In the 1970s and thereabouts, Miroku made side-by-side shotguns for a number of American distributors (Charles Daly and Montgomery Ward) in both 12- and 20-bore as well as selling the same models under their own name. Amazingly, on what appear to be very straightforward, relatively inexpensive shotguns, these little beauties gun have chopper lump barrels! << MORE >>

When I was a child, my mother told me that her grandfathers had worked in two of Birmingham's major industries: the gun and the jewellery trades.  By the time I was born, the family had moved away from the Midlands, I felt no link to Birmingham and investigated no further.  A life in the shooting sports eventually lead to an interest in British shotguns and an urge to find some information on my great-grandfather, William Spendlove. << MORE >>

I used to work with a lawyer who liked to say 'Too soon we grow old, too late we grow smart'. All too true. Since moving away from film, I have always used Canon digital SLRs, starting with an EOS D30, followed by a 10D and a 20D and a small selection of Canon L series lenses. If you use L series lenses you will know the problem: buy one and you are hooked, the image quality is unbelievable. << MORE >>

"Automatic carpark cases under the building of reception before taking your vehicle". Que?<< MORE >>

Three years ago (in fact, exactly three years ago, to the day) we signed the papers to sell our French house and set off to enjoy the rest of the day by driving over Col du Tourmalet and going for a walk above La Mongie. On the way back to the car, we 'acquired' a herd of goats which decided that we looked like their new owners. This year, we found ourselves above La Mongie on the same path on another beautiful October day...<< MORE >>

Driving down a French motorway I saw the word bois on the side of a lorry. 'Bois' meaning both wood (the substance) and wood (as in forest) retains the same spelling in the latter context both in the singular and the plural. This set me thinking (you have to think about something on a 600km drive). We also have a selection of words in English which retain the same spelling both in the singular and the plural, e.g. sheep, deer, salmon, and the occasional word with an optional plural, e.g. fish/fishes. << MORE >>

Our trip has so far stretched from the eastern Pyrenees, up through the Auvergne to the Loire. 3G has been widely available, perhaps surprisingly so, dropping to Edge occasionally, then dropping out completely on occasion. Driving up to Blois from Clermont Ferrand on the autoroute, 3G was patchy, regularly dropping out where SFR's signal was replaced by that of another provider (to whose 3G service I was not subscribed).<< MORE >>

I have an online business meeting mid-week (holiday notwithstanding) and I need to be sure that, absent wifi, I will have enough 3G credit to see me through 1-2 hours of a Webex presentation, but how much credit do I have left? Using the SFR online help facility, it appears that I need to access the Consulter mon info conso. << MORE >>

After the initial 3 days of 3G access expired (they were included in the cost of the SIM) it was time to buy additional time online. There was a time when the only place that might not accept a non-French credit/debit card was a French petrol station, but that time is long past; foreign credit/debit cards are accepted everywhere along as they are of the 'chip & pin' variety. Sadly, SFR is the new petrol station ......<< MORE >>

The Treaty of the Pyrenees which settled the border between France and Spain in 1659 caught several villages 'on the wrong side' and the deal was that they would simply change nationality (life was so simple before democracy!). However the town of Llivia, the former Roman oppidum of Julia Libica (population currently about 1600 but technically a city at the time of the Treaty due to its former status of capital of Cerdanya) retained its Spanish nationality and now exists as an exclave of Spain... << MORE >>