Cahors, Le Tour & Rebecca

One thing I forgot to mention about the party last week was how polite everyone was. Without exception all the men shake hands on meeting and all the ladies give each other, and the men, three kisses on the cheek. I can't remember the last time I was kissed by so many young ladies. Probably never come to think of it. The other noticeable thing was that all the young ones attending the party smoked and the older ones didn't. Smoking in all public places, including cafés, bars and restaurants, is banned from next February and it's going to be really interesting to see what the reaction of the French people will be.

It's been a busy week with a trip to Toulouse to meet Rebecca, M. Lagarrigue turning up, bit of landscaping, a big surprise in Cahors and just a little progress on the Land Rover front. We experienced the French rail system for the first time on Tuesday when we took a train down to Toulouse to meet Rebecca. It started off well with the train only a few minutes late it was only when we came to buy the tickets from the guard that it looked like things may not go completely to plan. We asked for a day return to Toulouse and were originally told that we couldn't buy a return ticket on the train & would have to purchase single. We acted the dumb English couple (wasn't hard) and after a few shrugs the guard was able to find a way round the problem. She did explain that it would have been much cheaper to have payed for the tickets at the station or booked on line. I couldn't resit seeing how much we would have saved - €1.57! We spent a couple of hours wandering round Toulouse, a beautiful city and well worth a visit, had a spot of lunch & headed back to the station. Rebecca who was on the train from Marseilles having spent a few days with Alan's mum & husband. It was really great to see her and we were able to jump on the next train back to Najac and catch up with what's been going on her life.

Whilst we're in VDR stocking up with food for Rebecca's visit Thierry rang to say M. Lagarrigue was on his way and would be starting work this PM. So it was a quick dash round Hyper U and back to await his arrival. At just before 2:00 he arrived with three machines and after a quick re-cap of what we wanted him to do he was on with the job. It wasn't long before things started to take shape & watching him making the JCB 'dance' made me think we'd made the right decision in getting him to do the hard landscaping for us. Can you imagine what damage I would have done with that machine? By Friday the jobs finished and it's now up to Barbara & I to do a bit of 'soft' landscaping so I think it'll be a visit to the local garden centre once Rebecca has gone home on Monday. These before & after pic's really make us feel like we're eventually getting somewhere.

The weather has been beautiful this week, must be because Rebecca's with us, so Friday we planned to do a little sightseeing with her. We'd passed through Cahors a couple of times but never stopped to have a look round so what better place to head for. It's about 1 hour away and after a late breakfast we got there just before 12:00. 'Seems very busy there must be something on' Barbara says as we hunt for a parking space on the outskirts of the city. We're really lucky as someone pulls away & we make a quick reversing manoeuvre much to the disgust of the driver of larger BMW 4x4. As we wander across the bridge over The Lot it soon became clear what was going on. Le Tour is in town! I had wanted to see the race when it was in Albi but had thought it would be far too busy and we wouldn't get anywhere near the action. I couldn't believe our luck, we arrive at 12:15 get a brilliant viewpoint and the riders pass at 12:30! A text to Matthew informing him that we were watching Le Tour brought the following response 'Try & stop one of them and pick up half an ounce for me. The best one to ask will be the one at the front wearing the yellow shirt & isn't breaking in to a sweat'. When you see all the effort that goes in to the event it would be such a shame if if it were to be cancelled because of the actions of a few & having seen all those bikes I couldn't resist dusting off mine and having a spin on Sunday afternoon. Think it's going to be along time before I'll be joining them, unless of course I get some of that stuff they all seem to take!

I've mentioned before that Albi is a good place to visit and especially on a Saturday morning when there's a brocante on. We had a good wander about but I think we were a little too late for the bargains. Either that or I haven't got an eye for a bargain & keep thinking of Harry Enfield's character 'I Saw You Coming'. We had a nice lunch by the cathedral & headed back to meet up with G & S who had just returned from the UK. Rebecca was given a guided tour and was most impressed with their home especially the excellent job that has been done on the painting. So much so that I think we'll end up with a few jobs back in Ealing when we spend a few days with her & Alan in October. Sunday it was a very quick visit to St Antonin-Noble-Val because as Rebecca said 'it's busier than Oxford Street on the Saturday before Christmas'. Don't think we'll be back for several weeks. It's been great having Rebecca here and we'll be sorry to see her go, not least of all because we'll have to get back to work.

Baccalaureate party & biscuits

Since we got back from the UK last week the weather has been a little more like you would expect in south west France. It's only rained on one day & we've only had one thunderstorm and that was in the middle of the night. Let's hope the weather's now set for the rest of July & August. We put the scaffolding to good use this week and were able to finish hacking out one side of the barn & it looks like I'll have finished just in time. We had a phone call from Thierry this week to say M. Lagarrigue, the contractor we had asked to do the drive, will be making an appearance early next week. It will mean that all the debris we have accumulated from knocking walls down & hacking out will finally disappear and the land surrounding the house will finally loose the appearance of a building site. Thierry also mentioned that he hadn't heard anything from the owner of the Landrover but the garage had said I wasn't to worry about the Lightweight going as there was no one else interested in it!

On Wednesday M. Mazieres turned up with his facture or at least that's who I thought it was. Turns out he lives in a village called Mazieres & his business, SARL Mazieres Renovo, is named after it. His name is difficult to pronounce so he says it's easier if we call him by his first name, Thierry. A popular name out here & one we'll be sure to use on Saturday night. Barbara was out and had the cheque book so he invited us over to his house for an aperitif and, if the sun was still shining, we could have a dip in his pool. It wasn't by the time we got there but we were able to have a look round his home and all the work he's done to it. It's in a beautiful setting and he's made a good job of renovating what was a derelict house & barn. Sounds familiar. We're looking forward to Saturday night and as long as he keeps his Doberman, who's called Gordon, locked up I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves. A strange name for a French Doberman you may ask. He's named after his wife's favourite drink, G & T.

Barbara had mentioned that when she'd called in to La Fouillade during the week to pick up the obligatory baguette she'd heard music playing. Now it was either the relaxed lifestyle we were now leading, that was quickly ruled out, or piped music was being played across the village for some reason. On Saturday we found out why. The annual book fair was in progress and the music was blaring away interrupted by regular adverts for the event. There were lots of local authors selling their books but there was no sign of that other major book launched this week. J K Rowling obviously felt that the success of her latest publication did not hinge on a personal appearance at the 10th annual 'Du Livre E De La Bd' in La Fouillade.

What a great night we had on Saturday at the celebration party for Thierry's daughters success in passing her baccalaureate. We were made very welcome and even got a mention in her thank you speech. There was a real mix of ages with her friends from college, grandparents and friends & neighbours of her mother & father all mixing with each other and enjoying the food & wine, of which there were lots. We arrived about 7:30 and were given a glass of Thierry's speciality, a fruit punch made with oranges, passion fruit, liquid sugar & white rum. There was also plates of canopies being handed round and by the time it came to sit down for the meal at 9:00 I wished I hadn't indulged in the nibbles quite so much. The French really do know how to entertain in an informal way and it was midnight by the time we were getting round to the final course, home made fresh fruit salad. It was a good opportunity to practice our French & a couple of other guests complimented Barbara on her efforts with the language. Nobody complimented me! There was a real mix of people there, a man who used to work for Kraft Foods and visited England regularly, the owner of an organic & fairtrade biscuit manufacturer who wanted to know which UK companies would be interested in his products. He pulled his ears forward and told us, in a pronounced English accent, that his major competitor was Charles (Prince) and felt the British market would be a difficult one to crack. You can judge for yourself HERE. There was also a couple, she was French & had met her husband in the UK and had lived there for over 30 years and moved back to France 5 years ago. Her husband was English and had been a TV set designer. He was also in the midst of restoring an old Range Rover and turned out to be a Land Rover enthusiast. We had a good chat and he offered to come with me & give the Lightweight the once over. If that was not enough he was also a mad Apple computer fan. This could turn out to be an expensive night out.

Bit of a lie in on Sunday after a very late night on Saturday but we still made it to the market in St. Antonin-Noble-Val. It was a glorious morning and the market was as busy as we'd seen it. Rebecca is here next week & I think we'll be paying a return visit.

Wildlife, Land Rovers & Manchester

We've had a lot of wildlife around this week, some welcome some not. I'm sure my regular readers have picked up on my aversion to serpants and this week my phobia was not helped when I nearly stood on one of them. I'd been clearing out an area of garden so the builder could point the wall and must have disturbed it. Fortunately I had my armour plated wellies on and I was able to take evasive action as it slithered off in to the cellar. I had planned to clear that cellar out this week but think I'll now wait until October when it will have hibernated. For those interested in the local wildlife it was the same snake I'd seen before and was non venomous, phew! We also had this lovely looking creature in the wood store. Needless to say Barbara was keen to see it removed to the far end of the field. Two other visitors were a bit more welcome. M. Guilbert's son-in-law called in to see if we'd like a couple of vache to keep the grass down. Sounded like a great idea so he said he'd set up an electric fence to keep them in and they'd be delivered in a couple of days. He left us a brochure detailing the high quality of meat the animals were used to produce and you can find more details of 'Averyon & Ségala Veal' HERE. We've been invited round to his farm to have a look round so it could be a while before calves liver or veal make it on to the menu at Chez Hill again.

The pointing was finished on Thursday just as we left to fly back to the UK. It really does look great and we're both delighted with the work that's been done. Once the roof is on, and it still looks like work will start the first week in August, the externals of the house will be complete. It's been really interesting working with the builder and we've got on very well. He says his English has improved dramatically, I just wish I could say the same about my French. We'll get an opportunity to put what little we know in to practice this coming Saturday when we attend the builder's daughter's baccalaureate celebration party. We should be OK as his next door neighbour is English & he has a couple of friends who also speak pretty good English. One of them regularly calls at the house next door and on his last visit when it was throwing down said that there were now so many English in the area that we'd brought our own weather with us. Cheeky bugger!

We met up with the owner of the Land Rover Lightweight this week. He's a local Gendarme and with Thierry's help we were able to glean lots of information from him. It only has 12,000 kms on the clock and everything on it is original. A real collectors item that I'm not sure I can do justice to but it would make a great tow car. I had hoped that we could do a bit of wheeling & dealing but I didn't think talking to a Gendarme about a cash deal was the right thing to do. We've arranged a test drive next week so we'll see how it handles and make a decision then. While on the subject of cars we had the Toyota serviced this week and what a bargain it was. €132.00 for a full service and although they didn't clean & valet it we felt it was a real result considering it was carried out by a Toyota authorised dealer.

We were back in the UK this weekend for a wedding and what a great time we had and although the weather was a little wet, it was Manchester after all, the wedding went really well with the sun shining at all the right times. It was great opportunity to catch up with friends and family and we really made the most of the weekend with a trip to the dentist, a visit to the Trafford Centre where we bumped in to Nita, good job we told her we were back in the UK, and a day in Blackpool visiting Barbara's mum & sisters. We called in to Cafe Nero whilst we were at the Trafford Centre and discovered where Peter Kay gets his material. in front of us in the cue were two senior citizens who had obviously not visited a coffee shop before. Barbara had picked up a packet of crisps to go with her sandwich and one of the ladies nearly passed out when she saw the price. 'You want to get yourself down Asda love, you'd get a packet of 12 for that price' and it got even funnier when they ordered the cheapest coffee on the menu, an espresso. 'What do you call this we wanted proper drinks not a thimble full!' The staff were really helpful and topped their drinks up with hot water and sent them on their way chuntering about Americanas!!!

Thanks to Ian & Joyce for a really good weekend and making us feel very welcome & relaxed. Ta!

Jazz, crepes & tractors

Last Sunday we were out for a meal at the local crêperie. The menu is extensive and as long as you like crêpes there's something for everyone. With it being one of the rare decent evenings we've had since we arrived here we decided to eat alfresco. It would have been great had the restaurant not been located next to the river and the balmy evening hadn't brought out all the local midges. The restaurant has live jazz music and the evening went with a real swing (apologies for the mixed music genres).

Been having withdrawal systems from TV for the last few weeks so have taken the plunge and sorted out satellite TV. Not going as far as installing Sky but we'll be able to get all the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 & Five so it'll be just like having Freeview and apart from the cost of installation it's free for us as well. We just have to wait now until 30th July to see what's happening on 'The Street!'

M. Mazieres has made excellent progress with the pointing and the outside of the house is now looking as good as the inside. There's still about another weeks work to be done and after spending Saturday morning erecting the scaffold, I finally managed to finish off the hacking out of the house just before my hacking out pick expired. In between running back & forth with the mortar I made a start on hacking out the barn but after working on the top of the scaffolding I began to have second thoughts about pointing the it. I think Barbara & I would struggle to erect a safe platform and as I'm not all that good at heights anyway I think we may be keeping M. Mazieres telephone number handy. So tomorrow it's another 7:00 start and a continued loss of beauty sleep for Babs.

On Wednesday we had a trip in to VDR to have a family haircut in preparation for our trip back to the UK & another wedding we're attending. Hair wasn't the only thing we had to organise the cutting of. As part of our plans for landscaping the land surrounding the barn & house we want to develop a lawned area. I'd spent a lot of time strimming it as you've read and now the time had come to purchase a lawn mower and as we'll eventually be looking at an area of approximately 3,000 sq' metres of grass we weren't looking for a small hover mower. After much deliberation we settled on a small ride on tractor mower and started the process of haggling for a better price. We don't have much luck and when the shop assistant says there's a €45.00 delivery charge Barbara nearly passes out. 'We're spending all this money and you're asking us to pay for delivery?' Obviously he could sense that he was about to lose the business and agreed to reduce it to €20.00. 'It's more than my job's worth to do it for free'. Sounds just like the UK and yes he could speak very good English. The mower was delivered the next day and it must be the first time ever that I couldn't wait to mow the lawn. After making some comment to Barbara about boys & their toys M. Mazieres asked me which was the Englishman's lawn? Bearing in mind that his land is next to our very rough meadow and he seeded his lawn there is no comparison. 'It will be along time before you can play cricket on that' was his opinion.

Couple of bits of good news this week. The roofer is planning to turn up the first week in August and work for a couple of weeks before he departs for his holidays. He will make the roof weather proof which means we'll be able to start building the bedroom & en-suite walls. Looks like our planned camping holiday to south of France is cancelled. I also found out that the Landrover Lightweight is definitely up for sale. I asked Thierry to give the owner a call and enquire about the price. That's when the news wasn't quite so good. As I said last week second hand cars in France bring ridiculous prices and I think it's going to take a significant amount of wheeling & dealing to get the asking price down to a figure we can do business at.

Curry, pointing & early start builders

Barbara had hoped that at least on Monday she'd be able to have a lie in but it wasn't to be. Just before 8:00 we're woken by the sound of next door's front door being knocked down by a couple of men with sledge hammers. Turns out it's our neighbour's builders who have forgotten to bring a key with them & they don't appear that impressed when I turn up with a key just as they brake the door down. The builders are the same company that did a lot of work for G & S and are ran by a Englishman so when it comes time for a tea break & they need water there's no problem understanding them. They'd brought a mini digger with them but no matter how big a hint I dropped they didn't offer to lend it me for a couple of hours. Just imagine what damage, sorry I mean progress, I could make with it.

As promised at just before 7:00 am on Tuesday M. Mazieres, the builder, arrived to start the pointing. It would appear that at last we've found a reliable tradesman. There's no time for a morning brew and it's straight on with the first batch of lime/cement/sand mix. With me labouring and hoisting fresh mix up the scaffold good progress is made and by 12:30 the first section has had the mortar applied and it now has to be left to dry. So off goes the builder for a siesta and says he'll be back at 4:00 to brush off the excess mortar. Watching the builder work it doesn't look that difficult a job so maybe when it comes to the barn we'll invest in some scaffolding and have a go ourselves! By Thursday the upper half of the front of the house is completed and we have time to pop in to the market in VDR. There's a stall that sells every herb & spice you can imagine and as I'm planning on making two traditional English dishes for supper on Saturday night a visit to the stall is essential. We're having Chicken tikka masala and, as there is so much locally grown fresh fruit available at amazingly cheap prices, summer pudding. It's going to be a real treat having a curry as, I think I've said before, Indian takeaways are few and far between in France. In order that we get the right spices I'd gone through the French/English dictionary and made a note of the French names on the shopping list. Despite many of the ingredients having the same names but different spellings the pronunciation is completely different. So much so that in the end the stall holder asks for my list and works through it correcting the French grammar and filling in the gaps.

I mentioned last week that Iggy's dad's son in law was going to come and cut the grass in our field. Turns out that he'd called last week but after doing only half a length of the field had felt there were too many stones and that his equipment would be damaged. Ah well back to plan B and utilising the strimmer that I still had on loan. We're not the only ones who refer to our neighbour, M. Guilbert, as Iggy's dad. When I was talking to the builder he said that he felt 'Iggy's Pop' was struggling with all the English in the hamlet & wished he was young enough to learn some English.

The weather has been really mixed and although we've had yet more rain it's been nothing compared with Sheffield and surrounding areas and at least we've been able to get on with working on the pointing & painting. By Friday the front of the house was finished and it was time to move the scaffold to the gable end and remove the top portion of render & the chimney. Normally I'm OK with heights but when you're climbing up the side of the scaffold with a sledge hammer to knock the chimney down & it begins to sway in the very light wind you hold on very tightly. The view from the top of the scaffold is fantastic but I only have time for a quick look as the top part of the chimney comes down a lot easier than expected & I'm able to get straight on with more hacking out. By the end of Saturday all the render is off and the bottom half of the chimney is consigned to the rubble heap. Now it's time for a well earned curry & rice.

Had time on Sunday for a spin out on the bike & despite doing more physical work than I've ever done it's still a struggle. Didn't do too many miles but found some very pretty hamlets nearby and it made me think I really should make the effort to get out more when time allows. Since the demise of the Merc I've been watching out for a replacement. I called in to the local garage for some petrol for the strimmer and noticed he had an old Mitsubishi 4 wheel drive for sale. It was quite a few years old but, according to the sticker on the window, had a new engine fitted recently. It would make an ideal tow car and would mean that we could get the trailer back on the road. There was no price on the window so I asked the garage owner what he wanted for the car. '4,000 Euros' he replied without even the slightest smile on his face so I took it he was being serious. It's no wonder there are fields of second hand cars all over France. At that sort of price I can't believe they ever sell any. I'll just have to keep on looking in the hope that a bargain will come along soon.