Perlibeton & lightweight concrete floors

Despite having had the plans approved for the barn we've still be undecided as to how we should configure the accommodation. We'd made the decision last week to reduce the floors to two & this week we decided to turn everything on it's head...literally. It would be such a shame to lose a lot of the barns character & height by putting in a false ceiling, something I think we'd have had to do if the bedrooms had remained on the first floor. So it's the bedrooms on the ground floor & one large living space on the first floor opening on to a balcony. This will also help to keep things within budget and will mean that we will save money in not having to enlarge a couple of the existing windows. It always brightens the day when we find a way to save a bit of money. Fortunately we don't need to re-submit the plans so we can get on with the preliminary work right away. The first job was to clean the first floor and, with P's help, mark out the levels in preparation for laying the lightweight (no sign of the Land Rover yet) concrete floor. We'd visited a couple of builders merchants to source the materials we needed for the floor and were about to order them from a company called Gedimat but P remembered there was a new company in VDR and we headed off there to see if we could get them to better the prices we had been quoted. It was very quiet when we walked in and the manager was very helpful and after a few shrugs and sighs we managed to get the overall price down. Delivery was arranged for Friday with payment, by cheque, on delivery. Friday at 9:30 the lorry pulls up with all our goodies on and I'm a little disappointed that the lorry isn't full. I'd thought that with the amount of money we were spending we'd at least get a lorry full! As with all delivery drivers we've experienced he was very helpful. Really could have done with him in a previous life but that's another story. Using the lorry's Hiab he's able to place the timber and 'Perlibeton' inside the barn through the doors. Turns out we should have had a full lorry as he only has 14 bags of the Perlibeton. We'd ordered 60 but due to a supplier error the balance wouldn't be delivered until next Thursday which was really disappointing as we'd hoped to have the floor finished by Tuesday night. The driver, who as I said was very helpful, was full of apologies as he handed us a sheet of paper with an explanation of what was going on in English. We complemented him on the English but with a big smile on his face he explained that it had been done on the ordinateur using Google translate.

Before we can lay the lightweight concrete we need to reduce the dip in the middle of the floor. P had suggested we fill the gap with stirling boards supported on 4 x 2 joists so Friday afternoon it's on with laying the floor. It ends up looking like a dance floor and I'm in two mind as to whether to invite everyone round for a barn dance. We were also able to get the plastic sheeting and steel reinforcement in place ready for laying our first concrete floor on Saturday. While we're working away Thierry turns up to cut the grass at the house he has for sale next door and comes across to have a nosey at what we're up to. He's surprised at what we're doing because if it was his job he would remove all the old wood beams and replace them with lovely new concrete ones. Despite this he tells us off for buying a concrete mixer when we could have borrowed his. He also offers to lend us a laser level & a gadget for securing the steel reinforcement together. Saturday morning it's an early start working out the exact quantities we'll need for each batch of concrete & with the laser set we began our first attempt at laying a concrete floor. With a couple of phone calls to P and the the laser making light work of getting a good level by lunch time (admittedly a little late at 2:15) things were progressing well. After a very quick lunch it was back to it and we worked through until we'd run out of Perlibeton. A good days work, lets hope I've got the levels correct!

It's only been three weeks since we had the satellite system installed but it feels like we've never been without it. The only problem we've had with the system has been when it rains and boy has it rained this week (nothing new there). The picture breaks up & we have to talk to each other again. Having the radio & TV easily available is great but it's a bit surreal watching North West Tonight with Gordon Burns in south west France. The one thing we forget is the hour difference and have ended up heading for bed at 12:30 thinking it's only 11:30. No good when you have to be up laying floors in the morning.

Brocante & Les Mazieres Fete

What a great time we had at the Les Mazieres fete on Saturday night. We arrived at about 7:30, paid our €30.00 for two tickets and headed for the breeze block built barn where the meal would be served. It was sometime before the meal was served so there was plenty of time for an aperitif and as 4 Stellas & 6 Ricards cost just €15.00 there were one or two consumed. At 9:30 we were all asked to take our seats in the barn & we and the other 400 party goers were served with a clear noodle soup that had the slightest hint of chicken flavour about it. This was followed by half a melon served with Muscat wine in the centre and a main course of pork loin & farse. To accompany the meal there was lots & lots of red, white or rose wine served in large jugs just like the ones we had for school dinners. Cheese was next, Brie & Cantal, a local hard cheese, and this was followed by leaves of lettuce served with a sugar & vinegar dressing. Champagne, ice cream sundaes & coffee brought the meal to an end at about 1:00 in the morning. We sat with Thierry & his wife and some of their friends from around the area who we'd met at his party a couple of weeks ago including an old lady who we were told makes the best foie gras in L'Averyon. One of the French ladies said she always enjoyed these occasions as everyone made the effort to get dressed up & have a shower! There were, as you might have guessed, several English people there, some on holiday and one or two who lived in the area. Amongst the many guests was the old lady who'd lived in our house & had called in last week with her daughter. We went across to talk to her and tried to explain who we were and that we lived in her old home. She'd either had one Ricard too many or was suffering from dementia because we couldn't get her to understand who we were but I suppose it could also be that our French is that bad she didn't understand us. All the waiting on and washing up is done by the young people of the district and they certainly worked hard making the evening one of the most enjoyable we've had since we moved here. We finished the night dancing away to 'Sky Blue', turns out Pierre Gaffeuland, the accordion player, will be playing after the pétanque tournament on Sunday so we'll have to wait for another chance to hear him. We really enjoyed ourselves & were made very welcome and departed for home at about 2:30.

I'm sure everyone was aware that Wednesday 15th August was Assumption day and here in France it's yet another public holiday. It was a nice hot & sunny day so we took the opportunity to have half a day off. There was a brocante in Najac so we spent the morning wandering round the stalls trying to find some bargains. A couple of things caught Barbara's eye, a chandelier & a step ladder. After a little haggling we headed home with both items. It's obvious what the chandelier is for but the ladder is not the sort I'll be clambering up to do a little more hacking out. Barbara has designs on it for a garden ornament which means that the pressure is now on to get the garden a bit more presentable. We made a start with the rotavator Thierry had been kind enough to lend us and turned the area over in front of the house in preparation for seeding it. We had thought with the weather being nice and sunny that we'd be out watering the grass every evening. We shouldn't have worried because on Thursday evening the rain was back with a vengeance and we witnessed one of the best thunderstorms we've seen. Sunday was yet another festival in Najac and we were lucky enough to witness a really spectacular firework display over the château. Sorry I've no photographs, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Meanwhile back at the house things have been moving on. Barbara's been working hard on the garden & I've made a door & with a lot of help from P started some preliminary work in the barn. There's one beam that's rotten at one end and we needed to build a pillar to support it so it was time to swing the sledgehammer & dig out the foundations. Very hot work but at the end of it means that we'll not have to replace the beam & will save ourselves a few Euros. With P here it was also an opportunity to seek his advice on what we were going to do with the barn. We'd got a price from a local builder for opening up the windows and it had come in a little over budget so we were looking for ways to keep the costs down. After a few suggestions and rough sketches we decided to reduce the number of windows and forget putting a third floor in & with each window opening costing €2,400.00 the savings are considerable. We also spent some time working out the best way to fit the first level floor & once again after a great deal of deliberation it was decided we'd fit a lightweight concrete floor. So it was off to the builders merchant for cement, timber, polystyrene & a cement mixer!

Fetes, roofers & brocantes

August is the height of the holiday season in France and which ever way you turn there is an advert for a local fete. Originally I had thought that it was quite a coincidence that the local fetes didn't overlap with each other but apparently each village has an allocated weekend when it can hold an event, consequently it's party week every week during late July & August. All the fetes are heavily advertised with road side banners & signs, some are very professional others, well they're obviously home made but they all have one thing in common. Food! At these events everything revolves around food, whether it's a market selling local produce or a grand gala meal followed by a dance. The one we've been invited to features a disco called 'Sky Blue' & Pierre Gaffeuland an accordion player. Can't imagine they'll be playing many Arctic Monkey or Keane tracks but it's nice to be asked & I'm sure we'll have a great night. I'll report back next week.

Things moved on a little on the Land Rover front this week with Phil, the Land Rover enthusiast we met a couple of weeks ago, having a look at the Lightweight. He was impressed with the condition of the vehicle & said that if I didn't buy it he would. I'm sure he's just saying that but his advise & knowledge were most welcome. While we were looking at the car the garage owner came out & said he was going to have it ready for a test drive this coming Monday. Let's hope he does but as usual when it comes to French tradesman, I'm not holding my breath. Speaking of French tradesman we had hoped to see M. Hugounet the roofer this week but surprise surprise he didn't show up. We were really disappointed as he'd passed a message to us via Thierry that he would start work before his holidays in August and would return & complete the work in early September and until he's been we can't get on with the bedrooms & en-suites. On Tuesday lunchtime we called in to see if he was about but his wife said that he would not return until sometime this evening. We left a message asking if he could get in touch & give us a revised start date. Thursday evening and he's not rang so off we go to catch him before he leaves or his hol's. We get to his house & he's sat on the verandah so there's no avoiding us this time. Ever the polite English we apologise for disturbing him & tell him that we're very disappointed that he hasn't started work & ask when he'll be turning up. He explains that he has a job to finish & that he should be with us on 15th September. Quick as a flash Barbara produces his devis and asks him to write the date down. He does and we we bid him bon vacation & leave him happy in the knowledge that the devis is a binding legal document & we've managed to get him to give us a start date in writing. It's only when we get home & Barbara reads what he's put does she notice the word 'vers'. The translation of vers is 'around'. No wonder he was smiling as we left him!

It's not only the roof we've been waiting for, we've also been without a kitchen sink. Back in early May when we put the kitchen in we've been waiting for a text message from Ikea to say that the sink we'd ordered had come in to stock. Daily checks on their website revealed a distinct lack of kitchen sinks across the whole of France & we were about to make alternative arrangements. I'm sure you're asking why we didn't just go out and buy a sink from another store but as with most things Ikea their kitchen units are a different size to everyone else's & it would have involved us getting a worktop as well. Anyway there I am contently hacking away when Barbara asks if I fancy a trip to Toulouse. She'd been checking the internet and the Toulouse store were showing stock. So Thursday morning at 10:00 we're sat outside Ikea waiting for the store to open. We pick the sink up along with a few candles, something you have to buy when you visit Ikea, have a lovely lunch & head for Brico Depot, a cheap DIY store, in Montauban. It's a bit like an Aladdin's cave and whenever we're passing we call in for cheap tools & materials. This time it's plumbing bits & I'm sure I've got every possibility covered with my shopping list. That sink will be plumbed in & working by 11:00 tomorrow. Every possibility covered? Well not quite all. I had to make a quick dash to M. Bricolage for a waste pipe joint but the sinks installed now and hasn't sprung a leak as yet.

On Wednesday we received some good news from the marie's office. Our plans for the barn had been accepted without any alterations & we can now start work on converting it into a 4 bedroomed house or consider putting it on the market as it stands. We'd been looking forward to the brocante in VDR on Saturday & had arranged to meet G & S there. We had a couple of errands to run so were in the town early and thought it looked fairly quiet considering the fact that there was a brocante on. We parked up easily enough headed off to meet up with G & S. As we're leaving the car park we meet them coming in the opposite direction. 'You really need to brush up on your French' says Sidney. Turns out the brocante was on jeudi and as I'd completely lost track of the date I hadn't realised Saturday wasn't the 10th of August. Ah well we'll just have to wait for the brocante in Najac this coming Wednesday.



PS; We're still struggling with the souris so any suggestions on how we can get rid of them would be appreciated.

Mrs Overall & mice

What a really enjoyable time we had last week with Rebecca here. It gave us the opportunity to visit one or two of the many touristy places in the area. Despite it being Rebecca's last day there was no lie in on Monday. We were expecting the satellite man, but not at 7:45. Fortunately he rang for directions and we had 5 minutes to get ourselves up & dressed. At last we were going to have telly again, I couldn't wait to see who'd been evicted from the house. The installation went well with the dish going exactly where we wanted it. They're always a bit unsightly but I think we've managed to reduce the visual impact to a minimum. Anyway that's the end of the blog this week I'm off to watch the TV Warehouse & the Gospel channels. It's been well worth the wait!

Despite Rebecca returning home on Monday the weather has continued to smile on us and the temperature reached a pretty uncomfortable 39ºC on Saturday afternoon. I'd spent the morning hacking out the far side of the barn thinking that by the time the sun came round I'd be able to work on the second level of scaffolding which would keep me in the shade. Not to be unfortunately and by 2:30 in the afternoon the metal was getting too hot to touch. Barbara had been working away all morning placing large stones round the newly gravelled area and had run out. So in the blazing sun we both go hunting for stones. Definitely a case of mad dogs & Englishmen.

As I'm sat writing this Barbara shouts for me to come outside where's she's watering our newly acquired plants. We have visitors, it's one of the ladies who used to live in the house & her two daughters. They were driving past & thought they'd have a look at what had happened to her old home. We asked her if she'd like to have a look inside and when she walked through the door she nearly fell over. There'd been some big changes since she'd moved out, walls knocked down, kitchen moved, stove fitted, WC fitted and a staircase installed. She was also surprised by the stone 'sink' we'd exposed when the plaster had been removed prior to the walls being finished with crepe. She said it wasn't a sink and that it was used to hold fire ashes and cure ham in. I think she was very impressed with what we've done and we asked her to come back & visit once the new roof was on and we'd finished building the bedrooms. From her reaction I'm sure she'll be back.

For the last few days we've had a very small unwelcome visitor. Mickey's little nephew had escaped from Euro Disney & turned up in Lagarrigue. Barbara was hot foot to Mrs Overall's to purchase a mouse trap. 'Mrs Overall's' is the local shop where despite it's petite size you seem to be able to purchase anything. The owner, a lady in her mid 80's, always wears an overall & has more than a passing resemblance to the Julie Walters character in Acorn Antiques, consequently the shop is now always referred to as Mrs Overall's. There were no traps on display so Barbara asked for a 'souris trap'. Confusion followed as Mrs Overall headed off into the back of the shop & returned with an electric mixer. After a few more hand gestures & pointing at cheese a fellow shopper realised what she was after and a souricière was located. French mice are obviously fairly clever as this one has managed to remove the chocolate we left on the trap without activating it. Think we're going to have to revert to plan B and put some poison down or plan C, get a chat. During the week M. Guilbert's son in law had removed his cows from our field and had turned up the next day & cut the grass. It only took 30 minutes and he said he'd bring the vache back in September when the grass has grown to a reasonable length. He was also pleased to tell me that he'd killed 2 serpants while cutting the grass & as the main food of the Couleuvre d’Esculape are small mammals we may see one or two souris about.

Finally got round to doing a couple of things I promised I'd do when we moved to France. Cycle to the boulanger & buy some croissants and try some French country wine. The ride to the boulanger was easy enough, it's only a couple of kilometres away and the morning was nice and cool, so I decided I'd do a few more K's and headed down into Najac. Going was great, climbing back up the hill laden down with 2 very heavy croissants was a real struggle. I'm sure they were heavy & it wasn't my lack of fitness. Although only costing €1.30 per litre & dispensed into a plastic 5 litre drum from what looked like a petrol pump the wine was very drinkable, probably too much so, and I'm sure we'll be visiting the wine merchant again soon.

Scandal in Najac Sunday market this week when one of the traders was reported for over charging. He was spoken to by a gendarme, who no doubt was on overtime for working on a Sunday, and warned that he must display the prices of his cheese. He'd tried to charge one of the local residents €15.00 for a small piece of the local fromage. Sounds all too familiar!