Just Chris

I'll go further than that, Dick - reading the post as it is now (and out of context, because the "offending" material has been removed), Chris's is now the only post in which "mamba" is mentioned, and the uninformed may well think that it is he that is being facetious... Sensible moderating, please. Chris

As one who has had a lighthearted contribution to the thread in question summarily removed, I'd like to say this: Chris, I read and enjoy your posts (and answers) in this forum, and others, but having read through the archives, you do seem prone to throw your toys out of the pram for really rather silly reasons.  No-one, I'm sure, doubts your expertise, least of all me, and I have more often than not benefited from what you have to say.  However, we can't all sit and wait while you decide what you are going to write - you may not contribute at all to a particular thread.  But if you do, then EVERYONE takes notice of your informed contribution, wherever in that thread you may appear. I'm not going to apologise for injecting a sense of fun into a forum that you inhabit, because I thought my post was in the spirit of the way that particular thread was progressing. But I will unreservedly apologise if by my posting, your feelings have been hurt - that was never my intention. I like to think that I am a responsible contributor to the CompleteFrance suite of forums, and have contributed in many cases, with and without banter, and I, too, have no patience with the continual stupidity that is often displayed in postings. So, friends again? Chris

Thanks, Andrew.  looks like I'm stuck with it, then.  There doesn't seem to be any discolouration around the weaker skimmer, in fact it's not really a problem at all.  I suppose just swapping them over from time to time is harmless... As a postscript, I've been thinking about this overnight - if one line services 2 skimmers, and (as you say) the first in line does the larger share of the work, swapping them over shouldn't make any difference overall.  Surely, then, if you reduce the flow through the stronger one, the flow through the other will be forced to proportionately increase, and the net throughput through both must be the same as before?  You're the expert, Andrew, and I may have misunderstood - my physics never were that good! I fully appreciate that in ideal circumstances, each skimmer should have it's own controllable line to the pump house, but that obviously ain't gonna happen without some serious excavation!! Chris

Well, when trying to respond via the Report button, this is what I get: Access Denied You do not have permissions to perform the requested action. So I have to post this and risk deletion. What I will say, for the record, is that I think your actions a little Draconian, bordering on the nanny-ish.  There was a lighthearted side to some of the responses in the post without detracting from it, and I think MOST of us are adult enought to realise this.  Also, it might have been courteous to have said that your intentions were to remove the posts, rather than leave us all wondering what had happened. Chris

Our pool has two skimmers at one end, and they appear to be connected to a common return.  One skimmer, however, seems to assume priority to the detriment of the other, which is then useless.  If I block the strong one, the weak one is OK. Is there a means to better distribute the flow between them?  Perhaps some sort of threaded restrictor to screw in the stronger one? Chris

We have a Hewlett-Packard Colour Laserjet 2600n (with network connection), and think that it is brilliant.  The colour is stunning, and the 4 toner cartridges which came with it when we purchased (about 14 months ago) are still going strong.  We have 4 spares, but the downside is that they're about 400 Euros a set... Chris

I'm always fascinated by the raptors (buzzards, kites, or whatever they are) circling as singletons or pairs (or more), riding the thermals, and drifting with the wind. I suppose their prey is smaller birds and ground-based mammals, but I've never actually seen one swoop or drop for the kill - anyone witnessed this spectacle? Chris

We have such an abri.  When we were negotiating for the property a couple of years ago, we expressed concern to the estate agent about the security status in view of the forthcoming regulations.  We were assured that all criteria were met with the abri. However, when it came to signing in the presence of the vendors and estate agent in the notaire's office the following year, it transpired that the abri DIDN'T comply because it has a narrow flexible strip of polythene beneath one end of the structure (the movable end), under which allegedly, a child could crawl.  This was, quite frankly, ridiculous, as the gap was miniscule - but we were still obliged to acquire an alarm.  We made the estate agent pay for this for failing to provide the correct information - it cost him around 600 Euros. So be aware, things are not always as they seem.  make sure that the structure is in compliance.

Erm, well she's a woman, thinks she wears the trousers, and is therefore biased (and hopefully won't read this) ! Chris  

May I say on behalf of all male readers and participants in these forums, that I strongly protest about the blatant sexism I am reading in this thread.  Hrrummph!! Chris (Mr.)

Just to confirm that our Sky HD box was originally registered to us at our UK address.  Once we knew we were moving to France, we disconnected the phone connection in the UK, and continued to use the service there without problem for some months before we moved here, and obviously it is still disconnected and is working fine. As a matter of interest, the people who subsequently moved into our UK house also have Sky HD which they have registered at the same address that Sky think we are still resident at, and we haven't heard a dickybird from Sky, so I don't really think they go to any extraordinary lengths to check up on users.

I'd be interested to know what those who use Frontline (and say it doesn't work) expect in terms of ticks. As I understand it, Frontline prevents any infection developing, but I have heard others say that a). the ticks just drop off over the course of time, and b). treated animals don't get ticks.  In our case the ticks still attach themselves to our treated cats, and we physically remove them in the prescribed way.  So far, there have been no adverse effects, and we've seen no fleas, either.

It looks like the problem may have been sorted.  The farmer appeared today, the problem was explained and he fixed the fence - all quite amicable and we had a beer.  Not sure if he's going to contribute (to the damage, not the beer...), but he is moving the cows to another field tomorrow.  Thanks to those who offered advice.

Thanks, Albert - the boundaries line up exactly with the red OGE blocks at all the corner angles of the property. As regards planting, there are already ancient bushes and shrubs along the boundary, we've merely "infilled" any gaps with new ones.  They are all actually on the boundary line, but inside the fence. Chris

Thanks, Clair -  with our limited translation skills I assume, then, that the owner of the cattle is responsible for their behaviour? Chris

We have a field adjacent to one boundary of our property, owned by a neighbour.  All our boundaries are delineated by multi-strand barbed wire fences, about 1.5 metres high and are in good condition.  The field is (I assume) leased out on an occasional basis to farmers or horse owners.  Last year there were two or three horses there for short periods - the chap who owned them was very thoughtful, and ran an electric fence all around the field, and at a respectable distance from our boundary, into which we've planted various shrubs to augment the existing ones.  He provided a water trailer for the horses, and he replenished the tank regularly. This summer, however, a different farmer has put 10 Limousin cattle in the field, with no electric fence.  Consequently, the cattle have reached over our fence and annihilated all our shrubs (at a value of over a hundred Euros).  We pointed this out to the farmer (whose farm is some distance away from the area), and ask that he put an electric fence alongside our boundary.  He obligingly did this the following day (without offering to pay for the damage) and all was well for a short time. Now the b*ggers have broken through his electric fence and continued making a meal of the rest of our shrubs.  We will collar him next time we see him - no idea how else to contact him. Another issue - he left a water tub for them - empty, and seems to expect us to keep it filled, and I'm having to top it up every day, and feel that it shouldn't really be our responsibilty.  To be fair, we thought that only an initial fill was required, and he did indicate at the outset that he would pay for the water when he suggested that we could fill it, but hasn't so far and we're wondering if he ever will. Superficially, he seems an OK sort of bloke - we don't want to upset him, but if the worst comes to the worst, do we have any legal standing on either of these issues?  Our French is still in its infancy, but I do seem to be able to communicate with the man reasonably well. Needless to say, the Lady of the House is livid about the shrubs... Chris

For whoever asked about reception of Sky HD in France (Ron Avery, I think),  we've been happily watching Sky HD since we arrived with our receiver a year ago in March. Chris

Thanks, chaps - it all looks quite promising.  I'm pretty sure we have line-of-sight to St. Fortunade, our closest Numeo transmitter.  We are at 450 metres ASL, and overlook most of the surrounding landscape. ErnieY, we only have the benefit of unlimited download because it is one of the "extras" we pay for! So I'll get on to Numeo and take advantage of their site test. Incidentally, the reason I've been hesitant is because I've been keeping an eye on this site for a while, and they seem quite sceptical in terms of the Wimax technology... http://translate.google.com/translate Chris

Thanks ErnieY.  My main concern was that Numeo, who offer "up to" 2 Mb, may only be able to supply 512 Kb in reality (an exaggeration used by many suppliers), and I don't currently have that problem.  And my downloading is unlimited with the satellite supplier.  Hence the interest in the experience of actual users.  I'm surprised - I thought there would be a few... Chris

We have "enjoyed" the benefits of a hybrid system to get broadband here - dial-up uplink, and satellite downlink. This has worked reasonably well, with around 2 Mb download speeds, but very slow upload speeds.  Trouble is, it's expensive when you add all the bits together - ISP, satellite provider, additional telephone line to free up the original one, and additional charges for enhanced download speeds. Now that Numeo can provide a Wimax service in our locality I'm seriously looking at the pros and cons of changing.  So is anyone actually running broadband through this service, and if so, what are your experiences? We have all the blurb, but obviously that's aimed at selling the product, and we need actual usage experience to form a realistic comparison. (I'll be posting this on another forum, too). Chris

Thanks for the further info.  I've now ordered three units from LeroyMerlin ! Chris

Ah, yes, I can see it on the website now from your link.  That particular model looks nice, but is wall mounted rather than base mounted.  I'll continue to examine their catalogue, but it's very, VERY slow! Thanks again Chris

Thanks, WJT, I'll have a look at the Leroy Merlin website.  Unfortunately your Photobucket images are not displaying for me... Chris

Don't know if this should be here or in the Gardening forum, so I'll try here. We have three external, base mounted lantern-style lights in the garden - fairly chunky, about 67 cm in height: [IMG]http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee284/Khazi22/Lantern.jpg[/IMG] They are rusting pretty badly, and the electrical connections are shot.  I would like to replace them, but all the Bricos I've visited only seem to sell cheap, tinny (and tiny!) units which really are not suitable.  I'd like to replace them with something as substantial as the originals. Does anyone know of an outlet which might specialise in this sort of product? We're in the Correze.

I use the Aquachek and find it very useful.  The only thing it doesn't measure (and which would be most useful) is the salt content of the pool. Chris