lines in: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Rep., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Venezuela ***geographic numbers in France (01,02,03,04,05), but excluding calls to 017 numbers for computer servers, calling platforms, etc.

[quote user="Emma"]Thats it!! Its a hoopoe.. aren't they the ones that are meant to make that strange noise a bit like a cuckoo, but different!   [/quote] Quite right - they go "hoop hoop" "hoop hoop"  :) well that's what it sounds like to me [:P]

I can understand you being less than impressed with Free if they don't offer a proper help service - it hasn't happened to me as we have always managed to sort out our problems ourselves or via the Free forums which are very useful. Do keep us informed as to how things go with Alice - as with all ISP's you hear good and bad about them! Right now we have no problems with Free other than brief disconnects and the Freebox resetting itself frequently on the hour which is annoying but only lasts a minute or so.

choccie, have a look here: http://tinyurl.com/d8lak click on the part of plant that has the problem, then click on the picture that appears similar et voila it might help to confirm that blight is the problem and if so which type of blight. also found this: If blight appears during the growing season, control is somewhat more difficult. Cut off affected branches as soon as you spot signs of blight. If only one of your plants is affected, remove that plant from the garden. Good luck :)

Yeah!!!!!!  Hot, dry sunny day today pps [:P] erm, oh dammit , another hot day tomorrow then that looks like it for the week [:(] more thunderstorms, showers and rain from tomorrow night. see here: http://tinyurl.com/yrqan

excessive tar is due to burning green wood ie. not seasoned - logs that have been stored three years are considered to be ready for burning and produce less tar and a lot more heat. the problem is how to obtain seasoned logs, usually what is sold has been cut the same year so shouldn't be used for a couple of years if possible.

[quote user="chocccie"]Thanks gemini man - that's really helpful (I didn't know you could search for images like that!) [/quote] I think you can find pics of virtually anything on Google - so maybe worth checking your search filter setting first (in preferences) - there's some pretty scary stuff there sometimes under innocuous headings !!! [:$]

Go to Google, click on "images" enter: tomatoe blight, then tomatoe root rot, etc - they're all there, loads of photos and links mind you they could just be suffereing from too much rain I should think [blink]

LOL what a lovely image - kids will be kids [:P]

i was under the impression that to use a mobile phone while driving even with a hands-free set up is illegal? as for actually wearing a Bluetooth headset ..... well, my mobile doesn't ring often enough to make it a consideration - and i'm a bloke. however, if it did ring frequently enough i suppose i would consider using one in the car even though i would feel a bit of a prat when I wasn't using it [:$]

Good news - sounds like it was more lack of forethought than malicious intent to change it's position - good luck with the purchase and I hope you will be very happy there :)

i think it's called global warming - changing weather patterns - seriously i think we have to get used to it, unusual weather may be the order of the day for the future - hope not tho [:(]

a bit off topic i know but does anyone have any advice on removing used fly papers? in my experience they always stick to your hand before putting them in a black rubbish bag or even worse stick to the rubbish bag when trying to get them into the damn thing.

daily collection by hand and squish them on the road with your foot that's my method - they can be resistant so grind them well in is best :) - oh and beware: they can climb out of any container you collect them in quite easily. however, even worse are their larvae if they should reach that stage - then you are in for fun: hundreds of bloated pinkish maggots to squeeze, just make sure your eyes are closed and that you aren't laughing :)

not after all the rain we've had in the Dordogne so far this year - it's not like the Charente you know  [6]

have you tried a hard re-boot of the Freebox? disconnect it 4 times (waiting for the caterpillar lines to start each time) and on the fifth time it should be rebooted. other than that ......... maybe take your Freebox to a friends house and check it there?

"He has suggested Free.Fr to me as he has it and is happy with it, what attracts me are the French TV channels and the free calls to the UK." As Danny has already said:  have you checked that you can receive TV via your adsl connection? If you can only get 2 mega or less it's not enough. Also, for calls at no charge if you haven't already done so I do suggest you read this thread: http://www.tiny.cc/pvDAc

 i seem to remember when we first signed up with Free it was a few days after receiving the box before our Free connection was activated. if you can access the net via a friend or some other source then enter "mon compte" at the Free site and then "Suivi de ma commande" where it should show stages 1 - 6, something like this: Nous avons bien recu votre formulaire d'inscription le vendredi 19 août 2005 Le raccordement de votre ligne a été commandé chez France Telecom Accusé/réception de la commande de votre ligne validée par France Telecom le mercredi 24 août 2005, OKCR Votre ligne a été cablée le mercredi 24 août 2005 Votre Freebox est en cours d'envoi. Colis envoyé le 22/08/2005 par Colissimo n° 8V61476689854 Votre connexion est activée.   So, the first question is: has your connection been activated?

i havent seen SBK on sale here but anything marked "debroussailant" will do the job - they're specifically for woody stemmed plants like brambles.