Araucaria

My old Citroen H-van (see avatar) started life being coachbuilt, in 1964, by a firm called Currus as a small bus. It's now a campervan. I recently came across a book with the seating plan for it: they were sold as school buses with space for 17 children (if facing forwards) or 20 (if facing towards the sides). I wonder what DRIRE would say about importing from the UK a similar van/bus conversion in 2011? Those 20 or 17 seats go into a space that is 2.46m by 1.85m (about 4.5 sq meters). It's crowded with four adults!

We had an old peach tree outside our front door, grown from a stone, and we got excellent peaches from it. It also seemed to be pretty disease-resistent. Unfortunately last week's thunderstorm snapped the trunk in half, and we think it is probably now dead (but we'll wait for spring to see if it there are any shoots from the remains of the trunk). We'd like to replant a similar peach tree nearby. We are in the southern Auvergne at about 500 meters altitude: peaches grow well in this area, but I suspect most are like our own, chance-grown from stones. Winters are cold but not arctic, summers usually warm and sunny (or is that just rose-tinted spectacles?) We're happy to try the local nurseries but is there a named French variety anyone can recommend? We prefer freestone peaches (where the flesh comes easily away from the stone) but apart from that we're not too fussy. We don't need a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety, as a bit of shade under the tree would be nice, and I'm happy to risk a ladder when picking the fruit.

Thanks Anton I will try your "swapping receivers" suggestion as soon as doing so won't disrupt our friends' viewing too much. I didn't appreciate that the signals came from more than one satellite. Presumably although they aren't actually rubbing up against each other, they are sufficiently far away for the dish to get all four at the same time. I'm not so sure about "staking out" the present azimuth position of the dish. It's quite high up a wall and the ground drops away below it for several miles. From where it is, it has a nice view of the sky and the other side of the valley, so I'd need a very tall stake. Perhaps I can line it up with some landmark in the distance. The elevation can be marked, of course. My main problem is that the instructions for the receiver appear to have been written in Chinese before being translated into English (and French), and they are the next best thing to unintelligible. But your suggestions are helpful.

Can someone help me (and maybe save me the €40 call-out fee for my local TV professional)? We have a cheap set-top box (branded PMB, probably Chinese) and I'd guess a cheap dish too (55cm diameter), but it used to get us all the free-sat channels from (I think) Astra 2B. Now it will only get a limited selection: most BBC channels, and Ch 4 and Ch 5, though not BBC News, and no ITV channels. After a thunderstorm last week I had to replace the LNB head, and I noticed that the head has index marks and that you can turn it and presumably make a minor alteration to the direction the set-up points. By trial and error I found that if I turned the LNB head quite a long way (beyond the index marks) I could get ITV2 and ITV3 (and probably some other channels too, I didn't check), but NOT the BBC etc channels listed above. If I turn it back to the central indexed position it's BBC and not ITV. This problem dates back to before the thundertorm. I didn't want to start playing about with the direction the dish points in case I lost the limited number of channels I had. But I can't understand why I can get some channels from the satellite but not others. Can anyone explain? And should I just try re-directing the dish?

[quote user="NormanH"] Surely the only  income which attracts a credit is that which ha already been taxed in the UK? (so neither UK OAP nor French income qualify for credits) As usual I bow to better mathematicians accountants [:D] [/quote] Norman - that's only partly right. If, for example, you had a UK government pension that was less than your UK personal allowances (and no other UK-taxable income), you wouldn't pay any tax on it in the UK, but it would still attract a tax credit in France equal to the French tax you would have paid on it. In other countries and under other tax treaties what you say would be right, but this is the UK-France tax treaty and that's what it says.

And of course it must be true, since I read it in the Daily Mail ......

There's a vast amount of free books available from Project Gutenberg and from a number of universities too (eg the University of Adelaide). The formatting isn't always as good as it might be, and nearly all the books are ones that are out of copyright. There are a few exceptions to this, some of them very good reading: for example, Edward Upward's semi-autobiographical trilogy "The Spiral Ascent" has been put on the web in digital form by his grandson, for free downloads. These ones won't be sitting in your Amazon account if you lose your Kindle, so you'd be well advised to download the free "Calibre" software and keep your library in backup form on your PC. I'm in the middle of reading the Forsyte Saga on my Kindle. The books are all available on Gutenberg and it's a great read, though whether it's quite so good for people who haven't seen the BBC TV version is another question.

The man at the CT noticed that the 7-digit chassis number on my very old Citroen H-Van (1964) appears on the Carte Grise with one digit wrong. And it has done so for many many years. It's not difficult to read the right numbers on the chassis plate, but clearly no-one has noticed/cared before. I'd guess it was clumsy keying (or poor eyesight) sometime back before the advent of computers. It's now noted on the official CT report just as an "Observation", not even a "défaut a corriger sans obligation ... " etc. Has anyone else had to have a Carte Grise amended? Any idea what form to fill in at the Prefecture? Or should I just forget about it?

I enjoyed the books but only moderately: I liked the plot but I felt he could have done with a good editor. I also thought the translation came across as laboured and too often it appeared to be sticking as close as possible to the original Swedish rather than choosing an appropriate (but different) English idiom. I don't understand Swedish so I might be wrong: maybe the original text is a bit plodding too.

Does anyone know whether Corlan Pellets (for mouth ulcers) are available in France? If not, is there any similar hydrocortisone-based treatment of a similar type (ie for topical application - like Adcortyl in Orobase, regrettably no longer manufactured anywhere)?

Chimaera - I wouldn't let a thing like the septic tank stop you buying a property you really like. But if you are having second thoughts anyway it might provide you with an excuse for dropping out. I'm not a technical or legal expert so take what I say with as many pinches of salt as you like. It's my personal experience that the SPANC inspection reports could very well miss important issues - so a clean bill of health from SPANC doesn't mean you won't have to spend a lot of money if something goes wrong. I would be very surprised if you had any financial recourse to SPANC even if they had missed something that was blindingly obvious. Others will probably correct me, but if your installation complied with the then-current norms at the time it was constructed, then the SPANC inspection cannot require you to replace it with a more modern version. If the SPANC report does say you need to do something you will have to do it, eventually, but a huge number of other householders will have installations that are a lot worse than yours (if yours was really installed in the last decade). I wouldn't worry about being hit with fines if you show willing and try to co-operate: SPANC will have better things to do with their time and limited money. The SPANC report is not likely to be a complete bill of health anyway, even for a very recent installation: the question you need to get answered is whether the state of your installation obliges you to have something expensive done to it. Our almost new septic tank doesn't have the required ventilation from the tank itself (our plumber called it a "norme nul" - a stupid requirement), and that's noted on the SPANC report, but we don't have to put one in. We just have to tell a purchaser if we ever sell the property. It's pretty common for people not be able to find the access points in a property where the grass has been growing untended for a few years. But it's impossible to lose a 1000 litre (or more) tank permanently: it will be there, as will the drainage field. It's just a matter of finding it.

When we bought a few years ago we were told it was the accepted wisdom to use an English solicitor to help in the way Dog describes, so we did. Frankly in our case it was pretty well a waste of money. But I think that if you have complicated family or matrimonial arrangements you may wish to talk to an English lawyer who handles French property transactions to make sure that your UK and French long term expectations match up (after all, "in the long run we are all dead" according to John Maynard Keynes). French inheritance law can be a minefield.

Perhaps. But as for "god knows how many cyclists", this car was overtaking the leading cyclists, five of them, and the rest of the competitors were six or seven minutes behind (and that's a long way - the cyclists were doing about 60 kph apparently). This is a cycle race, not a motor rally.

[quote user="Mr Coeur de Lion"]It's common sense and the highway code says that you should brake. In this instance though, I think there was less damage caused by swerving than braking......[/quote] Less damage? So the car gets a bit scratched by the cyclist, instead of a dent from the tree, and the cyclists risked being killed? That was a concrete post that Hoogerland hit. How much damage would have been caused to the occupants of the car if they had chosen to hit the tree rather than the cyclists? The TV cars are supposed to be crewed by skilled drivers who should know not to steer into the cyclists. Let alone overtake (to get a better shot) rather than wait until it is safe.

I've got a problem with my Wi-Fi extender. It worked fine with the old-style Livebox (the one shaped like a partly-open book). Since that became defunct and Orange replaced it with the new-style Livebox (the flat one with a corner cut off), the Wi-Fi extender doesn't do its job. Computer equipment will find the Wi-Fi Extender and will say that the extender is sending out a good signal, but that there is no connectivity through to the internet. The same equipment logs on to the Livebox itself when within range of that, but when out of range of the Livebox and picking up a signal from the extender, there's no functioning internet connection. I've tried using the "associate" button on the Livebox - which I believe on this new-style Livebox is usually unnecessary anyway - but that doesn't help either. I don't need to use it when logging equipment on to the Livebox directly (ie not via the extender). Presumably the new-style Livebox doesn't like letting equipment log on via the Extender. There is no security set on the Livebox (we are in the middle of nowhere, and I am not concerned about unauthorised users). When I log onto my Livebox's "site" in admin mode, I can see the devices that are connected to it. The Livebox "site" is slightly unreliable about this: for example, at present an internet radio is playing away via the Livebox, but the Livebox "site" says it is currently disconnected. But most of the time equipment that is connected is correctly shown on the Livebox "site" with a green wireless icon. The Wi-Fi extender is one of Orange's own ones - on the back it says "Wi-Fi Extender Ref FTT 209342". It also lists two different MAC addresses - one is described as a "dLAN MAC" address, the other as a "WLAN MAC" address. I had considered adding one of these addresses manually to the "WiFI Settings/Paired devices" list on the Livebox "Site", but the "add" button is greyed out and won't let me add anything manually. Has anyone any suggestions or useful links?

Something to do with this report in the New York Times?

It's sterling silver too, PPP. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_silver

Here's my experience for what it is worth. Our property isn't fenced off, and it never has been. Maybe one day we will get round to it, but we like it the way it is. We are surrounded by dairy and beef farmers. Their cows get out quite regularly, and into our garden occasionally, but only once was there any damage, when a cow stepped onto the security cover for our pool. She caused over €1000 of damage - the cover had to be replaced, as it split from end to end, with several broken bars too. The farmer's insurance paid up with no trouble at all. Quite quickly too. And I can't imagine he would have tried to shift the blame elsewhere either, possibly because he sometimes comes and swims in the pool. If one really does have a duty to enclose one's own property then I am surprised that the loss adjuster (who came for a visit and saw the scene of the crime) didn't attempt to shift part of the cost onto us. Personally I find it hard to believe there is any such requirement: round here virtually all the farmhouses and farmyards are open to the road. I think people only fence off their flower gardens and vegetable plots. Probably because it's a bit tricky claiming off the boars' and deer's insurance companies (and are those apostrophe's in the right place's?).

I've watched that clip too - I think the police rider (or paramedic?) was doing his job, very bravely, and I wouldn't criticise him (her?) at all. The ambulance was coming to join the motorway with a police escort (so presumably it was a serious case inside) and the policeman's job was to see it could get quickly onto the motorway. He did that (or tried to) by stopping his bike, lights flashing, with his hi-vis vest, on the inside lane. Obviously once he was there he couldn't get out of the way of the driver who wasn't paying enough attention: no reverse gear on a motorbike. But the car driver who hit him had enough time to avoid him - if he had been paying any attention. He doesn't seem to make any attempt to avoid the bike at all: straight ahead right up to the time he hit the bike. The policeman on the bike seems to have had enough time to just start getting away from his bike before the impact. The comments below the clip say that the driver of the car that hit the policeman was using his mobile phone at the time.

Thanks Cacknanty - the distance between centres will probably depend on the price of the chevrons and my bank balance at the time......

[quote user="nomoss"]If you can afford to lose a wee bit of height, why not run  63 x 75mm chevrons across the existing joists, then lay 18mm OSB or chipboard over them. If width is 2.5 metres you'll need 5 chevrons on 60cm centres. Brico Depot lists 63 x 75 chevrons of 5 metres at 8€10, so cost is 40€10 for each 5 metres of length of the building, which, with the OSB is probably cheaper (and quicker) than planks. [/quote] Thanks Nomoss - I think that is a very good idea. I can afford to lose some height above the floor, as there's plenty of extra space up there, and getting a little extra height below it (between the joists) will be a bonus: the ceiling is fairly low. Presumably the horses didn't mind. And the way you suggest will let me level the floor a bit better too.

Noggins? There is no way I could drive a nail through six inches of 100 year old oak (possibly older). I can't get a nail in more than (about) an inch and a half. I think it will be planks after all, despite the cost - and that's what it was before.

Thanks for the suggestions, but ..... Noggins would be possible, but I'd need to use metal joist-hangers to hold them - at extra expense. The oak joists are very hard indeed and drilling right through them would be tough work. While the idea of extra joists is sensible, the existing joists are built into a schist wall at either end. In fact, it looks very much as if the builders got up to that level, put the joists in place, and then built up around them. Schist is difficult stuff to cut sockets into. Maybe it will have to be planks after all - the current wormy ones must be a good 60 years old, and I'd be happy if what I put up lasts half that long.

I want to replace a ceiling/floor in our hangar. It was over the top of a row of stables, and presumably only had fairly light stuff like straw bales on top. The boards that form the current floor are very wood-wormy. Quite a lot of them are missing entirely (the effect of keeping chickens up there I think). The joists to support the floor are pretty solid oak, and range in size from a width/thickness of 100mm to 150mm: their height/depth is fairly even at about 150mm (think 4x6 to 6x6 in old money). Trouble is, they are at 1 meter centres. The spans are about 2.5 meters, or a bit less. I'd welcome suggestions for what to use as the new floor/ceiling. Chipboard would be cheap, but would even 22mm panels start to sag eventually across this kind of gap? Has anyone experience with OSB? Or will it have to be plywood if I can't afford real planking (and I don't think I can)? I appreciate that at present I am telling myself that I don't need to put anything heavy up there, but I know that over the years the clutter just starts to accumulate until an elephant wouldn't be out of place.

[quote user="Mac"]Don't want to hi-jack this post but can some one just put me right. I thought that you had to submit forms (S1 Double Taxation Convention) to your local tax office as soon as you became resident in France. I did this and have had them returned as having sent them in too early. The letter says that I should send them in when I have filled in a French Tax form. As we became resident here from 1 April 2011 does that mean that I don't need to get a tax form until next year(March I think the link said) fill that in-return it and then also submit the S1 form ?[/quote] That's exactly it, Mac. The idea is the French tax office can't certify your tax residence in France to HMRC in the UK until AFTER you have effectively certified that you are resident in France, by sending in a French tax return to them. You will then acquire a French tax reference number, which is needed on the S1. Other countries do things differently. But if you became resident in France only a few weeks ago, you can't send in a French tax return until this time next year, when you'll be declaring your French taxable income for the period from 1 April 2011 to 31 December 2011. You'll get nowhere with HMRC until they get the S1 back from the central French tax office in Paris. [edit - simultaneous post with Coops]