Demolition Day

A huge momentous day today.....the day we had been waiting for, for so long.....the day the hanger came down !!

The hanger on the side of the house was massive, and in a very poor state. To enable us to do the work we wanted to on the house, it needed to go.

For several days before the planned 'D - Day', Craig started to strip the parts off it, that could be reused, and also parts that would make the actual demolition slightly easier.

We asked several friends if they would be able to help 'on the day', and early on the designated morning, everyone was there. I'm not sure what the 'Health and Safety' officers would have had to say about the methods involved, but we tried very hard to keep everyone safe.

 

 

We went from this......

 

 

to this..........

 

 

 

in a matter of seconds.

 

But to this..........

 

 

 

took the rest of the day !!!!

 

The most tiring day so far, but by far the most rewarding. The sun shone, we all worked together and made a huge step forward.

 

Thank you to everyone who helped x 

 

 







Cooking on Gas

From having a microwave, a deep fat fryer and a one burner camping type thingy, we moved up to a working gas hob - with five burners - WOW. What a difference ! It opened up a whole new menu for us !

It wasn't as straight forward as that, of course. It involved emptying cupboards, moving them out, taking plasterboard off the wall, and of course putting everything back in situ again. One thing we have found out here - nothing is ever straight forward.........

Having said that, it was definitely worth doing, but funnily enough, we decided then that the position wasn't great, and we have since moved the whole lot to a different place. It is worth noting, that you need to be adaptable in this situation - our overall plans for the house have remained relatively stable, but the 'inside' ideas have altered slightly as we have 'lived in' the rooms, and realised what we do and do not need/want.

Now, several years later, it is amazing to think how we coped with such basic amenities. Each addition - the hob, then the oven a while later, hot running water, a flushing toilet, is such a huge step forward, and no one, except people in the same position, can know the same excitement over such things. And, to be honest, no one, except these same people, can understand how you manage for so long without these things.

The most exciting time was to come though - the planning and demolition permission was granted ! It took about a month in total - not too bad to be honest, but it was a nerve racking experience. We had a couple of meetings with the Planning Office, a lot of negotiating between us all, and eventually ......WE WERE THERE !! Despite the predictions of all those who were 'apparently in the know', everything we wanted, we were given permission to do !!!
 

 

 

It seems like the fruition of our plans, but also the beginning of a lot of hard work.

 

We certainly are 'Cooking on Gas' now.





The Arrival of Arthur the Dog

We had always planned on having a dog, and had even decided on a name 'Arthur'. He was to be Jack Russell type, who would help us, would be a working dog. We would get him as a puppy, and train him - all when the house was completed and we had time for him.

However......things never work out as planned do they ?

We had a think, and decided that in fact, we would be better getting a puppy BEFORE the work was complete. Why would we want a puppy weeing everywhere that had just been 'done' ? Wouldn't it be better to have him while we were working so that the worst bits were out of the way ?

We wondered about the Rescue Centres here in France, and looked at the website for SPA in Quimper. Immediately, we saw a little dog called 'Figo', and decided to pay them a visit. We were pleasantly surprised to see 'Figo' still there, as we assumed that maybe they put little appealing dogs on the website to draw you in !

The place itself was an eye opener to be honest. It was full of large pedigree dogs - there were Newfoundlands, German Shepherds, Hunting dogs, all barking and penned in. The staff were doing their best, and obviously relying on volunteers to walk the dogs and help look after them. 'Figo' was a rarity, a little Jack Russell/Fox Terrier cross, being carried around tucked under the arm of any willing person.

We were allowed to take him out for a walk - although he obviously had never had a collar on, let alone a lead ! He was doing somersaults, and would much preferred to be have been carried !

Anyway, we decided to give him a home, and had to agree for him to be vaccinated, chipped and neutered before we were allowed to collect him two weeks later.

 

I can remember the journey home well - we had always planned on him sitting in the back with a seat belt - who knew whether he would hate the car or not, and jump around like mad ? He didn't - Craig sat with him just in case, he got into the car, had his belt on and promptly fell asleep with his head on Craig's lap !! Even now, two years later, he's the same - loves the car, and just lies there all snugged up (mind you he does have a pillow to lie on), and enjoys the ride !

 

 

We have been very lucky with 'Arthur' as he is now known. We had no idea whether he was house trained or not - he was ! His history, as detailed on the paperwork from the SPA was quite vague - he had been picked up wandering along a road near the coast, and he was approximately 12 months old - that is all we knew.  He didn't make any noise at all for a while, and we did wonder whether he was deaf, but one day suddenly made a little squeak, and then there was no stopping him ! He obviously didn't understand English, so sometimes conveniently, I think, decided not to hear or understand us, but now doesn't understand French !  He loves his walks, except if it is raining, and now walks without a lead. He can't be trusted near the road though, as he chases the cars and tractors, but is very sociable with everyone who visits. He is however very unsociable with other dogs, which is often very awkward !!

 

He loves his routine, so fits in very well with us here. He has his last walk at about 9.00pm, and starts prowling around, being very annoying from about 8.45pm. However, we know why that is - he has two biscuits when he comes back from that walk, and is very eager for them, not necessarily for the walk beforehand.

 

He isn't allowed on the furniture, and sometimes when we're playing with him, he jumps up on the sofa, and hides his head, so that we can't see him, and won't tell him off. As for a working dog though - no way !! He prefers snuggling up in front of the fire, in his bed. He's a funny, intelligent, loving little companion, and we wouldn't be without him now !!

 

 

 



Moving Day

May 3rd 2011 - a day that I will probably never forget !

Moving Day arrived - luckily it was dry, and luckily the removal van arrived on time. It was quite surreal to see all our furniture disappear into the van, knowing that we wouldn't see it for a while. It was all going into storage, to give us some breathing space, and we had all the essentials already in France from our frequent visits there. Anything that we were loathe to be parted from, we put in the van, which at the end was so full we could hardly close the doors. Heaven help anyone that opened them by mistake !

I took a last walk around the house that had been our home for 24 years, and we pulled away......

Every part of the journey took on a new meaning - this wasn't a holiday now - it was to be a new chapter in our lives.

We arrived 'home' next morning after a pretty awful journey - there were road works and diversions - but we got here. I must admit to feeling a bit overwhelmed and emotional, but I'm sure that had a lot to do with tiredness. Some friends visited this afternoon, who were also embarking on a similar project not too far from us, and I felt a lot more positive when they had gone, and looking forward to our new adventures. Now, the problem was to see this as our life and not as a holiday !

First job, was to arrange an Internet connection - we discovered that despite all the advertisements, we were limited to just the one provider in our area. However, we needed to be connected to the outside world, so had to grin and bear it. We received the Livebox relatively quickly, but discovered there was a fault on the line, and we had to wait for an Engineer to call for the repair. He came and replaced the cable coming into the house - and we were up and running - outside world, WE ARE HERE !!

Another early project, now we were here full time, was to reapply for planning permission. We had a very beneficial meeting with the Planning Officers in Chateauneuf de Faou. Rather than pussy foot around trying to second guess what we needed to do, we went straight to the  people who know - and were really glad to have done that. It wasn't easy - my French wasn't that good, and their English was on a par - but we got there in the end.  Now we knew the process - there was to be no stopping us ! Due to the size of the project, we had to get the plans stamped and signed by an architect -  and we had to pay a relatively substantial sum for a few minutes work, but necessary !

We had our post redirected from the UK, but we had a telephone call from a lady who lived about 15 minutes from us here in France, to say that she had received a big bundle of mail for us. It seems that as she too was receiving redirected post, La Poste had 'assumed' we were one and the same person, and delivered it altogether ! Now however, our regular postman knows us well - he always gets out of the van and shakes our hands, sometimes brings us eggs sent from his mother, and knows that an envelope addressed to 'Pops' from our grandchildren, is likely to be for our house !!

Knowing that I needed to improve on my French, which was at a rusty O-Level standard - yes I am that old ! - I ventured to the local Babel group. It was a very social occasion, and ideal for those who needed the company as much as the language skills, but I knew very early on that I needed something more intense than that, and discovered that our neighbours had a French teacher who visited their house once a week, and who would be prepared to accept me as an addition to the very small group. There are just three of us of similar standard, and it makes a very interesting , but very tiring, couple of hours on a Wednesday evening. There's no hiding in the corner with just three of us !!

Just four weeks after our arrival, we were on our way back to the UK, for the wedding of one of the children. It was lovely to see everyone again, even after such a short time away. The day was very hot and sunny, and the bride was beautiful ( and the groom too !).

I was a very proud mother of the groom - and only cried a couple of times !

This visit gave us a good break, and made us realise that the pace of life in the UK is not what we needed at this point in our lives. A good trip back, but we were ready to start again in France.

One thing we discovered though, is that every time we go to England, we return with a cold ! I'm not sure if its the contact with other people that we don't have here, or English germs, or maybe the fact that we spend a lot of time outside here and so can ward off French germs - whatever, it appears to be inevitable - visit England - return with a cold !