My light gilet arrived in France today, size large, perfect for my 40inch chest and 6ft height. Shame about the 5 extra pounds that went on in lockdown, but once they’re lost the zip won’t be under so much strain.

Other half’s gilets worked out great too, size medium for a size 10/12.

Very happy with the quality and amazed at the price.

Thanks to the OP for doing the PSA.

Besides at these prices I’m pretty sure it’s worth the risk?

Alternatively how about a STW Swapshop? Think I still have a tanktop….

Mounty_73 seem to recall returns are possible even with the sale stuff, have a read through this thread

Just about to come on here and update it, beat me to it!

Light gilets are now £12, thermal sold out…..

The Bielsa tunnel, which is the easiest link into the Ainsa area from France, is closed at the moment and the French Govt are debating what quarantine measures they will put in place after lockdown. Rumour is it won’t affect any Schengen countries, only people coming in from outside that area. Which seems crazy but probably the only practical way of imposing some control without sticking border controls on every road.

We (French residents) will also have a 100km travel limit, anything over that only for family or business reasons.

So probably a bit of a way to go until holidays restart, sadly.

The reason you find fat dead ones might be that the treatment is working? I doubt the treatment discourages the ticks to either get on her or even to make them jump off.

We use a Seresto collar on our pointer and we rarely find a tick on him, if we do they’re not only dead but haven’t seemed to have attached themselves either. He is obviously a short haired dog so the collar may not work on yours but they have been great.

We live in very rural France and he would come into contact with ticks pretty much every day.

Hope that helps

Funny isn’t it, when there is so much crap going on all around us all, how something like this makes you feel like there might actually be some good out there.

Well deserved Gnusmas, stick at it, you will get there.

Well done STW.

Pretty sure the Tourneo seats are different. Removable too which I would’ve thought was a big plus.

The Custom bench isn’t the most comfiest in the world, I’ve not used it but others reckon it’s probably about the same as a front bench seat in most vans. You probably already know that it isn’t easily removed. No doubt it unbolts and I’ve been told the nuts are captive, but I bet it’s a heavy bugga to lift out.

If we could’ve got a deal on one, I would’ve gone with the Tourneo rather than our DCIV, simply for the extra versatility.

Custom DCIV is a great van, much better than the Transporter we had before.

Genuine question we’re considering at the moment for a house that will eventually become a retirement abode.

Probably south of France with proximity to the pyrenees. Close-ish to either Atlantic or med coast.

Great climate of warm summers and mild winters, good house prices, beautiful countryside, the food of course and a relaxed way of life.

Could be more accessible, but an hour or two from toulouse/bordeaux ain’t too bad.

Sounds like our village!

We’ve been here 5 years this weekend….. We’re 90 mins to Toulouse, 2 hours to Bordeaux, 45 mins to the mountains and 2 hours to Ainsa.

Happy to share the good and bad via pm?

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Bought a 5 last year when lots of places were doing them cheap, whilst maps would be nice, it’s certainly not a deal breaker.

I managed to plot a road ride on basecamp and follow it on my 5, it wasn’t great but it worked.

I don’t have huge wrists and so the 5 is plenty big enough, not sure I’d go to an X.

Thanks for posting this, who can resist the beauty of a Neil Young song…..

Thanks very much for posting this, looking forward to working our way through them.

In about 10 years of driving a crewcab I have never been pulled for speeding. What police there are on the roads today probably don’t know the laws on vans and speed limits!

As for security, if you’re carrying something expensive then get extra security, but wouldn’t you do that any way?

Our van was broken into when we were on a ride, it was an organised event just outside Toulouse, so they knew we’d be away for a while. Major pain in the a*se as they smashed a small window which took months to source and fit.

We have a LWB crewcab Sport and it’s a superb piece of kit, much better to drive than a T5 and came very well equipped. In it’s first year we’ve driven it to the UK (we live in SW France) Italy and currently Portugal. It’s coped with Milan traffic and parking, the narrowest of Portuguese roads and some crazy switchbacks in the Pyrenees.

The only real criticism I have of it is the mirrors could be better when reversing into parking spaces. Although they are great on a motorway as there’s no blindspot.

At the moment there are four bikes in the back, all our clobber for six weeks away and a large dog cage (and dog).  The van swallows the lot and you hardly notice the extra weight.

The bulkhead in a crewcab also protects whatever is in the back from prying eyes, something that made it our choice over a tourneo.

If I was speccing another one, I’d go for an auto without a doubt, but then I’m old and lazy……

Not sure if this is still the case, or not, but from experience buying from an apple store gives you a much longer warranty.

Please ask in store, however, as it’s not something they shout from the roof tops.

I bought a Macbook Air back in 2011 and like Triggers Broom, it’s had a new keyboard when certain keys kept sticking, a new screen and a new hard drive. All done under warranty, despite my original extended warranty having run out. I had to take it back to the original store but because of that the warranty was extended. Sorry but I can’t remember exactly how much the warranty was, although it has run out now.

As I say, please check with the store, as my experience may no longer be the case.

In case someone thinks my laptop is unreliable, having had all that work, it’s on all day, pretty much every day and goes everywhere with me. Not sure many other laptops would survive the abuse mine gets.

ITV news managed to tweet a photo of a fox (handy if you don’t know what one looks like pre headstoving) and Jolyon, with a not quite out of focus sign behind him, reading ‘above the law’ (handy if you need to hate Jolyon even more).

The Right Wing doesn’t know whether to love or hate foxes now though….

We’ve lived in SW France for nearly four years now and it has had it’s challenges, as does everywhere, I guess. The one thing I wish we had done was to spend more time here before buying. You cannot know what it is like living somewhere until you spend at least six months there. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have chosen the area we live in, perhaps not even the country! Holidays are very different to actually living somewhere.

If you can, why not rent somewhere locally so that you can see if you like the life and it likes you?

We have property in the UK and whilst we don’t make much on it, it is a foothold in the UK property market and should we want to come back, then it’s easily done.

As others have said learning the language and also being outgoing enough to ‘get involved’ is a huge benefit. I’ve struggled with both and can’t say I have loved my life here. It’s improving, as my language skills have (a little) and I’m starting to meet people with similar interests who I socialise more and more with. But it can be a very lonely existence if you’re not meeting new people and getting involved in things.

Good luck if you go for it.

We early retired to France just before the referendum and now, because we pay income tax and have pension funds, we can access the health service here.

I am pretty sure that if you don’t have funds to support yourself, or have a job in the EU, then you won’t be allowed to stay, or access the health system. The French (and other countries I would think) don’t want someone from another country being a drain on their resources. Who can blame them!

There have been cases of people without the necessary funds to support themselves being deported. Something that the UK government have always had the right to do but AFAIK rarely did.

We now have a 5 year residency card which is being changed after Brexit. What the conditions of obtaining the new card will be, isn’t known yet but I would imagine if Boris plays rough with the EU, or cuts back on the existing rights of EU citizens in the UK, then France will do the same to us.

Despite the Brits here contributing a lot to their local economies, there was an attempt a few years back to add an additional tax on Brits living here. This was stopped by that nasty EU lot who do nothing for anyone but themselves…..

I hope we would be allowed to stay, having been here nearly four years now but our lives are now a lot less secure thanks to Thursday’s result. Anyone recently arrived, or about to settle in the EU, might well be on dodgy ground however.

Absolutely superb speech and in the light of the fictitious tory party twitter accounts, doctored videos, misleading websites, very topical.

They are looking to reunite someone with shares and dividends that have somehow got lost.

If it is them then they are legit but be aware they do take a serious chunk out of any old unclaimed dividends.

In my early forties I gave up a good job in London to start my own business, only something small which was probably never going to make me a millionaire. It failed after about 8 months, largely thanks to a break up in the relationship I was in at the time.

It was the best decision I ever made to quit that job, lose the stress, the travelling, the hassle of working a distance from home. Yes it took my relationship but, as it proved, it clearly wasn’t a strong one.

Despite, in theory, losing it all, I got me back, I realised that money isn’t the most important thing in life but being happy was.

Everything you do ends up presenting challenges eventually, it is just a case of how much you want to take on that challenge and beat it.

In my mid 50s, I met someone and we both retired early and left for SW France, leaving family and friends behind. We both had incredibly stressy jobs and hated the fact that we got paid well but never had enough time to enjoy it. Now we are lucky enough to be able to live down here, on a budget, and not work. Funnily enough, I wasn’t scared of leaving ‘normality’ behind and clearing off to a country where we hardly spoke the language, didn’t understand a lot of the bureaucracy and knew no one. (Perhaps because of my previous experiences?) We had each other, we could always come back to the UK and get a job, so why not?

Four years on, our french is improving, Brexit might be cocking it all up, but we have residency for another 5 years at least. I can’t say I’m 100% happy here, as finding friends has proved pretty tough but we are the wrong age and our language skills still hold us back in some situations. Living here is a world away from the stress and hassle of the UK, it is a beautiful place to live, it’s due to be 30 degrees plus for the next 3 days and I can get on my bike and ride for 30 minutes and not see another person, let alone a car.

If you are the sort of person that can accept that there is nothing to be gained from regretting a decision, then go for it. Why not? What is the worst that can happen?

Good luck.

@alexxx

If you ever want to ride a trials bike in ‘competition’ in France get one with a carte gris and don’t whatever you do buy a trials bike in anywhere else but France! I live in SW France and brought over a Beta Evo, registered in the UK, and whilst it could be registered here, it was going to cost much more than selling it and getting a French bike.

Riding trials is so different to the UK, needing a road bike licence, insurance and a bike that is registered for the road. Amicale trials are getting popular, which don’t require the bikes to be registered etc., but they aren’t everywhere yet.

If you’re just messing in the woods however, then buying something without a CG should mean it’s cheaper and you could use it to force the price down.

As for which bike, go on the condition rather than the make. At your price level it’s more important what might need to be spent on a bike. Refurbing a trials bike can be very expensive, so take real care and don’t buy one that needs work unless it’s very cheap.

@ wrightyson I think we’re (me) getting our facelifts mixed up! Mine is the last big facelift, with the redesigned front end and dashboard. It has the same 2 litre engine though.

Looking at the build dates affected we should be ok. We live and so bought ours, in France and their customer service is an acquired taste….

Hmmmm, mine was probably built mid to late 2018, as it was registered in January 2019. It was the last Sport DCIV I could find before Ford upped the bhp to 185.

It’s only done 6000 miles so far, so sounds like I best keep everything crossed! Off on a big road trip in it early next year too…..

Hi Gnusmas, firstly good to read that you’re not blaming yourself for his behaviour, as you really shouldn’t be.

Not sure if you remember my story from your previous thread, but basically my mum died suddenly when I was sixteen and my brother had to tell me that she had just died. I never put any blame on him for the way he told me, but like you, he worried about what he had said for years.

What helped me get through was having three older brothers who I looked up to and who were incredibly supportive. Whilst I didn’t go overboard, I struggled with not having a mum to be….. ‘a mum’. My dad wasn’t as good as you, he was out of his depth and pretty soon after, moved another woman in to replace his missing wife (not something I blame him for btw).

In a longwinded way I’m trying to say, your son is probably still suffering, not because of what you’ve done, but because he’s lost his mum. I think, as others have said, he needs someone outside of his immediate situation to talk to. But it has to be someone he trusts. That sadly won’t be a stranger, unless they can be introduced to him slowly and without any preconception on his part. He probably wants to talk but is scared to confront his feelings as they hurt big time.

As I have said I had brothers who all lived away from home and so, as far as I was concerned at the time, they weren’t suffering as badly as I was and so I could talk to them. Funnily enough it was the brother who told me, that was the easiest to talk to. As I did at the time, your son probably wants the ‘cuddle’, the support, the reassurance, of his mum. If my dad had tried to do that at the time, I probably would’ve rejected it and rebelled against it.

He might also want to forget the life he finds himself in and make it all go away….. Would seem a logical way of thinking in his situation. You and the rest of your family are a constant reminder of what he’s lost and he doesn’t want to be reminded. His behaviour might be him lashing out at what life has dealt him.

You are probably too close to him for him to talk freely to, and you’re grieving too, so in his mind you can’t help.

Sorry I can’t give any real answers but I think you speaking with a doctor, or even a counsellor, might be a good start. Ideally, if you have someone in the family, or a friend, that he likes and trusts, they would probably be the best person for him to talk to.

Teenagers can be sods, but remember, they know not what they do! As before, one day he will thank you for the love you have, and are, showing him. Stick with it, don’t be too soft with him, nor too hard, try to detach yourself from the situations he causes (he doesn’t mean it) and don’t react badly. In a way he wants the bad reaction as that’s what he thinks he deserves.

As before, you are doing a truly brilliant job, one that you should be proud of.

I’ve read that there was a bad batch of injectors which have been failing on 2018 vans. I’ve also read that the early warning sign is the engine surging, not that it helps much to know you’re about to be without your van.

We’ve got a late 2018 DCIV Sport and so far up to 6k miles. What mileage was yours at when it went?

Thanks very much.

It’s a real eye opener as to how only the select few get their books into big publishers and therefore big shops. She’s managed to get into a few Waterstones around the country but unless you are with a big publisher this very rarely happens.

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T&Cs state that it’s fine for trade to respond to genuine requests, so you’re good. In any case, we’d probably turn a blind eye here as one-off if it wasn’t, given the context.
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Congrats on her deal.

Shameless plug for my niece’s first book…..

Poster Boy by NJ Crosskey

First book she has ever written, in her spare time between raising two young kids and working night shifts! She was picked up by Legend Press and has already been in the book of the month list in The Guardian and WI book of the month. Not bad for not being with one of the big publishers.

Her second book has also just come out, ‘Overdrawn’ which IMHO is even better.

(sorry if this isn’t allowed, I’m just a proud uncle)

A new high speed line linking Bordeaux to Tours, in French France, was built recently, meaning you can now travel from Bordeaux to Paris in just over 2 hours.

The line is 340kms long, of which 302kms was new track. At the time it was the biggest rail project in Europe and took 5 years to complete.

This line cost under 10 billion euros to complete, paid for by a consortium, who now charge a toll to the train companies that use the line, the government and those meddling European Union chappies who never do a thing for anyone.

I just checked and I can travel from Bordeaux to Paris for 69 euros next Tuesday in plenty of time for breakfast.

HS2 is looking to cost at least £50 billion, probably double that by the time it would be completed.

Recording every stage just to see the scenery, if nothing else.

A visit is definitely on the list.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I will check them out.

Excellent shed and perfect timing, as I’m just about to start work on creating a bike workshop, come pain cave.

What size is it?

Having tried to learn as much French before moving to SW France three years ago, the biggest improvement was using the Michel Thomas CDs in the car. So much repetition you can’t fail but get up and going quickly. We now have lessons with a neighbour, as well as private paid for lessons and the biggest step forward has still been the CDs.

The French will still spot you’re english straight away and they love to speak english, but you trying to speak their language will always gain their respect. We were at the Marciac Jazz Festival talking to a stall holder, he sussed we were english but when we asked to speak in french his attitude changed immediately.

Respect is a huge thing with the French.

Echoing what someone else said, pick your spot wisely and don’t be lulled by a picturesque spot. We live in very rural SW France and it’s not unusual to see a car running outside a shop while the owner is inside discussing the weather….

However, we went to a MTB event on the outskirts of Toulouse, very nice area, plenty of fields and cows and some low life broke into our van and went through everything. They only nicked 20 euros and left the wife’s pants, so they weren’t sailors or parachutists, but it did bring it home to us that just because a place looks nice, you still have to take a bit of care.

As others have said, buy some breakdown insurance and don’t worry.

I would be far more worried about get stuck with a broken down car than having a puncture. Punctures are easily fixed, a snapped cam belt or whatever isn’t so easy to sort out.

The French are very well geared on breakdown recovery, as it normally comes with your car insurance here.

Sorry, do you know me?

How is it OT when the OP asked for any major problems?

How have I not looked after it? I used it to do what it was intended for, didn’t I? Or should I have taken a detour every time I wanted to go to the supermarket, or builders merchants?

Do VW tell everyone buying their very expensive vans that they can’t use it for short journeys?

Previous to the van I had a Audi A4 and a Seat Leon, both diesels and used in exactly the same manor. Both didn’t block their DPF filters.

As far as I was aware the van was carrying out regens, it had a full VW service history and had done 70k miles. For the last 15k miles it had been used to run around locally and do 600 mile runs up and down France on at least 6 occasions over 18 months.

Why when other diesel cars and vans don’t suffer such problems do VW carry on supplying vehicles with a DPF system they know will fail and then charge a ridiculous amount of money to replace it.

It’s a very poor design and VW aren’t interested in improving it, or admitting they cocked up. Fine, I won’t be buying another VW in a hurry.

Had a LWB and then SWB T5 (both Kombis) and would go for a LWB every time. The difference in length makes no difference when driving or parking, but the extra space is very, very handy.

The only thing I would worry about is making sure you don’t have to replace the DPF filter. We ended up using our SWB 180 Sportline as a daily driver and it never got the chance to do a proper regen as we usually do short journeys. 2000 euros later and we had a new DPF filter….

We now have a Transit Sport LWB DCIV and it’s a much better drive than the Sportline. Quieter, more responsive, better equipped and more comfortable. Yes we’ve lost the folding removable seats, but that’s a small price to pay. The quality of plastics, body panels etc., isn’t the same, but again, small sacrifice as I have lost all faith in VW. How they can charge so much to replace a filter they know will eventually block is beyond me. The least they could do is subsidise the cost of their poor design.

Surely Ainsa has to be on the agenda? There’s plenty of accomodation around and so much riding it’s not true.

Might be worth PMing STW member spekkie as he lives in the area?

I’ve had a 1290S for nearly a year now and it’s an absolutely superb bike. For such a big lump it’s weight just vanishes once you’re riding it. Brilliant at touring, scratching and just pootling around.

I can highly recommend the heated seats and grips, not so much the GPS function. I got a great deal with luggage thrown in and a nice little discount on list. Mind you that was in France. I nearly bought from Premier Bikes in Oxford who were superb with test bikes and lots of advice. So if you’re in their area give them a try, the sales guy was called Stuart.

Great bike.

Subscribed to the MotoGP site last year while working away, I also have a particular dislike to listening to Keith Huewen,s commentating.
MotoGP feed is so much better in my opinion, commentators really know what they are talking about and Simon Crafar in the pit lane or MotoGP is very insightful.
I have re-subscribed this year and watched this weekends through.
Also has a good feature of when I open the MotoGP app it’s takes me too a no spoilers page so you don’t see any results.

Is the MotoGP version a bit serious and dry? Eurosport with Toby and Jules (especially with Randy Mamola in the pits), back in the day, was pretty much perfect for me.

We met Jules at the recent classic dirtbike show and whilst he defended BT, he was full of praise for the MotoGP programme and Simon Crafar in particular.

Perhaps I’ll give it a go for Argentina.