Danglar

Hello ! I am due to travel Po/Caen tomorrow afternoon. What are the road likes ?  Is the traffic on  the M3 and A3  ok now   ?  and  the  Caen- LeHavre motorway ? Regards  

Just bringing this  subject up because I am traveling this week end and I really cannot understand how to read those maps that the internet throws up at me when I run a search. All those knots, wave heights, different shades of blue/green etc. What do they mean  in reality ? Having traveled by sea (PO/LH) for almost two decades  to my place , several times a year,  I have now become  (but why ??) a rather difficult traveler easily feeling sick at the slightest movement. Anyone can explain what it will be like on Saturday and Sunday ?  I want to be on the fast catamaran service to LeHavre on Sat . Will it run and smoothly ? Thanks for your replies. regards

I have given  the work of refurbishing the bathroom to a chap recommended by a reputable professional plumber (who will also do his part by replacing bath thub, taps, basin etc etc). On my return to UK today I  have done a search on  the net against the siret  number quoted on the devis of that chap and the search has come up negative.  The siret number is not recognised. Cannot find its address on the telephone directory either !!! Would you say this is a scam or  am I over reacting ?  What steps should I take ?  Should I contact the mairie of that village ? Report him to SIRET (whoever they may be ?), let him finish the job first ? Help please. Regards Nino

I have  a house near Lieurey  with appx 700m2 of garden. I need someone to come and cut the grass  starting in March and ending in October. Also other small garden work available (pruning, weeding , looking after flowers etc).

Hello. Does anyone know whether there will be gales this week end ? I do not know whether to book a  Newhaven/Dieppe crossing on Saturday morning. I have visited a few meteo websites and those that gave the weather in the Channel quoted winds force 5 to 6 , which might have some meaning only to a mariner. Also, will there be roads blocked to the road leading to the harbour ? A month ago I missed the boat (!) and had to drive to Folkestone. We got to the roundabout from where we always take the road for the ferry and it was closed up ! The divertion signs were ridicously placed and  we basically guessed our way around. After about 20 miles driving on a loop we found a lorry (which was not supposed to have been there) blocking the only route to the port. With 20 minutes left   we finally gave up. Do not want to repeat it. Thanks 

I purchased a card from the BBC (sic!) some three years ago and paid £ 20.00 . That card which is really a sky card (the one with the little yellow house drawing) , has allowed me to view so : BBC1, 2, ITV (espacially) , CH4 and many others. I have mentioned  only these channels because it is really only these channels (and perhaps ch5 in addition) that I am interested in viewing. The last time I was over at the hosue there was a message coming up on the screen ,every few minutes,  asking me to contact sky  etc etc. I have seen links quoted in forums  which do not work  and  searches on the internet seem to be  throwing out pages, telephone numbers  and forum answers  which are obsolete!! Because I live in UK most of the time and have no time to fuss about with the receiver/card when I am in France I do not mind paying up the £ 20.00 . Who do I call  (BBC or SKy )? What  sky website do I visit to pay online for a new card ?   Thank you all

English speaking yes but not based England. French mortgages are not regulated in UK . Anyone can sell them and often the worst ones are the ones  that are marketed. They bring in the  higher commission, you see !...

Hello. Has any of you a mortgage with them ? I was surprised to read , quite accidentally on the internet , about the campaign being waged in France against this Credit institution for  lying and cheating their borrowers in their mortgage contracts ! I was advise to borrow from CF  by a rather known UK broker  seven years ago. I wonder if I have grounds for recourse against them ?

  What a strange thing to do, quoting only the first of a list of trade  the member can do !   But thank you for the explanation.  

HE HAS SIRET FOR ELECTRICAL WORK BUT HE PROPOSES TO DO PLUMBING AND GENERAL BUILDING WORK AND CLAIMS HE HAS 10 YEARS GUARANTEE... Hello ! I raised this point in another posting a few weeks ago but did not read a comment about this issue. The artisan whom I asked to quote me for refurbishing the whole of the  bathroom has a Siret which ,  I checked,  is  issued only for electrical work. He claims he can guarantee his work and he has insurance that will cover it for 10 years. But I wonder.... Why has he not got a more comprehensive siret ? ANy comments ? thanks

Hello fellow forum members ! I wish  to renovate my bathroom : 3.73 x 1.70 mt. This would  principally involve  changing the bath tab, retiling the floor and  walls at mid height, fitting a new wash basin and taps, fitting spot lights. Got a couple of quotes from a  siret registered french local artisan : £5000.00  or £ 6300 if   I opt  for a  shower to be built. For the size of the room and the fact that there would not be a need to replumb I think such quotes are on the steep side , don't you ? I even had to ask him to adjust the Tva which he had quoted initially at 19.6%  ! But what I  find  questiobale is that with  materials cost well below euro 1000 there is a labour charge of  3500 + vat. Also on checking this guy's siret it transpires the siret is only for electrical work (!). He also  keeps mentioning  that he is insured  at or by the local chamber of commerce and that therefore his work comes with a guarantee of 10 years. Mmmmh. What do you think ?? What is the ongoing rebuilding rate for sq met that I can use as a reference guide? Regards  

Hello John. Perhaps for the benefit of all those who look forward to remortgaging you would not mind  letting  us know what is the procedure  and what  costs, other than these notiare fees, are to be met ? thanks

Thanks Martin , as I am not in France currently , I will have to look at this issue  in September. I was not using an older receiver  last week but  a Mico STB235.   regards  

I am in eure(27) so well within the area of reception.  

Hello. I was reading some time ago that the freeview receives in use in UK could also work in France. I have tried two of them without success. Is there anything I am doing wrong. The receiver do not find any UHF channels. Do they perhaps use VHF in France ? regards  

Film 4 on  sky ? good. I have a sky receiver and a BBC freeview card (which I use for ITV,ch.5 and 4 etc. but which is due for renewal in a fortnight). Will I be able to  view Film4   and if so  what are its parameters  ?

Hello ! Can you tell me whether there is an equivalent of the  Financial service authority in France to whom to appeal in case of financial wrong doing ? Following the CA's  right issue announcement  of   last month  I instructed Britline to excercise my   right on the shares I owned.   PLUS - and this was written in two faxes sent to Britline - I told them to purchase  additional ordinary shares in CA so as to be able to have more droits and buy more shares at the lower fixed price. Well , they acted on the instructions shown on the official CA's form for the right issue on my existing portfolio and completely disregarded my other request! [:@] On complaining , they just apologies  for the oversight .[:(] As I want those shares should I not the right to ask Britline/CA to buy NOW the shares I wanted and charge me only what I was to have paid at the time  with them absorbing any losses ? If they refuse what should I do ?[8-)] I hope someone there can give me some advice . Thanks  

[quote user="Will"] Operation Stack is in place because of the SeaFrance strike - the Dover port closure due to the weather merely made the situation even worse. The Transmanche Ferries web site ( http://www.transmancheferries.co.uk/contact.html ) has full contact details, including freephone numbers for both Britain and France. If you are booked on a ferry that is cancelled or seriously delayed, the operator should contact you - but I recognise that this doesn't always happen. Portsmouth port was operating more or less normally, with slight delays. [/quote]   When one calls  the  tel  numbers  shown on their website  one does not speak to a person  but  one is  instead   given to  select options .   Select "sailings update"  and  you get a recorded COMPUTERISED VOICE message, which sometimes it is  difficult to comprehend without wanting to hear it a second time ! Select "sailings times" and you get back to the main menu!... I bet the only time one gets through to  a person  is when selecting to purchase a ticket! I am surprised to read that Portsmouth was operating almost to norm. I had considered Le Havre (the closest to my house) but was put off even trying by the BBC's  pictures of terribly rough sea  and their reporting of  sailings cancellation. As for Dover, I had considered  - the night before my UK departure - to purchase a  one leg  ticket on the short crossing as a back up,  so I tried all the websites (P&O, SeaFrance, Speedferries) to  check on availability and prices and  ALL appeared to be accepting  my booking for Monday  afternoon.   Instead a warning would  have been nice  at that point, after all they have the capability of  rejecting a booking and -  showing why - when a sailing is booked up. I think  there is a too much  commercially opportunistic hijacking  on   these days:  grab the money now, then we'll see , eh ?  

thank you for your replies. I have found the telephone number  (only a fax is shown on the  website)  of the Port of Newhaven from  the Newhaven  City Council and  I received confirmation the ship arrived as per schedule last night. So,  I have thrown money out of the window. Never, ever will I fall for journalistic headlines again (I had good reasons to panic: a train connection in London for this morning and everyone knows  how much ic costs in UK  buying  a train ticket on the same day of travels). Listening to the BBC 24hrs news and SkyNews it felt like the end of the world was near  !  What  c...y   sensationalistic reporting that was (and I feel I know where that type of reporting has been copied  from....). Thanks again Nino     

I got scared off returning from Dieppe by all that fuus that the TV News channels put on about  the bad weather : Dover port closed, Portsmouth pictures of high waves and wind, flights cancelled  and so on.  So in the morning I booked with Eutunnel and gave up the second  leg of the return ticket I had paid for weeks ago. Then at around 16:00 hrs I called  the  Transmanche info tel number and the computeriseed voice (why  can we talk to human beings anymore ?????!)  said that all was running as per schedule . Aaarhhh!!!!! So , what happened ?  Does anyone know and/or did travell on the Seven Sisters yesterday ?   Nino  

The french consumer association  produces a letter sample for requesting compensation from the SNCF in cases where they fail delivering their service. So why not in case of a coach company ? They failed to update the public information  WHERE it matters, i.e. at their service stops. In my eye this is a serious failure where their service is so infrequent c that the next coach or bus only runs at 4-6 hours intervals.   Thinking to be able to excercise  one's ouwn  rights is not a joke , though some  of those people running public services  may think so.        

Hello all. I went by timetable shown at the bus stop and ended up missing the bus by 10 minutes. This  meant that the train tickets  I had bought on the internet and prepaid for were lost. I  used my car to get to the village train station but I  had to buy two new tickets at a cost of 42 euros. Do I have grounds  for compensation ? Season Greetings to all the forum members !      

tx for offering to quote me. however, i get the impression you are far from where my house is as my tel code is 02. where are you  in Calvados ? But out of interest :  are you properly equipped to trim a very very tall tree ? Let me know as I have other smaller ones that will be need looking after. danglar  

It is a willow tree.   Danglar

Debs I am rather ignorant on the subject but I  , too, have an overgrown tree that needs attention. Is this the recommended  time of the year to have it pruned ? Danglar