BobCrox

Why do they have passwords? I am the only person on the planet with my email address. Why do I need a password to buy a ticket? I don't need a password to go into a shop.

Travelling in parts of france where there is no mobile signal I am deprived of access to a timetable which I would need if I have to change a booking.

The secret of surviving in France on a budget is to do the opposite. Eat lunch. If you are travelling through small towns or villages look for tradesmen's vans parked up from 12:00 onwards. They will likely be eating at the best bargain fixed price menu in the area.

Passport rules are strange things. To be allowed back in the country if you are a UK citizen you just have to prove that you already live here.

Japan.

I've mentioned before the slow scanning of passports That Border Force use. I have just visited a country where passports are flashed in about 2 seconds.

Sorry for the long post Our friend Humphrey was a gourmet. We knew him back in the seventies and he introduced us into a love of food. In season his flat in the East End would often have a brace of pheasant hanging in the hall alongside shelves of bottled delicacies. He lived with a Canadian artist called Shirley who was an even more enthusiastic foodie than Humphrey. In the summer Shirley would run etching workshops in her house in the South of France. Humphrey would drive down to visit her during his holiday from work. On one long drive south Humphrey stopped for lunch at a surprisingly excellent roadside restaurant. He probably ordered too much from the menu and was thoroughly sated when the cheese trolley arrived. There in the middle of a wide range of cheeses sat a cheese unlike any other. It was a rich golden colour and sat in a round wooden box. Its surface was crumbling like a piece of crazy paving with a soft, creamy filling oozing through the cracks. A faint smell of fermenting cream promised a taste of subtle richness. He asked the waiter what the name of the cheese was. The waiter informed him that it was a local speciality named after the small local town. Humphrey was in a quandary. He was too full to eat any more. He had a long drive ahead of him. If he had a portion of this magnificent cheese with a glass of red wine to wash it down he would probably have to sleep off the effects and arrive after everyone else was asleep. He then decided on a plan. He would stop on his way back and have nothing but the cheese course. He already knew that his favourite Calvet wine was on the wine list. Giving the cheese a last look Humphrey left. Taking careful note of the time it took to reach Shirley's studio he found that it was six hours. For the rest of his holiday he spoke about the cheese often. He became a bore by mentioning the cheese at every occasion that Shirley put out a platter of cheeses at the end of every meal. At last he came to the end of his two week holiday. It was time to make the long drive back home. He carefully set his alarm clock for five o'clock. Shirley cooked a substantial breakfast and waved him off on his long journey north. At twelve thirty Humphrey arrived at the restaurant. He waved away the menu and asked for a bottle of Calvet. After a few sips of wine he asked for the cheese trolley. Full of anticipation he licked his lips as the trolley approached his table. As it stopped by his table he noticed that the local cheese was not there. With a quivering voice he asked the waiter where was the local cheese. "Ah Monsieur, our famous local cheese is very delicate. It needs extra special handling. For this reason the maker insists that it is only served for two weeks in the year. If monsieur had only been here two days ago we were still serving the cheese."

Wash the inside of the coolbox with vinegar.

There is also the small problem of 2nd home owners doing a bit of DIY on their French cottages. I often see cars and vans at Plymouth docks loaded up with tools, ladders, cement mixers and such. Outside a Customs Union they will all need a Carnet listing everything obtained, at a price, from the London Chamber of Commerce. That applies to any and all equipment taken in and out.

The clue is in the name. INTERNATIONAL Driving Licence. The one I got recently will be just as useful as the one I used to drive in Spain Morocco, Turkey, Bulgaria etc. many years ago.

Don't know about scooters but wheelchairs are available at Pharmacies in France on prescription. I assume scooters are too. Try google http://www.scooters-rascal.com/rent-a-mobility-scooter-in-france/

Nah. Its owned by Walt and Mickey.

The CI are not in the UK. Channel Islanders will tell you that England is part of the CI since they invaded in 1666.

Before the days of twitter, internet forums and route trackers this sort of thing happened all the time.

It is common for Plymouth sailings to stop so that the ship keeps to schedule. I've known Armorique to sail east along the coast for some distance before heading at an angle for Roscoff to give a more comfortable trip.