Labour Of Love Gites

This is it!

2009-01-04T20:26:00.009+01:00

Christmas revels at Le Camélia

Well, it was touch and go - you know how it is - oh I have plenty of time to do this that and the other - Oh my God, they're arriving tomorrow! The only thing that we hadn't finished was the external flue to the log burner - quite important for people staying in December but it was sooo expensive to buy the necessary double lined stuff and not enough time to buy and build a chimney. In the end I borrowed several heaters and prayed that the electricity bill wouldn't bankrupt me - that remains to be seen. We had both my sons with us from 18th to 28th Dec after which my older son left to meet up with friends in Paris for New Year and the younger one stayed to 2nd and then both departed to the warmer climes of Saudi. I think they had a good time, made the most of being able to have a drink and eat all things porcine so we had bacon butties, sausages, ham, spare ribs, roast pork, to name but a few. Anyway the real purpose of this posting is to announce for all the world to see, (and gasp in admiration) that Le Camélia is officially finished - well - apart from the paving outside which is a spring job. So here are photos to prove it:

Le Camelia Update

2008-10-15T14:46:00.016+02:00

No time to enjoy the view from the kitchen window, the farmer still has all that dead brush to clear....

Or the view from the upstairs grenier window ...

Ian's been hard at it and here's the proof:

Outside ......

Started the repointing

And inside ......

So won't be long before it's all finished. We are now taking bookings for Le Camelia from next April and all bookings taken before 2009 will be at 2008 prices. Watch this space for more regular updates on the project.

And in September ....

2008-10-15T13:01:00.008+02:00

We attended the wonderful annual Rendezvous sur Erdre in Nantes which is always held on the last/1st weekend of August/September and once again it didn't disappoint. Great atmosphere, lovely crowds, fantastic music of all genres although it's supposed to be jazz & blues in the main. Once again I was spellbound by the South American dancers (Kapowera) doing their thing and this time there was a lad of no more than 7 or 8 with them so they must start pretty young to get that agile. We had a great time and will definitely go again next year.

The following weekend there was a garden festival in a park in Nantes, wonderful place and wall to wall stalls of plants for sale. Not a good place for a plantaholic with no money.... Of course I did indulge my vice and bought some more 'necessary' plants and even Ian succumbed to some lovely heuchera for his shady spot by the patio in Coeur de Chene. I loved their bug sculptures made of wood, I wish I had the imagination to make my own.

I had a new pet for a very brief time, it was a lovely huge moth who answered to the name of Monty. Unfortunately only 24 hours after we met he was dead. I later had him identified as a Convolvulous tiger moth, apparently quite common on the med and north Africa - he was so cute..

Well we had a miserable July & August as did most of Europe, but from September onwards it's been pretty good and almost made up for it. My bookings have increased yet again but with the miserable £ v € rate we haven't gained much at all. Of course it hasn't helped that every available euro has gone into building materials for Le Camelia but I have been very fortunate in inheriting a lot of lovely furniture from a very good friend in the UK who is revamping her home. Ian and I made the speedy trip over to collect it with the horse box (a very very useful vehicle indeed) and came back loaded to the gunnels. Well summer is truly over now and the days are ever shorter, I've joined a French conversation group in Redon this year which runs 2 morning sessions on Tuesdays (then straight on to Patchwork) and Fridays. I'm hopeful that it will get me talking with more confidence although I & a few others feel it would be better if we could have a morning for those like us who still take time to utter our sentences as at the moment we are drowned out by the more confident speakers.

July update

2008-10-13T17:48:00.005+02:00

At the end of June, my son and his wife arrived to visit. They were here just in time to see the Tour de France come through Guemene. On the 7th July we waited by the bridge and were really surprised to see the extent of the entourage that precedes the actual race. Incredible looking cars and floats entertained us for a couple of hours until the cyclists zipped past in seconds and it was all over.

At the end of July we decided to have a mini break and drove to Amboise, I'd booked a B&B in the town thinking that it would be lovely to be able to stroll around in the evening, have a meal and not worry about an extra glass of wine and driving back to some place in the sticks. The weather was fantastic, and we were charmed by the tiny little chambre d'hote wedged between two other building opposite the castle walls. Perfect we thought. After looking around Amboise castle (I had no idea that Leonardo da Avinci was buried there), I was even more delighted to find that there was an evening market being set up. Our room was on the 1st floor seen here with the windows open. The market was in the road between us and the castle walls, we thoroughly enjoyed it and had our evening meal al fresco at one of the stalls.

After a stroll along the Loire we decided that in order to get an early start to see Chaumont-sur-loire the next day, it was time to go to bed and sleep. Famous last words - what hadn't occured to either of us is that being so central had a price to pay - the stall holders started packing up at midnight, enjoyed a van door slamming competition until at least 1.30am and no sooner had I started dozing off, some lovely lads decided to have a street party. This was at top volume with singing, shouting and trumpet playing until 3am. By this time Ian had stomped off with the duvet and curled up on the bathroom floor where he slept all night. I suffered on, and finally managed to get to sleep but (you couldn't make it up) was very cruelly and rudely awakened at 6.30am by a pressurised steam cleaning van going up and down outside. It stopped at 9am by which time I'd given up and got up. The B&B owner assured us that the next night would be 'tres tranquil' and people at Chaumont must have thought us very odd as we napped at regular intervals under every available tree. It's a wonderful place and the reason we picked it to visit was the annual international garden festival: www.domaine-chaumont.fr I have to say though that it's probably better to go as soon as the gardens open as by the end of July they were looking very past their best. I don't think they get much TLC once they're put in which is a great pity. While in the gift shop, Ian met a neighbour of his from Soulvache which just shows what a small world it really is. Not only that but they were also staying near Amboise and had booked to see the evening sound and light show that day just as we had. In fact we were only a row away from each other. Somehow we managed to stay awake long enough to have a lovely meal and see the show. It was lovely, a historical re-enactment of the chateaux's past with period costume and music. Of course it wasn't quite 'tres tranquil' as we heard people's goodbyes until nearly 1am after we returned to our B&B and guess what....... they hadn'd quite finished cleaning the street after the market so were back at 6.30 the next morning. As the weather was still lovely, we decided to go to nearby Chenonceau on the way home, www.chenonceau.com and really enjoyed it there. A beautiful place with so much history, however we didn't really do it justice as we were so tired by then and the weather had turned saultry and close. In fact we had the mother of all rain storms hit us on the motorway just outside Angers and luckily we were near a turnoff so we parked up and waited for it to pass. Even though the visibility was dreadful, we could still hear people driving past like lunatics. As mother always said "drive like lightening, crash like thunder" wise woman.

We returned in one piece in time to bid farewell to some lovely Irish guests who had booked la glycine for the whole of July no less, I could do with bookings like that next year - hint hint.

May update

2008-10-13T17:18:00.004+02:00

Sorry, sorry, sorry – a Samual Pepys I’ll never be, so much for writing my memoirs one day. Time just flies by and it’s October already so I’ll just write about the highlights – the ones I remember that is.

We finally managed to go to the Puy du Fou in May, they were doing a 30th birthday promotion and I got the tickets at half price. What a wonderful place, so much to see you need to get there early. Unfortunately we got there around 11am so missed the performace of the 3 muskateers and in seeing the others, also missed the Donjon spectacle but what we did manage to see was fantastic. The colloseum was great fun with an ‘evil emperor’ wanting to put Christians to death and duly booed by the delighted crowds. The stone age village attacked by Vikings was saved by the re-appearance of a dead bishop, there was a definate theme here, a christian country and proud of it with no thought for political correctness to be seen. The villages had amazing attention to detail, we were told that they were all made with reclaimed stone from ruins of authentic villages and we couldn’t see the joins. The gardens were magnificent, not a piece of litter anywhere, totally delightful to stroll through and come upon unexpected treats like controlling fountains to music in the middle of a lake. Our own personal favourite however was the bird show, I’d never seen anything like it with vultures swooping inches over the spectators heads as well as other birds of prey. Fantastic. Unfortunately we couldn’t see the night show as it was too early in the year but apparently it’s well worth the effort and all the men, women & children taking part are recruited from the local area and Puy du Fou pay them back by providing facilities for learning dance, riding, arts for the children. All in all a place well worth visiting, visit their website to see for yourselves: http://www.puydufou.com/ . That night I’d booked a Chambre d’hote in Tiffauges, a town about 15 km away. We managed to get lost so it took a while to find it and even when we arrived in Tiffauges I had to phone the owner to find the house. Turned out their website photo was taken from the garden (www.linternaute.com/hotel/chambre-d-hote/tiffauges/6782/le-petit-chateau.html) and it looked nothing like that from the street. However, there was nothing disappointing about the place, the hosts were truly charming and showed us around their home. They’d bought the Maison d’maitre a year ago and only just opened for business after a lot of work, apparently it was the local Gendarmarie until then. After a lovely meal in a restaurant overlooking Blue beard’s castle that evening, we slept well and the following morning after a substantial breakfast were given a tour of the extenisive gardens which contains an old tunnel to the Castle but which unfortunately has now collapsed. They also showed us the cells used by the gendarmes and I wouldn’t have liked a night in those. Useful for guests that don’t pay their bill though. Definitely a place I’d recommend for a lovely stop-over or holiday. Blue beards castle was a delight with workshops for children, a shadow puppet show, a cavern occupied by a mad scientist whose assistant looked (and acted) remarkably like Mr Bean while trying to turn base metal to gold and a great demonstration of various weapons of war as well as foot soldiers and knights in armour on horseback. All in all a great place to visit. http://www.chateau-barbe-bleue.vendee.fr/

Still too wet......

2008-03-26T15:16:00.013+01:00

It's like nothing's changed, still pouring with rain as I type although another month has passed since my last update. In that time I've been to England, visiting my mother on Mother's day and meeting up with old friends. Only slight hiccup to an otherwise smooth journey was the return, I was to fly from Southampton on 10th March but that was the day that the weather went particularly appalling in the south and after having spent most of the evening and early hours listening to dire forecasts and working myself up into a state of panic with visions of road crashes, train derailments and planes spiraling out of control (I know I have a vivid imagination) I ended up staying put in Bognor and flying out on the 12th instead. As it happened my original flight was only delayed by 2 hours but then the real problem for me was getting to the airport in one piece.

In my absence Ian had belted along on full steam, finishing the upstairs shower room, complete with tiled shower cubicle, boxed in pipe work and other nice touches. Since then he has put up the dividing walls, installed doors, and is now plastering throughout. The shower room

does still need finishing off with paint, wood stain, WC seat,

curtain and a varnished floor but I'll be on that job soon.

A lovely touch is the new landing newel posts, balusters and handrail which Ian's made out of old oak beams from a barn thrown out by our neighbouring farmer. Only cost us a couple of bottles of plonk and look a treat. Of course they've been sanded, treated and will be varnished but already add a lot of character.

While out carbooting in Redon the Sunday after my return, we just decided to visit Vannes again on the spur of the moment. It's a place we never tire of and we had a lovely afternoon there. I was particlarly impressed with the renovated washhouse building by the city walls, the craftmanship and attention to detail in the roof tiling is just breathtaking, the ridge tiling is also lovely with the ridges built up beautifully (don't know the technical name for it) between each tile. A gorgeous place, well worth visiting.

Whilst in England, I was browsing through my friend's gardening magazines and came across an article about a new rose which completely entranced me - it's not often I see something and think 'I've got to have it' but that's exactly what I thought this time. I tracked down the growers (http://www.jonestherose.co.uk/) and ordered their catalogue - bad move, they had so many wonderful roses that I ended up ordering 8! The one I fell in love with was Wild Rover, a lot prettier than the actor it was named for: Geoffrey Hughs. The others, equally spectacular are: Tenacious & Crazy for you; 3 climbers: Mme Alfred Carrier & Summer Wine for climbing over the roadside hedge and giving the back bedrooms a lovely view and scent and for the new barn porch, Times Past, a soft old fashioned rose with a gorgeous perfume. I also ordered 2 ground cover roses Hertfordshire and Pheasant. I really must stop buying plants even if these were much cheaper than in France, I was also pleasantly surprised at the reasonable P&P.

Well, Ian's off to the UK on the 31st for a well deserved rest, meeting up with his daughter and jetting to Italy for a couple of weeks. He returns on the 21st and then we have to take stock of our finances to see if we can actually finish the barn for this summer, bookings are being affected by the dreadfully low £ but I'm keeping fingers crossed that we get some more in the next month.

Too wet to garden so.....

2008-02-25T12:31:00.019+01:00

A handsome chuck at the lockkeepers cottage Our wonderful sunsets

Pots a plenty

Boats and restaurants in Blain

Incredible patterns made by wild mussels

No more leaks

New floor

As we’ve had such wonderful weather, the time seemed right to sort out a leaky roof. We’ve had water coming in between our roof and the barn roof; it’s such a strange configuration as on the roadside the barn roof is higher than ours but lower on the garden side. It was impossible to make it a continuous roofline and every time we have driving rain, there’s a leak. Ian shinned up there with all the grace and agility of a mountain goat (no, I’m not joking) and took down a tile width of slates form our roof, built up a ridge to place soakers against and then retiled to them. He also repointed all around the chimney and on the barn side up against the new ridge. Hopefully that will do the job because if it doesn’t we have no idea where it’s coming from.

On the following Sunday, we didn’t go the Loire valley route after all, instead we found ourselves heading for the coast once more, this time we travelled further west towards the golf de Morbihan, the other side of La Roche Bernard and explored Damgan and St Gildas de Rhuys. Unfortunately we started quite late so it’s definitely an area we shall go back to as Port Navalo is also well worth a visit and we didn’t get that far. I’ve also since been told that there are locks at Damgan, which we somehow managed to miss.

We’ve also been to see a few films in ‘Version Original’ in Redon’s lovely cinema complex, but we’ve learnt not to take what is advertised on their website too seriously. Zodiac was allegedly being shown in English but when we got there, we found it was actually in French. Not wanting to just go home, I searched the timetable for another ‘VO’ film and finding one that I hadn’t noticed on the Anglo info website before we decided to go for it. A lesson learnt – VO could be any original language, the film was in Chinese! At that stage we gave up and threw ourselves at the mercy of the cinema manager who very kindly gave us vouchers to use another time.

As we were feeling lazy, we drove to Blain for a walk along the Nantes Brest canal on the 17th. It’s a lovely place and very close by, we were amused by the lockkeepers garden, he always recycled stuff in his little patch by the canal but this time he appears to have bought a job lot of tiny ceramic plant pots. I have to say, it looked quite amazing, must have taken him hours to string them up in those patterns.

Last Monday Ian started laying down the new floor in the barn and it looks a treat now that it’s finished. Next step is the shower room in the pointy bit, it’s going to take a bit of rejigging as the shower will have to go into that corner as otherwise you’d walk into the shower cubicle wall when entering unlike downstairs where the door is in the middle of the dividing wall. Still it’s nothing that Ian ‘no problem’ can’t sort out. We also had a demolition day, the wall of the barn near the roadside was leaning more and more lately and cracks appeared to be getting bigger so before the hapless postman or some car got crushed, Ian took his life in his hands and took the wall down as far as the doorway. The stones will get recycled into the barn porch and maybe a retaining wall around the flower beds. In the meantime they lie where they fell - on the ground and not on someone's head.

Yesterday we went to the first car boots of the year (for us), we earmarked two to go to but another lesson learnt, even though it’s listed in the Vide Grenier booklet, if it says ‘bourse’ it’s actually a collectors market. So the one in Missilac wasn’t a car boot after all but the one in St Lymphard was. Didn’t find any great treasures or missing masterpieces so wandered down to La Baule for the obligatory stroll along the endless beach. But not before devouring a wonderful concoction of crepe, apples, chocolate and vanilla ice cream first. Diet? What diet? La Baule is a great place on Sundays, really lively and bustling with some shops open in the afternoon and heaving with the French having their post lunch promenade. It’s a sad state of affairs when the only French people who you know and bump into while out, all work in either the local supermarket or DIY stores. We must socialise more.

Another beautiful day

2008-02-02T16:24:00.000+01:00

Now that I have a link from the homepage of my site, I hope more people will visit this blog and ‘read all about it’ - I think being at the very end of our renovations page people lost the will to live before they reached it.

Our Christmas and New Year jaunt seems to be very far beind us now, it was very nice but even nicer to come home. I was very disappointed that Paris didn’t have a proper firework display on New Year’s eve this year but even with 4,500 fully armed riot police on the streets (why?) looking like robocops, the atmosphere was wonderful. We never felt threatened, only incredulous when charged €20 for 2 glasses of white wine at a street café near the Eiffel tower. However, the waiter did empty the rest of the bottle in them when we protested.

On the development front, Ian has steamed on as usual. He’s insulated the roof, boarded and plastered it all. As if that was not enough for 1 month’s work, he’s also cleaned off and re-pointed all the exposed stonework. As there was only dirt between the slates and stones, he had to dig quite a lot out for the new pointing to adhere properly. He’s now working on the garden facing wall, putting in a lovely old oak shelf to run along the stairs and then will be finishing off the gernier window – also with an oak sill. The idea is to do as much messy work as possible before putting in the new floor, so I will be welding the paint brush before too long.

We’ve had some absulutely wonderful weather in the past month and spent days out whenever possible, we love going to the coast as it’s less than an hour away and there were times only the emptiness of the beaches reminded us it was January. We walked along the beach from La Turballe, splashing in our wellies – unfortuantely we were hit by a high rogue wave and ended up soaked. Luckily it was towards the end of the day so I sat in the car with my sodden jeans around my ankles praying we wouldn’t be stopped on the way home. Last Sunday we went to Pornichet and walked along the beach to La Baule, keeping well away from the waves this time, then drove a bit further along and walked along the Cote Sauvage. It is a wonderful area with a cycle/skating way wider than the one way road that runs alongside it. The view from the path is magnificent and there are steps leading down to areas of sandy beach nestling amongst the rocks around each bay. You really don’t need to come in summer to enjoy wonderful days out here, we even spotted a swimmer (there’s always one) in just his trunks having just had his constitional bracing swim.

As the French class has now moved to Tuesday afternoons, I have taken my courage in my hands and joined the Guemene Penfao choral group which meets on Thursdays. I’ve been told it’s an excellent way of improving your language ability as well as meeting new people. I have to say I was welcomed with open arms (they hadn’t heard me sing then) and I now find myself rehearsing for a ‘Spectacle Musical’ which is taking place in August. On top of that, the group reguarly sings at local old people’s homes, without any song sheets as the songs are all old and well known – hmm, not by me …..

Well today the sun’s shining and I’ve managed to do the weekly wash (riveting stuff) and if it’s nice tomorrow we may well go on another jaunt – this time along the Loire for a change – watch this space……

Cote sauvage - beautiful at any time of year

Spot the swimmer.....

Pornichet & La Baule miles of sandy beaches

The man never stops .....................

2007-12-18T18:51:00.000+01:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Santa at work

It’s already over a month since I posted the last update, where does the time go – more worrying still is that it’s picking up speed at an alarming rate. We’ve had some very very cold snaps with temperatures dropping to –6 at night and not thawing until around 11am – not very inviting for working in an unheated barn with no door. Still, Ian prefers to freeze than be idle so with wooly hat on and the Gaz heater next to him he’s installed the shower, WC, water heater and plumbing for the basin in the downstairs bathroom as well as erecting the dividing wall with door and a with small cupboard facing the stairs. He’s also walled off the water heater and boxed in the plumbing. Just for a divertion he washed off the downstairs beams and I’ve just finished giving them their 2nd scouring and wash – I wonder how many they’d need before the water runs clear. More than I’m prepared to do, it’s a vast improvement as it is and after all they are old so better with a bit of character making muck on them than pristine.

He’s also run all the wiring in for the downstairs sockets and lighting and and being the perfectionist he is, declined to put in a switch in the stud wall by the stairs prefering to chase it into the stonework at the foot of the stairwell. As money is getting ever tighter, and bookings aren’t exactly flooding in yet we’re trying to work with what materials I’ve already bought so we’re now cleaning all the stonework prior to regrouting and laying down the new floor. As we’re off to Vienna for Christmas shortly we’re not really killing ourselves with the workload, more just keeping occupied.

Thursday I went to my last French class in Redon until next year, quite sad as most of the people there have already been going for a year and their free funding has run out. I’m still good until next June – I just hope I make some better progress than I feel I’ve made so far. It’s very daunting and although the tutor is lovely and very helpful the fact that there is no English spoken at all is a mixed blessing – sometimes you are just desperate for some clarification even if it’s just with the admin side of things. There’s also a lot of importance placed on written work and we tend to do a lot while I feel I need to speak more, perhaps the class might get a revamp next term – I do hope so.

Today, I joined the ladies at my patchwork club in Bains sur Oust for a patchday and everyone brought a dish, what a spread - we started at 12noon with aperos, pate de foie gras and greek style puff pastries (thank you Lidl), went on to roast gammon hocks, mixed rice salad, beetroot salad, tart l'onion, then 4 different cheeses and the grand finale to the blow out consisted of Mousse au chocolat, creme caramel, apple cake, trifle and of course - I had to bring home made mince pies - went down a treat. With a liberal dose of Cointreau in our coffee we finally staggered back to our various projects at 3pm. They're lovely people and have all gone out of their way to make me feel so welcome and are so patient with my mangling of their language. But then I've found that with whoever I've had dealings with here.

All that remains for me is to wish everyone reading this a very wonderful Christmas and a glorious new year and ....... don't leave it too late to book your holiday with us.

A long,long overdue update

2007-11-18T15:26:00.000+01:00

A very early New Year resolution – keep my blog updated on at least a monthly basis. It is now nearly 9 months since I did that and far too long to go into much detail to catch up. It has been a very different year for us, much more travel and going out and about so also a pretty expensive year. Apart from our visit to Paris in January seeing off our various offspring, I took Ian there again for 5 days at the end of February for his 66th birthday and we had a superb time. He reciprocated on mine in April and took me off to stay in a lovely chateau near Clisson just south of Nantes. The house we stayed in was superb but unfortunately my birthday fell on a Tuesday this year and as the owner wasn’t well enough to cook evening meals we fell foul of the French dearth of restaurants that open on Mondays and Tuesdays – especially off-season. I have to say that I’ve never eaten worse food since my arrival in France which was a shame considering how much effort Ian had put into the trip. We did however have a simply wonderful day in Clisson itself and heartily recommend it to visit. Mental note for future ‘surprise trips’, go midweek regardless of actual event day.

I also visited my mother (UK) in March for mother’s day and made the mistake of taking my car which inevitably meant I spent far more on shopping than was wise just because I had it to fill. In May, a very dear friend came to visit who I haven’t seen for around 10 years so we had a lot of catching up to do, luckily she stayed for 10 days so we had plenty of time.
June saw Ian’s extension of Coeur de Chene completed and the first guests arrived, had a wonderful time and enjoyed all the new extra space.
We had a few days out in July while some kind guests fed Simba; we drove to Hennebont to visit the Breton horse stud there, a wonderful visit in superb

Hennebont Breton horses

surroundings. The following day saw us white water canoeing nearby – well, a bit of white foam, as the water levels were
quite low, still a lot of fun though. We then drove to Lorient and stayed with an amazing Irish/French family in a wonderfully restored Maison d’maitre. Their hosting skills left us speechless, not satisfied with finding us (we were lost) and guiding us back to their house, they also drove us to the port as we wanted to get a ferry to one of the islands.

Lorient B&B

As it happened, we ended up just going to Port Louis as it was too

late to go further afield and we had a great time there.

Auray

A fascinating place steeped in history, the Citadel is well worth a visit. We then drove to Auray the next morning after checking into a local hotel and going for a walk, we were amazed to meet some friends from Guemene just out for the day there. What a

tiny world we live in. After a coffee with them we parted company as they were returning that day and we went down to the harbour, had a fantastic meal al fresco while being serenaded by a blues band on the water front – sheer magic. The last day was spent driving home via Malestroit and some friends in St Grave who gave us tea and made us welcome. A lovely trip and we felt we’d been gone far longer than the actual 4 days it had lasted.
In August my younger son Mish arrived for a visit, unfortunately as we were fully booked (oh for a spare bedroom), I had to farm him out to some local friends who kindly put him up – it was either that or a tent at the bottom of the garden. At least he got some excercise cycling back and forth (well, a couple of times anyway). One of the days out with him was to Nantes, I have to say that I was absolutely bowled over by the new attraction there – a huge mechanical elephant you can have a ride on. It’s fantastic in the true sense of the word, magical and I want one! Unfortunately as it was peak holiday season and the French being …. French, they only operated it from 10am to 5pm with the obligatory 2 hours lunch break so we didn’t get a ride but I will … All too soon it was time for him to leave for Amsterdam for the second half of his holiday.
Mish then managed to get his return flight to Jeddah wrong so arrived in Paris a day early…. That was my 3rd trip there this year but I really enjoyed my (quality time) day with him.

On 1st September another friend of mine arrived from the UK for a week and this time when we took her to Nantes for the Rendezvous sur Erdre music fest we also went to see the elephant and … we got a ride! Although July and August were a total washout weather wise – although no flooding – September and October were wonderful so we basked in warm sunshine throughout her visit. After she left, my French class began – watch this space, no idea how it will go but I have to give it 100% as I’m really embarrassed now by my lack of fluency. This class is quite demanding as no English is spoken at all but best of all – it’s free. October saw me going back to the UK to visit my mother on her birthday but this time I flew to Southampton from Rennes with Flybe, I was lucky enough to be picked up and dropped off at both ends, so it was a very stress less travelling experience. This was more than made up for by sitting with my mother in the home for 4 hours every day I was there. It is such a heartrending thing to do, as with every year the chances of seeing her again get less and less.

Just as we were relaxing in the knowledge that a long winter rental at Ian’s would bring in a regular income, it was cancelled after just one month due to France Telecom’s inability to reconnect a phone line and set up internet access in less than 8 weeks! Thanks France Telecom. Another valuable lesson learnt, … never ever count your chickens, as even when they’ve hatched – they can die on you. Unfortunately, I hadn’t learnt that lesson at the time when I organised our trip to visit friends in Vienna for Christmas and spend New Year in Paris. Consequently, yet more money than is wise spent but we’ll be going nevertheless as cancellation is not an option with cheap fares.

Since Ian finished his extension, we have started on the last leg of my renovation plan and have got going on the barn. This building stands at the end of the longere and housed the ‘presse de Cidre’. Although I desperately wanted to reassemble the press in the garden, the wood was totally rotten and the metal parts too heavy and dangerous on their own, so with a heavy heart it was consigned to the Dechettrie (tip). The building is now totally reroofed with velux windows installed, the pigsty also has a new roof and has been repointed and is now our storage. I shall be posting progress updates regularly and who knows – perhaps renting out ‘La rose’ this summer ……. It will have 2 bedrooms but the 2 shower rooms will be separate and not en-suite, one will be located downstairs and serve as a utility room housing the washing machine too. The living area will have a sofa bed so the gite will be able to accommodate up to 6 people plus a cot. Although I am not a fan of sofa beds, it’s there if anyone wants it. All in all it should prove to be a lovely gite full of charm and character.

Enlarging the roadside windows for the downstairs utility room and kitchen area was quite a challenge as we found the walls are held together with mud, mud and only mud. The utility window was moved over but as it needed only a small opening, it wasn’t quite so life threatening to do. Ian propped up the supporting stones and managed to fit in a new lintel with no threat to life and limb. However, the kitchen was a different ball game – he ended up taking all the stones out all the way to the roof level otherwise there would have been a good chance of them descending on his head mid construction. Now with a solid oak lintel in place and the wall rebuilt (with mortar this time), it looks great. To date he’s also installed the plumbing to the downstairs utility and kitchen as well as started the electrical installation.

I have been making the most of the wonderful sunny (but rather cold) weather and extending the border to the front of La rose. Unfortunately the ground was already like concrete and the -6° night time temperatures didn’t help. It took a pick axe to break up the soil and after removing the obligatory rocks and stones I’ve managed to plant loads of tulips and rehomed some overcrowded plants from other areas. It should look great in 2008, we also removed the hedge dividing the garden from the field which makes the whole thing look more open and inviting as well as giving all the gites a view.
Now that the weather’s turned to wind and rain, I shall be chipping away to expose the internal walls of the barn and cleaning off the beams (ugh) but someone’s got to do it and Ian has more important things to be getting on with.

Some renovation photos:

Replacing the old lintel

in front - a bit precarious

All done

Trouble with buildings that are held together with mud.

2007-03-04T02:27:00.000+01:00

My goodness – where do I begin to update this blog after a year of silence? First of all I have to say that Simba is still with us, well and happy and it was just an abscess.
I think this will have to be a very brief summery of the year as firstly I can’t remember a lot of it (the joys of aging) and also it would be far too lengthy and tedious to read otherwise. Then I will have to do better in the months to come. A bit like a diet – there’s always tomorrow but before you know it, months have passed and you still haven’t started.

During the early spring I managed to get my veggie plots dug over by friends with a rotavator – very much appreciated and also the play area sown with grass. It now looks quite verdant but during that long hot summer I had visions of having to do it all again. Unfortunately I still have an ongoing problem with thistles and will have to continue spraying for another year at least.

The veggie plots proved very successful and I had bumper crops of runner & French beans, tomatoes, potatoes, beetroot, parsnips, Swiss chard (spinach bolted immediately), and courgettes….. a word of warning – never ever plant 6 courgette plants unless you run a vegetarian restaurant! I was swimming in courgettes, gave away heaps to guests and they still kept coming, in the end I made courgette relish, chutney, conserve, which also sold well so I can’t complain really. The surplus of green tomatoes at the end also made very nice chutney. Another tip to the uninitiated – if you are going to store anything like this in a barn or outbuilding, make sure the pot lids are made of metal or glass. I bought ones with plastic lids - they are not mouse proof and I probably have the best fed mice in the district.

Ian came back in spring and I went to the UK to do the worst job I have ever had to do in my life. Although she had elected to go into a home herself, it is sheer guilt ridden agony to have to pack up your mother’s house and hand her over to the care industry. Seeing her entire life in bin bags and hearing that not even a charity thought her furniture worth having was unbearable. She has settled in now better than I ever thought possible and at least I know she is safe, warm and cared for but I hope I end my days before that destination becomes a necessity for me.

We also went to Dinan for their Medieval Festival and it was absolutely wonderful, we had a great time and the street entertainment was second to none. Wonderful costumes and floats, the market was amazing – can you imagine a UK street market selling real maces, swords, pikes and lances not to mention an astounding range of knives, chain mail, helmets and costumes in general. However all good things come to an end but on returning to where we’d left the car we found an empty space…. And I have to say that that car is not a vehicle one imagines being stolen having seen much better days. A bit dazed we stumbled into the nearest restaurant and asked the owner whom we should contact. He called his wife who spoke perfect English – she drove us to the Police station, explained our problem and it turned out that having filled up just before arriving in Dinan, the way the car was parked up on a kerb – the petrol started leaking out and was noticed by a passer-by. The Police and Fire services had been called as the leak was dangerously close to the boats on the river and they’d towed it away. Considering this all happened on a very narrow street in the middle of a carnival, the police were amazingly pleasant about it and only charged us for the tow not a fine. The good Samaritan who took us there, then drove us to the car pound and was going to wait until the garage owner turned up and only left after we’d assured her that we’d be fine. I have to say that for sheer courtesy, friendliness, helpfulness and good humour I can’t fault the French. They restore my faith in mankind.

We had a good year of bookings, I was lucky in having a couple of long lets off season, one by an English couple waiting for the completion on their French house purchase and the other with my new French neighbours. Ian and I had coveted the house next door from the day the family sold me my longere and we had asked them for first refusal should it ever come on the market. Well when they did, but even without agency fees, we just couldn’t afford it. They asked for €130,000 and the house was certainly worth that but Ian’s cottage wouldn’t have sold for more than €110,000 and we would still have had to find the difference and money for renovating it. So with a heavy heart we had to let it go. It eventually sold to a lovely young family from nearby Plesse, but we watched horror struck as they ripped out the old oak floors to put in under floor heating, and cut down a wonderful old plum and apple tree – c’est la vie. However their renovation work took longer then they anticipated and as they had to vacate their Plesse rental home by the end of October they rented La glycine for a month and eventually moved into their home on 1st December. At least their children are quiet and although they now have the obligatory dog, he doesn’t make his presence felt by barking. I lived in dread of noisy neighbours from hell – hardly the best selling point for tranquil country gite holidays.

Ian had almost continuous work from local expats and didn’t really have the time to restart the work on his extension until December last year, however once he did get stuck in, the progress is great and we have every confidence it’ll be finished in a month or so. He also managed to re-roof my barn on the garden side as it leaked like a sieve. That is something we are planning to get started on this year as soon as he has finished his extension. Other than that, I’m still attending French classes, we now have a very active French/English club in Guemene which holds monthly events and have started a line-dancing group as well. I’ve also joined a patchwork group – more to meet the French than anything else but the craft is a fascinating one I have to admit. I’ve also started swimming twice a week and do a voluntary English class at the local school for the children.

In December both my sons came out to France from Saudi Arabia, one with an American fiancée in tow, Ian’s daughter also joined us from Taiwan – what an international family we are. All are doing really well in their jobs and my eldest married his fiancée in January in Jeddah. Unfortunately it wasn’t what you might call ‘a wedding’ as all it consisted of was an exchange of contracts with her father who also happen to be working out there. However it’s legally binding and the happy couple have just moved into their first new home there. They plan to have a proper ‘do’ elsewhere in the future and I’ll do my best to attend that.

Before they left France, we travelled up to Paris together to meet my son’s future mother-in-law, as she was en-route for Saudi herself. A lovely lady like her daughter, we had a wonderful time in Paris and although usually I hate cities, I loved Paris. Perhaps it was because being January, it was relatively empty and quiet and we were so lucky with the weather. Did the whole tourist bit, open top tour bus, boat along the Seine, Notre Dame, etc.. Wonderful places, we really didn’t have nearly enough time to do it justice and I’ve booked a surprise birthday trip for Ian (28th Feb) for 4 days so we should be able to ‘do’ a bit more of Paris then.

As if in answer to my prayers, I’ve also got another long term booking for Chevrefeuille by a relocating Brit until 27th April so not only extra dosh but also hopefully a Simba sitter on the premises. Just praying he’s not cat phobic or allergic, as I haven’t actually asked him yet.

So as February speeds to an end, we’ve continued our fact finding Sundays out with a trip to Pornichet & La Baule and next Sunday we’re combining pleasure with business by going to Fougeres. In the first instance to see a house a friend is interested in buying and who wants Ian’s professional opinion and also of course to see the city too. It’s all go but very enjoyable. Now I just have to figure out a way to make sure Ian switches off the water heater at his place next Saturday without giving away the Paris plan.

I had some great photos to post here but for some reason although they appear to upload they don't actually appear on my blog - grrrrrr. Any ideas?

Oh dear

2006-02-07T23:13:00.000+01:00

Not a very good day today, for the past week or so, the devine Simba has been off his food and sleeping even more than usual (I hadn't thought that was possible). He appears to be hungry but after a mouthful walks away and when he does his favourite party trick of suckling my left ear lobe (aaaah bless, or ugh - depending on your feline orientation) he can't seem to 'latch on' for want of a better term. When I took him for his jabs a couple of weeks ago the vet noticed his gum was a bit red but nothing dire so I thought maybe it had turned into something nasty. Then also he's had a real confrontation with a local cat and they obviously didn't meow the same language as the fur on the ground proved. My son had mentioned that when Simba had fights in Plymouth they usually ended up with him getting an abscess where the other cat had scored. However I couldn't find any damage so decided to take him to the vet today.

There was nothing wrong with his mouth but she did find a lump in his abdomen. It could be an abcsess where the other cat had punctured his skin or of course it could be the dreaded C word. The vet decided to put Simba on antibiotics first and if it's just an abcsess, it will respond, if it's not then God help him. When I think of all the years I had vet insurance in the UK and could never claim a penny because the bills where always just under the payment threshold and so in France I haven't bothered - Simba's always been quite healthy. The sad fact is that I can't afford the insurance here and I certainly haven't the money for any surgery or long term treatment. All I can do is pray it's just an abcsess.

Since his arrival in France, I've done my fair share of moaning about his continual shedding, having all that hair all over me whenever I go out, his fussy eating habits, being tied down by having a 'dependant' but then again he's kept me sane while I've been on my own all through this winter, his affectionate curling up on my lap and purring have warmed my heart on the most depressing of days. I realise now that all that annoyance is a small price to pay for his company.

2 months on - where did the time go?

2006-02-01T15:55:00.000+01:00

I can't believe it's 2 months since I last wrote a blog update, where December went is a mystery to me. All I remember is dark days, dark evenings and dark thoughts - I think people should have a hibernation option. I have to admit that being on my own (sorry Simba, you are wonderful really), I did succumb to some depression as I have real difficulties with the concept of simply 'being'. If I'm not killing myself to meet deadlines, or running around doing something 'constructive', I somehow feel guilty for existing. Lazing around, watching daytime TV, reading or just watching the world go by is wonderful if only I could get rid of the guilt demons.

The time of year also does not help as there's nothing you can really do in the garden which in December resembled a quagmire and it was too dismal to enjoy going walking, my polytunnel (read cheap & nasty plastic greenhouse) has now totally disintegrated so no indoor horticultural activities and when you're in that mindset, you can forget about learning a language.

On the bright side, I had a guest from the States who came to visit her family nearby for Christmas and then extended her stay to after New Year. That was a very welcome and much needed addition to the kitty.

Ian arrived on the 24th December and it was lovely to see him again, felt strange being with someone again after a month alone. Funny how slowly the time seemed to go day by day but how quickly it appeared to have gone retrospectively. Our Christmas was very quiet, we continued our recently started tradition (last year) by going for a long walk on Christmas Day, the weather was lovely, warm, blue skies, it was hard to remember it was Christmas. New Year was much the same but all too soon we had to discuss the future - immediate and long term. On the immediate side, he did have to go back and continue working until March in order to make enough to finish his extension, long term it seems that going back to the UK had been a real wake up call and he's now totally convinced that the grass is greener here and that our life together is what he wants. I just hope it stays that way. He's already booked the return trip for the 4th March.

Ian had managed to see my mother on his way to Portsmouth, she had been taken for respite care into a home in Southbourne and he had been shocked by her deterioration. He strongly advised me to go and see her for a few days and I'm really glad I did. I was able to help her settle back in to her home and it was just as well I didn't live too far away to be able to do that because social 'services' left a lot to be desired. She was picked up from the home and dropped off almost at a run as the Social Worker had meetings to go to, and had I not been there, it would have been to an unheated, un lived in for 3 weeks home with no provisions, no meal on wheels rebooked, no milk delivery rebooked - nothing. When taken to task, the explanation was that 'most old people have someone to come and and help', well I beg to differ - there have been enough cases of the elderly dying alone at home and not being discovered for weeks to prove that. Anyway she's now inundated with mobility aids, care workers (who don't even know how to heat up a meals on wheels tray), and is coping better than she expected. The bottom line being that coping home alone is infinitely better than being carted off to a home where the only way out is in a wooden box.

On my return, Ian took the ferry I came in on so we only had an hour together but it seems he missed me. So that's a good sign. Now apart from the atrocious weather - the ground's frozen solid for the last week, I'm in good spirits and awaiting the arrival of spring. Funny how much better that minute a day extra of day light can make you feel. It's just so frustrating not being able to get on with digging the field , so much to do before spring when I must sow the grass seeds in order to have some kind of recreational area for summer's guests. In the meantime I chat with the cat, feed the equine retirees in the next field with carrots and have stimulating conversations with them in broken french - must get out more! It was getting out more that almost ended in disaster a week ago. We'd had a snow fall and I decided that I was still going to the first meeting of the new Anglo/French club in Guemene regardless of weather. I drove slowly and carefully down to the main road, not slowly enough it appears because as I tried to stop at the road, I found myself spinning around and ended up on the

kerb. Luckily there were no other lunatics on the road so the car & I were unscathed. Close thing though. Very much shaken I continued to the meeting but as I was offered a lift back in a 4x4 I decided not to push my luck and left the car there. At least I knew that it would still have all wheels and glass in one piece and it wouldn't be a burnt out wreck when I returned. (It would have been if left in Bognor where I lived before.)

On the following day the snow was melting and I was preparing to walk into town to get the car when some friends rang and very kindly offered me a lift. Unfortunately the course of doing a good deed doesn't run any smoother than true love's. They couldn't start their van again once they got to me, I had no jump leads (with Ian's horsebox in UK) , so they had to take Ian's car, drop me off to pick up mine, drive back to their home, pick up their jump leads and car, return, and finally got the van going and went home. I bet they wished I'd walked.

That's another thing I'm waiting for better weather for - walking. I have to lose weight. I was mortified to discover when I bought some digital scales (how do they manage to sell them for only €10?) in the local supermarket that I had blown up to 84.1 kilos. So as I'm on my own and can please myself (with food), I'm on a healthy diet of fruit, veg, a little protein and no carbs after 5pm and so far it's working, even with little excercise I've lost 1.4 kilos in the last week. Yay! It should be even better once I get digging and walking - Ian won't recognise me in March. So that just about brings me up to date.

Have to build an ark

2005-12-04T17:09:00.000+01:00

Another wet and dismal day, I'll either develop webbed feet or start building an ark. From Thursday it's been torrential here, much to my consternation, rain has been coming in under the door and the upstairs window. Many wet towels later, it's under control but I wonder how long it will take the towels to dry. I'm not wasting electricity in the dryer on those old things so they're on the line awaiting a dry day - some hope.
I'm spending my days on the net looking for new sites to advertise my gites on, preferably for free or at least with a free trial. There's a great site for holiday property owners worldwide, www.laymyhat.com which has a listing of such sites and I'm working my way through it. It's also great for forums, advice and tips so if you're in the business it's well worth a visit.
It's getting a bit worrying that after such a great summer ad so many happy guests, I've only got one booking for next year. Hopefully things will get going after Christmas when people start thinking about their holidays. I found a great Xmas prezzy for my partner (he'll never read this). In Plesse, about 15 mins away there's a micralight airfield that do tasters and lessons so I've bought him a 30 minute session with the birds and clouds. Very nice owner/instructor, Luc said that he can take the session whenever the weather's fine as he only lives 5 minutes away from the airfield so just a phone call away. I didn't realise how much there is around Plesse, there's a beautiful swimming lake with a child safe beach and woodland walks all around, karting that's open all summer and every weekend out of season, riding stables, and an aquajet and wind surfing centre. Only a short distance towards Blain there's also the Foret du Gavre with wonderful walks - I must explore this soon - weather permitting.
As I write this, my sons are on their way to Heathrow to fly to Jeddah, the older one is looking for gainful employment and the younger one recooperating from glandular fever. I'll be happy when they touch down and I know they're on terra firma.
I hope this weather dries up a bit soon, I have to crack on with weeding the field which entails the digging up of brambles, nettles, thistles and other assorted perrenial nasties. I have to clear at least half the area by spring in order to establish the grass in time for the summer season's guests. The other half I'll do as and when I have time after that, veg seedlings are very cheap and plentiful here so I don't have to worry too much about early planting.
Enough of the computer for now, I'm getting square eyes.

Well almost the end of November

2005-11-30T18:36:00.000+01:00

So near the end I really didn't think I'd have anything worth writing about but of course I didn't reckon on sod's law being alive and thriving nearby.

I was minding my own business, writing e-mails to friends when I heard a horribly ominous hissing sound coming from the bathroom behind me. I was horrified to see a fountain of water gushing out from under the basin. Panicked, I rushed down and turned off the mains and thanked God that we only have floorboards and no plasterboard on the ceiling so the water just trickled down to the floor. I have to admit that although I consider myself pretty independent, I have no real knowledge of the intricacies of plumbing or electrics (so I'm sure that'll be next) and I wasn't about to start experimenting now. As luck would have it, my nearest friends in times of need and emergencies are in the UK at the moment, so I phoned the next lucky couple. As much as I hate the 'needy single female' syndrome, at times like this I have no pride.

My dear friends Maggie & Alistair are Scottish salts of the earth, I can't praise them highly enough, always ready to help and this was no exeption. Alistair arrived, reccied the problem and incredibly enough had a spare flexi hose to substitute for the leaking one. Within 1 hour, job done and water back on. That it might have happened when I was out for a few hours doesn't bare thinking about. I have to fight the impulse to turn the water off every time I leave the house.

On a lighter note, the last few nights of frost have finally reduced the huge rampant morning glory outside to mush and I've had to take it all down as the jasmin beneath really did deserve a chance to breath. Next year I'll plant morning glory again but on the trellis bordering the first gite as it will really give privacy to it's patio and hopefully the jasmin will go forth and multiply.
In all it's glory

To the end of November

2005-11-29T20:18:00.000+01:00

September – November

So much has happened since my last blog; I’m still trying to catch up. Can’t be sure it’s all in chronological order but I’ll do my best.

I found we had a short window of opportunity to get away for a few days as my son was around to take care of things between 3 lots of bookings. So we did the changeovers on Saturday 17th September and went off to visit friends who have also upped sticks and moved to France. They are located near Agen and had invited us to spend a few days with them off-season when Ian had helped them with their pool area earlier in the year. Yes, they are gite owners too. It was perfect timing too as it meant that my son could stay in our place and not rough it in a tent as both my gites were rented out that week.

We made our way south early on Sunday morning, had lunch on the beach at La Rochelle then by passed Bordeaux by taking the Libourne road and reached Clairac in the early evening. As we were due back on Friday night for Ian’s changeover (my rentals were finished) we decided to make the most of our time and sightsee every day and my God did we pack it in. Monday we went to Villeneuve sur lot via a lot of beautiful villages but found, as it seems everywhere in France, that Mondays are not good – everything is closed. Still we returned by a different route and managed to enjoy the countryside as the weather was fantastic, almost too hot to do a lot of walking around. Tuesday, I followed Ian around the local golf course and explored some more. On Wednesday I’d heard that Agen had a market, unfortunately we didn’t manage to find it and eventually drove over the Garonne to visit Nerac. Agen’s prunes may be the best but I was les than impressed with the city, however I don’t suppose a couple of hours is anywhere near long enough to form a true opinion.
We got to Nerac still in time for lunch and found a lovely restaurant opposite the city museum. We also found that there was a boat tour still operating, we had almost given up as all the others seemed to be seasonal and firmly closed for the winter. But it was not to be as they wouldn’t budge with less than 8 passengers and there were only 5 to be found. So much for my theory that if the operators extended the season they would still have business.

The boat trip that wasn't to be.

We decided that we’d leave on Thursday and travel to another location that Ian had worked in which was kind of on our way home. We went through Bergerac, stopped for a break in Perigueux and Limoges reaching our destination of Valencay just north of Chateauroux by early evening. Spent the night with another friend and after yet more sightseeing, Valencay, Chinon, Saumur (Chateau closed until next year) and a very strange troglodyte home we crossed the Loire at Angers. Big mistake, it had to be the first traffic jam we’d encountered since leaving the UK and it was a lulu. It took us nearly 2 hours to get out of Angers and by 9pm we were home. Great trip but totally exhausting.

Meanwhile my son and his girlfriend Kerry had been looking for work to tide them over until they could take up their winter season jobs in the Alps. Except for a bit of labouring there was nothing on offer and their already low morale hit rock bottom when Mish fell ill. For 2 weeks he suffered intermittent fevers, sweats, headaches and general fatigue, eventually after two lots of blood tests and a great deal of anxiety he was diagnosed as having glandular fever. This put paid to all their plans, even when the symptoms went, Mish wouldn’t be able to work for quite a few months in order to allow his body to fully recuperate. After a great deal of thought, we decided that the best place for him to do so would be with his father in Saudi Arabia. There he would have guaranteed care, no stress of having to work to keep himself alive before he was fit enough to safely do so and at the same time he could around for potential jobs. However, it would still be a while before he was fit enough to travel and his father had to arrange to somehow smooth his way there.

On the 9th October, well into the bonfire season, Ian decided to help me clear the field and set a couple of fires going. As my old British car is still lodged in the corner, I did say he should be careful as there was still petrol in the tank – famous last words ‘don’t worry, I’m in control’ - well the car didn’t go up in smoke but the neighbour’s hedge did. It was horrific how quickly the fire caught and spread, it wasn’t even a windy day but unfortunately we hadn’t had enough rain to make a difference and the hedge was tinder dry underneath. The next thing I know, Ian is yelling for me to call the Pompiers (fire brigade), Mish and Kerry are filling anything they can lay their hands on with water and I’m holding the hose on the tap for dear life as Ian tries to extinguish the blaze. Later friends said they could see the mushroom of smoke from quite a distance away. Luckily the Pompiers arrived quite quickly and put it all out, they were very pleasant about it all and when we derided ourselves as the ‘crazy English’ they said many a Frenchman had made the same mistake. 1st October is officially the date from which you can light bonfires but one is supposed to use one’s discretion as to whether it’s actually safe to do so. The Gendarmes arrived soon after and it occurred to me that this wasn’t quite the way I’d envisioned myself getting to know the neighbours. However, they were also really nice about what was left of their hedge, I felt really awful because the couple who actually live there are very old and their daughter said that her father was extremely ill and in fact he died 2 days later. I just hope that the commotion didn’t hasten his departure. Luckily my insurance did cover this and now I’m awaiting the arrival of the loss adjusters from both their and my insurance companies as the claim seems to me a bit OTT - €2500! Quite a lot to replace a few conifers, thank goodness my excess is only €167.

Ian and I attended M. Taillandier’s funeral and were amazed by the turnout, the church was filled to the gunnels. How wonderful to be so well thought of in a community.

As if that wasn’t enough, I noticed that Simba was scratching his ears to the point of drawing blood and took him to the vet. The vet diagnosed a fungal infection and prescribed an ear wash and antifungal drops to be administered daily. The first went in with no trouble but the after the second dose, Simba totally lost his sense of balance. He was like a drunk on the high seas, complete vertigo, unable to cross the room without falling over. I took him back to the vets, and was told to continue with the drops but not the wash. By the end of the week I was really worried as there was no improvement, he wasn’t eating, he was falling down the stairs although I’d put his food, water and loo on the first floor as he seemed to prefer living under the eves. He was a pitiful sight to behold. At the next visit to the vets 4 days later, I was told to stop the medication, this time on looking in his ear, she’d found that there looked to be a tiny tear in the side of the ear drum and of course that’s where the drops were ending up. In the following week, he gradually improved and now 2 weeks on, only looses balance when he shakes his head and the vet assures me that even that will eventually be back to normal. The downside of all this is that he was a dreadfully fussy eater pre France, on arrival here. He appeared to have turned over a new leaf much to my delight and positively relished Lidl’s best but no more …. He’s back to his old ways and I’m still trying to put the meat back on his bones so it’s the a la Carte menu again.

In the throes of all this, Ian left to make some money in order to complete his cottage’s extension but will be back for Christmas and New Year. Mish and Kerry left for the UK and eventually Jeddah with his father and so now I’m all alone with just Simba for company.

April to September Update

2005-11-25T18:00:00.000+01:00

I thought starting a blog was probably the best way of continuing the updates without major amendments to the website. I have started where we left off back in April just to close the gap, this was to have been posted on the website but never quite made it. So here goes, hope it's not too long winded:

April seems to be light years away and I wish all the more that I’d kept some sort of diary. Our various guests have come and gone, all having had great holidays and all very impressed with our achievement. The most voiced comment was that the photos don’t do the gites justice and the reality is so much better than was expected. It is lovely to hear people’s praises for our gites as having lived with them this long, we now tend to take them for granted and lose sight of the extent of the fruits of our labours. Having reaffirmation on a regular basis is like a frequent pat on the back for a job well done.

My ‘star’ rating inspection for the tourist board took place back in June and ‘incredulous’ is describing my reaction to it mildly. This was for the Loire Atlantique Tourist Board and basically I was told that to get just 1 star, I still had to put in electric shaver sockets in all bathrooms, black out blinds or black out curtain linings in all bedrooms and wait for it …….. steamers in the kitchens …. , yes - steamers - doesn’t matter if they are electric or stove top but can’t be the perforated metal umbrella ones that fit all saucepans. For 2 stars add French TV arial sockets even if you don’t provide TVs. I hate to think what I’d need for 3 stars. To add insult to injury, I thought the inspection was free as it was in aid of local tourism but no such luck, I had to pay 70 euros for the privilege (35 a gite). I was also shocked that there was no need for me to have any safety measures in place to gain stars therefore my smoke alarms and fire extinguishers got me no brownie points at all.

The summer turned out to be a very long and hot one with hardly any rain so I dread to think what my water bill will be like as having planted my veggies I was determined to keep them alive. At least we didn’t have to mow the grass very often and it’s only now after a couple of recent night’s rain that there’s a green tinge to it. I harvested a great crop of beans – French & runner, I must remember to stagger my planting next year as we were drowning in beans at one time. The potatoes are doing well, and should see me well into winter. I tried cauliflowers but should have cut them as babies because it seemed like the next time I looked they were yellow, manky and being eaten by a multitude of bugs. The mange tout and sugar snap peas were disappointing, not much and not for very long, again I should have staggered the sowing. Tomatoes still going strong and I must find the yellow variety I tried for next year as they are delicious.

The plan this autumn is to clear the field and divide it in half. One half to be grassed over for guest use and the other will be my allotment. At the moment my younger son is staying with us and I’m using this slave labour to have all the self seeded/rooted saplings dug out and come the 1st October we’ll have us a great bonfire. I’ve been spraying the other undesirables (brambles, nettles & thistles) with systemic weedkiller all spring and early summer but it got so hot (40c on my patio), I couldn’t bring myself to go out there during July and August and when I did later, I was mortified to see that there was a sea of seedheads all raring to go forth and multiply again. This is where I could really use a flame thrower.

The swallows did come back and even though they were somewhat
confused by the disappearance of their nest at first, they renovated
an old one in the barn and raised a new family, they then built a brand new nest on the next rafter along (better view/post code?) and had another family. They are all airborne now and will soon leave us for another year. They’ll be able to return to their nests next year as I’m sure we won’t have the cash to start on the barn for some time to come.

Another recent addition to our family in France was Simba, our cat. He’d lived with my son in Plymouth for the last 2 years while he (son not cat) was at uni. Now Mish has finished and has had to vacate his digs, Simba added another country to his repertoire. A much travelled cosmopolitan cat, he’s lived in Jeddah, Bognor Regis, Plymouth and now Guemene Penfao. He appears to have settled in well and we hope to have the pleasure of his company for many years to come.

We did manage to go and see a bit more of the surrounding area and I think Ian’s found his next project – should only take him about 6 months. Guemene Penfao had a lovely festival celebrating its Celtic heritage, there was a huge parade of representatives of various towns dressed in their regional costumes and who ever said that the French take themselves too seriously obviously had never seen the two lovely ‘ladies’ dressed in their Breton best.