w/c 19 March 2007

Monday 19th – Bitterly cold today and it snowed at lunch time! South West France? With the first fix electrical work nearly complete we were able finish the plasterboards around the downstairs toilet. One of the things we'd specified to M. Regourd when we originally asked him to quote for the work was that the electricity supply to the barn and house must be able to be split in the future. Looks like that part of our conversation has been overlooked & after an involved discussion with Stephané & his father it looks like we're going to have to get in touch with M. Coletti and ask for his assistance in contacting EDF. Back to Najac for lunch and pick the Merc up as we need to collect more plasterboard. We return to Lagarrigue to collect the trailer but can't get the car started once it's attached. An SOS phone call to Paul brings him to the house and after a quick diagnosis he thinks the starter motor is stuck. We give it a few knocks with a hammer but there's no sign of life. As he doesn't seem too keen on towing the car with his Morris Minor van he runs me along to the local garage who, with some help from Sydney who had just called in, says he will call out later this afternoon. Paul & Sydney head off and Barbara and I carry on with work at the house. Just after 5:00 the mechanic turns up and after scrambling under the car in the snow agrees with Paul's starter motor diagnosis. He removes it and says he would hope to have it back working by Thursday. With the Merc off the road we're going to have to make alternative arrangements to get the plasterboards so it'll be a call to the local builders merchants in the morning. Paul has offered to give us a hand fitting them on Wednesday & we don't want to waste any offer of help.

Tuesday 20th – Over to Lagarrigue early this morning to measure up for the hifi speaker cables, good to see the priorities and to spray the timbers with anti-termite spray prior to fitting the plasterboards hopefully tomorrow. The plan today was to head in to VDR with P & C for some food shopping and collect some bits & pieces for the house. Located a glazier & window manufacturer who will be useful if we're unable to reclaim the original doors & windows. On the way back to Lagarrigue, and with snow in the air, we call in to M. Luduc, a local stone mason, and drop in a letter that P & C have for him. Apart from getting the Morris Van down to Najac on this visit, Paul & Caroll are hoping to finalise the building of their new house & M. Leduc is the contractor they are hoping to use. They'd met up with him last Sunday and he had promised to work on the revised devis on Tuesday and they wanted a couple of points clarifying before he re-calculated his quote. We dropped P & C off in Najac and headed to the builders merchant to arrange delivery of the plasterboards. They've plenty in stock but there's just one small problem, their lorry is due it's MOT tomorrow and they don't plan on making any deliveries until Thursday. As is now the norm it's time for Barbara to turn the charm on & convince them that we're desperate for the boards. As we're a neighbour of his he agrees to drop them off at 9:00 in the morning on his way to the contrőle technique centre. What a star. Back to Najac to discuss the days events over a nice G & T and a few nibbles. Just as we're chilling out there's a knock at the door & M. Leduc's there file under his arm looking ready for business. There now follows a period of panic as we know communication is going to be difficile as neither Paul or M. Leduc speak each others language. Quick thinking Caroll rings Thierry, the local farmer who speaks English, and he's happy to come round and help translate. Phew! The meeting lasts about an hour with an agreement to meet again at the same time tomorrow to finalise the devis. We eventually sit down for our evening meal just after 9:00, very French.

Wednesday 21st – Off to house to meet the delivery of plasterboard. He's there bang on 9:00 but Babs is disappointed as he unloads the boards outside and we're left to carry them inside. Fit the speaker cables & tidy up again. Paul has a problem with the plumbing back at Najac and has been working on that all morning so when he arrives at about 1:00 we're ready to get straight on with fitting the ceiling. Things go well and by 5:00 we're finished and call in at the garage to see if there's been any progress with the starter motor. With the help of the local taxi/ambulance driver we're told it should be back for Friday. Once again we take the opportunity to look over the Land Rover Lightweight but the garage owner makes it obvious it's not for sale. Ah well I hadn't been making much headway with Barbara anyway. Back to P & C's to prepare for tonight's meeting with M. Leduc. Things are a bit more organised today & Thierry has agreed to help translate again and is at the house, French/English dictionary in hand at 7:00. The meeting goes well and P & C promise to let M. Leduc know they're decision during the next couple of days. Another late meal and long discussion on the big decision P & C have to make.

Thursday 22nd – When I'd driven back from Toulouse after skiing I'd come back on the non toll N20 and noticed lots of builders merchants, plant & other building related suppliers and had mentioned to this to Paul on our way down in the van. He was keen to do a little research so today we're heading for Toulouse. There's a couple of larger towns on the way and we find a very cheap DIY superstore and several other potential useful suppliers. Having made good time we hit Toulouse just as everyone is off for lunch and we're left with no alternative other than to visit the world wide phenomenon known as IKEA. With a product range & prices virtually identical to the UK, once inside we could have been back in Warrington or Gateshead as I'm sure there were more English people in the store than French. We had lunch and were back outside just in time to see a A380 Airbus pass overhead. The massive plane is manufactured at the nearby Blagnac airport and has been at the centre of numerous demonstrations recently as Airbus have threatened to make nearly 10,000 local workers redundant & judging by the size of the plane they could have all been on board. We have a number of interesting conversations with plant suppliers on our return journey & decide that we need to start importing mini JCB diggers from the UK. €12,000 + TVA for a 6 years old 1.5 tonne model. Where's the nearest hire shop? It's been a good day out & we head back home to prepare an email for P & C to M. Leduc to give him the good news... he's got the job.

Friday 23rd – And Paul's spending the morning with us to help correct the error I've made fitting the floorboards at the top of the stairs. He works with us until about 11:00 when he gets a phone call from Caroll to say the septic tank man has arrived but can't locate it. I feel a bit of digging coming on! Barbara & I finish off the floorboards and are about to leave the house when Pierre Segonds, the artisan who's going to do the crepe arrives. I'd sent him an email last night saying the first fix electrical work was now complete and could he come back and finish off the walls. He's obviously a bit busier than the last time we spoke and can't fit us in for another 15 days. Bit disappointing but I suppose we were being a bit optimistic thinking he'd be able to start this coming Monday. We return to P & C's to find Paul down a hole following the line of the septic tank overflow pipe in an attempt to locate the tank. He & I spend about an hour digging away but have to call it a day about 6:30 as we're off to I & V's for supper. We'll continue our efforts first thing in the morning.

Saturday 24th – It's raining and the holes we'd left last night are now full of water. No digging today so Barbara & I head over to the house and finish off the ceiling. By 12:00 we're done and head back to Najac for a quick shower & lunch prior to heading in to VDR. P & C need to visit the bank, open until 4:30 on Saturdays and Barbara & I are going to attempt to get a mobile phone. In the Orange shop they're not very helpful and we make our way to the SFR shop stopping for a coffee on the way. There then follows a most involved conversation with lots of drawings and the eventual summoning of the manager who speaks excellent English. He's very helpful and suggests that to start with a 'pay as you go' phone is probably our best option. It'll work out at approx. €15.00 per month and we'll have the option to upgrade to a contract phone if we find the PAYG option expensive. We also call at Catena, the store we're going to buy our stove from. As they also supply cookers, fridges etc. we take the opportunity to see if we can do a deal on the supply of the white goods we'll need. Although he doesn't agree outright to a discount he 'hints' that when we're ready to place an order he'll do his best to get the order. During the discussion we mention that we're waiting for a chimney sweep to get in touch and remove the hornets nest. The shop owner offers to contact the company he uses and make an appointment on our behalf and takes our new mobile phone number with a promise to call us early next week. After a nice relaxing evening meal we sit down to watch a locally produced film about Najac. Words fail me and I really don't know what to say about it. With images of chickens meeting their demise and cows being prepared for the butchers it made for much more educational viewing than Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. Had I seen this prior to moving out here I think we'd now be in Spain. Copies of the DVD are available at €15.00 inc' P & P and definitely carry a PG rating!

Sunday 25th - A day of rest with one less hour in bed. Headed over to the market at St. Antonin-Noble-Val and picked up some more of that very expensive 3 year old cheese, (spending a whole weeks housekeeping in the process and Barbara and Caroll had only left us for 10 minutes while they went to look in an upholsterers shop). No sign of the chap who bought us the coffee. Back in Najac Paul & I set too, to locate the septic tank and after only 30 minutes digging find the lid which was covered over with an old tyre. I beat a hasty retreat while Paul opens the lid. P & C call over to Thierry's to organise the septic tank man for Monday.