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!!!