Busy busy, Busy

Too busy last week to post the blog what with moving house, home building & a quick look at the passing Tour de France. The stage from Figeac to Toulouse took the race through VDR and despite the work load I couldn't resist watching the riders hurtle past. Monday the 14th was Bastille day so we managed a couple of hours off & visited the annual brocante in Najac which I guess on reflection was bit of a waste of time as we'd spent the last few days getting rid of rubbish & the last thing on our minds was acquiring more to replace it. Once back at the house it was out with the cleaning equipment to get the house spick & span for the new owners and move the last of our bits & bobs into Thierry's barn. We spent Monday night in our beautifully renovated French farm house & prepared ourselves for the temporary move to G & S's where we were were made very welcome it's just a pity the swimming pool isn't ready. Theirs is a large country house & we'll certainly be spoilt over the next few weeks & it will make the move back to the barn at the end of August when hopefully we'll have running water, electric & a working septic tank, pretty tough. Anyway thanks G & S for your hospitality.

Tuesday 15th July 2008 & we're at the Notaires for 10:00 and after yet more signatures we completed on the sale of the house. It was a great feeling to think all our hard work had finally brought a pay day which was only a little tainted when the Notaire's clerk said he'd send the cheque early next week. Mme. Hill was not happy and asked what interest we would make on the money & insisted that the payment be made no later than Friday but as I write this on Tuesday lunchtime it still hasn't arrived in our bank account. I wouldn't want to be there when Babs tracks down Pascal, the Notaire's clerk. The new owners, P & P, seem to have settled in well & it's a little strange looking across at the house & seeing someone else sitting on the balcony sipping their G & T's. Wednesday it's back to normal & we're back working away on the barn. With promises from the plumbers, electricians, & groundwork artisans to return next week there's a lot to do to meet their deadlines so once again a short blog.

Party time

Not much time this week to get the blog written as moving date is speeding towards us at a 100 miles per hour and we're under orders from Stephané Regourd to get all the plasterboards in place for when he returns later this week. So it's out with the placo adhesive & on with the dot & dabbing, in-between packing up all our worldly goods again. The EDF devis arrived this week & it was itemised down to the smallest detail including €207.00 for opening a file! No wonder EDF can afford to be a key sponsor of the London Olympics. I showed the devis to Stephané & Thierry and there followed a three way conversation in which Stephané attempted to explain the detail of it to Thierry in English. Thierry reminded him he was French!

We have had time for a little relaxation & on Saturday night it was an early finish & on with the glad rags & off to Thierry's 50th birthday party. Appears all the best people are 50 this year. Whether it's because they owned a hotel & restaurant for several years or it's just a French thing but the food & hospitality were great despite us eventually sitting down to eat at 10:45 (we arrived at 7:45). In all fairness there were lots of aperitifs & canapés to keep us going. As always we were made very welcome & thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks & disco although singing along to 'Viva Espana' in French was a little surreal.

EDF!!!

Another busy week with all the screed now laid, downstairs internal walls finished, the first sheets of placo in place & shower trays installed. With things moving a little faster than planned, there's always a first time for everything, Barbara had to hot foot it to VDR & collect three shower trays. It's amazing what you can get in the back of a Yaris. On Monday we'd finished off pointing the front of the barn about 6:00 & with the sun beaming down Thierry asked if we fancied a swim. There wasn't a seconds hesitation in accepting & after a quick shower to remove all the grit of the day it was off for a quick dip in a beautiful pool. The water was a very comfortable 31ºC & after a few strenuous lengths it was off for a quick aperitif. A couple of Ricards later we made to leave but were told that there was plenty of food in the house & we should stay & sample some good home French cooking but there would be no mint sauce! We tucked into a lovely mixed salad, lots of bread, a selection of pickles & what we think was a home-made pork terrine that was so delicious I had seconds which turned out to be a bit of a silly thing to do as what I hadn't realised was that this was our entrée & the ribs, chicken & potatoes that followed were the main course. With cheese and a vanilla slice style pastry for pudding we certainly came away feeling stuffed.

On Monday we had an appointment with an engineer from EDF who we wanted to move the electric meter in the barn. The only problem was that the power currently came in overhead & we knew that EDF would insist on burying the cables. Sure enough the first thing the engineer said was that the road would have to be dug up & a pipe layed to carry the new cable. I pointed out that there was already a pipe in place & they could run another cable through it. 'Non, that is not possible'. I asked Stephané Regourd, who was there working on the first fix electrics in the barn, to ask why & he said there was no point as he is French & works for a state run industry. I can't wait to receive the devis!!

The Fête season is well & truly under way and on Saturday night we were off into VDR again, this time to watch a procession of marching bands and decorated floats & watching the carnival procession pass by reminded me of those hot sunny summer days spent watching Radcliffe carnival pass by. We ate at the same restaurant as last week & although the choice on the set menu was still very limited the sea snails & prawn cocktail starter & roast beef & chips were just as tasty as last week.