Jamesdee

Sorry to have hijacked your post Mutiara, just saw an ideal chance to ask my stupid question. Thanks for the information everybody. Despite my obvious stupidity you were all remarkably restrained to the new boy on the block, I thank you for your courtesy. [:)]

I thank you too [:D]. Can you also explain how some people can encapsulate a link within a word. For instance they say you will find that information "here" and that is in blue, without the inverted commas. It is lovely to know this stuff, so you look as if you know what you are doing.[8-|]

You might find this website useful if a bit ponderous....... http://www.whichbudget.com/[:)] It is pretty comprehensive and will say which budget airlines are flying out of the airport you chose from a worldwide selection of countries and cities.

I agree that the Philips 841 is the best dual phone on the market at the moment, the speech quality is excellent  and I use it all the time in both Skype and Landline modes. I am in New Zealand on business so I am using the phone with NZ Telecom. The only indication I get  that there is a landline voice mail for me is when I pîck up the phone and press off hook, then I get a series of beeps. To be honest I haven't really tried to get the on screen  indicator working for landline though it does for Skype. You should try Jajah "www.jajah.com". For some calls it is cheaper than Skype and you do not need any special equipment.

Like BobC we use the Philips 841 dual phone which is excellent, if a bit pricey. You do not need to have your computer switched on to receive or make calls and the quality of speech is very good. As BobC says it also doubles as a normal phone. And of course if you call someone who is also on Skype it is completely free. Skype have introduced a new package called Skype Pro which, for a small monthly subscription, allows free calls to landline numbers within the area of the country you are in. In France those calls are restricted to Metropolitan France but in UK any number beginning with 01 or 02. it is worth taking a look at what is available from Skype. But they do have serious competition, for instance Jajah, no software to download, you use your regular handset and if the person you are calling is registered with Jajah the call is free. You just put in the number you want to call and your handset rings, then the system calls the person you want to reach. You do need your computer on for Jajah. Call quality is as good if not better than Skype. Facility exists to pay for calls to people who have not subscribed. There are other providers out there but these are the only two that I have used. I would just add that whilst you can use Skype on a dial up connection it is at its best on broadband, ditto Jajah.

I am glad somebody mentioned this. I am in New Zealand at the moment and it is such a special feeling being in the middle of what is national mourning for a man who was probably the best known Kiwi. I took my grandson to Parliament today where a Book of Condolence has been opened, the boy, aged eleven, is an authority on Sir Ed, as are most Kiwis, he wrote in the book "It has been a privilege to have lived alongside you, you are an inspiration to many of us" Many hours of media coverage have been used to relive the highlights of this great man's life but for me it is all crystallised into one word. Humble !

On that note it just remains for me to thank everyone for their observations. It seems our idea was not such a bad one after all. Just very nice to have it confirmed. And no, it will not be possible for us to bring a kitchen from New Zealand, though that would be an interesting challenge in itself.[8-|] I am sure we are all keen to hear how Rose got on at IKEA in Bordeaux but again thanks to all of you who responded to my post, I am sure many people benefitted from your comments.[:)][:D]

I have to apologise for any delay in responding to this forum, I am living in New Zealand at the moment where apart from the weather being superb we are thirteen hours out of sync with you guys. Sorry to give you second thoughts Rose. I don't know what your french is like but for a very good description of all the IKEA stuff you could log onto their UK site. The stuff is exactly the same. The catalogues are the same, just a different language. I defintely get the impression that we will not go far wrong with our original plan to buy IKEA.

We are having a house built in 17 but we will be left to install our own kitchen. Some friends have bought from IKEA in Bordeaux. The advantages are that you can use the IKEA UK online kitchen planner to choose your kitchen and  they have an installation service. For those of us who are at the beginning of our adventure and are quite challenged with even the simple things in french, as well as having zero DIY skills those are major advantages. But the question remains, are we wise or  indeed sensible to discount other suppliers? Any comments, be they positive or negative will be very welcome.

Thanks for the feedback I will look into all the suggestions that have been made. Completely overwhelmed by the response. Many thanks to you all.[:D]

This is my first post so can I apologise in advance if it touches on something that has come up before, though I have had a good look through and I can find no reference to Swift as a transfer agency. As has been pointed out on many posts Nationwide are ideal for debit card withdrawals at ATMs in France. Taking this a stage further I have always assumed that Swift, as an agent for Nationwide would be the best option for transferring large sums so I have always used them. Am I wrong? Does anyone have experience of using them? Also when I transfer whatever amount they make a standard charge of twenty pounds, then my CA bank in Charente Maritime charges 13.90 and then 59.00. to convert to Euros. I must be doing something wrong, can anyone advise?