NickP

[quote user="Benjamin"][quote user="NickP"] I don't understand is all this talk about the pound being down helping exports. Does the UK actually export anything anymore? Especially as we don't appear to have any manufacturing  industry.[/quote] It's a question of confusing exports and (un)employment. We export an enormous value in exports(medicines, cars) but these are now manufactured in very sophisticated and mechanised ways. Have a trawl around the Office for National Statistics website, although by it's very nature these figures will be historical. This is why Gordon and Darling have been more than happy to see the £ fall internationally. [/quote] We don't manufacture any cars, the ones built here are all foreign owned. As for the medicines, everybody has sussed the bird/pig/any other animal you care to name  flue scam, and don't want it. In fact they are giving it away, so that market has collapsed.

Why is it that when visit friends or relatives who are vegetarians you only get offered vegetarian food? Yet when they visit your home you offer them vegetarian food while you cook normally for yourself.

 I don't understand is all this talk about the pound being down helping exports. Does the UK actually export anything anymore? Especially as we don't appear to have any manufacturing  industry.

Chancer wrote:    " but I found a much cheaper solution." Chancer the suspence is killing, so are you going to let us know?

[quote user="Septime"]I watched Apocalypse. You're right, it's a great video. World War II in colour is always surprising...[/quote]   No I'm not 'aving that, WW2 was only in Black & White.

I hope you don't think I'm being flippant, but anti condensation paint sounds like an oxymoron to me. I Googled it and the answers in the advertising blurbs just don't add up. Having said that I am sure that some boffin will come up with an answer too prove that it is what we've all been waiting for. The reason I can't get my head around it is the fact that paint is micro millimetres thick and I can't see where the insulating property comes from. Like Marym2 I would be intrigued to hear from somebody who can convince me that it works, if so I would quite happily hold up my hands and say "great". Confused of St Jacques Des Guerets

Scrumpyjack wrote:  Yes I admit that buying or selling a house or any legal transaction in France can be very daunting so why not take someone who is aufait with the language and not expect the person who is conducting the transaction to speak in your mother tongue because you cannot speak theirs.   NickP writes: The person who wrote the original post, did what lots of us do, asked for advice. She never expected anyone to speak English, she asked if anybody knew of a Notaire who spoke English. I thought she was sensible, after all why deal with two people when one is perfectly capable. I have spent a large part of my working life abroad and I can tell you the biggest problems were always with translators. So to deal face to face with someone who speaks the same language is a very good idea.

[quote user="Cathy"]For 5 months of the year we live in a very rural part of France, with very few English speaking friends and neighbours. We speak French well enought to get by. We have a French speaking notaire that we are happy with, but we have a small issue at the moment that we feel we could explain better in English. I am a big believer of 'when in Rome ect.etc.' but we just need a bit of help.[/quote] And very sensible of you. I don't see what the OP's problem is, after all you haven't asked him to pay the bill.

[quote user="Dog"]What's the fascination with glue on this forum?[/quote] What ever it is Dog, it's not to be sniffed at.

[quote user="Théière"] Well I am online, look [:D] [/quote]     Where did you get that from? I think Mr Théière you are winding us all up. 

[quote user="gardengirl "]My icon's gone missing again; I just posted, and it wasn't there - and I was definitely online! [:D][/quote] Until this discussion started I never noticed the blasted icon, now I keep looking for it . It seems  that it only comes on when you log on. If like me you have instructed your machine to keep you logged on, the following day when you click "favourites" and open up the forum the icon says you are not on line. But if you log out and then log on again the perishing thing lights up. As if life wasn't complicated enough. :D

Tim, I have sent you a pm

[quote user="AnOther"]I'm not being clever Nick, just light heartedly and with tongue in cheek investigating your idea for 'The only foolproof method of longevity for photos' because obviously without electricity everything is a non starter [;-)] [/quote] AnOther, I did not mean to infer you were being clever, and I am fully aware of the humorous nature of our discussion, long may it continue,well at least until you run out of electricity, and my pigeon gets lost :D 

[quote user="AnOther"]Not sure where that would be without some sort of active control but OK, let's say they've survived 50 years, now how do you develop them, no electricity remember [;-)] [/quote] AnO, I'm sure that someone as clever as you could mix up chemicals without electricity.

I'm disappointed with you RH as you have quoted me out of context  "The English ratepayers live in their home country and expect it in their native language, or is that too simple for you to understand. As do the French and any other nationality in their own country." The post is an answer to an earlier question, and not  a statement as you present it. The discussion was about the use of translators in England. So I will repeat myself for you as you obviously missed the earlier posts. When we go to the rates office in France the forms are only in French, and although my French is not wonderful, it's no problem, as the people there are very patient and helpful, I believe because we try.  But they do not have multi language forms or instructions in English of how to pay. As for your cheap shot about racism well I think you are out of order

[quote user="AnOther"][quote user="NickP"]The only foolproof method of longevity for photos is to keep  negative film in ideal conditions. Then as; an when you wish, you print from the neg.  Film is forever as long as you look after it. Digital photography is dependant on electricity and that is not 100% reliable.[/quote]So Nick, how would you go about achieving 'ideal' storage conditions in the absence of electricity [:D] Somebody earlier mentioned RW (re-writable) DVD's. By definition these are intended for multiple reuse and use a different technology than write once media and must be considered significantly less robust. [/quote]   Cool dry dark conditions and stable temperature. You don't need electricity for that. 

Split logs burn better; because the flame catches the sharp edge of the wood easier than if the wood was round. If you have beams in the ceiling that are very old, you will see that the edges are "chipped" away, this was done with an axe as a means of delaying flames in case of a fire. The rounded edges slowed down the rate of burn. I am sure you have noticed that  logs that are not split are more prone to smoldering than split ones.

[quote user="Quillan"] [quote user="Théière"]And if all else fails a photo album [Www][/quote] Ah but photo's fade and are also not indestructible either, in truth very little is. Probably the best thing if you want 'belt and braces' is to buy a NAS with RAID but it will cost you. A new chassis is quite cheap (if the PSU goes and at least if one drive goes down you have a backup. Portable HDD's can always be dropped or accidentally hit, in fact just about anything can happen to any of the solutions. I think, as it seems decent DVD's were used that the OP is pretty safe although I would still keep a copy on my PC just in case. [/quote] Actually you are both well meaning, but I believe wrong. The only foolproof method of longevity for photos is to keep  negative film in ideal conditions. Then as; an when you wish, you print from the neg.  Film is forever as long as you look after it. Digital photography is dependant on electricity and that is not 100% reliable.

[quote user="Sunday Driver"] "A couple of years ago I was working in Ealing and all the notice's in and around the Town hall were displayed in a dozen languages, this is an enormous cost to the local rates payers." Enormous cost???? The English ratepayers get the notices in their language.  Why shouldn't the immigrant ratepayers be entitled to the notices in their language?   [/quote] It doesn't take the brain of Einstein to work out that  this amount of money; how ever much or little, would be better spent in other areas, rather than on politically correct agendas. The English ratepayers live in their home country and expect it in their native language, or is that too simple for you to understand. As do the French and any other nationality in their own country.

Nick, my remarks were aimed at Tegwini whose first post seemed to me to indicate that she feels that unless you can speak the language of the country in which you are ill, you should not be entitled to treatment.  It is not a view to which I subscribe.  IMHO, in fact,  I believe that in this day and age healthcare should be a basic human right for all, whatever language you happen so speak and whatever country you are in - that should be our long term goal - not less healthcare, but more, and universal at that.   Fair enough Coops, but I didn't think thats what she meant. All of us; I hope, wants health care to be available to everybody. But I must agree with Tegwini about the translator situation. A couple of years ago I was working in Ealing and all the notice's in and around the Town hall were displayed in a dozen languages, this is an enormous cost to the local rates payers. Here in France; when we go to pay our local rates or water bills etc., as you know, all the forms are in French. Nobody has a problem with us being English, but they expect us to manage in French, having said that they are always very helpful. The only exception of course is in Paris, where they will criticise your accent. Still we are lucky enough to be in the Loir et Cher.

[quote user="velcorin"] As someone married to a foreigner I remain eternally grateful to the NHS when dealing with a serious condition my wife developed when we lived in the UK. She has 2 degrees, English from Brest, and Spanish from Rennes, taught English in France, French in the UK, but there is no way she could have coped with the vocab, when talking to a doctor, which an English speaker would take for granted. She would have died, but for the translation services offered. Maybe the skyhigh French hospital dead rates would be helped by a similar service[I] Tegwini, you may wish to start praying that you never need any for of public services when you are in France, you are in for the surprise of your life, and a very large dose of shattered illusions. Hopefully, you'll never find out for yourself what Cooperlola is talking about. Most of the services you take for granted, but so decry, simply don't exist here. Watch the French TV news, and read the papers, don't let some lazy DM/BBC journalist spoonfeed you myths about France.   [/quote] I'm thinking "velcorin" I'd be more afraid of the anti French propaganda that is emanating from you.

[quote user="skelter"]Thanks for the response. I think installing electric heaters and charging the (short term-weekly) tenants for the usage will be the most economical (at least for me). I will have to get used to the fact that a central heating system does not really add value to a property in France! Strange. [/quote] A friend of ours who has a B&B has always said "make them pay for what they use, otherwise they put the heating on and when it gets too hot they open the windows".

[quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="Russethouse"] Isn't that a little simplistic ?[/quote]Only a little R/H? Well,  Tegwini, if you're ever ill or have medical problems when you're over here, just don't come on here asking for the nearest English speaking medic.  Get your French up to totally fluent standard before you set foot over here and try using any of the public services. Then and only then might I begin to have a shred of sympathy for your viewpoint on this. [/quote] I think you are being a little harsh Coops, nobody asks to have an accident or be taken ill, also I didn't realise that when I go on holiday it was obligatory to be fluent in the local language, just in case. My wife had the misfortune to developed peritonitis when  we first arrived  in France and our language skills were very poor. The help treatment and assistance we received were absolutely first class,  nobody worried about our lack of French, in fact they went out of their way to help us

Bugbear wrote: "Hard-drives will all fail at some time, its the nature of the beast." So as a Technical dunce, am I to understand from all of you experts that what ever we do to save pictures etc. on a highly technical computer system we are doomed. Next question, should I hang on to the box brownie, the developing tank and the gnome enlarger.

[quote user="Simon"]I need some more, it has been a while now since I bought any, how much can I expect to pay per litre? Regards Simon [/quote] Try this site   http://www.petro29.com/tarifs.htm  May not be in your area but will give you an idea, scroll down the page for the premium oil.