DaveLister

Breaking into this topic if I may. Gardian I sent you a PM a few weeks ago. Can you check your inbox.

The linked Politico story is worth a read as well. 830,00 euros lost due to the cancellation of non refundable trips abroad. 😲

For me it's long and loose. I'll go sleeveless indoors but outside it's full sleeves and long trousers. Plus a Panama hat.

I have to admit I had assumed that during a power cut I would still have the availability of whatever power I was generating. In my case the reason for looking at solar is partly to do with the number of power cuts we have annually. I've around 110 square metres of roof facing due south. I thought I could, at the very least, cover the garage area as that's where the main fuse box lives.Your explanation however Martin makes perfect sense. Don't want to be responsible for electrocuting anybody. 😟 Thank you for the link Noisette. I can see I'm going to have to do a lot more investigating.

You obviously have done a lot of research in this area Noisette. My Linky is not accessible. Does that mean I can't install any renewables?

Round my way every villager used to have a their own small olive grove. However, in the last couple of years the prices charged by the mills have gone up exponentially and it's no longer cost effective to produce your own oil. The trees have either been cut down or dug up to be sold to garden centres. Such a shame

Well spotted that man 😁

Wasn't it last year the France had to shut down a number of nuclear reactors because there wasn't enough water?

Has this been confirmed Norman? If so can you provide a link?

Just found this online regarding woman's beach volleyball. 'The women’s beach volleyball format, by the way, is that there are six pools each featuring four pairings, who play each other in a round-robin format. The top two in each pool progress to the round of 16. The six pairings in third place in their pools are ranked, and the top two of those also go through to the round of 16. Then there are lucky loser play-offs to determine which final two pairs also progress.' Now why would anyone want to extend this particular competition so much I wonder.🤫

I'm more an EA fan myself.

OMG Really?? I didn't recognise him. Though, if you're right it would make more sense to the rest of set pieces.

Well, normally Céline Dion isn't to my taste either but, considering how ill she is, I thought her performance was incredible.

The Olympic opening ceremony was rubbish. I gave up after the flag arrived on the slowest moving horse I'd ever seen only to be replaced by one they made earlier which they then managed to fly upside down. I know they couldn't help the rain but watching various artists lip syncing to rehearsal tracks was mind blowingly tedious although I did feel sorry for the poor sound guy ( lift the fader, yep it's still raining ). I ended up hoping one of the guys on the BMX's would fall into the Seine just to liven things up. I have just watched Céline Dion on YouTube and she was magnificent. It's a shame the rest of the ceremony didn't come close to her performance. I can't be bothered to find out who the masked man was.

Apparently a similar device was found on the rail line between Aix and Marseille in early May. It coincided with the passage of the Olympic flame.

Funnily enough I use exactly this procedure to close an account with LBP less than six months ago. As they say, no problemo.

However, only two days ago French police arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to destabilise the games. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-arrests-russian-suspected-planning-destabilize-olympics-2024-07-24/

Oh yee of little faith ALBF😀 It's perfectly possible to close a Livret A by post. If you follow this link it'll compose the letter for you ( you can copy it and send it yourself rather than use their service ). https://www.lettre-resiliation.com/guides/finances/cloture-livret-a.html

Nah, she's just a childless cat lady 😜

You're going through a tough time at the moment ALBF but let's be civil please. There are many people on this forum with a wealth of experience and talents. As I've already said yours is not the universal truth. I've lived in France for 22 years and my experience is bound to be different to yours and Normans however do you honestly think there is no one else out there that has had to do the things that you are having to do at this moment? Administration ha!! Try going through probate in three different tax jurisdictions when every tax lawyer you contact refuses to touch it. Also trust me, arranging for remains to travel between departments is nothing compared with trying to take them out of the country. Frankly in my experience, when it came to coping with the death of my OH, the French end was a doddle. None of that negates any of the difficulties you are going through at the moment. I truly am sorry for your loss and I hope the day goes as well as possible for you under the circumstances. Let's just try to cool the temperature everyone.

And I am also quoting real world experience. It is perfectly possible to have a reasonably priced funeral in France without a funeral plan. I'm sorry you've been left with such a mess ALBF but your experience is not universal.

My OH died 5 years ago. No funeral plan. The total cost including cremation came to a little over 2,400 euros.

Legend

I have a conspiracy theory. I'm beginning to think Biden never intended to run for a second term. He said he just wanted to be an interim President. I believe, when he won, he thought it was the last anyone would see of Trump and it would be back to politics as usual. Harris was going to be a hard sell regardless but, given a fair wind, could have had the time to prove herself. However against a resurgent Trump she was never going to stand a chance. So, what to do? First, schedule an early debate and do a Nixon. Perform badly and force the American people to face the realisation that their choice in November is between two OAP's both of whom would be better off in a care home. Trump's team then take the bait and spend millions portraying Biden as decrepit and senile ignoring the fact that Trump is only a few years younger and known for his own word salads. Then, hang on as long as possible for the momentum to build. Let the news agendas revolve around the question of whether or not an eighty year old should have the nuclear codes. Wait until Trump is confirmed as the nominee and picked his VP then retire gracefully. After weeks of despondency the democrats are re-energised. Trump now looks tired & old. His whole campaign has revolved around 'crooked Joe Biden'. He literally has nothing to say. The Harris campaign however simply has to trawl through footage of the numerous talk shows from the last few weeks to find clips of republicans saying how old men don't belong in the White House. They can even use Trumps own words against him. Meanwhile Harris is free to campaign whilst Biden quietly goes about the business of running the country. Well that's my theory. 🤫

You could also argue that it was a good idea to wait until after the Republican convention when the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees were set in stone. Now Harris knows exactly who's on the Republican ticket she can pick the most effective running mate.