Strimming, Sauveterre de Rouergue & Limogues

Well this week starts much like the last one...hacking out! It must seem as if we're hacking out a building the size of the Empire State, although sometimes if feels like we are, it really is only a small French house. The weather had really hotted up at the beginning of the week and labouring away in the blazing sun meant we were building up a good old sweat and, hopefully, the pounds were dropping off us. Since the sand & lime were delivered last Friday we hadn't seen the builder and as the 15 days were up on Thursday we had decided to give him a call on Saturday. We'd needn't have panicked as on Friday afternoon he arrived with a large cement mixer and said he'd be starting work on Tuesday morning at 7:00. Don't think Barbara was too impressed with the time but the fact that it would be another job crossed off the list made up for the loss of beauty sleep.

On Tuesday we called in to the Maire's office, and what a nice office it is as you can see from the picture it, with our plans. We half expected to be quizzed about what we had in mind but as it turned out all the staff (and there are a lot of them for a village with a population of only 1,800) were having computer lessons. It's good to know that our tax d'habitation is being spent well. We left the plans with fingers crossed that they wouldn't get mislaid and we'd hear something before the office closed for the annual holidays at the end of July. We got back to the house just in time to see M. & Mme. Guilbert arrive with their daughter. They'd called by to explain why their son-in-law hadn't been able to cut the field. It didn't really need much explanation, it's not been dry enough! Their daughter's English was very good and she said that her own daughter was now learning English at school & she was really enjoying helping her with her homework. She went on to say that when she was at school she'd been on an English exchange to Blackpool. We told her that Barbara's mum lived in Blackpool and that it probably hadn't changed that much since she was there. It's still a sophisticated resort where visitors dress in kiss-me-quick hats & enjoy the best pleasure beach in the world. A world apart from rural France.

With the weather hotting up the grass has started to grow and once again it's time to get the strimmer out. Ever since I bought it it's been a little unreliable and as I don't seem to have much luck with second hand machinery I'm always slightly pessimistic. Things didn't improve when no sooner had I made a start than the dammed thing cut out & couldn't be restarted. Frustrated that it looked like I was going to have a wasted day I decided to take it back to the shop where I'd bought it and have a few words with them as it had already, according to them, been fully repaired. On arrival I have the wind taken out of my sails when the shop owner offers to lend me a new strimmer while he sorts mine out. Can't complain at that especially as the machine he lends me is much bigger than mine. Think it's time to return home and make the most of the loan machine & do a bit of intensive strimming. All goes well until I see something move very quickly, fortunately in the opposite direction, as I approach with the strimmer. I'm not sure who was the most scared me or the Couleuvre d’Esculape or Elaphe longissima snake. I had thought that the dead snake we'd seen on the road last week was the only local inhabitant of the species but I guess that was being a tad optimistic.

The week has flown by and it's Thursday again & time to take Beryl back to the airport. She's been really blessed with the weather & had a nice relaxing time with us. As I'm filling the car with petrol in preparation for the journey to Limogues a lorry driver beckons to me for help. The filling station we use is fully automated and there are no staff on site & the Greek driver must think I'll be able to translate the French instructions for him. I'm able to help him & walk away thinking 'at last, someone who speaks less French than me'. It's a good journey and we have time to call in to a motorway services for lunch. These are not to be confused with British ones where you can only buy litre cups of coffee & KFC's, these are French ones that serve a range of good quality meals at a fraction of British prices and are all offered with a choice of wine or beer! It's always a good idea to forgot the alcohol when you're concentrating on getting out of the way of your average French Autoroute driver who travels at speeds in excess of 150Km/H.

Saturday afternoon and time for a little R & R. We've been before but thought it was time to visit Sauveterre de Rouergue again. Click HERE for further information. It's one of nine of the '100 most beautiful villages in France' located in the Averyon, Najac is another. We were lucky as there was a medieval festival on with the village inhabitants dressed in period costume, although I suppose they could dress like that all the time. There were several arts & crafts stalls selling baskets, pottery & jewellery, there always seems to be lots of jewellery stalls at these type of events, wonder if it's because all their wares can be thrown in the back of the car for easy transportation. Lot easier than having to pack away dozens of wood carvings & baskets.

Mercedes, Albi & Toulouse-Lautrec

Babs was up and away early on Monday morning leaving me with instructions not to go up the scaffold until she returned. My darling ever caring wife was off to VDR for a hard hat. She obviously knows how accident prone I can be & doesn't want to be rushing off to hospital with me in tow. By 11:00 she's back with two lovely hard hats and I'm allowed to get on with hacking out (is it 'B' for boss or Babs?). I think it's fair to say that by the end of the week I'll be well hacked off with hacking out but it has to be done. By Wednesday you can really see the results of all our hard work & it's been well worth the effort. It's just as well we're making reasonable progress as the architect turns up with the revised plans for the barn & we now have to submit them to the local Maire. We can then begin work on the barn!!!

We're having a royal visit this week from Beryl, Barbara's mum, and on Thursday we're off to Limoges to pick her up. Beryl lives in Blackpool and up until a couple of weeks ago Ryanair had a flight from there to Stansted that linked up perfectly with the Rodez flight. Rumour has it that Blackpool airport authority saw how busy the flights were and decided to up the landing fees. In typical Ryanair style they said you can stuff your increased fees and pulled the flight. Let's hope one side comes to their senses and the flight is reinstated, in the meantime it's off to Limoges for us. It fits in quite well as I've arranged to collect the bike mount off the tow bar on the Merc that I was unable to remove before it was collected last week & the garage is just north of Figeac which is on one of the routes we can take to Limoges. The garage owner has said he'll leave the part in the back of my old car which he'll park up just off the road. What a sorry site it makes when we get there with all the carpets gone, back seats removed and door panels missing. It almost makes me want to give him his money back, but not quite.

Although we've passed Limoges a number of times it's the first time we'll have been in to the city. Well as it turns out we don't get to see much of the town as the airport is well to the west and by the time we get there Beryl's flight is due in 20 minutes, good timing. I was expecting an airport of a similar size to Rodez but it turns out to be much bigger with UK flights from Manchester, East Midlands, Newcastle, Stansted & Liverpool amongst others which must explain the number of British cars in the car park. I know on occasions I can be given to slight exaggeration but there were more British registered cars there than you'd find on the average Saturday at the Trafford Centre! We know of someone who flies in to Limoges regularly and on one occasion he'd stopped counting GB plates when he got to 144. Once in the airport a quick check on the arrivals board shows Beryl's flight is delayed by 2 hours and is now due to land a 5:05. Ah well, time to catch up with the news and there's lots of English newspapers available to choose from. At least we don't have as much time to idle away as the couple we sat next to in the café. They'd missed their flight and would be sat about the airport until the next flight to Stansted which was at 10:00 the following morning. The flight arrives at just after 5:00 and Beryl is the first off looking well & remarkably fresh considering she's been on the go since 6:00 this morning. She obviously pleased to see us both and we hit the road for the drive back and her first viewing of Lagarrigue. As we near the house we can see lightening in the distance and there's rain in the air. We manage to get in the house as the heavens open and there's the biggest downpour and thunderstorm we've witnessed since we arrived. Despite the appalling weather Beryl is well impressed with what we've done and quickly relaxes in to the French way of life with a glass of red wine and a cheese baguette.

Friday we get a rude awakening when a lorry pulls up just after 7:30 with a delivery of sable & chaux in preparation of starting the pointing. We spend a leisurely morning showing Beryl around the local area and in the afternoon we head over to VDR. It's like being on your holidays & I'm getting withdrawal symptoms from not hacking out for a couple of days, what a waste of money those hard hats were. Saturday is another day spent on 'our hol's' with a day in Albi the birth place of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Click HERE for more details of the town and the painter responsible for such titles as 'Woman Pulling up her Stocking', 'The Toilette' and my favourite 'Two Half-Naked Women Seen from behind in the Rue des Moulins Brothel'.

Back to the real world and a little hacking out when we return home while Beryl 'rests' from the days activities. Sunday we can't resist a trip to the market in St. Antonin-Noble-Val where we know Beryl will enjoy wandering around the food & craft stalls. In the afternoon it's a little furniture removing duties as we help G & S move some of their furniture to the house in Mazarolles. It's really coming together for them and they're really looking forward to spending their first night in the house.

Weather, German TV & serpents

The weather is still a major talking point and when Thierry rang on Wednesday his opening line was 'This is lovely weather for the South of France?' It's not & if we see any more rain I think we'll be packing our bags and heading back to Manchester which is like the Sahara compared with here. Thierry was calling to tell us that he had spoken to the Mercedes garage and the owner would be calling on Thursday morning to give our Merc the once over. It crossed my mind that I should get out and clean the car but realistically I don't think it's going to add much to his offer, anyway it's raining, but what a pleasant surprise when he's actually interested in the car. The bodywork is in good condition & that makes the car worth buying. We agree on a price, shake hands & he says he'll call to arrange collection. Despite the pain in the a**e the car has been I think I'm going to miss it (but only a little). Time to call at the local garage to see if the Land Rover lightweight is for sale.

I'd planned to spend Wednesday hacking out as we now have a deadline to get the outside prepared for pointing. There's a small group of houses next to ours that's been renovated by a local builder and we've often thought that the way the outside has been finished really looks good. We'd chatted to the builder on a couple of occasions & he'd given us a price for the work that was a little beyond our budget. Talking to him again this week it looks like his cash flow is a little tight & he has revised his price so we've given the go ahead & he can start in 15 days. The only proviso is that I labour for him. That'll be fun but in the meantime he's lent me his hammer drill and showed me the best way to get the rendering off, the only problem I have is lifting it!

Took the opportunity to have a go at setting the satellite dish up this week & what a waste of time & money that was. After nearly 3 hours of messing, in the rain, all we could pick up was German TV. We've enough problems understanding French. So if any one would like to purchase an analogue satellite system with one careful owner and is keen to develop their German language skills please get in touch (P & P at cost).

We'd asked Thierry to get us some fire-wood and he arrives on Friday just as the weather picks up & the temperature rises dramatically. It's 30ºC and I'm getting a bit hot up the ladder hacking out, but it's got to be done. This afternoon we've an appointment with the architect to discuss what we want to do with the barn. It's a good meeting & when we tell him the hanger's gone he says we really should have had planning permission to demolish it but not to worry he'll sort it out retrospectively. The improved weather also brings out lots of wildlife including an Elaphe longissima! You can click HERE to see what one is & fortunately for us, not for it, it was dead.



Saturday & up with the lark & we bid goodbye to the Merc with a tear in our eye but some Euros in our wallet. There's lots to do today to the front of the house which is south facing and by lunchtime, if the weather forecast is correct, it will be basking in the mid 30's. Not the best of weather for working in although it's going to be a lot easier hacking out now the builder has dropped off some scaffolding. Just after this picture was taken a piece of the render fell off & hit me on the head. Apart from a small scratch I'm OK but if anyone can tell me who I am & what the bloody hell I'm doing in France I'd welcome the call!!!

Plug, Rodez & hangers

Flight back in to Rodez was bang on time which was great for us but a little unfortunate for the couple we met in the airport car park. They were dropping an elderly relative off and had thought the flight wasn't due for another 2 hours and I have the distinct feeling that Ryanair wouldn't hold the flight up while they checked in. We didn't hang about to find out and headed for home.

Whilst we'd been in the UK a message had been left on the mobile and we'd be unable to retrieve it. Now we were back on French soil I listened to the message which was from Thierry. He was going to be at Lagarrigue on Tuesday morning at 7:00 to remove the hanger, it was now Wednesday afternoon and was the hanger no more? It was still there when we got home which was a bit of a disappointment but at least I'll be able to help demolish it. The weather had been wet & cold while we'd been away (nothing new there) and Thierry and his friend, who was going to supervise the hanger's removal, had called the job off yesterday and now planned to be with us at 7:00 on Thursday. They arrived at just after 7:15 and got to work despite straight away. Despite the light rain the asbestos roof was off in no time and placed on pallets. Thierry has assured us that as he's a farmer and will be re-erecting the building the rules regarding safe disposal of the asbestos don't apply. Health & safety at work also appears to be another rule French farmers ignore. Watching them clamber along the girders with a Still saw was too much for Barbara and as they didn't want any help, which was just as well as there was no way I was going up a ladder in the pouring rain, we headed off to VDR to sort out the electricity bill and purchase contents insurance. Let's hope we don't have to make a claim on the compulsory third party insurance all French home-owners have when we get home. They're still in one piece when we get back and work through until 6:00 and return the following morning at 7:30. It's another full day for them and I'm sure Thierry was beginning to think was the hanger really worth the effort but as he sets off for home just after 7:00 he seams more than happy if a little wet.

We'd also had a phone call to say the cooker hood we'd ordered had arrived and they would call out on Friday to fit it. During the installation I asked the fitter if he required a plug for the electric supply. 'Plug?' he says and I show him one attached to the kettle to illustrate what I mean. Turns out a plug in French is an insult and means idiot. No wonder he looked at me a little strangely.

As far as work goes it's been a week of odd jobs and hacking out. Did get a tip from the builder next door to speed the hacking out up; hire a sand blaster. Might give it a try.