WoW readers have lots of good tips and ideas which we have used.
Now there are so many we think a special page would be more useful. If you have something you would like to share - write to WoW hicks-france@wanadoo.fr Also includes French holidays for 2011, how to avoid costly 0870 phone numbers and some testing quizes
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Price comparisons - France and the UK
. Glasses seem to be about 5 times more expensive in France
Try these people http://www.glassesonspec.co.uk/
. Hearing aids seem to be about half the price in France
. Therapautic insoles - about a third of the price in France AND you get money back via CPAM
What are WoW readers thoughts on this?
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"Damaged" Car Mirror scam
Several women we know have been confronted by an apparently furious man on leaving supermarket car parks.
He claims that they have damaged his car mirror or paintwork on leaving their parking space.
Typically he stands in front of their car to stop them going any further. He says that in order to avoid their losing their no claims bonus he is prepared to settle the matter for cash, a sum of €100 or so would suffice.
His behaviour is very frightening and his victims, women drivers on their own, have been very alarmed. As it's happened several times it seems that he is doing well out of it.
I have heard of one in Valros and more than one in the Carrefour car park in Pezenas, but I think there are more,
Perhaps your readers should know,
Andrew Diamond
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Oh dear - don't look now but people are talking about Beziers in Reading!
Seen in the Reading Evening Post
Travel: Beautiful Beziers
July 19, 2011
Rugby supporters might know of the town of Beziers because of the formidable rugger team but otherwise the town and the area are largely unknown. Which is a great shame.
Set in the middle of the world’s largest vineyard – bordered by the Mediterranean with some of the most beautiful sandy beaches in France and nestling in beneath the Black Mountains – the town and the area are hidden gems ripe for discovery.
It boasts many historic features too – from the Canal du Midi – listed by UNESCO – which links the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, through to the timeless beauty of towns like Pezenas and the recently discovered Greek and Roman bronzes found off Cap d’Agde.
And if an “all over” tan is what you really want then the region has the largest naturist beach in Europe.
This is the “real” South of France with none of the airs and graces of Cannes, Nice and St Tropez.
It is a largely unspoilt slice of the country with an amazing 320 days of sun a year and a warm welcome to go with the it.
If cycling, riding, camping, canoeing and walking are your passions then the Languedoc Regional Park in the Black Mountains is waiting to be discovered with a timeless and protected natural environment with wild boar and the large mouflon sheep.
You can walk for miles and see no-one. Wine from the extensive vineyard, seafood in abundance and fine fresh local produce make this area a splendid jewel for everyone to enjoy.
The towns
Beziers is one of the major cities in the departement (county) of Herault, birth place of Pierre-Paul Riquet, the designer of the Canal du Midi. It stands on a cliff dominated by the cathedral overlooking the River Orb and around the 13th Century building is a warren of ancient streets.
It is a great place wander around soaking up the history – and once you have an appetite it offers many places to eat. Do try to visit the fine art galleries as they are housed in buildings which are themselves works of art and when you visit you can really see the delights you would never guess from the outside.
For a real treat stay in a charming country chateau just outside the town – family owned and set in a lovely park – you will feel like a family friend staying with relatives. Visit www.raissac.com.
Cap d’Agde is a collection of towns from the Ancient Agde itself with its black Cathedral built with volcanic stone – which sits on the banks of river Herault, to the 60’s town of Cap D’Agde with a fine modern harbour. The town’s museum houses stunning bronzes found off the coast of the town and is a real must to visit.
Pezenas is a gem of a town, a time capsule of 16th to 18th Century architecture and spiritual “home” of the playwright Moliere.
Enjoy the warren of cobbled streets in the old town lined with art and craft shops and little restaurants and bars. Little has changed in the architecture or feel of the town in 300 years.
Faugeres is a celebrated wine area sitting up on the hills which frame the countryside.
Apart from the wine you will be in the foothills of the mountains and the Garrigue, which is a type of low, soft-leaved scrubland landscape. Make it to the top of the hill behind the town and you will be rewarded by the panorama of the Mediterranean.
The patron of the town’s hotel – La Vigneron will give guests a tasting and the back ground to the art of winemaking. Visit www.lavigneronne.com
Marseillan is one of the prettiest ports in the area. The port is lined with a great selection of eating places and is home to Noilly Prat – the T is pronounced in honour of the Englishman Mr Prat who created this aperitif.
Vias is a fine centre for exploring the beaches and the coast.
You can also hire a self drive boat to explore the Canal du Midi. Visit www.viasevasion.fr
This is a great family resort with everything from horse riding to quad treks and one of the largest amusement parks for miles.
Factfile
Now there is a direct Flybe route from Southampton to Beziers Cap d’Agde’s ‘Sunny’ airport this area is less then two hours from the UK.
Probably one of the friendliest in the UK Southampton airport sits next to the high speed rail link to London and takes about an hour from Reading.
Monday and Friday flights by Flybe to Beziers Cap d’Agde airport. n Friday flight 10.45am departure Southampton – one hour 55 minutes. Visit www.flybe.com
Monday flight – leave Beziers Cap d’Agde 2.10pm - www.beziers.aeroport.fr
English site listing events, days out, places to stay and eat – www.heraultwhatson.info
Or visit www.bezierscapdagde.fr
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Be a good Samaritan - or face prosecution in France
Good Samaritan laws take their name from a parable told by Jesus (Luke 10:25-37). It recounts the aid given by one traveler to another who had been beaten and robbed by bandits.
In many countries the law is designed to protect those who try and help someone from any legal repercussions should they make a mistake. They are intended to reduce bystanders' hesitation to assist for fear of litigation - a sad fact of the world we live in today.
However in France you could face prosecution if you don’t help as it is a legal requirement to assist someone who is injured. The law here states you have a duty to rescue or aid someone. So remember, in France, you cannot pass by on the other side !
Thanks to AB Real Estate for this
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France Goes Overboard In Data Retention:
There have been plenty of stories about various governments, often at the behest of either law enforcement or the entertainment industry, pushing for data retention laws. It seems especially ironic in Europe, where privacy laws are a much bigger deal, that they would also push for data retention, which is the opposite of a privacy law. However, Andrew Swift points us to a new data retention law in France that goes way beyond your typical "keep the log files" data retention rule. Instead, it appears to require that ISPs and hosting companies retain all sorts of private information (Google translation from the original French). Swift summarizes for us the information that needs to be retained:
Information furnished when agreeing to a contract or opening an account, including first name, last name, business name, associated mailing addresses, and pseudonyms utilized, associated e-mail addresses and accounts, telephone numbers, and passwords as well as data permitting the verification or modification of the password.
These companies must also keep all user id's and passwords for any internet connection, the IP address of the terminal used to connect, the time and date of every connection, and...
Here's the kicker: for EVERY action of a user on the internet, these companies are now required to record the nature of the operation, whether it is writing an e-mail or downloading an image or video.
Just the fact that these companies would even have access to passwords should be problematic. Why aren't these services encrypting the passwords? I'm really curious how a law like this could possibly work in conjunction with European privacy laws?
Not surprisingly, it appears that pretty much every online service provider is planning to challenge this decree in court (Google translation of the original French).
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Cold sales calls - an answer to stop them
Are you nagged by phone calls which ask you if you are M X and if you say yes start speaking at a speed which might get a gold if there were a class in the Olympics for speaking French very fast?
Well WoW is - and it is so disappointing when the call isn't the one you want and you have left a good meal, a meal cooking or a warm bath to answer.
Well WoW learns there is a way to cope
You just say - slowly and loudly in your best French
"Je suis locataire dans cette maison"
Apparently that does the trick as they can't or don't want to sell to tenants.
May work but it is better than mystification and irritation and if it gets your name struck off some list - maybe ...................
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Mobile phone trouble
My mobile showed that it was not receiving it's signal from the provider for several days. I marched into and Orange office and complained that they are not fulfilling their part of the contract.
A nice young man smiled patiently, removed the sim card rubbed it on his trousers, returned it and the SIGNAL was perfect.
This is not a joke, this is the equavalent of switching your computer on off and on when it does not work. Don't try this if you have forgotten your security code, as you will have to put it in again. Erzsi
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Oh dear - the problems of running a website
A number of people have emailed WoW saying the info below on mobile phones is an urban myth
One example - remotes on cars don't operate on sound but use infrared - which can't be sent by a mobile phone
Ah well - you can't win them all!
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Public holidays in France for 2011
By Craig McGinty
IF you have received a calendar or diary over Christmas then you might want to make a note of the French public holidays coming up in 2011.
I have also included the days they fall upon, as you can be pretty sure that if one lands on a Thursday, then it might be a struggle to get anything done on the Friday.
French Public Holidays 2011
Saturday, January 1
New Year's Day (Jour de l'An)
Sunday, April 24 - Easter Sunday (Pâques)
Monday, April 25 - Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques)
Sunday, May 1 - May Day (Fête du Travail)
Sunday, May 8 - Victory in Europe Day (Fête de la Victoire)
Thursday, June 2 - Ascension
Monday, June 13 - Pentecost (Lundi de Pentecôte)
Thursday, July 14
Bastille Day (Fête nationale)
Monday, August 15 - Assumption (l'Assomption)
Tuesday, November 1 - All Saints' Day (Toussaint)
Friday, November 11 - Armistice Day (Jour de l'Armistice de 1918)
Sunday, December 25 - Christmas Day (Jour de Noël)
Sunday, January 1, 2012 - New Year's Day (Jour de l'An)
And much more info from Craig at www.thisfrenchlife.com/
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Another good idea sent in by Joy
We hope it will never happen but in case of emergency, an idea which could prove to be of immense help .....
We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.
If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) Campaign
The concept of "ICE" is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name "ICE" ( In Case Of Emergency).
The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as "ICE."
For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc.
Remember:-
ICE will speak for you when you are not able to speak for yourself
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New to WoW a website which might save you money and a lot of frustration.
An increasing number of companies have moved to 0870 numbers - and they can cost a lot to ring.
There are also some which simply dont want to work when you ring from France - so check out this odd looking but useful site.
The site lists many well known companies, and their equivalent geographical numbers.
www.saynoto0870.com/
Alternatives listed for 0500, 0800, 0808, 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871 numbers.
And thanks to Graham, who posted this on Forum - another service
"I'm surprised there isn't more mention of www.telerabais.fr that allows UK (and other pays) calls at a local Orange (France Telecom) rate although 0845 calls are 15c a minute (haven't tried the likes of 0870).
OK it's a pain as your first have to call a 10 digit number before 0044 then the rest of the UK number but I've got used to it. The service presumably uses cheap bandwith as very occasionally there's a glitch and one needs to redial."
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Fun French test - how good is your knowlege of France
www.viamichelin.fr/viamichelin/fra/htm/div/quizz/france/quizz.htm
Thanks John Higginson for this
Following viamichelin's 'geoquiz' on French towns and villages, you may want to advertise other similar games to extend WoW readers' knowledge of French departments, cheeses, rivers and more. European towns and cities stymied me I can tell you! Can you locate Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland, Albania quickly? They're all on www.jeux-geographiques.com
John Higginson
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And another test - how well do you know your French Highway Code?
A test you can take sent by Chris Woodhouse
Click below to take your test
Click here to download this file
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Fragrance Plug-Ins can cause fires
Received from someone in the property insurance business. It is well worth reading.
The original message was written by couple whose house burnt down.. nothing left but ashes
The investigator said the cause of the fire was the plug-in type room fresheners, said they caused more fires than than anything else.
The plastic they are made from is THIN so that in every case there is nothing left to prove that it even existed.
When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from the plug-in were still in there.
The victims had one of the plug-ins that have a small night light built in it.
She said she had noticed the light would dim and then finally but after a few hours the light would be back on again. The investigator said that the unit was getting too hot, and would dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb.
Once it cooled down it would come back on. That is a warning sign.
The investigator said he personally wouldn't have any type of plug in fragrance device anywhere in his house. He has seen too many places that have been burned down due to them.
WoW wonders if those plugs which heat up insecticides might also be dangerous
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Try this site - it lists average income in each town/ville and much more besides.
www.salairemoyen.com/
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From Steve of Aude and Ariege Flyer
How to open a bottle of wine if you have forgotten or lost your corkscrew
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHTADX5nxT8&feature=fvw