tristanspeed

I've just bought a Leroy special offer TNT SAT small flat aerial and decoder combo - the 'quiz the locals' approach recommended here coupled with various websites showed terrestrial TNT doesn't hit our end of the Beaujolais very clearly, so I'm going down the digi road for French telly. The aerial's so small and discrete that I won't have to worry about where it goes. And I'm not really bothered if I don't get TF1 or M6 - I normally only watch FR2 and 3 anyway. And then once that's setup I'm going to get a 30euro parabole to plug into the SkyBox so that I can watch Later with Jools, Top Gear, Have I Got News for You, nice Beeb doccos and Timmy Time....

I've just bought a Leroy special offer TNT SAT small flat aerial and decoder combo

Thanks guys - this is all very useful info! My mind is whizzing with possibilities. I will have a trip to Leroy in my lunchbreak and have a look at what they have to offer too. BTW Martin - Devon and Dordogne - nice combination, you're a lucky man!

I suppose a cheapo dish aimed at Astra 2 and an old fashioned aerial for TNT would be relatively cheap, but it would look really nasty on the front side of the house, where it has to go to face sud... Blimey this is complicated! Thanks to everyone for their comments, it does all seem a little clearer now.

This is the puppy I was talking about: http://www.castorama.fr/store/antenne-satellite-plate-2-sorties-PPRDm543815.htm They've cut the price down to €139 now. It suggests you can get loadsa channels, but even breaking into the packet and reading the instructions didn't reveal a great deal about setting one up. I want to have a go at doing this myself as the quotes I've had from local satellite firms have been breathtaking - nearly €800 for the setup I want. Main ambition is to get this settled before Le Tour starts in July and I spend 3 weeks 'learning French' by watching the cycling for 3 hours a day (BTW, this actually works, your French does improve...) Also, how would having two LNBs work at the business end of my telly?  Do I just one lead from each LNB and plug them - via the Skybox in one case - into the AV1 and AV2 scart plugs?

OK, thanks for the links! I've just been down to Casto and they have a 130euro rectangular satellite dish with two LNB outputs. It's supposed to be smaller and lighter, and I should be able to attach two decoders - one being the Skybox. Anyone tried one of these? Any reason why it wouldn't work?  

Yeah, good question, not sure really. They had a promo on Audi CoCs at the time, BMW ones were 100 euros. The paperwork was in German when it came - my car was first registered there - but the prefecture didn't seem bothered as all the figures, codes, weights and measures they needed were on there. It's a weird market, but seems to me that the manufacturers see it as a perfect opportunity to charge rather more than they should for a piece of paper telling you all about a vehicle you already own.

Hello everyone, I've just brought a friend's old SkyBox back from the UK without a card. I have a new French TV with integrated TNT. The next step is to get the aerial system working. Ideally what I want is to be able to pick up some free to air UK TV (not picky, just a few of the mainstream chanels and I'm happy) and the main terrestrial French channels - Fr2, Fr3, Tf1, maybe Arte etc. So, do I need two satellite dishes, one for Sky and one for French TNT? Or is there a way of using a dish with two heads and two output cables to receive both signals? Are there devices with remotely moving heads that effectively allow one dish to act as two? And finally where do you buy this stuff in France - Leroy/Casto/Brico, or somewhere more specialised? For info, I currently have a dreadful indoor aerial picking up fuzzy French telly, and I live in the Beaujolais region of Rhone. Thanks for any advice you have!  

I have also had a very good experience with eurococ.com recently. They only charged 50 euros for an Audi CoC, a lot less than Audi France would have asked, and I was very pleased to have personal service - they phoned me on my mobile to say the paperwork was in place and was being sent over. I must say I did have some initial doubts, as eurococ.com are based in Slovakia and you don't actually pay for your CoC until it arrives at their office, so it all seems a bit unorthodox at first glance, but in reality the whole process was very smooth.

My patio is not an object of beauty, but I really don't fancy the effort of pulling up the tiles, transporting them to the dump, re-levelling everything with sand or something and then putting a fresh load of more tasteful squares in their place. So has anyone got an idea for a cheap fix - can I just put wooded decking on top of it despite it not being even? Or do I need to bite the bullet? I also have a 4.3 metre x 1.3 metre gap where a gate should be. I'd like a single piece that swings inwards. I have breeze block towers either end about 1.5 metres high with two steel reinforcing rods in each. Any advice on getting one made, or where would be a good shop to buy one from? How much do you reckon ballpark figure before I get quotes locally? Do I need to sink a post first to hang it from or will the breeze blocks take it? You can tell I haven't a clue can't you....[:)]

Yep, also got stung buying mountainbike tyres and parts from the US - worked out the same as buying them locally give or take a few euros - the delivery man demanded a cheque for the tax before handing over the goods. So try with a local store and ask them to 'faire un effort avec le prix' - it's a regular codeword for haggling and can be very effective. I even haggled successfully at Ikea come to think of it....

You could try asking your Mairie, or local garage man, they're normally quite good on this sort of stuff. I'm sure it's possible, just not sure how. Just don't expect it to happen terribly quickly! What is is anyway that you've managed to bring back from the brink of certain death?

Try paruvendu.fr for individual to individual rentals - you may find it hard to find somewhere through an agency if you're foreign and don't have a bank account and work contract. Good luck.

Hi Coco This time of year we're the only Brits in the village, although that changes when the Fleurie campsite opens in the spring, which is actually rather nice because one of the best things about the Beaujolais I've found is that the people are really friendly compared to where we used to live nearer Lyon. I think that's because they're more used to tourists around here, and the ones who come here are not the kind that give their country a bad reputation, but rather the kind that really want to visit France, be part of France while they're here, and are respectful of the local ways. We're in Lancié, which has a great bar called the Bacchus run by a youngish former motorcycle racer who absolutely loves Britain and Ireland. I'm a kilometres or two from Moulin a Vent, so may qualify as the ones she told you about. I have been up there a couple of times and had a chat, although haven't been back since the sails blew off one night and the view from there stopped being quite so picturesque! Weather wise it's very dry in the summer and can be dry in the winter too. Whatever happens the soil means it drains very quickly too. It can get very cold though, and it does snow, but we're only at about 250 metres so it's never that bad. In terms of property it's much cheaper once you go up around Julienas as it's about 1 hour to Lyon from there compared to about 40 minutes for me, so there are fewer commuters. The area around Azé would be even cheaper I suppose, and there are some lovely villages as you head up towards Burgundy proper. Have you thought of around the village of Chardonnay - it would make a great address! The southern Beaujolais is expensive because it's very pretty and near Lyon.

Just a few quick suggestions - try downloading Google Earth to help see what an area is very generally like before you travel. Mappy.com is great for spotting if a given address is actually near a big road. I found agents never listened to me either. Try having a look on paruvendu.fr - it's where a lot of private sellers in france put their ads. 

It's weird isn't it? As soon as you start asking around with officialdom you get conflicting information, at least that's what we've found. The voiceover firms, of which I've worked for tfour, have never had any bother send me a cheque in return for a simple invoice-type-thing. Two bike companies also just sent me personal cheques. But the big firm I mentioned wouldn't touch it. Those forums you linked to seem confused too eh? The local cave cooperative paid me in wine - does that count? As Viv Stanshall wrote, "If I had all the money I'd spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink"...

I just checked with my French colleague and that's exactly right. Not nearly as funny in english though eh? Makes you think of Gary Larson. I'm obviously doing the same thing if I'm spending this much time on the forum today instead of working!

Why not try flogging it for 200 euros to a French student who's going to the UK? - there must be some noticeboards online etc for universities.

My neighbour buys me the Pouilly Fuisse and St Veran - he won't reveal his sources, I just tell him I want 10 litres and he goes and buys a job lot for all the locals. I guess that's why it's so cheap. If you like Aze then try Domaine Fichet - it's actually in the village of Aze - they are very nice people and knock out a non-cru unoaked Chardonnay for 3 euros a litre that I really like. It's from the non-appelation vines next to their AOC vines, so it;s practically the same as the ones you've heard of. They also do several Burgundy reds and a Cremant that goes for about 5-6 euros a bottle and is a lot of fizz for your money. If you haven't tried it then St Veran is worth a go I reckon - My best tip is to have lunch at the Auberge St Veran and taste a few of the local wines with your food and then pop up the road to buy some more if you like it. Another tip - avoid white Beaujolais wines - every one I've ever had was rubbish.

I actually live in the Beaujolais region - right where the crus like Fleurie and Morgon are found. They can be great, but it really depends on the year. For Beaujolais wines stick to 2005 and avoid 2004 and 2002 in my opinion. The 2003 stuff is quite odd, as it-s very concentrated because of the heatwave. Tthe 2006 nouveau was generally drinkable, but with the Nouveau I always put it in the fridge and drink it from a tumbler - it means you stop behaving like a wine buff and just enjoy a refreshing tipple. Best enjoyed on the terrace or with boules I believe...I'm quite into the local whites at the moment - I can get St Veran or Pouilly Fuisse - both light unoaked Chardonnays- for about 3-4 euros a litre. Get a 'bag in box 'and stick it in the fridge for when the dreaded visitors arrive in spring.

Hello everyone - what a funny, lively discussion! I'm relieved to hear what you-re saying. I suppose it-s because our cat can be a bit scary when she-s in hunting mood that we're worried. But she could effectively live outside most of the year, you're right - as long as she gets Friskies and somewhere to sleep she seems happy, but we did lend her to a the woman who runs the pharmacy for a few days who said she thought Ficelle was "sauvage"...Ficelle ran away and came home you-ll be pleased to hear.

In answer to your question, no I haven't registered as a business. The voice work is done with what's known as a "note d'honoraires' - don't ask me how it works because I don-t know! They just send me a personal cheque and I've asked the tax people and they say it's fine until you really start earning well into 4 figures. All in all I'm only earning a thousand  or so euros a year from it at absolute best. I've not really made much effort, it's just work that comes my way, as I've already got a full time job and a CDI. The charges for setting up your own business seem quite high don't they? I'm sure someone on the forum can tell you about it. I have some french chums who run a communications agency and they;ve offered to run some things through their firm if I need to. I actually lost out on a translation contract with a very very big interantional retail group because I didn;t have the right registration numbers etc.

My wife was an english teacher in the UK and got a job in Lyon teaching adults english in less than a week. She's never been well paid though- just about the minimum wage most of the time. The Chambre de Commerce is the best employer for english teachers in terms of pay around here, but you won't get a decent contract I wouldn't expect. Try searching 'anglais' on job websites to find ads for 'bilingual' jobs. If you're near a city you could do voice work - both my wife and I do voiceovers every now and then. It's not much but it does give you a few hundred euros here and there. Also try the universities because some of them teach subjects other than english in english. Translation and proofreading has also been a small earner for us. You could always dabble in journalism for UK mags, although they have plenty of offers most of the time. Whatever you do it'll be hard to get a decent contract - a CDI (full time, permanent, open ended). But you could get a CDD (fixed term contract). Oh yeah, final bit of advice, don't take no for an answer the first time. No is often the default 'can't be asked' answer, not the real answer. Be persistent and good luck!

First off, mountainbiking in France is great, you're in the right place. Secondly, have a look at www.velovert.com or www.velo101.com and check out the events - there are randonees going on in spring, summer and autumn and that's a good way to get into the local network of riders. They're also brilliant for discovering new trails, getting to know the local area, and they almost always end up with sausage, wine and cheese at 11am in the village square.

Unfortunately our cat Ficelle has to find a new home because we're expecting a baby any minute and we're worried about her sitting on the newborn - our house is very open plan and you can't really watch everything at the same time. So, what could we do with her? Does anybody have any suggestions? If you're a cat lover and live anywhere near me - Lyon/Macon - then you're more than welcome to give her a new home! She's a superb mouse chaser, absolutely amazing in fact. She's more the kind of cat you let come and go than the kind you can cuddle on the sofa though. If you have a country house and want to keep the rodents down I may have the answer!