Yonner

Hi all, these tv threads are always informative. We have recently noticed our box has displayed "Err" and thought the box had gone snafu. Our card must be 4 years old by now, and I'd never thought this could be the case. Can I get a replacement from any tv store or the original supplier? ( its the Fransat card, with the rainbow colours on the front) Any ideas how much? Thanks in advance.

I think its a seagul J.

I'm with the consensus on the Andouilette, I've tried it slow cooked, lightly fried, and "crispy" - it should be left where nature put it in my view. Had calf brains last year, breadcrumbed and fried, OK, but a bit like breadcrumbed angel delight, not much of a taste. Kidneys, livers, tails, sweetbreads, tongues are all ok for me. I've got two lambs hearts in the freezer, looking for a good recipe and opportunity. I used to love tripe as a child, getting it with my nan, bleached and vinegary from the butcher was a treat. Then one day, he told me what it was. Haven't been able to stomach it since - no pun intended. I'm ok with Burger king too!!

Whey too many puns on here for my liking. The potential for that kind of deluge mustn't have ocurd to you. Either that or you just don't give edam.

Hi Margaret, we're about half an hour south of Troyes. I'm more of a regular reader than poster! tend to check out the active topics rather than the regional ones.

BC from us too Rose. Very envious.... that whole section, from the introduction at Orrisson and the scenery of the Pyrenees and Navara (?) was fabulous, and to top it off we had a great night and fond memories of the tapas bars in Burgos. Hope you enjoy it just as much.

Brilliant Pierre. Humour like that, you can't make up.

Well done Rose, I wondered if you'd made it in one piece. Fantastic innit?!! We did look out for the blonde hair and red ruksak!! Or was it red hair and ...?? We got to Santiago on 31st Oct, although my OH had to bus/taxi from Leon to Sarria due to a foot problem that needed a lengthy A&E visit in Leon - but we'll go back and do that section again, and maybe walk on to Fisterra, if time allows. So do you mean from your post that you are doing it all again? BTW we spent a fair amount of time with a bloke who is a hospitalier on the via de la platte, Seville aside, he says it is not as enjoyable or pretty as the frances.

Good for you Mint. We haven't planned any other travel activities yet, but its likely to be the coast to coast in the UK - the thing that puts us off the long distance French paths is the cost, in comparison to the Spanish albergues and restaurants, but we've been told they are prettier than the Spanish routes - which we thought were very pretty - so we'll see.

HI Mint, Happy new year. Yes we finished the camino in late Oct, took us 5 weeks, and lost about a stone, but have managed to find it again since!! As you'd expect its very hard on the feet, and the trick is to minimise pack weight if you're carrying all your own kit from day to day as we did, but getting it down to the recommended 10% of your body weight is nigh on impossible. A fantastic experience though. Re the rower, mine too has been left largely unused for some months, perhaps a race would be the motivation I need. 20 -30 minutes is my mental limit, and I have to have the I player or similar distracting me on the tablet to sustain that. I'm doing about 5200 metres in 20 minutes, and would like to gat to the 10k mark in 45 minutes this year if possible. My problem is being in the same location as the rower for long enough - we're taking a year out travelling, hence the camino thing. If you want to post some times and progress, I'll do the same by pm, but you'll need to post sex and age range to make it fair :) Good Rowing !!

We start from SJPP on Wednesday, but if Rose is doing 17k per day, I don't think we'll catch her! We've swapped descriptions on another forum, so we'll see :) Hope she continues to go well. Did you say "windswept" - bugger!!

+1 Rab. And what does it stand for anyway Nick? You can clear it up in one go.

Sorry, I don't know how to make that a hyperlink, can anyone tell me how to?

We use http://www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com. We have an account with them but I check others too. The service is as described for the others, very quick, very easy. We transfer £3k at a time, so there is no additional commission. As at about 10.20 this morning, smart would have gained me 19 and 21 Euros over the other two. Not huge, but I'd rather it in my pocket............

LOL< yes a rowing race may be fun. I think as far as exercise kit goes, the rowers use more muscle groups than any other, so it always appealed from that point of view. My problem was always mental, I got bored on long stints, but fixed that to some degree by setting up a telly or listening to radio comedy shows. I think Chancer may be right about the running thing, but frankly, I don't want to crunch 14 + stone through each knee and ankle for miles at my age. I've seen enough skinny joggers at yoga whose knees don't work to put me off. Enjoy the rower.

You're much better organised than we are Rose. Could you share the apps info, and the places list?? PM me if you like. Thanks

Hi Rose, I know just what you mean about shoes!! Mrs Y has developed a bump on her Achilles which is aggravated by the boots, so we may also be going for a shoe type boot. We've also gone for sandals - think they are tensas - and seem very comfy so far, I can see them getting plenty of use weather permitting. Training walks are coming along too, but we'll see how effective they are once we get on the way I suppose. I think we'll be booking Orison, and perhaps Roncevales, but its interesting you've booked the next two, we hadn't considered that, but will now though. We expect to start on 16th September, so we may well bump into you on the way!!

Hi Mint, yes I have one. I bought it second hand, already built, but its just allen bolts to assemble as far as I can see, so looks pretty easy. A pleasure to use.....mmmmmm ...... No, its hard work if your following a program, but its smooth, and has a pleasurable whoosh if that's what you mean. It was a toss up for me between this and the concept rowers, but I chose the waterrower because it looks more like a piece of furniture and takes up little space (about 50 x 50cm) when stored upright in a corner, which has proven to be the case.

I've always liked the name Arces, it has a ring to it. Friends of ours lived there, in a quiet cul de sac. Apparently in the war it was almost wiped of the map. I'll get me coat !!

Thanks for that. No worries on the info, plenty of time.

Hi Rose, how are the training sessions coming along? Feet Ok now? Ours has been sluggish, but we'll be correcting that now we can see the start gate, mind is focussed! Looks like our start date will now be around the time of yours, perhaps a few days later. The Orrison plan also sounds like a good idea to us, we'll look more into that. BTW, are you reserving all your refuges, or just the first few busy ones?

So will we, we plan to do it from mid sept this year. We're reading the books and checking the blogs. Any top tips Cinders?

They went over here (north Yonne) a few days ago, group of about 50. Bit early this year I think.

Hi Rose, me and Mrs Y plan to do the same route late august or September this year, so we'll follow your progress and share notes. Regarding boots etc, I also have wide feet, and have just been told by a chiropodist that I have high and weak arches. I've never had what I would call problems with my feet or boots despite some hefty walking both in UK and Europe since teenage years. I've bought arch supports as a result, which the Chirop' says should make my feet more fixed in a boot ( my foot lost over 1 size from being measured standing, to being measured with the foot elevated) reduce rubbing and hard skin, especially at the widest part, and stop my toenail " ridging" as it collides with the front of the boot. Just wondered if you had similar issues, and if so could arch supports help?

We watch it on Sky Atlantic, the bits of French I was referring to were the in the minority, most is in English. But its still good practice