CeeJay

Clair Sorry, but this must be open to interpretation, I have just had clim fitted by a very reputable local installer, two large units on the rear of the property. I was told that no permission or authorisation was required. I also know of four other nearby properties that have done the same with no recourse to the Mairie. Maybe altering the face of the property means a construction term rather than an additional piece of kit?

All you need do is to change the connection to dial-up on line just before you leave, which will therefore cost you nothing each month. When you return just change it again to Haut Debit. The phone line can be cancelled also by either phoning the France Telecom English line or by opening a France Telecom account on line.

Thanks for all the replies and no I am not running Norton. The problem arose after I installed Skype and a Labtech webcam so I am inclined to think that all the modern day programs require more than the 512m factory fitted RAM. I have now ordered 2x512 from RAMSHOPPING.FR which supply Kingston units and they detailed exactly what I require on their site and deliver under 7days........maybe!

I have a Sony Vaio laptop which is running particularly slowly. I have done the usual maintenance and run several programs to eliminate any obvious problems but to no avail. The next step is to upgrade the memory. At the moment I have the factory 2x256m but would like to uprate to 1g through 2x512m. However, if I buy a 1g it is a lot cheaper than 2x512, but I am advised by our local computer shop that manufacturers recommend 2 cards to make the maximum, not 1 card. Is there any truth in this or are they making more money on selling two cards!

Thanks for all the replies and yes, it was the wrong service!!! Surprisingly La Poste put their hands up to the mistake and did not charge any extra for re-posting!

Last week I posted an A4 size padded envelope containing baby clothes to go to my son in New Zealand. The lady at La Poste accepted it and processed it through the service Colissimo OM (Outre Mer). The package weighed 0.327kg and was charged at 8.80 euros. I did not ask for any particular service and left it up to the counter assistant. This morning the parcel was delivered back to me with a yellow sticker on it saying RETOUR BUREAU EXPEDITEUR, LIASSE INCORRECTE POUR ENVOI EXPORT. The postman explaining that I had to take it back to La Poste because it was the wrong service. Can anyone please shed light on what went wrong, all addresses and boxes on the form were filled in correctly including the CN22 customs declaration.

I am keen to start to disinfect pots and the like now and when in UK I used Jeyes fluid, does anone know if it is possible to buy it here in France. It's the actual Jeyes I would like not a French counterpart!

SWEET 17 Yes, the declaration needs to be completed for renewals if you change your photo because you feel that there has been a material change , and don't forget that if the countersignatory is for a child of 11yrs and under the countersignatory is signing to say they have known the parent who  has signed on behalf of the child and not the child itself.

Sweet 17 All children 11yrs and under must have a countersignatory as do all first timers and all others who are of the opinion that their features have changed and therefore the new photo will be substantially different from the old one. Bear in mind all applications require new photos anyway but do not have to be countersigned if there is no material change. The web site www.ips.gov.uk is a very valuable source of information. Applicants may be interested to know that the official telephone number for advice and booking line is 0870 521 0410 and is charged at 8p.p.m. There are other advice lines advertised on the web which are not the official one and charge exhorbitant rates.

As a recent ex-adviser on the Passport Agency advice line I can assure you that you will have no problem renewing an expired passport using the Premium 4hour turnround, but it is necessary for you to book an appointment beforehand. The appointments cannot be for more then 2 weeks hence but at Victoria it will probably be possible to book for the following day, there are something like well over 1000 slots covering all eventualities. I realise I speak from a biased perspective but the advice line is one of the more friendly ones around and will attempt to accommodate you whatever the problem.

We had a similar letter posted to our Bristol address some months ago, now we are here in France I went to our local CA Branch and waved the letter around and all they wanted was copy of passports and utility bill, no problem.

Martin & Anton Thanks for the replies, I didn't realise that the signal for BBC had been focussed so that may well be the root cause of the problem. Now I need to sort out the connections as detailed from Anton and hope to stabalise things.

Please excuse my being totally confused but last night whilst just about to watch the dire England game against Third Division opposition it started to rain here in 34, not a lot but sufficient to hammer down on the roof. Consequently the television screen showed that a signal was not being received, fine, but I could still get C.4 & C.5 and most of the other funny channels but I could not get any BBC & ITV programmes. Now I realise that signals are being received from different, albeit very close, satellites, but surely BBC & ITV signals should be stronger(?) than these other odd channels. I did check the signal strength and signal quality during this period and they were both down from the usual, when I did at last receive a signal they were both up! As I write this there is another heavy shower, not storm, and once again those two channels are not being received but the others are! Am I being thick here in thinking that there something wrong with my setup which is affecting the strength and quality of signal during inclement times or is this the norm. I would appreciate comments from our well known boffins (Martin?).

The treatment is correct but I fear it is too late for this year. Let the peach leaf curl take its course this year and start spraying thoroughly after the leaves have dropped in the winter and spray at least once a month until flowering time so that you have a chance to catch the virus before the buds form.

Clair: Thanks for the link, my doofer arrived this morning and...........IT WORKS!!!!

Have read this thread with great interest, and other similar ones over the years and am now starting to worry that the system I have is not what might be deemed to be proper for heures creuse. I do not have a thingy in the fuse box controlling the time but have fitted a digital timer between the chauffe eau and the mains supply to click in at the appropriate times in order to gain benefit from the cheaper periods. Is this a correct way of doing things or am I missing something here?

Powerdesal I think I am very quickly coming to that conclusion!! But what a waste!

Pads; These books are not in print any longer, the original book, The Launching of Roger Brook, was published in 1947 however the version I have was published in 1959! The second hand book store I mentioned does have an online search facility and will post books, in fact last year I found I was missing one and ordered the book online, cost £1 for the book and £4 for postage to France!! so if you would like more information please PM me. I have an idea there are about 11 books in the series, if you google Denis Wheatley you will find a bibliography of this series.

In the process of redisigning our kitchen which will (may) involve putting up wall cupboards. However I notice that the interior wall where we would like to put the wall cupboards is built from those hollow red brick thingys about 10cm thick. I would expect the wall cupboards when full to be quite hefty and I am not sure the relatively thin walls of the bricks would take the weight. I suppose it could be possible to part rest them on a batten fixed underneath in addition to their fixing points, but I guess asthetics play a big part of this. I would be interested to hear how others have overcome this problem.

Chateau Miaou; Thanks very much for the detailed reply, very informative and helpful. I now have much less trepidation about making the journey!. Thanks also to the other replies.

Some many years ago I was given a battered old book called 'The Launching of Roger Brook'. Quite recently I came across it again gathering dust in my attic, and as I was stuggling to find anything decent to read I thought I would give this book a go. Of course, I had heard of Dennis Wheatley and assumed that his stories were all gouls and witchcraft etc, but this little book really opened my eyes to the delights of Wheatley in a totally different guise. It starts off in the year 1783 with Roger Brook a young lad at Sherborne School who thereafter embarks on a series of adventures which involves him getting to France and eventually becoming an A.D.C. to Napoleon. The series of books which totals about 11 takes the reader through the history of France and in particular with Napoleon and Josephine in a most readably adventurous way. Wheatley had a fantastic aptitude for the historical correctness, leading the reader through the French Revolution in particular and the campaigns of Napoleon in Spain and Italy together with the Russian debacle and life in the courts of Sweden and England. The gel to all the books is that Roger Brook is the original 'James Bond' whose services were secured by William Pitt 'The Younger' to spy on the Courts of Europe. As you can probably tell I was smitten after the first book and managed to secure all the books in the series very cheaply at my local second hand book depot in the UK, which unfortunately I cannot divulge for fear of advertising!

Thanks for that Tarn1, however I have used all sorts of implements which have a) ripped off the rubber tab  b) cause shards of glass to fly everywhere. The net result is that I am left only to admire my handiwork of last year and not sample the fruits of my labours!! The fact that the canning process was successful does nothing to quell my frustration!! But thanks for the replies all. This year I shall make sure that I either do not grow as much or alternatively eat as much as I can to generate as much fat as possible for the winter!.

Not sure if this is in the right Section but....... Last year we had a glut of produce in our peit jardin and luckily also aquired from a friend an American canning pressure cooker. We spent many happy days canning all sorts of things into the 1 litre La Parfait jars. On returning to Uk for the winter we started to look forward to eating our own summer produce. However we have had an enormous struggle to get the lids off the jars!! We have tried very hot running water, immersion in hot water, even a hammer and wooden spatula but still no luck except for the jars splintering on the outside. The jars are the clip down type not the screw ones. Can anyone help in a) the best method to release the lids and b) how do we prevent this happening again this year. I have heard it said that before the rubber ring seals are attached it may be necessary to coat them with something to allow free access......any ideas?

Forgive me for being ignorant, but we have to return to Bristol in mid May and are flying out from Toulouse on the Tuesday and returning two days later on the Thursday.  What are the practicalities of this, having not done this before, e.g.can I pay by card on exit, is it necessary to park in the long stay area etc.

Steve Thanks for that reply, I agree 'tis better to round up than down.