Stewart McIntosh answers:

The All Blacks can win it.. And I reckon they will…

Just this year the Under 20′s NZ Rugby Team won the World Cup Trophy so we should see some new youngsters from under 20′s injected into the All Blacks for the 2011 – Thats a bonus.. And this Under 20 team were in a league of there own this year.. There was no other team compatable for them to play against!

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Neil, please surrender your NZ passport now you pathetic excuse for a Kiwi.

Everybody knows with our limited stadia this is the last chance we’ll ever get to solely host the RWC as it becomes a bigger and bigger event. The work done by Jock Hobbs and the NZRU was a fantastic achievement – and you want to give it away!

If you can’t be bothered to support the minnows that’s your choice, but I’d go along to any game that was on in my town. Kiwis with real pride will make the event a success.

Just what is your point re Anzac Day?

Stewart McIntosh answers:

1. The try was controversial because when the ball is taken to the ground near the try line in must be placed over the try line straight away. It was debatable that the ball was placed behind the try line and then over it. This is not allowed and doesn’t count. The fact the “try” was scored on the line (which is allowed) is also controversial.
2. There are fifteen players in professional rugby:
1:Loosehead prop
2:Hooker
3:Tighthead prop
4/5:Second Row
6:Blindside Flanker
7:Openside Flanker
8: Number 8
9: Scrum Half
10:Flyhalf
11:Left Wing
12:Inside center
13:Outside Center
14:Right Wing
15:Fullback

3. 7 substitutes are allowed in rugby union and in rugby leage 12 changes are allowed to be made with 4 men on the bench at any one time.

4.Phases are the time between tackles (going to ground) or until the next ruck

5. The game is played for 80 mins so that would mean a quarter is 10 minutes.

6. Yes France is a respected team, sadly for me as I support England XD. As much as I hate to admit they are very good.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Well it may be a little early to predict yet, but If we analyze the teams individually I’m certain we can get a fairly accurate prediction at who is going to be making waves in New Zealand.

First off you picked New Zealand and South Africa as favorites. True, New Zealand will expect to do well in the tournament having home advantage as well as a world class squad. I’d fancy them to play some good rugby during the tournament but I can’t see them winning it. Their pool match against France will serve as a tricky fixture and if they loose their the Kiwi’s feathers wil be rightly ruffled.

New Zealand Prediction: Finish second in pool behind France, Semi-Final exit.

Okay, South Africa next. You also picked them as favorites, I’m sorry but I strongly disagree with that. South Africa had a horrible Autumn Test Series and looked like a hugely overrated and also tired side. John Smit isn’t what he used to be nor is Bryan Habana, Tendai Mtawarira and Pierre Spies are immensly overrated players. Then again alot could happen in two years. There lucky to have Wales in their group. If they had a stronger side such as Ireland or France paired with them they could be in serious trouble.

South Africa Prediction: First in Pool D but may be pushed by the brave Fijians and Samoans, Quarter-Final exit.

France, what a great side. After years of tinkering head coach Marc Lievremont has managed to string together a side that exuberates brilliance. They have a strong forward pack led by the amazing Thierry Dusatoir and their backs are nothing to be ashamed of either. Weakness? Well it’s hard to pick one out really but I have to say their fly-half Francois Trihn-Duc looks a little, “frail” at times to say the least. How crucial will a weak fly-half be? We’ll have to wait and see.

France Prediction: Winners of Pool A, likely finalists. Winners? Definitely a possibilty.

England have a better chance than Ireland, Scotland and Argentina? Sorry but no. There are some great players in the England squad like, Dylan Hartley (Future England Captain), Simon Shaw (Getting on a bit now though) and Lewis Moody. They’ve also got a great blend of youth in the side, Dan Cole, Dave Wilson, Courtney Lawes, Toby Flood and Matthew Tait to name but a few. England haven’t been great these last few years though and I don’t expect them to buck this trend before 2011. But, it’s a tough one to call.

England Prediction: It’s all going to come down to that crucial game against Scotland in Eden Park. Even if they win it though I’d still expect them to be heading home in the quarter-finals.

Australia, are a team that are really investing in their youth and it’s going to pay off. Come New Zealand, the Wallabies will have built a strong side which will be tough for anyone to beat. The likes of, Quade Cooper, Rodney Davies and David Pocock are all still very young and it’s going to be these youngsters who are likely to win the Webb Ellis Cup for the Wallabies.

Australia Prediction: Will finish first in pool after a tight match with Ireland. Finalists against France, expect the final to be a cracker.

Argentina were very poor during the Autumn I must admit. But, they can’t let this get them down! Argentina have a full starting XV of world class players and I firmly beleive that on a good day Argentina can beat any side home or away. They might not emulate their run at France 2007 but surely their going to make some waves in New Zealand.

Argentina Predictions: Pool B winners, will fight hard against Kiwis in quarters but I can’t see them getting through. Quarter-Finalists.

Scotland finally have some guidance under new head coach Andy Robinson who was appointed in the Autumn, already their showing to be a changed side. Could have been possible triple crown winners this season if they could just manage to finish off their opponents a little better. Great back-row (The Killer B’s!) and their half back combination of Chris Cusiter and Dan Parks seems to be functioning well.

Scotland Predictions: Again it’s down to that game VS England in Eden Park, unless of course they beat Argentina in Christchurch. Likely to finish Second in Pool, Quarter-Finalists.

Wales had a terrible Six Nations and Autumn Tests and Gatland’s magic which brought them a Grand Slam in 2008 seems to be wearing off on them. Ryan Jones is a terrible player and a poor captain. Without leadership or real quality it’s tough to see them getting past the group stage. Very inconsistent.

Wales Prediction: Unless they clean up their act in the next two years there going home to Fiji again. Third in Pool, behind Fiji. Possibly even fourth if Samoa beat them.

Italy put up a fight in this years Six Nations it must be said and let’s not forget they were minus their excellent skipper Sergio Parrise. They seem to have closed the gap a little between themselves and the other five nations competing in Europe’s premier Rugby tournament. Still I can’t see them getting p

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRPVwlNZotc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5LpXOQlHQs&feature=related (starts at 1:48)

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I’ll give you the vocab for it.
Je suis allée-I went
J’ai fait-I did/made
en/au-In (feminie/masculine)
Irlande-Ireland
France-Frane
Italie-Italy
Mexique-Mexico

à-to
la plage-the beach
J’ai nagé-I swan
Nager-To swim (It’s a regular ER verb)
dans la mer-In the sea
piscine-Swimming pool
J’ai rencontré de nouveaux amis-i met new friends
J’ai joué-I played
au tennis-tennis

J’ai resté à la maison-I stayed at home
Je suis allée chez Mary beaucoup-I went to Marys place a lot

J’ai eu-I had
J’ai pris-I took/had
J’ai mangé-I ate
J’ai bu-I drank

Need help with anything else just add details.

= )

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Why do you want a French Company when you are traveling to Spain or ITaly????

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Hi!
Lib is right about summer vacation !

Until high school you officially have holiday between June 30th and beginning of september (mostly on the first Tuesday or Wednesday of September because teachers start school before students so they have to go on Monday or Tuesday before students).

Mostly for those students who don’t have exam, school ends around June 15th (to let free space for those who have exam (in Collège you have Brevet des Collège (when you’re 14/15 years old) and in Lycée you have high school degree (at 16/17 years old you have French exam and at 17/18 years old you have all the other classes ((maths, sciences etc)).

For these students (because you’re not allowed to work before you turn 16) they go to summer camps or daily summer camps (or just hang out with their friends, go to visit their family) or go on holiday with their parents (or friends parents sometimes). Mostly students start to work around the age of 18 because nobody want to hire underage people.

For university students mostly there are between 2 and 4 months holiday (between may and September). Most of them have summer jobs (a lot of students like to work as youth leader in summer camps because you can be hired even if you are only 17 years old or do typically summer jobs (rescue worker at a swimming pool, tourism industry or in factories (very usual) etc). They use that money to finance their studies.

Sometimes for those whose parents can pay they spend time abroad for foreign language classes or work abroad and learn the foreign language at the same time (but it’s less usual).

Hope this will help you

good luck for your article!

Stewart McIntosh answers:

You have chosen just about the worst weekend possible to travel on the french autoroutes. The french holiday in August, either the first 2 weeks or the last two weeks. So, the weekend that you will travel will be “transition week” (for want of a better term) on which half of France will be travelling to the coast – and the other half going in the opposite direction. The autoroutes are often referred to as “routes of steel” as they are solid with cars and caravans. And August 15th is the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary which, in some parts of France, causes extra problems with fetes and parades!! The one good thing about that weekend is that, like all weekends in August, there will be no heavy lorries on the autoroutes from Friday at 18.00 until Monday at 06.00. They are banned.
If I had to cross to France on Aug.13 I would try to arrive in the early hours of the morning and head straight for the Vendee. You have around 700 km to drive (Calais to la Rochelle).
However, all is not lost!! The French Routes Nationales (RN) are of very high quality and, with some planning, you could work out a route from Calais avoiding the motorways. And such a route, whilst, potentially longer and slower, would be more interesting and and less frustrating. The French also have the routes called “Bison Fute” (there should be an accent over the “e”) which are alternatives to the autoroutes. (try googling Bison Fute). These are signposted and cover most of France. Another alternative would be to use the Michelin routefinder facility (rather like the AA’s but better for France) which will give you an autoroute free routes and also give you an approximation as to the cost of your fuel.
Do you have a satnav? I use a Tom Tom 1XL with euromapping (in tandem with a Michelin route) and it is brilliant. You can ask it to work out an autofree route which can save you toll fees.
Should you travel through the night?? Without a doubt but many French could have the same idea.
Whatever you do, don’t drive when tired. It could prove fatal. Keep the car windows open and, if possible, the radio/cd player on. Stop regularly and drink coffee (take a flask) or whatever.
Fortunately, we have always travelled midweek as we had long holidays and towed a caravan and never had an accident in nearly 30 years of travelling in France.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Apply for an International Driver’s Permit (IDP) at any American Automobile Association (AAA) branch. To get your permit, you must be at least 18 years old, have two 2-by-2-inch photos, a driver’s license, the fee and your AAA application. You must have an IDP to drive in France.

Rent a car. Book your own car at a rental car company Web site or work with your travel agent to find a good deal.

Know what kind of gas your rental takes. Most rental cars either take unleaded (sans plomb), diesel (gazole) or LPG. You can save money by filling up at a supermarket rather than a gas station along the motorway.

Know the speed limits. The speed limit on the motorway is 130 kph. The speed limit is 80 kph on major roads and 50 kph inside town. The speed limits are slightly lower when road conditions are wet, so be careful and always observe posted speed limits.

Familiarize yourself with traffic signs and French driving phrases. “Sortie” means exit, and “route barree” means road closed. “Sens-unique” translates to one-way. Use a French phrase book to translate other road signs.

Familiarize yourself with the French highway system. The Autorote Network is the highway system comprised of motorways and freeways. These roads can be either tolled or free. Free roads will have green direction signs, and tolled roads will have blue direction signs.

France has strict drink driving laws, blood alcohol levels being stricter than in the UK or US (0.5 mg/ml rather than 0.8). Rather than present you with meaningless figures relating to blood/breath alcohol levels, our advice is if you’re driving, don’t drink.

Seat belts front and rear are obligatory everywhere.

Speed limits are implemented rigorously. Radar traps are frequent. In France, anyone caught travelling at more than 25km/h above the speed limit can have their licence confiscated on the spot.

Be aware that urban speed limits begin at the town or city sign (not always where the first 50km/h sign is situated), usually denoted by a white name panel with a red border, and the limit ends where the name panel has a diagonal black bar through it.

Price of petrol is around 1.45 Euro / liter. Depending the car the tank contains from 40 to 80 liters, you have to ask when you rent the car.

To help you, this site explains lots of things:

http://www.americansinfrance.net/Driving/

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I have done the Amsterdam UK route more times than I care to remember and I guess my main advice would be don’t worry :0)

As you have been driving for a couple of years then it’s good because you need to be 18 minimum to drive in continental Europe. With a couple of years behind you then at least you have got a bit of experience behind you and presumably are used to driving on motorways – which is basically the whole of the journey to Amsterdam

Advice – well a couple of things spring to mind.

All of the mentioned countries have different rules & regulations e.g. Things that are mandatory vs advised that you should carry with you at all times and as a result I would advise you check the AA site as it has some really good info for this both on driving in Europe in general http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/index.html and then a PDF file with driving requirements per country http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/countrybycountry.html

It’s something also to consider about membership of the AA/RAC depending on your car. Buying membership in advance in the UK would give you cover for all the countries mentioned and it would be a lot cheaper than buying it roadside. I remember as a student breaking down in Belgium and having to buy membership for a year minimum in Belgium knowing I would never use it again!

This is usually the thing which most people are curious about and to be honest, once you get into the swing of it then it becomes very easy, very quickly. The most dangerous part is the beginning of any journey – so a simple post-it to remind you to drive on the other side helps (again I have a vivid memory of my Dad driving with me in the passenger side and a man seeing this foreigner driving on the other side of the road!

When you get off the ferry then just follow the flow of the other cases and don’t be in a rush to overtake until you feel comfortable. The only thing that I find I have to actually think about is when you come to roundabouts.

However do read up about the roadsigns and rules of driving as “right of way” rules are different than in the UK and you can get people pulling out from the right in front of you and they have the right of way.

If you can get your hands on a satnav then this would save the hassle of having to make sure you don’t miss any turn off’s and gives peace of mind – however that being saidf, it’s a relatively easy journey. The only advice I would give about this is to make sure that you have a routeplanner sheet or map in your car if the GPS goes haywire. Also think about timings. Traffic around Antwerp, Rotterdam & up to Amsterdam can be pretty diabolical at peak commuter hours and you might want to avoid this.

Check the prices from the route you want to take – Eurotunnel is always expensive in my experience and generally Norfolk Lines & Sea France crossings tend to be cheaper than P&O. Also crossing early mornings can save a fair bit of money.

The last piece of advice (from someone who used to live there) – if you are intent on taking your car to Amsterdam then seriously consider parking outside of Amsterdam e.g. In one of the P&R garages. Few hotels in the centre have parking (and it is rarely free). Parking in Amsterdam is an absolute nightmare – even if you can find a space then you are looking at a minimum of €4 per hour parking. The streets are narrow, congested and you have to fight your way with buses, trams, bikes and locals driving – it’s really not a great experience if you value your car! You can read about P&R here http://www.amsterdam.info/parking/park-ride/ , here http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100718082802AAgccu1 and http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/touristinformation/gettingaround/parking You can also consider parking at the long-term parking at Schiphol airport. If you book in advance then it can be cheap as €5 per day and then it’s an easy ride to Amsterdam centre by train http://www.schiphol.nl/Travellers/ToFromSchiphol/Parking/SchipholSmartParking.htm

Well that’s all I can think of, and certainly enough to get you going!

Best of luck

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I did pretty much the same route a week ago and it cost around 150 euros, but i did all the way on toll roads.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

If driving from L’Pool to London is no problem for you then Calais to Lyon is just the same. On the French motorways just drive on the right Which is their inside lane.

I drove from Aberdeen to Morocco in a week with no problems at all. In fact Aberdeen to Carlisle was the hardest part.

No idea of cost but use Google Earth to calculate the mileage.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Here’s my guess:
Frantic (1988)
starring Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley
IMDb synopsis:
A doctor and his wife go to Paris for a medical conference. While showering, his wife disappears. His lack of language, and the odd way she disappeared makes it nearly impossible for him to find any official help in his search as he enters the punk/drug culture to find out what has happened to her.
Here are the movie trailer and Part 1 on YouTube:

It opens with credits over cars driving, so perhaps the end credits are the same. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen it, so I can’t say for certain.

Ford’s character is accompanied by a young Frenchwoman who might be mistaken for a prostitute; she’s a sort of “party girl”, who goes to nightclubs, including one frequented by older men with youthful “dates”.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

If you were in Belgium try a Belgian newspaper search. If in France, then a French newspaper search.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Impossible to give you an accurate answer as the section of the A7 you will be using is over 200 kilometres. Please supply an idea of where you would like to stop, a name of a town would be useful.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

It is called a Eurovignette. Within France you are charged for using the motorways depending on the mileage you have clocked up. In Switzerland you have to buy a permit, you can buy the for 1 day,week, month,year, depending on how long you are going to be in the country. I think you only need an International Driving Licence if you are going to Turkey and Far East however it is reccommened to get an International Driving Permit which you can obtain from the Post Office.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I am afraid to say that we are not the best drivers in the world and not very courteous behind the wheel

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Of course!
Try www.viamichelin.co.uk and you will get all the info you need!

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Easy. Just trains go through. And it is really 2 tunnels, each one way. Plus a third service tunnel.

Chalk another solution up to the Engineer’s of the world.

admin answers:

I would say the bigger issue to me is more likely that he is blind! Being legally blind doesn’t mean a person can’t see anything (I read recently that being blind is when you can’t see at 200 feet what a person with normal vision can see at 20 feet), but it doesn’t mean a person is safe to drive.

I know people who can drive after drinking (not to say they’re drunk, but you can have some alcohol and still be ok to drive based on what you’ve eaten, your tolerance, how much you drank and over what period of time, how long it’s been since you drank, etc.). Granted, these men seem too intoxicated to have good judgment (obviously!) or the ability to drive safely. It’s illegal and dangerous to drive without a license (I feel that, generally speaking, there’s a reason a person doesn’t have a license – in this case, visual impairments at least).

Regardless of which is worse (drunk or blind), combined is completely inexcusable!!!

Makes me nervous since I’m actually moving to this city soon. Eeek! :/

admin answers:

When I was growing up we did drive around at 14 years of age, not legally but we were trusted more and there was not as much pressure that younger people today are facing.

DECEMBER 2007

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,490 drivers in this age group died in motor vehicle crashes in 2006 and an additional 272,000 were injured.

Drivers age 15- to 20-years old accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes.

Twenty-five percent of teen drivers killed were intoxicated. In 2002 (latest data available) the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 was $40.8 billion.

Among licensed drivers, young people between the ages of 15 and 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes relative to other age groups, including the elderly. In fact, the risk of being involved in a fatal crash for teens is three times greater than for drivers age 65 to 69.

Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens. Graduated licensing laws, which include a three-phase program that allows teen drivers to develop mature driving attitudes and gain experience behind the wheel, have been successful in reducing teen motor vehicle accidents.

admin answers:

I always used my Maryland Driver Licence to rent cars even from small towns in Italy, France , Britain , Germany and Spain over the pst fifteenn years with no problems.

admin answers:

Go for it! How about starting to drive those routes from England to France now, to get used to the Country a bit, get the proper licensing and start picking up the language. Not to mention driving on the right side of the truck and road. Eventually if you can do it well coming from the UK side, then you can establish contacts in France and see where you may want to live while learning French.

I don’t know any agency etc, but I think if you drive these routes for a while you’ll find all of the inside info that you need to fufill your dream. Bon Chance!