w/c 2 April 2007

Monday 2nd – In to VDR first thing to collect paint and all the associated bits & pieces for decorating. Only problem was that a couple of the shops we needed to visit are closed for stocktaking so it'll mean we have to come back again later in the week. Back to the house for lunch which is eaten in the car because it's that cold and on with rubbing down the plastering I did last week & building a frame to support the toilet cistern in the downstairs cloakroom. We have to be back at P & C's for 3:00 to meet the septic tank man so it's a very early finish today. If he turns up on time we plan to visit a quarry in a village called Virac and see if we can organise stone for the hearth. While we're waiting I check our emails and there's one from Pierre Segonds asking if it's OK to start the crepe tomorrow. That's great news but it means that our early finish has been knocked on the head & we'll be back to work once the septic tank is sorted. We also get a visit from P & C's next door neighbour who is Portuguese but has lived if France for the last 40 years. The last time we'd met her we couldn't understand a word she was saying and thought she was a French rambler expecting to stay the night with us. Thankfully things have become a little clearer to us and we managed to learn a little about her children and an appointment she had with a physiotherapist in Albi. Just as we're thinking we've had a wasted afternoon the driver turns up at 5:30. There's a little bit of face pulling when he sees that he will have to back his lorry down to the house but there's an even bigger Gallic shrug when he takes the lid off the septic tank. He didn't say anything but I'm sure he was thinking merde! He gets his lorry as near as he can and starts to connect the pipes, but he's not wearing any gloves. Perhaps the lorry's just been cleaned out & he'll put them on later. He starts the pump, still no sign of any gloves, and Barbara & I go in the house & close the door. Ten minutes later he's finished and packing up ready to leave. He knocks on the door and has an invoice which we offer to pay by cheque. That's OK but the problem will be writing the amount out in words and we ask the driver to help and complete that section of the cheque. He takes Barbara's pen completes the cheque, signs the receipt, hands the pen back & bids us bonne journée. It's customary in France to shake hands with everyone you meet but on this occasion I kept my hands firmly in my pockets and made no attempt to do so. By the time I'd got back in the house Barbara had got the disinfectant out and was wiping the pen down! It's back to the house to tidy up & prepare for Pierre. Supper tonight will be a little later than normal.

Tuesday 3rd - Head up to house and Pierre is there just getting started. Arrived just in time to avoid lifting a very heavy looking cement mixer up a flight of steps onto the balcony. After discussing a few bits and pieces with him we head to Gilly's to continue the painting. Just as we're thinking of heading off for lunch there's a knock at the door and there's a couple of men, one wearing a sweatshirt with the picture of a dog with a dead bird hanging out of it's mouth, wanting to deliver some windows & doors. Walking to the van Barbara & I offer to help unload and put them in the barn but when we see the size of the doors we realise there's no way we're going to be able to move them very far. A couple of phone calls later and it's agreed that they will be placed near the front gate & the carpenter will send some men over later to put them in place. It turns out that one of the men is a neighbour of Gilly's & we've seen him working on a house across the lane. In conversation with him he tells us that this is his holiday home and he lives in Aix-en-Provence but finds it too hot during the summer. The whole of the conversation is held in French so I suppose we must be improving slightly. Over the last few days there has been a noticeable increase in the number of British registered cars on the road, so much so that I have to ask, 'is there anyone left in the UK?' Even in the supermarket yesterday, have a look at the picture HERE, we were joined in the cue by 2 British families. At this rate we won't need to bother learning French, they'll only be the British here! Late this afternoon we head over to the quarry we'd planned to visit yesterday. The owner, who is English and has been out here for 18 years, is very helpful and after identifying the area we live in by the sample of stone we'd taken with us gives us a brief lesson in geology. He certainly seems to know his stuff and says he will put together a devis and phone us later with the price.

Wednesday 4th – Quick check to see what progress was made at the house yesterday & on to VDR, again, for some more paint for Gilly's. We also needed to get a new door lock for & thought we were organised by not only measuring the old one but taking a photograph of it (marvellous what you can do with a mobile phone these days) but despite there being dozens of locks not one is suitable for a door that opens to the droite. They'll be in stock on Friday. As we're struggling with the lock there's another English couple looking as perplexed as we normally do. We offered to help but when they explain that they're looking for exterior ceramic tile adhesive we had to explain that we hadn't got to that stage in our renovation project as yet. We get a phone call from Ian at lunch time saying the garage have been in touch & they've removed the engine immobiliser which has affected the central locking and am I bothered about it. As it'll cost €240.00 to install a new system I ask him to tell the garage not to worry about it and keep my fingers crossed that someone will nick the thing and we can claim on the insurance. Come to think of it the insurance will probably be void now the car doesn't have an immobiliser who is going to nick the car anyway! Spent the rest of the day painting & called for a cuppa at I & V's on the way home. We'd asked Ian to give the roofer a call to see if he had a date for commencing work on the house. He'd tried calling yesterday but there was no answer so he was going to try again tonight. By now it was 6:30 so there was a chance the roofer would have finished work & be at home. We head out to his house to see if he's in and are just in time to catch his daughters returning from walking the dogs. 'Papa is still at work and will return at 8:00 this evening'. A wasted trip.

Thursday 5th – Full day at Gilly's painting with just a break at lunch time to see if work had progressed at Lagarrigue. It hadn't, but the concrete was still damp in places so I guess they were giving it plenty of time to go off. The painting is coming on well and I only wish I had shares in a French paint manufacturer because judging by the way the walls soak up the stuff I'd be a very rich man. Paint is very expensive, 10 litres of Dulux brilliant white matt emulsion costs €53.00. Got round to watching one of the 'classic' DVD's Rebecca & Matthew sent us, Steptoe & Son from 1970. Were there still rag & bone men around with horse pulled carts in the early 70's? It was the one where their horse Hercules dies. I know what would have happened to him if he'd been in France. 'What's for dinner tonight Dad?' 'Hercules!'

Friday 6th – VDR again this morning for more paint and the shop assistant jokes that we must be painting the Eiffel Tower. We called in at the house on the way and were pleased to see work was well under way & a compressor had been delivered and the first layer of crepe was about to be applied. We want to put some oak round the chimney breast which is currently tiled and had called in to measure up. Pierre tells us there's a wood yard in nearby Monteils so we'll call in there on the way back. While in VDR we get a call from Mr. Scott the stone man to say he's got a suitable piece of stone & can cut & prepare it for the end of the month. Next stop is to order the poêle & cuisinère & while we're attempting to 'do a deal' the mobile rings & it's Vilia saying the Mercs ready and it needs to be collected from the auto electricians in VDR before 12:00 when, of course, they close for lunch. As it's now 11:45 I race off to collect the car & leave Barbara haggling with the shop owner. The car still sounds like a jet fighter but at least it starts & I head back to see how many hundreds of Euros Barbara has saved us. She's got him down a bit and he can deliver in early May so well done Babs. Food shopping and a bit of lunch now while we wait for the wood yard to re-open. We find it easily enough and ask where the bureau is. 'This is my office' he says and looks around and points at the yard that any health & safety officer would have nightmares over. We show our picture of what we're after and explain that we would like chêne. He heads off and we follow him to a pile of various lengths of oak beams. He selects one and asks me to help carry it back to the workshop where he feeds it through a machine to cut it to the dimensions we require, 3.5 metres x 12cms x 6cms. Not having any idea of what it's going to cost Barbara dashes back to the car for the cheque book but by the time she returns I've paid the €11.75 in cash. Back to Lagarrigue with the wood & then on to I & V's with a box of chocs and a thank you for their help in sorting the car out. All we need to do now is call in to the garage and pay the bill! We'll do that tomorrow. Oh, and it's Good Friday. Considering France is a Catholic country there is no recognition of what to day is. It's not a public holiday and it's business as usual. The bank holidays come in May. Can't wait.

Saturday 7th – Morning spent painting up at Gilly's and after lunch off to Rodez to collect Matthew & Paul from the airport. It's a beautiful day and sitting waiting for them at the airport it gives me time to reflect on what's been happening over the last few months. It's been a bit of a roller coaster and sometimes I wonder what we've done. Today it feels like it was a good idea. Head back to Najac and pick Barbara up and head for the local bar and a couple of beers sitting in the sun and then on to Lagarrigue to show Matthew what his inheritance has bought. Think he's impressed and says he's looking forward to visiting when there's a bedroom to sleep in.

Sunday 8th – Take Matthew to show him the market in St. Antonin-Noble-Val and unfortunately the cheese lady isn't about and we leave empty handed. This afternoon Ian has invited us all to the football teams annual lunch. We're made to feel very welcome and have a very informal meal of sausage, croquet potatoes & green beans along with as much red wine as we can drink. We then head to the car park for a game of boules. It's a very French afternoon with the sun shining and the wine flowing freely. If only our language skills were better.