General Chat

French car tax was put on the price of petrol. When i now go to France, i top my tank up to the brim.

Is that over there or over here? I have never driven abroad but thought that people tried to fill up in France because it was cheaper.

Sharron <3 you forgot to pay your television licence, if they come knocking on your door you could always try onr of these excuses :-D

1. Why would I need a TV Licence for a TV I stole? Nobody knows I’ve got it.
2. I have lost weight recently and had to buy new clothes. That’s why I could not afford to buy a TV Licence.
3. I had not paid as I received a lethal injection.
4. Apparently my dog, which is a corgi, was related to the Queen’s dog so I didn’t think I needed a TV Licence.
5. I don’t want to pay for a licence for a full year. Knowing my luck I’ll be dead in six months and won’t get value for money.
6. I could not pay for my TV Licence because the Olympic torch was coming down my road and I could not get to the shop as the road was too busy.
7. I only use my TV as a lamp. If you switch it on it gives a good glow which allows me to read my book.
8. The only way I can afford to pay for my TV Licence is if I sell my hamster, is that what you want me to do?
9. Only my three year old son watches the TV. Can you take it out of the family allowance I receive for him? He watches it so he should pay.
10. I spend so much time at my neighbour’s house, we thought we would just share a TV Licence. My neighbour has the other half.
11. I could not pay as I only have two pairs of pants and they were both in the wash.
12. I got caught shoplifting so I’m barred from the shop that takes PayPoint payment

Have you tried them all?

I wouldn't want to use one you have not properly tested.

You only need to have a TV license if you watch a "live" channel from BBC or ITV or anybody else. However if you restrict yourself to iPlayer NetFlix and so on you don't need a licence not even for "Peak Blinders" or "Corrie". Student's in uni. watching tv via their laptops all swear blind that they never watch "live" TV so they don't buy a license.

Oddly enough those tuned in to satellites beaming programs from eastern europe and Asia still need a licence if they are watching, say, "Londynczycy" or Al-Jazira "live".

fwiw Brussels is nosing around the BBC TV licence egged on by Sky and ITV on the basis that it amounts to state subsidy and is a clear breach of single market rules. AFAIK the UK has some kind of dispensation for the BBC but as time goes by ...

Given his current situation in the polls I doubt if Milliband will resist current attempts to decriminalise not paying for the TV licence. Sharon then could rest easy or maybe not as polite phone calls from the BBC will be replaced by brutal visits and searing fees from Ross & Roberts.

It is impossible for one of the eight tv detector vans to detect a modern digital tv still less which channel it is tuned into. Even for freeview and def. not Virgin. OTOH Virgin, Sky etc are compelled to send lists of subscribers to the BBC as do vendors of new TVs.

It is technically possible to use equipment which will hack into any wi fi connection and see what is going on. Using such equipment is illegal of course except for GCHQ, local government and so on. If you don't like this idea then dump the router from your ISP and install your own.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

;-)

Currently petrol in France is £ 1.20 / litre and diesel £ 1.07 so any filling up to the brim is best done on the French side especially for diesel - ask any trucker. As in the UK it is much more expensive on the autoroute and cheaper at supermarkets.

A nasty gotcha of a French government even more strapped for cash than the coalition is motorway tolls. This have been hiked no end and for a journey from, say, le Havre to Paris can cost as much as the fuel. The gendarmerie have also got a lot more active with speed controls which have to be paid on the spot by your flexible friend. If the gendarmes don't get you the peage will (tolls) 'cos they work out your speed since the last toll station...

Being famously tight fisted the French have tended to desert the motorways for the old "routes nationales" such as the N10, N6 and N14. This has provoked a demand for old road atlases because the government has changed all the road numbers! Yeah the "routes nationales" ( equiv of A1 A2 A5 A30 etc ) have been renumbered as local routes eg D332 which change number as you go into a different department. SatNavs have to follow the system as well.

Around Paris, Bordeaux and Marseilles the motorways are free. NCP is considering a bid.

<3 France

but it is taxing itself to the point of extinction. If you are French then it is much easier to get a French speaking job in London than Paris and better paid too!

Paid it!

Watch in peace and tranquility <3

Best stash some pasties and marrows in your drawers, don't want you going hungry, Sharron


:-D :-D

We've recently had 6 weeks of illegal viewing. For some reason we didn't get a paper reminder, nor an emailed one ( not that we'd chosen to go paper-less)

A very tactful letter turned up in the post!
.............

Rollo with his insiders knowledge, or anyone else who does 'booze cruise' to France.
Is it still cheaper to buy wine and spirits over there, or is it not worth the effort?

Booze cruise is def. not worth it if you are buying yr booze etc on board.

If you can find a very cheap off season 24/48hr trip and go by car you can save quite a lot but not much on cheap wine which costs around £ 5 / bottle in the UK. There are times each year in France when they have massive wine sales and you can do really well on wines that in the UK would be £ 10-40 with savings 50% or more. The downside of course is £ 5/bottle x 50 is £ 250 and many brokers will do a similar deal delivered to your house!

Ciggies are about £ 1 / pack of 20 cheaper, spirits also cheaper and far more choice.

I myself find that it is no longer worth the hassle to make a shopping trip but a bonus if I am going to France anyway.

Thank you Rollo - I was thinking about taking the car over to Cite Europe by train before Christmas.
However, from the sound of it, the savings won't cover the cost.

+++DetEcTive+++

There are often mid-week deals through the Tunnel in the lead up to Christmas.

We can be at the terminal in less than half an hour, so have sometimes used the offer for Christmas market trip to one of the French or Belgian towns.
A group of, I think up to 6 people could travel for little over £20, so we thought it worthwhile and OK, but would agree that prices in France are not generally that cheap anymore, if shopping for drink is your main purpose for travelling.

Gwyn