Our 5th Grandchild Arrives.

My next trip back to the UK was a lot more exciting as I was able to combine two separate work 'stints' with a visit to see our 5th grandchild and newest grandson - Jake Joseph - who was born in October.

Here he is pictured with his brother and two cousins.....

We do miss them all so much......., but it was very nice to catch up even if for such a short time, before work called again.

Arriving back this time, we were caught out by a Bank Holiday here - technically, they are not called that here, but you know what I mean. I think they catch us out, as in the UK, they tend to be the nearest Monday to a particular date ( the Monday after May 1st for example). Here in France, they are the exact day, so May 1st, November 1st etc. For this reason, and the fact that I am hovering between the two countries, I forgot, and we travelled to Carhaix, only to find that nowhere was open !

Craig had managed to do lots of smaller jobs that he had been putting off, but that made a huge difference with nice finishing touches. 

He finished laying the stone....he painted the stair well and he waxed the stairs...

This made a world of difference, as before it was just plain wood, and now it had a colour and a finish to it. We had pondered with the idea of carpet, but the logistics of buying and getting it fitted were just too much. It's not something that the French have very much of here, so the quality is quite poor. I am pleased with this effect, and it's easy to keep clean too.

The biggest achievement however, was that the roof damaged by a tractor in 2013 was finally repaired !!!! It only took twelve months, multiple phone calls, site visits by the Insurance company, contractors, and numerous letters to finally get it sorted out. Our main beef, was the fact that the roofing is asbestos, and Craig was very conscious that the workman should be provided with the correct equipment, and the asbestos should be disposed of in the correct way. Needless to say, this is the contractor at work....

Craig was almost apoplectic with rage and the finished job wasn't any better either really.

In fact, finally the Insurance company gave us an allowance so that Craig could finish the work himself. What do we pay these companies for eh ? Mind you, it gave us the impetus to change all of our policies we held with them over the next few months.

It was nice to see various jobs being completed - we even now have skirting in rooms which is nice to see. 

Our internet here is quite slow, and we have no option to change providers, as Orange have the monopoly in our area. Most of the time, it is OK, but we have friends who rely very heavily on their connection for work purposes, so it is always very inconvenient if there is a problem. In fact, they have been known to travel to us, to work from here if their connection is down, and the next time the engineer can visit is 10 days away !! It's a situation that we find quite bizarre, and we find the Customer Service here a lot to be desired.

We have many examples that I could relate of this, but one that could make you smile, and doesn't implicate or condemn anyone is the fact that I can't pay any money into the Bank without taking ID !!! What is all that about ??? It's paying in, not withdrawing, and what does it matter who pays into my/our account ???

We desperately wanted to have our wood burner fitted and working for this winter, but the problem was getting the flue pipe into the chimney. Craig wanted to drop it - well not literally - more lower it, from the top of the chimney downwards, but we needed someone, and something, to get Craig + pipe to the top of the chimney. We approached several of the local farmers who all have large tractors and other machinery, but no one had anything suitable, so this was another conundrum for Craig to get his head around. They were all very friendly, and helpful in their own way, but were unable to help.  

I had one more trip back to the UK before Christmas, so I was very organised with my Christmas cards and presents this year, so that I could post or deliver them while I was there. It was a nice feeling to be so up to date for a change.

A New Parking Area.

I always sleep very heavily on my return to France. I suppose that I am maybe a little on edge in a different bed while I am away, and of course, in my line of work now, I am on call 24 hours a day, so have an ear open for any unexpected noises etc. However, one of the things we have always said about our house here, and its surroundings, is that it is so quiet at night. We lived in a cul-de-sac in the UK, but even so, there were cars at all times of the night and day, and you could hear the traffic in the distance too. Here though, there is nothing, and when we used to visit here for short periods of time, it was one of the things we used to comment on. Even the house didn't make any movement noises - until we started work on it of course !

While I am away working, despite the fact that Craig speaks very little French, he manages to communicate with the locals, and even arranges for help if he needs it. He in fact arranged with a local farmer to collect stone from the quarry, and deliver it here - I think there is a lot of sign language involved, and pictures drawn - but even so, his ingenuity always surprises me !

He planned on clearing an area opposite the house, which is slightly under cover, and then stoning it, so we could park the van and the car off the road and out of the way. We do have several options available to us regarding the parking, but the vehicles are often in the way of work that we want to do. Having a dedicated 'parking' area, means that I won't in theory have to keep moving them !!

We even had some stone left over, which allowed Craig to make a bed at the front of the building opposite the kitchen window, and gave us a slightly nicer view.

The work I do, and the time I am spending away is not ideal, and I was given the opportunity to do similar work here in France. There must be a huge demand for this, and I actually went to meet with a family locally. However, the cost of the insurance etc, the taxes to pay, and the certificates that are needed to work in a professional and legal manner made the proposition less viable at this time sadly.

We bought a new laptop to enable us to communicate with each other more easily. We have a tablet, and a desk top computer, which we were using - me taking the tablet with me, but it did mean that Craig had to sit in the study each night to talk, and in the winter, it is a little chilly in there, and the warmer rooms were being wasted, so we made a small investment. A laptop also gives me greater flexibilty to play DVD's etc while I am away, and Craig can now speak to me using the tablet in the warm. He can even go to bed and chat from there, if I am unable to talk earlier to him !

We made the decision to sell the tractor. It was the second tractor that we had bought, each time with the intention that Craig would use it as a project, and we could make use of it on the land. BUT Craig just doesn't have the time ! Each evening, he is too tired to do much more than prepare for the following day ! The work is very physical here, and mechanics is not something that Craig is particularly comfortable with, so it kept being passed over, for other more important jobs. It was quite sad really, but more sensible than letting it deteriorate into an unsellable condition.

A lovely couple, newly arrived in France bought it from us, and I hope that it gets the attention that it deserves now !

It is a motto that we have tried to adhere to while we have been here, to avoid accumulating unnecessary things - how many of us have attics full of those things that we MAY need one day, or can't bring ourselves to throw away for sentimental reasons. We are all guilty of this aren't we ? For this reason, we try on a regular basis to sell off, throw or give away ...it's not always easy.

Home Again Soon.

My next trip was slightly more exciting as I managed to buy a car ! This meant that I flew to UK via Brest, with a welcome lift there from friends, and drove back from Plymouth, so as well as the excitement of a new car, I was able to load up with the groceries and those goodies we miss - we miss them more now, as we get them more often !

We bought a Toyota Rav 4, which is a bigger car than we had before, but one that we felt was more suitable to our lifestyle here now - more robust, more stable, and with more room in the boot - which was always an issue with the Volvo.

While I was away this time, Craig had the misfortune to lose his wedding ring in the field. He had an idea where it was, but despite extensive searches on his hands and knees, he was unable to find it. Luckily, he tracked down a metal detector, and found it within minutes ! So, we were able to thank our friends for the loan of it with some Duty Free goodies on my return. We were very grateful, as of course a ring has such sentimental value.

We have often visited the Emmaus warehouse near to Morlaix, and discovered various treasures there. It is a charity, run worldwide, that accepts donations of household items and clothes, for resale. There are sometimes, but not always some great bargains to be had, so we decided to visit another branch near to Quimper, as a change. Quimper is a lovely city, about 40 minutes drive from here, and we like to walk along the river, visit the shops, and sit outside with a coffee watching the world go by. It's a completely different environment to our more local town of Carhaix - it seems almost cosmopolitan !

We also visited, as we try to do every year, the Roscoff Onion Fair. This celebrates the red Roscoff onions, and the Roscoff Johnnies that used to pedal (literally) their wares across the Channel in the UK.

We were relatively lucky with the weather, and managed to buy a few strings of onions, and garlics too. Previously, we have bought a sack of onions, and I have strung them myself, but time precludes on our schedule this year. Craig built a new hanging rack in the Utility room to hang them on.....

A visit to the beach is one of the nice trips that we choose to do as regularly as we can (not as often as we would like to though!), but this month, August, is not ideal to take Arthur the dog. There are a number of beaches that do not allow dogs, and some of those that do, exclude dogs during the holiday season, which is a shame as he loves the beach, as I'm sure I have mentioned before.

My French lessons are suffering due to the new work schedule. Obviously, when I am here, I can continue, but I notice that I am not as fluent, or capable now that I have more time in the UK, and am not immersed in the language as before. My teacher has been very patient, and tries to accommodate me as much as she is able to, between her other commitments, by giving me extra lessons too.

My home visit is coming to an end again, so we have the seemingly endless round of shopping, washing, visits to the tip, the DIY shops, and stocking up the cupboards to keep Craig fed, and busy !

Au Revoir France and particularly Craig and Arthur, I'll be back in a couple of weeks.

Summer is Passing Us By.

It's slightly disappointing to be travelling to and from the UK now so often, as obviously this wasn't what we wanted from our move, and our new life. There are of course compensations - one being that I can collect supplies - either DIY type things or grocery supplies. However this latest trip was made by plane and train, so my return perhaps may not have been so eagerly awaited, as my luggage allowance was a lot more limited ! I hope this is not the case (and I know it isn't really !!).

As I have said before, I am always full of anticipation, to see what jobs have been started, and sometimes too, those that have been completed.

While I have been away this time, Craig has started, and is in fact over halfway through, putting the slate on the gable end wall of the bigger extension. You may remember that he has already completed the smaller end, so this is another big step forward.

This bigger end is tough though, as it is so high and exposed to the elements - and Craig isn't a great lover of heights remember !

It's strange to slip back into our routines when I return too. The division of jobs is quite distinct, and the animals and the dog walking fall back to me, as is only right. There are so many things that I can't do, that I know that those things that I can do, must be passed straight back !

A big item on the agenda this time, is of course to buy a new car. The Insurance company paid out, so we can start looking. But where ? We visited a few garages locally, but the price of second hand cars here made this a pointless exercise. The locals here, (and the French in general, I am led to believe), do not hold store for possessions particularly, and do not see them as so much of a status symbol as we Brits do, so they drive their cars until they die. This means that the second hand market is very strong, and the cars hold their value. The difference between the price of a new and a second hand car is very little.

We kept an eye on local Forums to see if there were any cars for sale, and also on the internet auction sites. Finally, we decided that we would have to buy in the UK, which meant that we had to factor the cost of re-registering the car into the equation. Of course, me travelling backwards and forwards meant that I would be available to collect a car on a trip too.

My time here has become very precious. I am not here as much as I would like, and we need to get a lot done while I am here, and we need to spend time together too. Sometimes I feel that visitors 'popping' in intrude on that time, but I am pleased to see them, and it means I can catch up on all the news, as Craig isn't a very good gossip, and forgets to tell me the interesting snippets that I could miss out on. I do appreciate those people who call on Craig while I am away though, as he can get quite lonely. Thank you Guys !

It's high summer, and while we should be enjoying the weather, and each other, instead we are rushing round busy, busy, busy.....materials to be ordered to keep Craig stocked up, food to be bought, cleaning to be done (I like to get the house, washing, ironing up to date, although I know full well, that Craig will keep on top of it. I just FEEL better leaving it all in order !), animal feed to be collected, and paperwork to be completed. All too soon, it's time for me to go back to work - I don't like this - It's hard !