Running a Gite in Brittany

Saint Robert

The pond has already started to go a little bit green. Slightly annoying after our mamouth cleaning effort. So this morning, because it was raining, we decided to do something about it. Some research about pond filters on the web, and we both head off to St Brieuc. St Brieuc is about 1 hour away and is the largest town (city ?) in Cotes D'Armor. There are two fish pond shops and a quick visit to each before lunch. Interestingly one recommended chemicals (about 100 euros worth) and the other shop recommended various bio filters and Ultra Violet lamps (about 300 euros worth). Careful consideration over lunch near Carrefour and we decided on the non-chemical solution. More expensive, but there is always that worry that you get the wrong dose or mess up the pH or some other finely balanced parameter.

Whilst waiting for the fish shop to open we had a browse around Carrefour. We both felt a bit like yokels in the big city. The place was huge ! and seem to sell everything. I expect it's much like K-Mart.

Anyway, back home to the country, and the system is in. A new pump, a bio filter box (basically a plastic box full of gravel) and an UV lamp the water passes over to kill the nasty bacteria. The pipework and general installation needs a little covering up with plants/rocks, but hopefully it should help to keep the pond clear and looking good. It's also good for the fish.

Still haven't found the chicken eggs !

|   7:29:01 PM      

Saint Catherine de Sienne

Chickens. When we moved to La Lohuas in December 2002, we inherited a menagerie of goats, rabbits, some chickens and a goose. The children who stay in the gites love feeding the animals and we have the additional bonus of free range eggs. A while back Caroline bought a few more young chicks to increase our egg production. We now have 8 chickens and regularly get 7 eggs a day; until the beginning of this week. The nest boxes have one or two eggs, but somewhere they are hiding their eggs. When we don't have guests staying in the gites we let the chickens roam. We've got about 4 acres, so the have plenty of space. The eggs also taste better, with rich golden yolks, when they are free to explore. The problem is, we think they have found somewhere else to lay in the grounds. The hunt is on !

After removing the green gates Caroline came up the idea to make some new railings that match the existing ones infront of the house and gites. These would temporarily replace the green gates and provide Caroline with something to hang pansies and geranimums on. So, off to the workshop to practice welding. I bought an electric arc welder a while ago, but haven't had any call to use it. I just spent half a dozen rods and nearly two hours cursing and swearing trying to weld. All that seems to happen is the rods stick to the work or the weld is so weak I would be better off using superglue. Argggg! More practice needed I think.

The veg patch is coming along nicely

|   9:14:12 AM      

Saint Valerie

Bits and bobs day. The worst part about lots of little jobs is having to cart all your tools around, and I always forget something. I think I spend as much time walking backwards and forwards to my workshop as I do actually performing the task. Thats not to mention the countless trips to the DIY stores to buy the appropriate parts.

Plumbed in the new washing machine we bought yesterday. The machine was on special offer in one of the out of town supermarkets. Often they have great 'deals' that are genuine bargins. There is usually a very limited supply, so if you go home to think about it, by the time you return they are all sold out.
The cold water supply isn't usually too much of a problem, it's the waste water that causes grief. Water doesn't seem to flow uphill very well.

Very occasionally the fosse septiques would smell when all the gites were occupied and they where particularly active. It wasn't a really bad smell, or intrusive, (you had to be stood next to the tank), but it needed attention. The problem was simply that the ventilation pipes on one of the tanks had broken off and the other was too short with no cap on it. The plastic tubing seems to get brittle after many years weathering and it had been snapped off some time ago. Apparently if the tanks are not vented correctly the gas build up from the bacteria can erode the concrete tank, so it's essential to have a very tall ventilation pipe to discharge any smell high up away from noses. Fortunately the tanks, and vents, are round the back of the house and next to a farmers field. So a relatively simple job, lengths of 100mm tube, fixings and new caps etc. Now it smells as sweet as a rose garden.

Water butts plumbed together to collect 'free' water. Last year we used loads of tap water to water various new plants, hanging baskets, pots etc. We estimate about 400 euros worth. Water here is more expensive than in the UK, it's about 1 euro per cubic meter, however there are no sewerage charges due to the septic tanks. Just need to hook up a pump and voila, a few more euros saved.

This evening I hope to trim long grass under new leylandii hedge. Rather foolishly we didn't buy any of the porous plastic matting to prevent week growth. My attempts at strimming the saplings has already claimed 1 plant after stripping the bark with a slight slip of the hand. We are going to have to clear the growth by hand then mulch with something. There are 60 young trees, but we are definitely going to keep on-top of these after the hedge trimming episode last week. http://radio.weblogs.com/0136203/2004/04/19.html

|   7:34:21 PM      

Saint Zita

Nice warm day again so a bit more gardening and an unplanned job. The fish pond has been getting more and more cloudy over the past few months. However this last week it went so green and cloudy (because the pond is in full sun) that we couldn't see the fish at all. So sleeves up, wellies on and a major clean up. After extracting the 5 Koi Carp into several Sainsbury boxes, we had a good pressure washing and scrubbing session. The tired 'nymphette' statue was removed and replaced with 2 bronze cranes. Replanted and split a few plants and lilies. Hopefully they should provide some shade to stop it going green if they don't get eaten by the fish. A very satisfactory days work and a definite improvement.

|   7:20:32 PM      

Saint Alida

I was reading some more of 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel last night and I came across the following short section,

Why do people move? What makes them uproot and leave everything they've known for a great unknown beyond the horizon? Why climb this Mount Everest of formalities that makes you feel like a beggar? Why enter this jungle of foreignness where everything is new, stange and difficult?
The answer is the same the world over: people move in the hope of a better life.

I read it to Caroline and we started to ask ourselves the same questions. It has been very difficult over here, like climbing Mount Everest sometimes, the culture, the language, a whole different attitude to life. But yes, it has been worth it. I am sure we have found a better life for the whole family. The new circle of friends, French and English, have all made us very welcome and feel part of the community.

A visit to the coiffure tomorrow. It's always an interesting trip. My French language is limited to DIY products, not hair cutting techniques !

I looked at the themometer this morning and yesterday it reached 24°. Today felt warmer.

|   7:15:35 PM      

Souvenir des Deportes

Caroline went out to a soiree last night in the local village. We have been to several since coming to France and they generally follow the tried and trusted formula. About 200 people are invited to the local village hall to start at 8pm. Nobody arrives until about 9pm, then it's a 5/6 course meal with fizz, white wine, red wine and finished by coffee. There is usually a live band (often with an accordian player) and possibly a 'disco' at the end. Finish time is about 2am.

At first glance it seems like a long evening, but the pace is lesiurely and the wine flows steadily, along with the conversation. Quite often there is dancing and mingling between courses. They are all very relaxed and extremely enjoyable. If you ever get invited and havn't been before I would recommend going.

Anyway, last night Caroline got some useful advice, 'Do not take off your clothes in April'! The reason being if it is warm enough in April to strip off then the sun is too strong. Advice I could of used yesterday. Gardening in just shorts was a big mistake. This morning my back is red and quite tender ! I think I'll keep my shirt on until May :-)

Added "NewGite" to stories. Let us see how it unfold over the coming months.

Farmers out early this morning planting maize. They were also working the fields late last night under headlights. Looks like this is the weekend for planting now the soil has warmed up a bit.
These spurts of activity happen often. A few weeks ago there was suddenly more tractors than cars racing around with muck and slurry spraying and covering the fields. They seem to go mad for a few days working 12 hour shifts then nothing obviously visible to the untrained eye. I guess when the time is right you take advantage.

Schumacher in total control. Michael Schumacher wins the San Marino Grand Prix for his fourth victory in a row. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]
Quel Suprise.

Nice steady day, bit of work in the garden and out this afternoon with the children to Betineuc lake. It's a small lake with a man made beach that is only a couple of minutes away. Ideal for a quick trip out after a late lunch to help the kids sleep.

|   8:02:05 PM      

Button takes first F1 pole. Jenson Button beats Michael Schumacher in San Marino Grand Prix qualifying. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]
As a bit MS fan, but also an Englishman, I'm really pleased for Button. Hope for a good race tomorrow.

Fabulous weather today. Apart from watching qualifying we both spent all day in the garden catching up on strimming, planting, tidying up etc. Having 4 acres to manage is almost a full time job in itself.

|   5:49:36 PM      

Saint Fidele

This morning I shifted a load of fairly large rocks to create a new rock garden. I do the hard landscaping and Caroline does all the planting.  It needs a bit of colour but that will come.

|   12:53:20 PM      

St Georges

The green gates are history. All chopped up and disposed of. All in all it looks much better without the gates, really opens the place up.

Finally finished the hedge trimming for the friend with a holiday home. Looks got but it was hard work. It took about two days, as estimated, but because of the weather and other commitments the elapsed time was quite a bit longer.

A job I have been putting off for ages is tidying up my workshop. Well I say workshop, it's more of a dumping ground for all my tools, and various other junk. Screws, nails, wood, pipework, stuff. The problem is I have been so busy I just dump everything in the workshop and walk away. It does cause quite a few problems searching for things. So this afternon I spent a few hours sorting all the tools and tidying everything up. It's amazing what 'lost' items turn up. Just got to try to keep it that way.

Hugh went to the cinema today with school and saw 'The Three Eskimos' in French. Well we think thats what he saw. Both the children have loads of outing with school to zoos, theaters, cinemas, etc. Along with the three course lunches and two hours afternoon naps, it sounds fantastic.

|   5:39:45 PM      

Saint Alexandre

Bit of disaster last night. Between the barn and one of the gites is a very large (20 foot by 30 foot) metal agricultual gate. It's handy cos there is some hard standing behind the gate which I use to store my concrete mixer, piles of gravel and sand etc. General building stuff, out of sight. However last night I closed the gate and the wind caught it, and pulled the top hinge that was concreted into the wall out slightly. This morning I opened the gate and 'ping' top hinge come right out of the wall. So this morning a quick phone call to Ian round the corner to help me lift the thing safely down onto the ground. There's no way to repair it and it was going to be removed after the summer anyway once the renovation had started on the barn to turn it into two more gites. SO looks like I'm going to be busy with the angle grinder chopping the thing up tomorrow to take to the recycling depot. Not to mention the extra tidying up of the 'junk' that was hidden behind the gate. It's most probably a blessing in disguise, as we will plant a load of tubs with flowers to brighten up the hard standing area and make the surrounding for the adjacent gite more pleasant. A premature job, but one that was lower down on the list (5 months lower).

Caroline managed to mow some of the lawns because we have had a few dry days on the trot. The weather this week has been much cooler with frequent showers. It made last week seem like summer. Between us we have also planted a row of hedging, lonicera, from some cuttings that Caroline took in the Autumn from a friends hedge. Just about every cutting survived and we now have 50 very small bushes to plant.

A tough French lesson today. I haven't spoken much French in the last three weeks so I was very rusty. The lycee in Dinan run a French conversion group during school term time. Caroline goes to a different French lesson (for advanced students!) and she said her's was 'easy' :-), but she speaks French most days. Like most things in life, a little and often seems to be the key.

No golf tomorrow. One of the players best friends, Martin, got rushed into hospital this morning with a lung infection. The postponement might give me a chance to get some practise in. Speedy recovery to Martin.

|   7:54:13 PM      

Saint Anselme

Yesterday was a bit manic. Early start to finish the hedge trimming that we started yesterday. Unfortunately the heavens opened at about 17:30 and left us with an hours work to finish. So it's 95% done.

Even though I was dog tired we went to a friends house for an evening meal with some other ex-pats. Excellent evening but a few too many beers meant I've let myself be invited to a round of golf on Friday. I've got a set of clubs but haven't played for about 8 years. Hopefully it shouldn't be too embarassing.

Whilst we were digging out old items from storage that have not been used for years we got the tents out. We've decided we need a holiday and we are going to head south, staying in France, for a weeks camping. There is a empty week in our bookings soon so we'll take the opertunity to have a break. A much needed break from the gites and La Lohuas. The ridge tent for the kids was easy to put up, but the larger tent (one of these ones with bendy poles) was very complicated, especially since we it has not been erected for over 6 years. Lets hope they are both watertight.

Oh, the architect turned up today to take a photo of the barn that we are converting into two new gites for next year. 12 weeks ago we supplied our plans and was told that the drawing and planning permission would be done in "quinze jours" (15 days is a French fortnight). Planning has still not been submitted after many promises that it would be done "this week". The latest promise is tomorrow. Lets hope cos he's starting to annoy us. I think this saga might be a good story.

|   6:05:09 PM      

Saint Emma

Paul and I spent all day (apart from the obligatory 2 hours French lunch) chopping the top 10 or 15 feet off a friends leylandii hedge. A bit of a monster job, the hedge must be about a 100 feet long. I spent most of the time hopping from tree top to tree top lopping the unwanted branches and Paul collected and burnt all the debris.

Tomorrow we need to run over it with the hedge trimmer and tidy it all up.

I'm the red blob halfway up the hedge. It's a big hedge.

|   7:33:05 PM      

Saint Parfait

A bit wet and windy today curtailed my list of outside jobs. Finished off some of the minor inside jobs but generally had a very quiet and lazy day with a late traditional roast lunch. In the last 3 weeks we have had relations and friends come to see us and it has taken it's toll on my metabolism. It was nice to see people and show them the huge improvements we have made over the last 12 months but I think I need a few days to recover from the excesses.

If the weather is fine tomorrow, Paul and I are going to trim a close neighbours leylandii hedge that has grown out of control.

Rossi stuns with debut win. World champion Valentino Rossi wins in South Africa in his first race for Yamaha. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]
Watched the race on the BBC and it was fantastic. Just goes to show what a good rider Rossi really is.

|   7:48:51 PM      

Saint Anicet

Changeover day today. This week it has gone smoothly as everyone left on time and we only had one family arriving later in the evening. Just a couple of minor breakages to fix and a new stairgate to connect to the stairs. Every Saturday something gets broken and you usually only find out during the clean and preparation for the next guests. People are too shy or embarassed to mention any problems. It does make life a little difficult on occasions. Once during a changeover we found one of the beds had been broken and was unusable. I didn't have time to repair it so it was a mad dash around the shops looking for a new bed. The the extra hassle of assembling it etc. etc. The problem we always have, especially in high season, is any maintenance inside a gite is generally done on a Saturday, our busiest day. I guess it all part of running a gite business.

Fitted the three new shutters on the upstairs windows this afternoon. They look really good and are very practical. They keep out the hot sun during the day and provide good light and noise insulation at night. They are also a good security measure. If we ever moved back to the UK I would definitely have French style windows that open inwards with shutters and no curtains. Much easier and you don't need a window cleaner (or ladders) to clean the windows.

Sunday tomorrow, I think I'll have a day off DIY (some hope :-) )

|   9:09:54 PM      

Saint Benoit-Joseph

Suberb weather today, not too hot (well warm enough to remove my shirt) but ideal to get some outdoor gardening jobs done. After wine shopping this morning (most important) Caroline has been mowing and planting lettuce and onions in the veg patch.

Split a few of the tree trunk slices from Wednesday. I just do a couple a day cos spliting oak logs by hand is hard work, but very economical.

Finished the soakaway and plumbed in the grey water supply. Turfed over the top and you'd never know I'd been there. I also took the opertunity to spread a load more gravel over the fosse and pipes to make it a little more 'attractive'. A friend advised me to place a tarpualin (with holes) over the tank so it makes it much easier to uncover in the future.
We had 15 tonnes of gravel delivered a week or so ago and I keep moving a few trailer loads using the ride-on tractor, but the pile doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. Hopefully one day it will just magically disappear.

We all went for lunch in Evran and had a very lazy and tasty meal. buffet starter, main course, cheese and desert all for 9 euros 50 including wine. The children ate for 5 euros each (again a three course meal). The children are more used to three courses at lunchtime than us because they do it everyday at school. The French seem to start educating the palate before they can read and write.

Started reading the 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel last night.

|   6:37:47 PM      

Saint Paterne

Exhausted. I've just finished digging and filling a new soakaway for the washing machines and some grey waste water. We've got three septic tanks for the house and the gites and consequently 3 soakaways. However I recently discovered that one of the tanks is an old fashioned 'Fosse Septique' rather than a 'Fosse Toutes Eau'. The former only takes foul waste and the latter both foul and grey water. Therefore having the grey water plumbed into a fosse septique is not a great idea cos it can 'flood' the tank causing undigested water to flow into the soakaway making a bad smell and potentially damaging the soakaway. So today has been an excerise in building a soakaway. I made it approximately 1 cubic meter in size and filled it with some larger rocks and loads of gravel. It was back breaking work shifting all that mud and rock, especially after yesterdays tree felling. I wished I hired a mini-digger. Now I just need to connect it up the the grey water supply. Another job off the list.

|   7:49:10 PM      

Saint Maxime

A comedy of errors today. After putting the third (and last) coat of varnish on the shutters I went to help a friend the other side of the village to fell a dead oak tree. The deal is a bit of labour for a bit of wood. Very nice, especially oak. Great Christmas fire for 2005.
Anyway the tree had been pollarded several years ago but the ivy had got hold and killed the tree. It was about 80 cm (2 1/2 feet) across and 10m (30 foot) tall. No branches, just the trunk. Piece of cake :-). The tree was on the bank of a small gully/culvert. The inital felling was relatively easy, even considering the tree was growing out of a thick laurel hedge and restricted movement, and more importantly the escape route once it started to fall. Once felled it lay in the field with approx one quarter hanging over the gully at right angles. One slight problem was our chainsaws where not long enough to cut all the way though the trunk, so it was a matter of cutting from both sides and rolling the trunk with a small tractor to cut the other side.
The top half logged we proceded to try to pull the tree into the field to finished the job. However, slight misjudment and one end slipped into the gully. Stuck. Tried pulling the trunk out but snapped the rope and it was way too heavy for the mini tractor. So we set to work chopping the top off that stuck out above the gully. Major hassle because the chainsaws where too small and we could get all the way around. After alot of phafing about we got the top third off and tried again with the tractor. Opps, too much beer and bad planning, SPLOSH. The 10 foot length of tree was now lying in the gully.
OK, no problem, more rope, some levers, more pulling and we can shift it. One thing I hadn't noticed was the water upstream was rising. The tree made a superb dam. I jumped in to lever the trunk out but my boots where not quite long enough any more. Yuch. Eventually we hauled the trunk vertical and after much head scratching chopped a little more tree of to lighten the load. Finally we managed to pull the tree clear and log it into sensibly sized pieces. What a job,  half-a-day turned into a day and I'm whacked out.
All this just to save a couple of euros on electric heating. I expect my chainsaw is going to need a service and sharpen after the abuse of today.

|   7:52:04 PM      

Staint Ida

A few more hours bike training and voila, both the children can start off, peddle and stop without assistance. Whoaa the freedom of it (for all of us :-) ) Typical Lizzie concentrating like crazy and Hugh just laughing his way through it.

Rubbed down the door to the washing machine room at the back of the house ready for Caroline to paint it today. The guttering over the door was unfinished and consequently there has been several years of rain dripping and splashing against the door. Generally the door was in a bad state but with a good clean-up and a fresh coat of paint it looks alot more respectable and should last a few more years. I also fixed/finished the guttering and added a downpipe to move the water away.

Schumi admits Senna doubts. Michael Schumacher reveals Ayrton Senna's death 10 years ago made him doubt whether to continue racing. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]
I remember this very well, a sad and black day.

|   7:49:33 PM      

St Jules

We now have two potential Tour de France winners in the Family. Well it's most probably a bit optimistic but both Elizabeth (6) and Hugh (4) can now ride their bikes without stabilisers. A bit wobbly but they are very excited about it. Caroline and I spent several hours yesterday and today taking it in turns to 'guide' each of them up and down. My back is aching after running round bent double but it's worth it.

In between bike training sessions we managed to get some serious painting on the house finished. I completed the second coats of lassure on the three new shutters for the upstairs windows and Caroline painted the veranda. The veranda faces south and started to look very shabby with the faded chocolate brown weather beaten paint peeling off. It's now a shiny new conker colour. Still not the most attractive veranda in the world but a vast improvement. First impressions etc.

Vegtable patch out the back is coming along nicely. Caroline planted potatoes yesterday and I finished turning the compost bins. Another large trailer load of muck spread into the soil. The muck mainly consists of grass, straw, and poultry waste, so it should help the veg. along nicely.

|   9:24:16 PM      

Saint Stanislas

This is the first day since October 2002 that I haven't done any work. No painting, digging, plumbing, paperwork, anything. Just a great day with superb weather. This morning was spent with Elizabeth and Hugh at the swings and slides in Evran, next to the canal locks. You know the Rance canal runs for 166km from St Malo down to the south cost of Brittany to join the Atlantic. The sign did say how many locks but I forgot that bit. Before lunch I went for a solitary walk around the grounds taking in the primroses, daffodils by the river, the birds singing the arrival of Spring. Most relaxing.

This afternoon Caroline cooked a fab roast lamb lunch for Easter Sunday with all the trimmings. We had some friends over and had a very pleasant afternoon.

This is what the dream of moving to France is about. Lazy days with the family. However the last 18 months have not quite been like that. Starting a new business is always hard work, but I'm not sure we realised quite how hard. However, I now think things are starting to pay off. Three gites renovated with good bookings, planning permission in the pipeline for 2 more gites next year, and things generally ticking over. We are on top of most of the French paperwork/bureaucracy and even though there are a 1001 things still to do, the dream is in sight.

|   7:29:24 PM      

Saint Fulbert

All the guests had checked-out of the gites by 9:30 this morning. It makes things a little easier for us as we get a bit of extra time to clean, tidy and re-stock each gites with the bread/wine and croissants welcome pack.

The grass is growing like the clappers at the moment. Warm and wet seems to be a great recipe. The ride-on mower is going to earn it's keep this spring. It's already had a busy winter lugging all my logs about.

Moles. Moles and more moles. Brittany seems to be plagued with moles. They are burrowing everywhere at the moment, and always pop-up where you least expect and want them. Fortunately the croquet lawn has escaped unscathed, but time will tell. Any suggestions to solve my mole problem would be most welcome.

|   7:26:05 PM      

Saint Gautier

The kids had an Easter egg hunt today. A few days early but Hannah (in the middle) is going home back to England tomorrow. I drew a load of little pictures on pices of paper and scattered them around the grounds. E.g. A picture of a wheelbarrow, then in the wheelbarrow the kids would find a small Easter egg and the next 'clue'. They had great fun. In fact we have all had a fantastic week this week. The weathers been really good and we've had some good meals and trips out. Chilled and relaxed, just like being on holiday.

|   8:12:52 PM      

Saint Julie

Suzanne and Michael went to St Malo for an evening meal last night and ate in the Golden Lion (Lion D'Or). Food and atmos very nice, but the talking point was the ice-cream. Both were so full of flavour that they made your mouth burst. I guess that's as good a recommendation as any. St Malo is a lovely town, esp. the old walled part.

Busy day today with the children. We went to two beaches, Pen-Guen (say penguin) at St. Cast Le Guido and then after I dropped Caroline off in Dinan for her French lessons we went on to Dinard. Both completely different beaches. Pen-Guen is a large uncommercial beach. Unspoilt and quiet. Dinard is much more commercial, we sat on the promenade and drank coffee and eat ice-cream whilst the kids played on the beach just 20 yards away. Dinard was much busier, but at least you can get chips :-)

The first week of Easter has seen our gites fully booked, but next week we only have one gite occupied. It's a shame cos the weather in Brittany has been really nice (a little cool and windy at times but pleasant enough).

All the farmers have been working overtime this week, mainly spreading muck and plouging in. I guess they are preparing for the planting season. They grow alot of maize round here.

Looking foward to a take-away from the Taj Mahal in Dinan tonight.

|   7:41:47 PM      

Feeling a bit shabby this morning. Three of us went to the Cambridge bar in Dinan last night and over indulged slightly. This was my first visit and I noticed that quite a few ex-pats regulars frequent the bar. Not really my scene.

Been painting new shutters for the windows today. It's has been trial and error searching for the correct finishing product to protect the wood. There is a huge choice of products, most of them anti-fungual, anti-termite (worm), anti-uv, anti-everything. Ended up using Bondex lassure medium oak. Lassure seems to be like a varnish but soaks into the wood and gives a matt finish.

Pruned the apple trees very heavily. I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but last year I could not get to most of the apples, so I decided to lop the tops off and try to make the tree bushier. The French seem to pollard all thier trees and use the wood for the fire. So when in Rome...

Turned over the compost bins and used the good stuff at the bottom for the vegtable patch. Caroline rotovated it in and planted some spuds. Just like Tom and Barbara in The Good Life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/g/goodlifethe_7772855.shtml

|   8:57:19 PM      

Saint Marcellin

Perfect timing, sat here watching the heavens open. Michael, one of our guests, has just abandoned washing his car :-) Fortunately I've just finished mowing the lawns. Looking good.

Amusing incident this morning. One of the little girls staying with us was helping feed the chickens and the goose this morning. Geese produce prodidious amounts of pooh, and consequently the young girls foot skidded on the said pooh. It wouldn't have been too bad except that when she fell she landed face first in the rest of the goose pooh. She was fine and after a quick trip to her gite to get changed she saw the funny side.

Yesterday, we all took a trip to St Malo on the coast. Nice lunch on the sea-front and the kids went for a play on the beach and rocks. Unfortunately Hannah slipped and landed face down in a rock pool. Luckly we had a spare set of clothes for her in the car. I guess we should have seen it as a premonition.

Beer tonight, I could not stand to watch The Two Towers tonight. I saw Lord of the Rings last night and did not enjoy it at all. I felt like the little boy in the Emperor's clothes story. Could see why it was so good.

|   6:17:14 PM      

Saint Isidore

Schumacher takes hat-trick. Michael Schumacher wins the Bahrain Grand Prix for his third consecutive victory. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]

Nice suprise as I expected their tyres to let them down. I guess the lower than expected heat played a part.

Children and Caroline went to a free concert in Dinan this afternoon. The band played short excerts from well known musicals, films and shows. E.g. Phantom, Les Mis, Pink Panther etc. Excellent event judging by the response I got. It seems very common for free events to be put on by the various communes in France. Last year we went to several excellent events and some great Fetes.

Watched the Italian Job (not the Caine version) on DVD after an heavy Sunday lunch with friends. Generally an OK movie but a bit let down by the 'dramatic' music. I think the original had a better storyline.

|   7:47:21 PM      

St Richard

Goat escaped three times. The most crucial time during Michael Schumachers pole lap. I missed the last few seconds cos the tape on the VCR ran out whilst I was outside sorting the problem out. The problem is she will eat ALL the new plants and trees we planted in the last few weeks. Urggggg! Mucho barbed wire and fence fixing I hope she stays put.

Curry and beer tonight.

Schumacher on top again. Michael Schumacher leads a Ferrari one-two in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]

Looking forward to a Ferrari win, but I suspect the Williams duo might come good in the heat of Saudi.

|   5:19:37 PM      

Saint Sandrine.

Our guests arrive tomorrow, so we will be full. We are both looking forward to having people around after the long winter break. The weather is fantastic (sunny 21), the gardens looking good, and the kids have got two weeks holiday. Our friends from Hook, England (the village we used to live in) our coming out, so I'm looking forward to a boozy week.

Frantically finished all the jobs in the gites ready for tomorrow,

major spring clean of the gites
re-arranged furniture and new dining table in Cerise
re-hung pictures
new gravel on drive
mowed lawns
mostly sorted the children's play area

and tonight we are going out for a meal to the St Louis in Dinan. Report tomorrow.

|   6:35:37 PM      

Poisson D'Avril today. All the kids at school run around sticking paper fishes on each others back. The French April Fool.

Spent most of yesterday dismantling the hot water boiler and the labyrinth of pipes. Since Xmas we have noticed the flow rate of the hot supply reducing very slowly. This week it started to get bad enough to starve water from the tap if a person in another gite was using the tap. Fortunately we only have some friends staying and he is a plumber. What luck. Anyway boiler in bits yesterday, and we found a major scale build-up. Cleared the scale but the problem persisted. This morning repeated the exercise and found that the 60cm internal supply tube in the boiler was solid with calcium. Amazing it worked at all. Lots of prodding with sticks, wire etc. and bingo. Seems that the magnesium anode (which prevents scale build up) has not been replaced in 6 years (since new). New anode on order and I just had the BEST shower ever after. The jet was so strong it was almost painful.

Canceled the boiler service man who was due to turn up tomorrow.

Good French lesson in Dinan this afternoon. I was the only person to turn up so I had excellent 1-2-1 tuition.

French Fact #2: You get huge personal tax reliefs for having three or more children. Builds the population to pay for all the pensioners.

|   7:40:19 PM