John Brown

If you do decide to send in a P85, keep a copy , the date sent and to which tax office. We have been in France for five years and we've been asked to fill in a P85 four times. Each time we thought it would be the last time. It appears to be a form thats requested as a matter of course and we were told last time they would not process our claim for repayment of tax unless we submit another. John

Thanks Sid & Idun I was thinking the same someone else claiming with their bit of the banknote That's why I pointed out that my bit contains the silver strip and the serial number. I'll try La Poste or Bank and show them the damaged envelope Merry Christmas

We've just had today's mail delivered and one of our Christmas cards was in a sealed plastic bag from La Poste. The envelope was torn badly. Inside with the card is about half a ten euro note, corner to corner with 90% of the foil bit and the number in the bottom corner on the back. Not sure what to do ?

Ditto what AnOther said. I meant to say for delivery into the storage tank. If you see the fuss that's made when you take a delivery of Petrol you can see its potentially very hazardous. To reinforce the risk you are shown a video of a Forecourt Fire when you take the "Authorised Person's" course for a Petroleum Licence It's a massive fireball within seconds

I agree with bob T Before I retired from Fleet Management I purchased over 1,000,000 litres of Fuel each year and can confirm it was delivered in 23,000 litre loads and was measured by meter at the point of delivery. Petrol has to be stored underground because it can't be pumped and has to fall into the storage tank by gravity so the tanks have to be able to accommodate at least a full delivery plus a good margin. All fuels are filtered and at ambient temperature going in the tank and out at the pumps so the myth about not buying fuel when a delivery has just been made is not worth considering.  

I choose gloss black enamelled from stovesonline to compliment the gloss enamelled green of the stove. It's a 30 degree offset with an inspection window, back to back with another 30 degree offset to allow the fire to stand further away from the wall. With a straight length up past the register plate under £140 delivered to France. Cleans with a damp cloth [IMG]http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h415/Granddad23/pbupload008.jpg[/IMG]

Bugsy, I was only winding you up about the bike because you rubbished my career The bike looks like a Triumph America to me. I wanted a Bonneville when I was 17 but my Dad said NO so I built a Triton when I was a bit older I'm doing  Route 66 on a Harley ( west to east ) for my 65th.

Salty Sam,   It's been a few years since I retired from Fleet Management and I'm not familiar with this product. I had all the larger vehicles in the fleet fitted with Eminox Units from new and the emissions levels were excellent After six years the levels were unchanged so it became the norm to have them fitted with each year's purchases We never had a fail on emissions at the testing station. Bugsy, I was hoping you would see the irony in spelling grammar wrong. Maybe not !

"Given that you have no idea of my I have done in my working life, I wouldn't really expect you to" If you are going to tell someone off for their spelling, make sure you get your grammer right Growing up is optional as you say We can agree to disagree about fuel additives and motorbikes. IMHO They stopped making motorbikes when they stopped making the BSA Rocket Gold Star

"Thats 40 years wasted John if you really believe that a good quality Injector Cleaner is a worthless additive." No need to get personel. I wouldn't dream of commenting on your career even after seeing the choice of motorbike you ride I managed a fleet of over 1000 vehicles and 100's of items of Plant and quess what we didn't stock Injector Cleaner in our workshop store and never needed it Question ! Are the roadside's full of vehicles with injector failure John  

[quote user="Bugsy"]Not true John, there are pages and pages on this subject on Google, mostly pretty positive. BMW have done extensive testing since the introduction of low-sulphur diesel fuel and whilst not recommending its use they certainly do not say don't use it. 200-300 ml of non-synthetic 2 stroke oil in a tankful of diesel works wonders and has no harmful effects whatsoever. It cleans injectors and pumps and replaces lubrication lost in low-sulphur fuels. My only concern, as a user, is, given that most non-synthetic 2 stroke oil is red, what would the Custom & Excise boys make of it. Dave, some light reading http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/2-stroke-oil-diesel-164225.html . .[/quote] Just because I don't agree doesn't make me wrong. Before I retired I spent over 40 years involved in vehicle maintenance and in my opinion all these fuel additives are worthless.  Don't you think the people who make fuel would add these components if they made a noticable difference. IMHO the best way to protect your engine is to use the best engine oil you can afford.

Thanks SD. A lesson to all of us.  I felt sorry for the first couple who needed the car to run their disabled son around and had to raise the money with a loan from their commune. I should have gone with the second person, a young lady with the cash. Should have kept her phone number !

I thought I had sold my car and the person buying it was due over to collect the car. Everything seemed OK. Lovely family, thrilled to bits with the car. I printed out the three copies of the declaration duly filled in, the other form saying it wasn't on HP I stupidly marked the Cert Immatriculation with two lines and "Vendu Le" while I was waiting Guess what, he had already decided not to come for the car . Didn't even phone I turned away another person while I waited for this guy which I'm also ticked off about How do I get a replacement Certificate. Otherwise I'm stuck with a defaced Certificate till I sell it John

Are you talking about 2 stroke oil that you add to petrol for strimmers etc or a "Redex" type product. If its the former I would advise not to use it. It will only produce smoke and not aid combustion or reduce piston / bore wear John

We've seen a big saving ( up to 25%) on the gas we have used since we had the new boiler fitted in February but I'll need to wait till I have the tank filled to work out the annual saving Two of the reasons for having a condensing combi boiler from the UK was the compact size and the aftersales service. The deposit for the tank ( one ton capacity, buried in the garden ) is refunded when / if I sell the house. Not sure if I have to dig it up then ! Hope not

We had a very enjoyable week with you this summer and I can see how you will be able to hide the heat source pump units from view but I find them ugly and industrial It will be interesting to hear if your future guests comment on the background noise they make Do they make them in any other colour than white

Hi Louise & Gary, If you give me the size of the radiators I can work out the Boiler size for you. Whether they will heat the rooms adequately is a different matter My new combi 10 kw gas boiler ( from the UK ) fitted by a registered Plumber and certified by Qualigaz cost £2500. Included relocation into a different room Gas Tank requires a £2000 deposit with the Gas Supplier John

A few tips if you are going to "have a go" at plastering are. Coat the surface with PVA glue diluted down by 4 or 5 to 1 with water and let that dry over night. Gives a really good adhesion for the plaster and stops most of it ending up on the floor Add the plaster to the water not the water to the plaster, if its like cottage cheese its too thick Take the sharp corners off the steel float with a grinder to give a corner about 1/4 inch round Get it as flat as possible and fill any imperfections afterwards with ready mixed surface filler using the 9 to 12 inch wide blade available here Don't try to do more than 15 minutes plastering at a time (usually about 4 sq metres for me) Use  the cheapest emulsion to seal the plaster if you go on to wallpaper later

1 divided by 1.265 = .79

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. I've posted off the offending form duly completed, with a copy of my "Avis" and Passports Lets hope that's it till next year Thanks John

Thanks Norman, Yes that's the form , Page 2. For some reason the form starts with page 4 then goes back to 1,2,3 on the website Its the questions that start with "Avez-vous su des revenue entre le 1er janvier et le 31 decembre ........"

I'm having a  few problems filling in the Form I've been sent regarding renewing my CMU entitlement Is there anywhere the 11 questions are explained in English. My translation of it does not make sense Thanks, John

I'm looking for a sheet product I can fit above the Register Plate up my Chimney to form a tighter collar around the flue pipe. I could use sheet steel but its cutting the 150mm hole that would prove difficult.    Thanks John

My OH is due her State Pension soon and my understanding was that the State Pension was always the first amount to be taxed at source in the UK and all other income was then taxed effectively meaning that most Ex-Pats with a UK Personel allowance will not pay tax on their State Pension leaving the reminder of their personal allowance to be used against other income must be taxed in the UK ( ie Local Gov. Pension ) John