w/c 5 March 2007

Monday 5th - Sandwiches made and it's back to work I go, all on my own! Seeing the work done last week by M. Segonds again I'm still wowed by what a dramatic effect it's had on the house. It's going to be such a shame to cover up all that stone and we will have to a consider having the end wall 'buttered'. This is a French type of pointing that leaves a smooth surface with the face of the stone showing. I'm sure Barbara will have some thoughts when she sees the wall first hand. First job today was going to be to dig a trench in one of the cellars & fit the field drain I'd bought. It's obviously rained hard while I've been away and there was a puddle in the cellar so think I'll let it dry out a little first. Next on my list (the one Barbara left me) was to rub down the plaster work & apply a further coat, so on with that. Next, the holes we'd made in the side of the house when fitting the joists had to be filled. This is going to take a couple of attempts to build the concrete up so did what I could & left it to set. We plan to fit plasterboards between the joists in the living room and I'd planned to put batons in place to secure the boards to. What I hadn't taken in to consideration was the gap between the joists varying between 600 & 850 mm. In a conversation with Paul whilst away on holiday he'd pointed out that when fitting plasterboards to ceilings you needed to make sure they don't sag & would need support at less that the 600mm centres recommended for walls (getting a bit technical there). As I haven't got the right wood for this it will have to wait until I next take a trip to VDR. Although the ground floor was fairly dust free the top floor was in need of sweeping out. iPod on I'm happily brushing away when I hear someone shouting hello, not bonjour, from downstairs. Visitors? But I don't anyone! Turns out it's one of our neighbours who has spotted the British car & popped in to introduce herself. She & her husband have lived in France for several years and are currently developing the property round the corner which they then intend to let out as gites. The location of her property is fantastic and has a view down the Averyon gorge that is second to none. They've made the most of this by installing an 'infinity' swimming pool that virtually overhangs the gorge which I'm sure will be a real 'wow' feature for potential guests. We have a good chat & she tells me that there's another house in our hamlet owned by an English couple. Not much chance of integrating with the locals & picking the language up. I also get an invite to pop round & have a look at what they've done. I'll definitely be following that invitation up, especially when the pool's finished.

Tuesday 6th - Off to VDR to get a few essentials this morning. Need some food and, most importantly, a spade so I can get on with that trench, can't wait! I know a spade is a spade but French spades all have long handles and no 'T' on the end. Don't know why perhaps it's us Brits who have it wrong. Anyway I pick one up & head to the supermarché for something for one. No frozen TV dinners here so the next best thing is a tin of 'Saucisses de Toulouse aux Lentilles Cusineés', the nearest thing to baked beans with sausages I could find, some chicken fillets, mince for chilli & spag bol, and a bit of veg. As 'Ready Steady Cook' hasn't made it big over here it'll be on to Jamie's website tonight to see what I can make from that lot. We had a phone call before going away last week to tell us that a part for P & C's stove had arrived and needed collecting from the magasin. I call in & while I'm waiting for them to locate the part have a wander round. It's a very nice home-wares shop and there's lots of expensive looking pans, crockery, wine racks and other cooking related items. They also sell electrical products & whilst very similar in price to the UK have a €0.50 'eco tax' sticker on them. Just then the shop owner returns full of apologies as he can't locate the part. Not to worry I'll call back later in the week & I ask him what the 'eco tax' is. It's been introduced by the French government and is levied on all new electrical appliances as a contribution to the cost of disposal of the item it's replacing. The shop has to take the old product in and is responsible for it's correct disposal. Kettles, coffee machines, irons etc. are levied at €0.50 and fridges & freezers, the most damaging to the environment, attract a tax of €13.00. He went on to say that the eco tax should be shown & charged separately to the sale price in an attempt to make people aware of the costs involved in disposal of old electrical goods. Good idea? Back to the house and an afternoon digging. It was hard work and it's a while since I've felt as tired. And that b****y spade didn't help. I'm certainly no expert when it comes to spades but I'm sure English ones are easier to use, the blades at the wrong angle!

Wednesday 7th – Very early start this morning. Woke up with a start at about 7:15, did I leave the electric on at the house yesterday? If I did then the 500 watt floodlight I was using in the cellar would still be on & by now be very hot! Very quick breakfast, sandwiches thrown together & off to see if it was going to be more that a new roof we'd need. What will I say to Babs? 'Hello darling while you were away I had a little mishap & you know those new floorboards we spent days fitting? Well we've now plenty of charcoal for the barbie but no house'. You can see the house from the top of the road so I could see that the roof was still there when I turned the corner and, I should never have doubted myself, the electric was off. Phew! Straight on with the drain in the cellar, don't know why I'm rushing it's going to be a long day, it's still only 7:50. When the septic tank was installed there had been some gravel left and not being one to spend money wastefully (well not on this occasion) I managed to scrape enough together to use in the trench. Rain is in the air and I could really do with making a start on the supports for the plasterboards in the living area. Quick text to Paul for some advise, long live SMS, and off to the local builders merchant. 'Je voudrai cinquante metres de trois x quatre s'il vous plait' - 'Pardon Monsieur, trois x quatre?' On reflection I suppose there wasn't much chance of him having any 3” x 4” timber. We locate the nearest French size & load it on the roof of the car. These old Mercedes really can take some punishment, if only it didn't sound like a jet fighter. I just manage to get the timber under cover when the heavens open and it's raining again. I suppose it was Southern California where it never rains & not Southern France. A good afternoon getting on with the supports & I clock off early & head to I & V's for a cuppa thinking there's not much exciting to put in the blog tonight. I'm greeted with 'the chimney sweeps on his way to Lagarrigue you'd better get back there'. We'd asked Ian to speak to the chimney sweep & arrange for him to visit & he'd just rang to say he was on his way so a quick about turn. Fortunately I was in a jet fighter so was back in time to catch him at the house. He has a look up the chimney and there's a sharp intake of breath, 'il y a boucher Monsieur' (I'm sure that's not the correct way to write what he said, but I am trying). Turns out the obstruction is a hornets nest & he's not going to try & move it, thank goodness. He's good enough to ring Ian & explain what the problem is & says he'll pass on the number of an expert in removing a nicher. Head back to I & V's for that cuppa.

Thursday 8th – Full day fitting the plasterboard supports with the company of 'RFM' a French radio station whose tag line is 'The Best FM of the Eighties and Today'. Who they kidding? Sade, Boney M (80's?), Culture Club, Dido, Michael Bolton, George Michael and, the exception that proves the rule, Phil Collins. It must be 'George Michael' week on RFM because every second record was one of his, including Last Christmas. I shouldn't complain, if it was wall to wall French pop music the radio would have been out the window. It's amazing how many English language songs are played on the radio stations here, even the jingles & station idents are in English. I've read that the French government legislate that up to 40% of music played on the radio must be French music. Having listened to some of their pop music I can understand why you have to be forced by the government to listen to it. A good example of where the French are with popular music is the time I was stopped at traffic lights and a teenager, tapping away on the steering wheel, in a customised Clio pulled up next to me. Windows down speakers at full blast, but not for him 50 Cents or The Blackeyed Peas. There at full volume was that classic 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley. What great musical taste the French have.

Friday 9th – Good news! It was only George Michael day & not week so it's back to hits of the eighties. Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely' I'm sure wasn't a 80's hit but there it was. It's been a very quiet week without Babs & it's only thanks to Caroll's DVD's that I haven't taken to the bottle, or two. You can tell how bad its is when you notice a car going down a one-way street the wrong way on 'Lewis' & you rewind it just to double check. Roll-on next Saturday. Received a devis today for the stove & central heating from the company we had out 3 weeks ago. Very expensive so thinking caps back on for a more economical alternative. The fact that it's taken over 3 weeks to get a quote to us also doesn't make you want to rush to give them the business. Called over to see M. Regourd at lunch, always the best time to catch a French 'artisan' at home, to confirm he was still planning to start our electrical work next week. ' Oui, mardi ou mercredi'. Great news but it means that my trip back to the UK tomorrow is off. Shame, but at least I'll be able to get on with some more work &, having spoken to Barbara about life in the big city, I'm not sure this country lad could have coped with it. Finished the plasterboard supports so all is in place for next week, may have half a day off tomorrow and sort the bike out & have a spin out on Sunday.

Saturday 10th – Bit of a lie in as I only plan to tidy up at the house & sort my bike out this morning. Nice & bright but a little chilly, great weather for getting the old MTB out. Let's hope it's like this tomorrow. By 11:00 the house is spic & span & it's on with fitting new brake pads to my bike. Bit of a problem as the callipers have seized up & I can't get them far enough back to fit the new pads. I'll have to let some lubricant soak in and have a go tomorrow. Better not delay my ride. Off to VDR this PM for some food & a leisurely wander round. Had look in a couple of mobile phone shops, there's as many here as there are in the UK, but shied away form signing up to a contract, they seem quite expensive here. Called in to the bank and printed a statement out that shows the last 6 weeks transactions in detail, should make interesting reading. Also picked up a bargain DVD in Hyper U, 'Le President Et Miss Wade' think we know it as 'The American President', might be a way to learn some French if I watch it with sub-titles.

Sunday 11th – Another beautiful day with the sun out, no wind and the temperature not getting above 12ºC, great biking weather. The oil worked so I was able to get out and do a quick 12.5 miles before lunch. Did think I would have a go on one of the sign posted VTT (MTB) routes but as I'd forgotten to pick the map up I wasn't keen on hurtling down some track to find the return was back the way I had just come. I'll save that till next week. Called in at I & V's just as they were heading off to the football. Vilia had just taken some home-made sausage rolls out of the oven & asked would I like a couple for my lunch. Didn't need asking twice, they were lovely & made me long for Greggs and their world famous pasties! Whilst I'd been out on the bike I'd passed a bar in St-André-de-Najac with a poster outside advertising the England v France match, could be interesting. I got there just after the match had started & England were already loosing. The bar was a mix of French & English and there was a really good atmosphere and friendly banter between the two nations. Every time the French scored they turned on a singing frog which they had dressed in a French rugby shirt. Standing near the bar sipping my 'demi' beer I was be-friended by a Frenchman who could speak a little English and was the manager of the local rugby team. It was an interesting conversation with the lad behind the bar helping to translate when he had a minute. I was trying to make my small beer last but M. Foix, my new friend, insisted on buying me another. I managed to tell him I was driving & would like a Coke. 'Coke! La gendarme ne pas travail le dimanche' (that's supposed to translate as – 'Coke! The gendarmes don't work on Sundays') and gets me another demi beer. With the England win it should have been a good afternoon but the edge is taken off it when another of my new French friends tells me, in excellent English, that the local dialect is one of the hardest to understand and that there are lot's of French people who have difficulty understanding the locals. He also tells me there are no good French teachers locally & wishes me the best of luck in learning the language. This is backed up by the English owner of the bar who tells me he can speak good French but when it comes to understanding it he really struggles. He's been in France since 1991. Great! When we first visited the area about 7 years ago there was a property for sale in St-André-de-Najac that both Barbara & I would have loved to own. It was about €100,000, way beyond our budget, but in a great location. It was derelict and offered great potential (practising some estate agent speak there) and we often talked about 'what if'. We've passed it several times over the last few years and there is currently a lot of work going on there. I found out today that the local maire has bought it and is re-developing the site on behalf of the local village. So turns out we'd never have got it, in France the maire is given the option to buy any property once an acceptable bid has been made to the vendor.