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NickP

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Everything posted by NickP

  1. [quote user="Chancer"] [quote user="Bugbear"] the 'Marie' in most villages should be your first port of call. [/quote] There is not one of those in any of the villages around me [;-)][:D][:P] [/quote] Well we have one in ours, and a town hall about as big as a single car garage, all for  a village of only 90 souls. Local postman told us that St Jacques was at one time in the far distant past; the smallest town in France. Not many people know that!     
  2. tegwini wrote: "a little country like Rhodesia can have  British warships stationed off Mozambique to prevent oil getting into the country,  but China can do absolutely anything and get away with it. " Funny that, but I don't see many British warships lining up against Mugabe.
  3. [quote user="NormanH"]No, simply practical. I have some friends near Loches who have lived and worked there for over 20 years, and might have been able to help, but given the extraordinary  virulence  of the replies on this topic "laisse tomber'. Topic closed. [/quote] I've always believed that the right to close a topic belongs to the person who started it. But then as your French is now so good maybe you are starting to loose your understanding of  English, because the last time I checked it out, the word Forum is described as a place to discuss things or topics. The guy came onto this forum; as lots of us do, and asked for advice, I thought his request was very sensible  and didn't deserve your "Victor Meldrew" reply. As for you having friends, if you say so.   
  4. [quote user="johnycarper"]we are just about to order some heating oil and was quoted two prices a basic oil and a premium oil,can anyone tell me what the differance is and is it worth paying the extra.[/quote] Premium Oil every time, it burns better, it's cleaner and I believe it's more tolerant to freezing conditions.
  5. [quote user="NormanH"]Have you thought about a using someone close by who speaks French? Obviously yours is limited [/quote]   We're not being pompous are we Norman?
  6. [quote user="ptegan"]I've been using Les Minutes for over 5 years now.... http://www.lesminutes.com/Redirect/Home.asp?partner=lesminutes_uk [/quote] Thats interesting that's Budget telecome,AKA teleconnect. Hmmmm. Don't tell AnOther
  7. Wooly, Don't be silly you are being much too sensible. As you should know, the words council and sensible are not compatible. If they were, life and services for all of us would be much easier and cheaper. Anyway fingers crossed that they clear the roads tonight, so we can get to the tunnel tomorrow morning.
  8. [quote user="Frederick"]The sight of people falling on ice covered pavements in high streets raises the question "Why are the unemployed not put to work with a spade making these pavements safe ." If I was young fit and out of work and the council offered me work on a day call out basis to shift snow then I would do it . I  believe in 1947 people were sent by dole offices to council yards to tackle snow clearence ?  Unemployed bankers who have kept themselves fit on the ski slopes should enjoy it . [/quote] Unfortunately in today's world, the "agency" middlemen who the council would undoubtedly use would charge about £100 per hour, pay the snow clearers minimum wage and you would get what you pay for. I like the idea of community service personnel being used. At last they would be actually doing something for the community
  9. [quote user="Dog"]I have bought two French and one Norwegian. Perhaps I'm wrong Jotul may not be Norwegian. I know which is the best. [/quote] So Dog what is best, or are you not telling? Jotul is certainly Norwegian but has manufacturing plants in lots of European countries including France.
  10. I'm not sure that advertising is looked upon with great affection by the moderators, but if you google "Cheap access telephone calls", you can fill your boots
  11. [quote user="AnOther"]The telcos who offer these services buy surplus capacity at dirt cheap wholesale prices hence they can sell it on at dirt cheap + a penny and still make money, and long may it remain so ! It gives people like me the facility to use my mobile to phone my home in France from the KLM lounge in a snowed in Aberdeen airport on an 0844 number @ 3p minute [;-)] [/quote] Yep that sounds perfectly plausible, but, I still ask why don't BT sell that directly to me and make more profit. Don't get me wrong I've played the system for years and enjoyed it's benifits. I just think they (BT) are missing a trick? Still snowing in Sussex, will I get to the tunnel on Saturday morning.
  12. I must be thick, but I cannot for the life of me work out how somebody can give me a phone number that I can use to allow me to make cheap calls to other countries? After all, the company that gives me the number must get something out of it, I get a call to another country at the cost of a local call if not less, so I get something out of it, and the company who operates the line, British Telecom, earns something out of it. So this is why I am confused, why does BT not say to me; you are a regular customer make these calls at local call rate. If they did this surely they would save money by not giving another company a share of their income. Am I looking at this situation in a much too simplistic manner or am I missing something. I know that the answer to this question isn’t terribly important in today’s world, but it’s snowing and we can’t get out of the house.
  13. Steve, The advice I give is from my own experience. We started out like you, looking for a bargain, but when I did some research, the most obvious difference apart from price, was the fact that the dearer stoves weighed a lot more than the cheaper end of the market ones. As a stove acts like a large radiator my thinking was bigger (weight wise) would be better. So we bit the bullet and bought a Jotul. Great choice and the extra money is being repaid in performance. Couple of tips to pass on are, get whoever fits the stove to clean the chimney before installing the liner with a machine, it’s rather like a flail, not just a brush, the heat in side the flue liners of modern stoves is tremendous and any soot deposits are likely to be dangerous. Also buy yourself a humidity meter, very cheap, so you can test the dampness of the wood, around 14 or 15% is good, too damp you get soot and the wood will smoulder, to dry and you loose the heat value of the fuel. A good stove will cut the cost of other heating systems that you might have, and also looks good. Good luck
  14. Bernie be very carefull, the tenancy laws in France are very complex and from what I can see are totaly on the side of the tenant. Please take as much legal advice as possible. By the way 200 Euro a month rent is not a lot of money today, and in ten/twenty years will be obviously less.
  15. We travelled to the UK on the 21st, original date was 20th but couldnt get out of St Jacques because of snow. Did not aim for Calais via Le Mans as to cross country to reach the motorway would have been a nightmare, so went via Vendome, Chartre then on to Rouen. kept hearing on the radio that the tunnel was closed, also kept hearing Boulogne/Calais Rd was closed,Oh no it wasn't. Finally got to the tunnel and after 45 minutes got on shuttle. After arriving in UK, radio said Tunnel was now closed again and Kent was covered in snow, Oh no it wasn't, not on the M25 anyway. Took us 2 hours to get to Sussex. Total journey time 10 hours, it usually takes about 8 1/2 hours. Then found out it took our son 7 hours to get from Islington to Kingston upon Thames on the same day. I think we were a little lucky.
  16. [quote user="AnOther"]So it is your contention then that it is impossible to buy in Latvia a decent 2/3 year old car with a genuine service history and which does not look like it has spent it's short life on the front line in a warzone ! [/quote] Your words not mine. I would have thought that my earlier posts conveyed my opinion clearly. But as you seem a little confused, I will state categorically I would advise against buying a second hand car from Latvia.
  17. [quote user="AnOther"][quote user="NickP"]Tell you what mate I had the pleasure of working in Latvia, Lithuania and most of the eastern European countries, you definitely dont want to be buying a car from there.[/quote]Why ? [/quote] I saw their driving "skills" and also noticed that in countries where people are cash strapped their maintenance tends to be financially driven, no pun intended, rather than what is needed or neccessary. Having said that, the ingenuity of their mechanical skills was wonderfully interesting but not what you would want on your car.
  18. [quote user="Clair"]New internet piracy law has come into effect in France [/quote] ""The internet is a fabulous world, but it needs rules, if you want to get cinema, music or video games in the future" The above statement is from Clair's link. I just think it is a shame that they don't apply the same rules to the filth and porn that saturates the internet. Surely they would be better off spending their energy's cleaning up a system that denegrates women and children. But no, money it seems is more important
  19. AnOther said, "I'm sure there are opportunities for buying cars in distressed countries, like Latvia for instance, or one or the others which have not yet adopted the Euro and are suffering because of exchange rates, and bringing them back to France, registration should be a doddle. ther, " Tell you what mate I had the pleasure of working in Latvia, Lithuania and most of the eastern European countries, you definitely dont want to be buying a car from there.
  20. [quote user="Ceejay"]I am very interested in buying the new Citroen C5, however on checking prices it would appear that there is quite a significant difference between France and UK. The equivalent model in France is about £8000 dearer. However if I buy in the UK this will obviously present problems when I come to register it here, I am thinking of having to change the lights over for the CT. Is this a realistic option or am I thinking nonsense here. [/quote] Yes it is cheaper to purchase in the UK, but the cost of re-registering and changing the headlights,not cheap, will be high, especially with a new car. Also I believe that there is a VAT liability if you import a new car into France, when you buy the car in the UK you will have to pay one years road Tax. Next you must factor in that second hand value is much higher in France. I have been offered £2000 in the Uk for my 10 year old car, if it was "French" in France I would get around 6000Euro. Do your research carefully.
  21. Quillan "Nick, yes they do. The last big one was in Paris at the end of Dec 2008." I don't doubt you are right, but I can't find any evidence. So I still ask. in how many Islamic countries would we be allowed to march in, in support of Britain. Unfortunately democracy seems to work against us, as the other lot don't recognise it, unless it suits them.
  22. [quote user="Dog"]So what are you so unhappy about?[/quote] Might be something to do with the fact that it is unlikely that you would be allowed to have a pro British demonstration, in say Saudi Arabia or Iran. Incidentally I don't notice a lot of the same type of islamic demonstrations in France.
  23. [quote user="WendyG"]Hi Am thinking of catching a lift with some friends out to above area early next week - unable to get a definitive forecast on line - has anyone any knowledge of weather conditions predicted for that week and early the next week when I propose to drive back to UK.  Have car in France which must bring back to UK. Weather in UK predicted to be cold with heavy frosts for at least next week. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Seem tio remember some French folklore about weather coming in and going out with the moon! WendyG[/quote] WendyG, try www.accuWeather.com, it works very well for our part of France
  24. [quote user="minnie"]Does anyone know if a left luggage faciliity exists in Gare du Nord or Montparnasse stations?[/quote] Montparnasse left luggage office is down the stairs
  25. [quote user="allanb"][quote user="NickP"]If you have earned it and are entitled, you are entitled to get it wherever you live.[/quote]Legally, yes, and I don't have any problem with people claiming benefits they are entitled to.  But there is still such a thing as a badly-designed benefit, and a heating subsidy that provides the same amount in Valencia as it does in Inverness is badly designed. In case you think this is just sour grapes (no, I don't get the WFA) I'll give you another example; free public transport for people over a certain age.  My father, living in the UK, was entitled to free rail travel.  He lived thirty miles from the nearest working railway station, and (towards the end of his life) couldn't drive, so the "benefit" was effectively useless.  A few quid for taxi fares would have helped.    [/quote] I don't think it is sour grapes at all, what I would ask is, why didn't he use his bus pass? By the way, I don't get free rail travel
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