Renovation Project - How to make your own skirting boards

Renovation Project - How to make your own skirting boards

I have been away for a little while and apologise for neglecting the blog, but we have been very busy and the blog will be back up to date very soon.

We have our new windows in place, we have a floor in place now all we need is the skirting boards and the water pipes covering and the living and dining room are almost complete.

In France you can buy skirting boards but these are very expensive and not very good, many people actually import skirting boards from the UK, but this is not necessary, with the right tools and a little bit of knowledge (or if you have a John!) you can have wonderful skirting boards for very little money.

We have bought packs of floor boards, these are tongue and groove but John is able to adapt them so that they are exactly what we want.

The first aspect is to remove the tongue; this is trimmed down with the jigsaw and then planed to make the edge level.

Left like this they would not look very good, so next John uses his router (this is a high speed cutting blade that puts shapes on to edges of wood) we have chosen to have the edges squared and round, to look like traditional skirting boards.

This is reasonably easy to do when you have done it before, so do not be disheartened if you try and your first few pieces look a bit rubbish, have a practice on scrap wood.

Once we have all of the skirting boards shaped it is time to fix them to the wall, as we have a number of corners, we have to mitre the wood (this is cutting the wood to the correct angle, normally they should be 45 degrees, but as this is a very old house 45 degree angles were very rare and yes this does result in more swearing!) a top tip is to buy a good electric chop saw and learn how to use it. We have an Evolution Fury 3, this was the best we could find for the price as the blade will cut through almost anything, so if you find a nail in the wood it is not a problem.

Our next problem is the water pipes underneath the windows (we also have the water metre here) we decide to box them in with the skirting board and pieces of floor board, as the water meter cannot be moved.

We have been told that friends of friends are selling up and moving back to the UK but have some furniture for sale, we go to take a look and they are selling a fabulous dresser, we have to have it, but are not sure how we are going to get it to the house (its heavy!).

Our friend with the trailer comes to the rescue and he and John manage to get it into the trailer. Once in the house we realise that the engravings on the wood match our dining chairs, it was meant to be.

That night we sit and relax on our sofa’s watching a film with a glass of wine whilst the fire is burning and the room looks like a room.

We think back to a year ago when we were sat in a pile of rubble (well actually we were sat in rubble only a few weeks ago!) and can’t believe how far we have come. We never lost heart, as we knew it would come together at some point and that point is now getting ever closer!

The main differences between house buying in England and France

The main differences between house buying in England and France

This post is a humorous take on our personal experience of the house hunting process in the area of Brittany that we bought in, and was my entry in a writing competition. (I also came 2nd so thank you to everybody for voting)

I am aware that in other areas of France the process may be different and this post was not intended to offend in any way, but just give a lighthearted view into the buying process (and to warn any potential buyers about the garden/land issue!)

The top 5 differences between French and English estate agents

You may think that this is a strange topic to be writing about, after all selling a house is selling a house, can it really be that different?

And the simple answer is yes!

You really don’t notice the difference until you start to search for your dream property, and I would like to share the biggest differences and spill the beans on the terminology used in France (this may just be Brittany, but somehow I don’t think it is!).

Difference number 1

A beautiful garden

UK translation – you will step out of the house into a beautiful garden

French translation – you will buy a garden, but this is not necessarily anywhere near your house. The house you are buying may indeed be photographed with a beautiful garden, but this garden may actually belong to your neighbour. Your garden may be up the road, around the corner and next on the left! This was not something we found out until we spent a week in France viewing properties; we had asked for a garden or some land, we did not know that we had to ask for it to be attached to the property.

Word of warning number 1 – Ask where your garden is!

Difference number 2

Requires a little updating

UK translation – needs a little bit of updating

French translation – requires a bathroom, a kitchen and possibly one or more walls, floors or roof adding, and no, this is not an exaggeration! We viewed a number of properties that required a ‘little bit of updating’ one of these properties was so derelict that there was no way you could move into it, even the local wildlife were too afraid to enter it. On this occasion we had an extremely enthusiastic estate agent (who had given us torches to use and gallantly held the rickety, wobbly ladder required to get to the first floor) who was ever so excited about how we lucky we were, as we could add the bathroom of our dreams just here, and that it could be off the master bedroom that we could build just there, and once the walls were made secure we could add the window back into the original stone opening and the whole place would look amazing and how, as we didn’t have to make do with somebody else’s choices, we could really make the place our own.

Word of warning number 2 - Be very clear how much work you want to do on a property

Difference number 3

The photographs that are used

UK photographs – the house is dressed and shown at its best

French photographs – nothing in the house is cleared away and it appears to be mandatory to have a clothes maiden, complete with clothes, in the bathroom. Not just anywhere but actually blocking the view of the bathroom so that the clothes maiden is all that you really see. The beds must not be made and if possible, be covered in lots of clutter; again clothes seem to be a popular choice. In the kitchen, worktops must not be cleared, remember clutter is key!

In France it also appears to be a requirement that the person taking the photographs must have no knowledge of what makes a good photograph, and when taking a photograph of a room, one item, preferably of clutter or an item of furniture (that is not included in the sale) must take up the majority of the shot.

Word of warning number 3 - Try to look past the photographs used to sell the property; you may find a nice surprise

Difference number 4

In a certain town

UK translation – the property will be in that certain town

French translation – the property will be in a 30 km radius of that town, not necessarily anywhere near it, but within a 30 km radius. There is a reason for this ambiguity, in this part of France many properties are left empty, so it is for safety reasons, but when you are looking for a property in a ‘certain town’ be aware that you might be quite a distance away from it.

Word of warning number 4 – Arrange to meet the estate agent and let them drive you to the different properties, you’ll save a fortune in petrol.

Difference number 5

Estate agency opening times

Open 9 – 5.30

UK translation – the estate agent is available all day and may even work in the evening

French translation – the estate agent arrives in the office at 9.30, but this is too early to view a property, 11.30 is also not convenient as the estate agent closes for a two, sometimes even two and a half hour lunch at noon. The estate agent opens again for the afternoon but by 4.30 it is then too late to view a property as they will close at 5 – 5.30.

There are very small windows of opportunity to view a property with a French estate agent, if you get one, jump on it.

Also beware Christmas holidays, summer holidays and the many, many bank holidays that happen in France.

Word of warning number 5 – don’t plan on visiting too many houses in one day, and remember word of warning number 4, use the estate agents car!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody 

The difference between French and English estate agents

The difference between French and English estate agents

You may think that this is a strange topic to be writing about, after all selling a house is selling a house, can it really be that different?

And the simple answer is yes!

You really don’t notice the difference until you start to search for your dream property, and I would like to share the biggest differences and spill the beans on the terminology used in France (this may just be Brittany, but somehow I don’t think it is!).

Difference number 1

A beautiful garden

UK translation – you will step out of the house into a beautiful garden

French translation – you will buy a garden, but this is not necessarily anywhere near your house. The house you are buying may indeed be photographed with a beautiful garden, but this garden may actually belong to your neighbour. Your garden may be up the road, around the corner and next on the left! This was not something we found out until we spent a week in France viewing properties; we had asked for a garden or some land, we did not know that we had to ask for it to be attached to the property.

Word of warning number 1 – Ask where your garden is!

Difference number 2

Requires a little updating

UK translation – needs a little bit of updating

French translation – requires a bathroom, a kitchen and possibly one or more walls, floors or roof adding, and no, this is not an exaggeration! We viewed a number of properties that required a ‘little bit of updating’ one of these properties was so derelict that there was no way you could move into it, even the local wildlife were too afraid to enter it. On this occasion we had an extremely enthusiastic estate agent (who had given us torches to use and gallantly held the rickety, wobbly ladder required to get to the first floor) who was ever so excited about how we lucky we were, as we could add the bathroom of our dreams just here, and that it could be off the master bedroom that we could build just there, and once the walls were made secure we could add the window back into the original stone opening and the whole place would look amazing and how, as we didn’t have to make do with somebody else’s choices, we could really make the place our own.

Word of warning number 2 - Be very clear how much work you want to do on a property

Difference number 3

The photographs that are used

UK photographs – the house is dressed and shown at its best

French photographs – nothing in the house is cleared away and it appears to be mandatory to have a clothes maiden, complete with clothes, in the bathroom. Not just anywhere but actually blocking the view of the bathroom so that the clothes maiden is all that you really see. The beds must not be made and if possible, be covered in lots of clutter; again clothes seem to be a popular choice. In the kitchen, worktops must not be cleared, remember clutter is key!

In France it also appears to be a requirement that the person taking the photographs must have no knowledge of what makes a good photograph, and when taking a photograph of a room, one item, preferably of clutter or an item of furniture (that is not included in the sale) must take up the majority of the shot.

Word of warning number 3 - Try to look past the photographs used to sell the property; you may find a nice surprise

Difference number 4

In a certain town

UK translation – the property will be in that certain town

French translation – the property will be in a 30 km radius of that town, not necessarily anywhere near it, but within a 30 km radius. There is a reason for this ambiguity, in this part of France many properties are left empty, so it is for safety reasons, but when you are looking for a property in a ‘certain town’ be aware that you might be quite a distance away from it.

Word of warning number 4 – Arrange to meet the estate agent and let them drive you to the different properties, you’ll save a fortune in petrol.

Difference number 5

Estate agency opening times

Open 9 – 5.30

UK translation – the estate agent is available all day and may even work in the evening

French translation – the estate agent arrives in the office at 9.30am, but this is too early to view a property, 11.30am is also not convenient as the estate agent closes for a two, sometimes even two and a half hour lunch at noon. The estate agent opens again for the afternoon but by 4.30pm it is then too late to view a property as they will close at 5 – 5.30pm.

There are very small windows of opportunity to view a property with a French estate agent, if you get one, jump on it.

Also beware Christmas holidays, summer holidays and the many, many bank holidays that happen in France.

Word of warning number 5 – don’t plan on visiting too many houses in one day, and remember word of warning number 4, use the estate agents car.

The above is a humorous take on our personal experience of the house hunting process in the area of Brittany that we bought in. I am aware that in other areas of France it may be different and this entry was not intended to offend in any way.

Renovation Project - Replacing old french windows

Renovation Project - Replacing old french windows

Oh bugger, we have a letter from the planning department, it looks very exciting and it’s all in French (at some point I will get used to letters arriving that are in French, after all we do live in France!!!!!!) I read through it, to a point, and then John takes it and attempts to read through, I love it when he does this, he can’t read French but insists on looking at mail, maybe it will magically change to English? This is apparently a male thing, to be in charge of mail, and yes I do know that is a very sexist thing to say, but you know it’s true.

As far as I can see we have planning permission, but it does look like there are restrictions, and there is a date for 2 months in the future, I try to make an appointment at the planning office, but the planning officer is busy again, so I call into the estate agent and ask if they understand it, after all they must have seen these documents before.

The person in the estate agent is not sure as she also says that it is not clear with the date, I leave it with her and call back later in the day, she has managed to speak to the planning officer on the phone and we do have planning permission for our windows, but the planning office can change their mind in the next two months. 

We can go ahead but if they do change their minds we will have to put the old windows back (that will be fun as at the moment they are being held in place by screws and a piece of wood, we can’t believe they haven’t just fallen out on their own). We are also told that we cannot add external blinds to the windows, now when we put in the planning permission we had to provide 3 photographs of what the windows look like now and what they will look like, they very clearly showed that there were external shutters in place, when I pointed this out, I was told, oh if you already have them, then that’s OK!  How much notice has anybody in planning actually paid to what we are doing? But still not to complain as we can now install the new windows, the room should be warm then, there will be no more gales blowing through the rotten wooden frames.

I give John the good news. John has already painted the frames as they are much easier to paint before being fitted. 

The old window (not the new painted one!)

As we remove the old windows, the dust and rubbish that falls out is disgusting, parts of the frame just disintegrate as they are removed.

John has to remove some of the fittings with his grinder as they are enormous metal pegs, at this rate the fittings would have stayed for many more years than the windows. 

But they’re out and the window goes in. 

It takes a couple of days to get both fitted and the rubbish removed, the broken windows need to be taken to the tip, there is a bucket full of broken glass, these really were not safety glass windows! The frames with the rest of the glass panes are loaded into the car and I drive (very carefully!) to the tip, I’m doing so well until I drive over a bump and the car bounces, only slightly, but enough, I hear the crash from behind me, I now have the pleasure of removing, the even more, broken panes form the car, have you ever noticed how much more glass there is when it is broken?

Renovation Project - best mobile phone sim for Europe

Renovation Project - best mobile phone sim for Europe

After our busy day yesterday we have a day sorting out other issues, one of the biggest issues we have had since moving here is the mobile phone. We also travel a lot and had a fantastic package with Vodaphone, this gave us the option of ringing home and using our inclusive minutes, then they changed the package to a ‘much better deal’ which roughly translated meant that it was far too expensive to use. I came to an agreement last year when I lost my contract; it wasn’t a very nice agreement!

John has kept his as we wanted a phone for emergencies, we have broken down on the way to the airport and without the mobile phone, I dread to think what would’ve happened, and I still have nightmares of my daughter and the tiny baby being stranded.

Anyway, I digress, we have been looking for a good mobile that we don’t have to pay a fortune for every month to only use in an emergency and we have found one!

It is from Toggle mobile, via 0044, this phone gives us up to 9 European numbers which means that whatever country we are in we can have a local number, John was also able to transfer his Vodaphone mobile number over to this phone as well.

I feel so secure that we now both have a mobile that we can call each other on, but most importantly we have telephone numbers that our family and friends in the UK can call us on.

Our landline French telephone is amazing, you do not pay for telephone calls to landline numbers (almost anywhere in the world!) if you are from the UK you will realise how good this is, but it does not give free calls to mobile numbers.

This new mobile sim allows our friends and family to call us and they will only use their inclusive minutes, wherever we are in Europe (there is a worldwide option but we don’t really travel outside of Europe).

Setting it up was relatively easy and there is a helpline that actually has a person answering it!

We are really happy with the mobile sim and would recommend it to anybody that has family or friends in Europe, or are planning to travel to Europe.

Have a click on the 0044 advert at the top or bottom of this page and you will go through to the website, if you go through and buy, we do get a very small commission (they only cost £25 GBP, so it is a very small commission) but every little helps! And we would not recommend anything we have not used and are happy with, (we haven’t tried the world wide sim)

Disclaimer: This is a featured post

Renovation Project - Moving an old oil tank in France

Renovation Project - Moving an old oil tank in France

I’ve been a bit quiet for the past few days. since coming back we have started on a different job, we have a derelict barn just outside the back door and we have started to empty it, the roof is falling down but we have been able to store our wood in there, but now that the house is starting to get there, we actually need some where to start moving the tools to and the last bits of materials.

The barn also houses a very old oil tank that needs removing and we have our outside toilet in there, if you remember this was the happiest day of my life last year, when we discovered we had a toilet that worked, but times have moved on, we have thought about it and decided that we no longer require an outside toilet, after all we now have 3 other toilets how many places do you need to pee?

The barn is somewhere where you never look up, the roof has collapsed in places and where it is still up, you know that one big gust of wind and it will not stay there!

It is also the most disgusting place you can imagine, and believe me some parts of this house have been disgusting!

The cobwebs are not like the sort that you find in the living room (though obviously being the domestic goddess that I am, I never had cobwebs........) these are big enough and thick enough to actually be strong enough to hold slate!

The tank itself is enormous, and heavy. John makes sure that it is totally empty and removes the little bit of wall that had been built around it, all of the wood for the wood burner is piled into the toilet and it’s time to move the tank.

A friend of a friend has been looking for one and we have said that they can have it if they come and take it, Craig pops round to help move it out of the barn and we realise it cannot go in the back garden, so it is sat on our kitchen terrace (this is where you need a good imagination, it will be a kitchen terrace at some point, currently it is the piece of concrete outside the kitchen window).

A couple of days later someone arrives with a trailer and helps take it outside, it fits in the trailer (sort of!) and we watch it wobble down the road and think, thank goodness we are not in the car that is pulling it.

So the barn is a lot clearer, and we decide that yes, the toilet will definitely have to go, it will double the size of the space, john will be adding a flat roof to the barn so that it can be used as a workshop and the top can be a patio, these are happy days!

Renovation Project - Travelling to France by Ferry, bus and car!

Renovation Project - Travelling to France by Ferry, bus and car!

The past week has flown by and it’s now time for my mammoth journey home, I arrive in Bristol to catch the bus to Plymouth and whilst sat having a drink a young guy starts to chat, he is so interesting, he has come from South Africa to find his younger brother, who is living somewhere in Cornwall, he is really struggling with the weather, I think the cold is a bit of a shock to his system.

We chat for a while and then head off for the bus, I really hope he managed to find his family and had a good time in England.

I manage to find the ferry terminal with no problem, and enjoy the walk, as I am passing by the shops I see a small hardware shop and they have the exact hinges on display in the window, that I want for my kitchen, we have not found what I had wanted anywhere but here I am passing a shop window, it’s shut and there is no website, we will have to come back and try to find the shop again.

I have a couple of hours before the ferry leaves but luckily we can go aboard, I settle into my cabin and get ready for sleeping. It is at this point that I realise the cabins are not soundproof; I can hear the couple in the next cabin, Oh My God! I do not want to listen to this, please hurry up, please, please, please. Should I get up and flush the toilet a few times? Or would that be mean and very distracting for them? They’ve finished, it’s quiet, thank goodness, I want to go to sleep right now!

When I get off the ferry John is there to meet me, it’s so good to be home, I can’t wait to see what he’s done.

I’m not disappointed, we now have a whole new floor in the living/dining room, it’s so nice and it actually feels warm underfoot. All of the skirting boards are on and John has even managed to get the skirting boards to follow the curve of the hallway.

John do I tell you often enough I love you? If not, I do and thank you 

Renovation Project - Birthday celebrations in the UK

Renovation Project - Birthday celebrations in the UK

I’m all sorted, I have my tickets, it’s time for my mammoth trek to the UK. We set off on time, and arrive at the port with no problems. Whilst booking in I start to think do I really want to spend the next 6 hours getting sea sick and wandering around a boat on my own, it is only an extra £16 to have a cabin. I book the cabin, at least I can be ill in the privacy of my own little space (and these cheap cabins really are little spaces).

They can only be described as floating metal coffins, so for someone who is scared of the water and quite claustrophobic, they are not ideal but compared to spending 6 hours sat at a bar or cafe feeling sick there is not much choice.

One thing we do realise is that even though Brittany Ferries are a French company all transactions are in GBP (British pounds) the exchange rate is not good so if you are using Brittany ferries, try to make sure you have some sterling with you!

The crossing is problem free and I arrive in Plymouth, next part of the trek is to find the bus station, the woman on the customs desk is very helpful and gives me a map which I then duly follow, but as I can get lost with a sat nav, I don’t hold out much luck, I appear to be following a man from the ferry, who also has a suitcase, so I assume he is going to the same place and wonder if I should just follow him. This is something I have done many times in the car, when you are stuck in a traffic jam, if a car pulls out and turns into a side street, I assume they know an alternative route, so I follow and over 50% of the time they do, only once have I ended up stopping at somebody’s drive on a housing estate!

Luckily he changes direction at an obvious point and I check with some women that I am going in the right direction.

I pass the Plymouth Christmas markets and start to feel excited again, I will be seeing my daughter and the baby soon, I also spy a traditional, award winning Cornish pasty stall and have to stop for a cheese and onion pasty, these are unbelievable from Cornwall, so tasty and so much filling, especially award winning ones, this stall lied!!!!!!!!! It was rubbish and I don’t think I tasted any cheese with the potato it was filled with!

I find the bus station and wait for my bus, I cannot remember the last time I caught a bus, but to be honest they were not how I remembered, the seats were comfy, and there were seat belts, reading lights and even a toilet!

I arrive at Bristol and wait for my brother, he arrives with my daughter, it is so good to see her, but she spends the majority of the journey explaining that the baby is going through one of those phases where she won’t go to people she doesn’t know very well, and that I am not to get upset if she won’t go to me, I brace myself, and when I walk in, her little face lights up and she puts her arms out to me, she does remember me, I am so happy, I had been terrified that she would not know me, but she does, thank you so much Skype.

We have a nice night with my brother and his family then head back to Cheshire the following morning.

We spend the week enjoying our time together and get to visit the Christmas Markets in Manchester, these are really amazing and the bratwursts are fantastic.

 

We also spend a day in Liverpool and I find it funny that the Liverpool football club shop and the Everton Football shop are next to each other only separated by a small perfume shop, it is explained to me that this is to stop the smell from each other going into each other (I am not sure if this is the original reasoning behind the planning of the shops)

I get to spend some quality time with my mum, which involves lots of cakes, the best we found were at the Cheshire Gap, this is a deli in Macclesfield, the cakes in the window are fantastic and you pick the one you like, then walk in the shop and find there are hundreds to choose from, I want them all. Though the staff on duty were a little taken aback when I asked if I could photograph the display for the blog, I’m not sure they were too happy about it, but hey, now the good name has been spread worldwide!

And then we have the birthday party, this is the reason I have come back, my little baby granddaughter is 1, she is now a little girl and she looks so cute, she loves the balloons, and the cake and is mesmerised by the sparkler candle, we Skype John as we are about to sing happy birthday so he can be with us. It was such a special time.

I also get to see the baby take her first step, a very quick one, but one never the less, this means I have never missed a first with her yet.

When you leave family behind, especially babies you panic constantly that you will miss everything, and they will forget you (don’t think that this won’t happen to you, because it will) but if you can get back to visit and use Skype, they know who you are and somehow save up their first for your visits (or they have very nice parents that say that this is the first time).

I am happy and ready to go back to France, I try to talk them into coming with me but they won’t, can’t understand why not, all it means is leaving nursery, partner, work, home...... OK maybe I can see why they won’t come with me, but I can always try.

See you back in France

French planning permission problems (and a few others too!!!!)

French planning permission problems (and a few others too!!!!)

We have just had an e-mail about the planning permission, it’s all in French and I am struggling to translate it, but it looks like it says something about 2 months?????

I go to the planning office to see if they can confirm what it says but the planning officer is not in until Tuesday and I leave for the UK tomorrow!

There is no point in making an appointment for John as the planning officer does not speak any English, I e-mail it over to Theresa instead, she has completed many planning applications and her French is better than mine.

I was right, it is saying it will take 2 months instead of the normal 1 month; this is because our planning officer has to send it to another department because we are in a national park. It’s going to be another cold winter. Theresa calls the new office for us and asks whether we need to go in or take any more evidence, we don’t its simply letting us know in writing that we might not hear for 2 months, I think this is very efficient until Theresa explains that normally if you do not here back within 1 month it means you can assume that planning has been granted and you can just go ahead, we have heard, so we can’t!

I am off to the UK tomorrow and am so organised, I pack today, I even do all of the clothes washing and drying, for the first time ever I am not taking clothes that need washing or wet clothes with me, I have a fully packed suitcase! I will print my tickets off later.

As John will be laying the floor whilst I am gone he sets about fixing the fire place. Currently the wood burner is sat on some old stones but these are in line with where the wall used to lie, as we have added the new mantel piece we want the hearth to be in line with this. I really wanted old stone to be added but we were not able to find anything to suit and John explained that if we use concrete it can be made to look like old stone.

First he has to make a mould to keep it in place, this is done by using a piece of wood held in place by stones, then the mix is made on the floor, there is a good point to having this old floor down!

Once mixed it is shovelled into place and we just have to wait for it to go off.

 

I go to do some food shopping; we need to make sure that John has enough food for the week, as he is going to be too busy to go out shopping! Its nice how many friends have offered to cook for him to make sure he eats well, but as I point out, look at him can you imagine him not eating well!!!

It’s 10 pm, the fridge is stocked, the hearth has set, my bags are packed so time to print off the tickets before an early night for my journey tomorrow.

Ha ha ha did you really think that everything would go so smoothly? Of course it doesn’t, the printer runs out of ink!!!!!! I have my ferry tickets printed, but the bus ticket will not print (no matter how much we shake the cartridges!!!!!) I call Sheila down the road and her computer system is not working, she calls her friend at the B&B, her printer is not working! BUGGER!!!!!!!!! I have no option but to call Theresa, it’s after 10.30 now, it’s far too late to be calling people but we leave at 7 am and that’s far too early to be calling people.

Luckily they are still up, so I e-mail the tickets, but take my laptop for just in case, we arrive there and it’s a total technological breakdown, the ticket won’t show on Theresa’s e-mail, so we set up my laptop, find the code for the wifi and then realise it is not set up for the printer, can this get any worse!!!!

I am thinking why on earth does a company have e-tickets if you have to print them off, why can’t I just show it on my phone and save a tree or two???

This is something you do have to be very careful about, one of the cheap airline companies we use regularly used to charge over £40 if you did not print your ticket off, I won’t name the company, but we used them from Dinard to East Midlands and recently I ranted about them stopping their flights, but for reasons of anonymity I won’t name and shame Ryannair, oops too late!

Apparently National Express also charge for non printed tickets, I don’t know how much but as I am going with no English currency I don’t want to get stuck at Plymouth.

We check once more and realise all we have to do is press the print on Theresa’s e-mail (this may sound obvious but it wasn’t, no images were showing so the print option was in very small letters not where you would expect it).

So it’s all printed and we’re ready to go! Thank you Theresa  (you can find Theresa here) Inkerman in Brittany