Vache, Occitin & Gaillac

The vache are back and after M. Guilbert & friend had finished setting up the electric fence to keep them in we were invited in for a coffee. We've always struggled to understand M. Guilbert & listening him talk to his friend we really thought we'll never master the language. Mme. Guilbert explained that her husband & his friend were talking patois so it's no wonder we couldn't understand a word they were saying. Many of the road-side signs announcing the name of a village are written in Occitin & amongst many older residents is in common use and makes life very difficult for those of us struggling to learn French. As if it wasn't hard enough trying to concentrate on the conversation we were offered a sample of the local home-made liquor to go with our coffees. We couldn't quite work out what it was & given that it was only 11:30 in the morning & I had to climb back up the scaffolding we declined the offer. As always we're made very welcome and thanked for letting them graze their cows on our land. We try to explain that they are doing us the favour and that we're very appreciative. I think we managed to get our message across & as we walk home we reflect once again on how friendly & generous people have been in the area to us in the last 8 months.

When we drove down here at the beginning of January all our prize possessions were either in the back of one of the cars or on the trailer we'd purchased before leaving the UK. Since we'd sold the Merc the trailer had been sitting collecting dust but as there's a slim chance that we might be seeing the Lightweight on the road in the near future I decided it was time to get it ready for the road. We'd called at the garage on Saturday & was told the Land Rover had been repaired & the owner had collected it on Friday. We knew Thierry was away on holiday until Sunday night & as he was our only line of communication with M. Pousson I was hopeful of a phone call on Monday morning to arrange the long awaited test drive. Let's hope he's not changed his mind & decided not to sell. Anyway back to the trailer. The rules are different here in France and trailers with a gross weight in excess of 750kgs have to have a carte gris & their own registration number. Thanks to the internet and the numerous forums out there in cyberspace I was able to find out the information required to import and register a trailer in France. It involved getting a CT, the equivalent of an MOT, a certificate of conformity, proof that we're resident in France & a visit to the prefecture to register it. We didn't have the certificate of conformity so after a quick phone call to the trailer manufacturer back in the UK I was given the telephone number of their French office & told to speak to Corrine who would sort out the registration for us. So after speaking to her & forwarding a cheque for €100 we await the arrival of the relevant documentation.

We've finally finished the barn floor! It's been really frustrating having to chase the supplier for the completion of our order. We needed only 3 bags of Perlibeton to complete the job so on Monday headed off to VDR to place yet another order but had to wait until Wednesday before we could collect it. It wasn't a completely wasted day as the 'Foire Expo' was on. This was very similar to an English county show with exhibitions & trade stands covering everything from tractors to fridges. It was quite interesting & we were able to pick up information on escaliers & geothermal heating, something we are considering using to heat the barn with. As usual at these types of events there were several car dealers there & it was with great personal restraint that I managed not to buy the Range Rover Sport that was on display at the bargain price of €68,900.00. I'm sure it wouldn't have been as practical as the Lightweight! Thursday it was straight on with mixing the final batches & laying the last few metres of leger béton & we had a real sense of achievement having finished laying our first concrete floor. Now it was time to move all the tools & bits & pieces from the ground floor of the barn to the newly laid floor & commence work on another new floor. I'd mentioned last week about the openings in the barn & how by reducing the number of openings we were keeping the costs within our budget. On Friday it looked like we could have made even more savings. Thierry, the builder who had done the pointing for us, was working on his property next door & had called across for a coffee in the morning & we'd discussed the work we'd planned to do on the barn. He returned in the afternoon having talked to a friend & said that with my help he would now be able to do the openings. I'd asked him previously if he would be interested in doing the work for us but he'd said it was too big a job for him. It's typical of how helpful he is that he'd gone out & found a colleague who could help us do the job together. Unfortunately I had to tell him that we'd already signed a devis & given the go ahead to another builder. Frustrating as Thierry could have started the first week in October & would, I'm sure, have been cheaper.

On Saturday we headed over to Gaillac having been told there's a Brico Depot there. It's similar to B & Q and always worth a look round as they have some good offers on tools & building materials. It doesn't seem that long ago that we'd have been spending Saturday afternoon wandering round Selfridge's or Kendals in Manchester. How things have changed. Gaillac is the centre of local wine production and I was surprised just how many vineyards we passed on our way there. Wine growers still use traditional grape varieties such as Ondenc, Len de l'el and Mauzac in white, Fer, Duras and Braucol in red. They also use typical grapes from Bordeaux such as Cabernet, Merlot and Sauvignon, and from the south such as Syrah and Muscadelle. Red wines are rustic, white wines dry and aromatic, sparkling wines are fruity & rosé wines are light and easy to drink (M & S wine advisor training coming out there)so we'll definitely be heading back that way and calling in to one of the many vineyards selling wine direct to the public.