Running a Gite in Brittany

Tiling and grouting

Saint Martial

The last two days I've been tiling and grouting a bathroom and shower. Caroline did all the bathrooms in the gites and never complained once. She just got on with it whilst I did other things. This time I thought I would have a go. As a first time tiler I asked Caroline's advice and (being a bloke) obviously ignored it. Mistake number 1. The job took me all day and made me ache everywhere. I tried various techniques and eventually settled on the one suggested by Caroline. As a first time grouter I again asked Caroline's advice and (still a bloke) ignored it again. Big mistake number 2. I tried grouting with a big rubber squidger thingy, but reverted (as advised) to a Marks & Spencer store charge card. The perfect implement. I also omitted to wear the rubber gloves, and now I'm typing in agony, with no fingerprints and large sections of skin missing from my fingers covered in band-aid.

The packet of grout said it was an irritant, and they were right, it's very irritating.

|   8:22:20 PM   Tiling and grouting   

French hospitals

Saints Pierre, Paul

I went to the hospital in Dinan today for a consultation with the anaesthetist in preparation for having my tonsils removed next week.  The web says George Washington died of a quinsy. That is the reason for my tonsillectomy, several quinsies (hospitalised) and bad throat infections.

Apparently it's going to be very painful, the doctor said I may be sent home with a morphine pump thingy, and I was to rest with no work for 10 days. Thats lots of time on the beach. Get well cards are welcome.

A small break in blogging but at least it will give me a chance to catch up on some reading and watch some French television in hospital.

|   8:13:08 PM   French hospitals   

Odd job day

Saint Irénée

Quite a day today, I have been, a gardener, a pest controller, a vet, a painter & decorator, and a glazier.

Spent a while on the mower cutting the grass on the croquet lawn and front field. The lawns are looking good, apart from a few persistent moles, which is when I put on my pest control hat. I made a hole in the molehill to find the tunnel and just as I was lighting the smoke cartridge to stuff in the run, the hole filled up with earth from the mole digging. A quick poke with a stick and in goes the smoke. With luck he didn't manage to crawl away fast enough and should be an ex-mole.

The fish still have white spot but at least none have died recently, so now as a vetinarian I mixed in the medicine to the pond. The trouble with white spot is that you can only kill the parasites when they are free swimming from one fish host to the next. So repeated doses are required.

Gardening hat back on to scrape all the little weeds and grass from between the paviers on the patios in front of the gites. It's one of those jobs that sneaks up and by the time you notice all the greenery it's a major cleaning exercise. I have not finished but made a good start, because I got distracted by sanding down another window, and replacing the putty at the bottom of some of the panes of glass. Caroline is doing the painting tomorrow so I wanted to get as many windows prepared as possible. Being south facing the windows take the full sun which seems to attack the wood stain and putty quite badly.

|   7:45:52 PM   Odd job day   

St Lunaire

Saint Fernand

We all decided to go to the beach at St Lunaire today to recover from a very late BBQ last night. It started at 20:00 and we finally got home at 04:00 the next morning. It was a classic French evening out with long breaks between the many courses, a bit of dancing to the accordion played by Caroline's friend Celine, and my brain melting down trying to speak and understand French under the influence.

After we got back from the beach our friends Linda and Ian turned up unexpectedly with a present for the children. A home-made wormery. So after tea we went worm hunting, and popped a couple of juicy specimens in the mud. We will have to wait and see what happens.

|   6:50:15 PM   St Lunaire   

Gite changeover day

Saint Anthelme

During our gite changeover today I needed to replace a bulb in the cooker hood extractor fan. A quick rummage through the spare bulb cupboard turns up nothing appropriate. We must have a dozen different types of spare bulb, but never the one you need. Screw-in, bayonet, large and small, incandescent, fluorescent, candle, globe, rod, pear-shaped, 40W, 60W, everything except a cooker hood bulb. A quick shopping trip to buy one, plus a spare, should make it a little easier next time.

Still reading, Girl with a Pearl Earring byTracy Chevalier, but I'm finding the descriptive language a bit over flowery and heavy going. Every item of clothing, every room someone walks into is described in minute detail. I'll persevere for a while yet, but I might give up and read Lovely Bones byAlice Seebold. Caroline has just finished it and really enjoyed it.

|   1:49:28 PM   Gite changeover day   

More window painting

Saint Eleonore

The small burst of wet and windy weather has passed, so I've started sanding down all the windows in our house ready for Caroline to paint them. It's a horrible job but I prefer it to painting. We did two of the gites before and I think the memories of that are damping my enthusiasm. I can really see the attraction of uPVC windows.

I got asked directions to Dinard today whilst walking to the boulangerie by a French lady in her car. I explained the way in my best French and advised her to follow the placards to St Brieuc and then Dinard after turning around. She seemed a bit confused so I asked again in French if she understood and she replied 'Yes' in English and drove off.

I recounted the story to Caroline, quite proud of myself, until she told me that the French for sign is panneau and a placard is a cupboard.

|   9:13:12 PM   More window painting   

Driving and Lunch

Saint Jean-Baptise

People occasionally say to me that the French are crazy drivers and drive too fast, but it's not something I've really noticed, but then today I think I've figured it out. They only drive fast at lunchtime. Certainly around Dinan, 12'o'clock strikes and they all drive flat out to get home for lunch. The rest of the time, there's no real hurry, but lunch is VERY important, and when you've only got a 2 hour lunch it's best to make to most of it :-)

|   11:51:44 PM   Driving and Lunch   

Printed advertising

Saint Audrey

Since an article appeared in the Daily Mail last week about our gites we have been inundated with enquires about our summer availability. Just goes to show there is still some life left in paper advertising. However it's quite short-lived unlike round-the-clock web adverts.

|   8:29:39 PM   Printed advertising   

Notaire

Saint Alban

We received a letter from the Notaire with our titre de propriété (title deeds) for the house and gites. I suppose the titre is the last piece of paperwork issued by the notaire after the Compromis de Vente and Acte de Vente. A good demonstration on the speed of bureacrcy in France, as we had bought the house over 18 months ago. The problem was that the titre was not ours, it was another English couples' house. The covering letter and breakdown of the account, with the amounts paid for the house, the agents fees, the notary fees etc. was ours, but the actual deeds belonged to someone else.

Caroline went to visit the notaire to explain, who was extremely embarrassed and appologetic, and assumed, like us, that the various bits of paperwork had accidentally swapped envelopes during collation. Because he did not speak any English he then asked if Caroline could phone the other English couple and explain to problem and ensure everything was returned to it's rightful owners. Hopefully everything should sort itself out.

|   7:50:35 PM   Notaire   

Dinan free music festival

ÉTÉ

The longest day, the start of Summer, and back to work on the gites after a day off yesterday. We had a fair amount of rain yesterday which highlighted a few thin patches in the gravel drive, so I shifted a couple of trailer loads to spread over the problem areas.

The leak in Lucy's concrete pond has slowly been getting worse, so I've taken advantage of the fact that she spends all her time on her nest incubating the duck eggs to fix the problem. It turns out that the crack run right across and feels like it's been caused by soil movement under the pond. I chiselled out the crack to enlarge it then put in a strong cement and fine sand mix to plug the gap. Find out tomorrow.

De-stoned 3kg of cherries this evening so Caroline can make some cherry jam.

|   7:06:35 PM   Dinan free music festival   

Pomme de terre

Fête des Pères

Father's day, and the children's school show. Well to be technically correct the children's schools show because they both go to different village schools. In order to keep the village schools open the school in Les Champs Geraux shares classes with the school in the neighbouring village Plesder. The children are bussed back and forth at the end of each day. It keeps two schools open with half the number of teachers.

The school show, therefore, is both schools performing together with each class performing short songs, dances and sketches. Elizabeth and her class did some dances and Hugh was meant to be an acrobat in a circus, but got stage fright. I tried to take a few photos but the I failed to get a decent shot because the light levels were too low and/or the kids moved too fast and where blurred. I never had much luck with digital cameras, I only seem to get a decent shot outside and with a static subject.

First crop of Caroline's home grown potatoes harvested and eaten for Sunday roast.

|   5:43:01 PM   Pomme de terre   

Our gites in the Daily Mail

Saint Romuald

We had an article and photo about our gites published in the Daily Mail (a UK national paper) Weekend colour supplement section. We already knew most of the content as the interview about the gites and our move to France was done over the phone. The photographer came a couple of weeks ago and took loads of pictures of the house, gites and us.

Here is the article:

|   7:59:14 PM   Our gites in the Daily Mail   

Walnuts

Saint Léonce

I've been working on two stories this week. The first detailing our journey to France to find a gite business, and the second recounts the first 12 months (poss. 18 months) in France getting the gites ready and the various highs and lows on the way. The first story is already about 4000 words, the second is still in outline stage. Hopefully I should be publishing the first one soon. It's been interesting going through old e-mails, photos and receipts to try to piece together the chronology.

Looks like we might be in for a bumper crop of walnuts this year. We've got two walnut trees about 25m tall covered in green walnut 'fruits' slightly larger than a quails egg. Last year we got a few but they were not very big, so this spring I bashed the trunk and branches furiously with a big stick to encourage more walnuts. Apparently the tree gets 'scared' and reproduces as a defensive measure. The locals tell me that it works!
Once the walnuts fall from the tree the 'husk' seems to slowly dissolve and ooze a dark brown liquid that stains everything. We just collected the fallen nuts and stuck them in a string bag to dry out. They where delicious in apple pie (also from our trees).

I found another baby fish floating on the surface this morning. I hope yesterday's medicine works, the moles are multiplying like crazy and the fish are disappearing. I wish it was the other way around.

Changeover day in the gites tomorrow, so I've been mowing the lawns again and Caroline has been weeding the garden because we just don't have time on a Saturday.

Lucy is still incubating a full complement of duck eggs.

|   8:25:24 PM   Walnuts   

White spot

Saint Hervé

A few days ago the new goldfish that we bought to 'fill' the pond started to get white spots on their sides, and yesterday one of them died. Closer inspection showed that some of them seemed a little lethargic and 'under the weather'. Fortunately the Koi looked healthy, but a trip to the fish shop in St Malo was necessary. The man in the shop recommended some blue 'medicine' which has been added, so fingers crossed.

|   12:22:01 PM   White spot   

Children's birthday parties

Saint Jean-François Régis

Elizabeth went to a friends 6th birthday party today. She's been to a few now and the general form seems to be about 3 hours long, about 6 to 10 children, a bit of cake, a few party games, a long walk round the village then picked up by Caroline. No party bags, no magician/clown/entertainer, no hired village halls with 20/30 kids, no parties planned months in advance (we got the invite on Monday), no big deal. It's makes a refreshing, and pleasant, change for people to be happy with simple entertainment. It's most agreeable.

Often things happen over here that makes me think that this part of France is very much England, but 20 years ago. Various things like - doctors you can see the same day, shops closing at lunch and ALL day Sunday, no traffic jams, people having the time to say hello and help out, family Sundays not at the garden centre or DIY store, village fetes, ...

|   9:30:27 PM   Children's birthday parties   

Duck eggs

Saint Germaine

The duck eggs arrived and are currently under Lucy.

The three largest eggs around the outside are her own eggs and the six smaller eggs the Muscovy Duck eggs from Carolines friend Celine. Celine has about 40 ducks and drakes so there is a high possibility we should have some ducklings. They are due on the 12th July.

Many of our friends keep chickens, ducks and rabbits but not as pets, purely for organic meat and eggs. The French seem to be quite happy to have huge pictures of cows and chickens etc. over the meat counter in the supermarket to reinforce the origin of the cellophane wrapped product. I can't ever remember a picture of a smiling cow in a supermarket in England except on a box of Dairylea. Celine's family all get involved in the transformation of the animals from mignon (cute) to freezer. Someone kills, another plucks, another guts and another cuts. An all-day production line.

I have a strong feeling we are going to keep our ducklings as pets, neither of us fancy the 'processing' part.

|   9:14:09 AM   Duck eggs   

Holiday

|   8:12:57 PM   Holiday   

Broody goose

Saint Elisée

Lucy our Goose has gone broody. She has been sat on 3 eggs for a few days now. The bad news is they are all blanks because we haven't got a gander. Lucy is a Toulouse Goose, and the incubation period is about 28-35 days. Caroline's friend Celine keeps Muscovy ducks (which have about the same incubation period) and she is going to give us some eggs for Lucy to hatch. Maybe we'll have some ducklings next month.

The grass in the goats field was nearly waste high. For some strange reason she only likes short grass. Goats do not eat everything. It's a myth. So, the softy that I am, let loose with the strimmer and brush cutter attachment to cut all the grass to make hay. It was very hard work and I had to quit half-way though. At least Polly (the goat) is happy, for now.

I forgot to put a stamp on a letter that Caroline posted in the postbox in Les Champs Geraux. So after lunch Caroline went to the post office in Evran and explained the situation so the lady behind the counter popped out the back and came back with the letter for her to put a stamp on it !

Tour De France is coming this way on or about the 12th of July. The route passes within a couple of minutes of our house. I'll try and find more details.

Started reading The Girl With The Pearl Earing.

|   7:50:19 PM   Broody goose   

Catch up gardening

Fête-Dieu

After being on holiday for a week we had a fair bit of gardening to catch up on. Caroline tells me where to dig and hoe and weed and I charge at it like a bull in a china shop. Occasionally a wanted plant bites the dust, but thats the problem with cheap labour.

Completed one of my odd jobs, fixing a fence panel that blew down in the wind a while ago. I've been putting it off until the fear of more gusts had subsided.

Good motorsport day - and the football to follow.

Schumi claims record win. Michael Schumacher wins the Canadian GP for a record-breaking seventh time. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]
Kristensen wins Le Mans. Denmark's Tom Kristensen claims a record-equalling sixth Le Mans victory. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]

|   5:39:22 PM   Catch up gardening   

French toll booths

Saint Guy

I had an interesting experience with a French tool booth today. On the way back from Les Sables D'Olonne in the Vendée there is a short section of péage (toll motorway) up to Nantes. You drive into the booth, collect a ticket, then pay at the other end. Depending on the vehicle's height and/or weight you play a different toll. I arrived at the booth in the car with two bicycles mounted vertically on the roof rack and waited for the ticket, and waited, and waited... it was then I noticed the big green arrow pointing up and hey presto there is another ticket dispenser about 2 meters off the ground. The booth must have thought I was a lorry and the extra high slot was positioned for a lorry drivers cab window.

The thought then crossed our minds that we might be charged extra for being a lorry. However when we arrived at the end of the péage it was obvious the situation was not uncommon. The credit card payment lanes had a height restriction and a HUGE sign waning motorists with bicycles on the roof not to proceed through the auto payment lane, but go to a manned payment booth, hence we got charged as a car not a lorry.

Another learning experience about France.

No further mishaps meant we got home in plenty of time to mow some of the lawns and put the welcome packs in the gites ready for our new guests this week.

You can read about our holiday here - Camping Holiday

|   4:29:26 PM   French toll booths   

The grass is always greener

Saint Clotilde

A mowing marathon today. I've spent just about all day mowing the grass and strimming edges today and I'm ready for a beer and bed. I think I must have had a reaction to grass pollen, because my eyes are very sore and puffy and I feel rotten. Having a big garden (2 hectares) is great for the guests staying in the gites but at this time of year it's a full time job. Even though I've got a monster ride-on mower with a 48 inch (1.2 meter) cut it still takes most of the day. Normally we would cut a quarter or a third each day and rotate round to break it up, but various other jobs and interruptions (and fantastic growing weather) has meant we had to do it all today. Tomorrow (Saturday) we have three changeovers for the new guests in the gites (which takes most of the day) and on Sunday you are not really allowed to mow because of noise pollution laws in France, so the next opportunity would be Monday, which would mean the grass would be getting too long to leave the clippings on the ground. A little and often (like most things in life) is best.

|   8:40:34 PM   The grass is always greener   

Oh boy a broyeur

Saint Kévin

My friend and I went to give someone a hand to install a broyeur (mashing toilet) in their bathroom. Ian is a bit of a plumber and I do electric's and we both wield a mean cordless screwdriver. They had a bit of a strange arrangement in the bathroom. The was a bath, a hand washbasin and a bidet, but no toilet. The toilet was down on a lower floor ! I can only assume that if you needed to use the bidet you had to waddle up the stairs with your trousers round your ankles. Rather an odd arrangement.

The cunning plan was to remove the bidet and replace it with a broyeur. Instead of the large 100mm waste normally used for toilets it mashes then pumps the waste out of a 40mm pipe. The normal size pipe for a bath or handbasin. Because it pumps I think you can also evacuate uphill.

Plan going perfectly, electric's in, water off, old bidet out, hot water capped off, cold water supply to broyeur connected and finally 40mm waste connected to existing bidet waste pipe. The only slight complication was that the current waste pipe was only about 38mm and made of lead. It's an old house. So a bit of inventiveness, sealant and jubilee clips got the thing connected up.

The first test run was uneventful. A bit of water filled the bowl, the pump kicks in, but not alot happens. The second run and the bowl fills up with water almost to the top then the pump fired. KAAPOOWW, water everywhere. We'd spent so long on the lead to plastic joint we'd forgotten to tighten the jubilee clip on the toilet and now the powerful pump had been primed it shot the water out, and over us. It was extremely funny, especially when you consider what might have happened.

|   8:32:12 PM   Oh boy a broyeur   

BBQ

Saint Blandine

BBQ party tonight. Really good party with guests from the gites and a few local friends.

I built the BBQ from an oil drum cut in half with a few bits welded on for legs.

We also had the Daily Mail come and take a few photos and an interview about us moving to France. It should be published in the Mail on Saturday 19th June 2004.

|   12:10:49 AM   BBQ   

BBQ

Saint Justin

Last year I started building a monster BBQ out of an old oil drum. We had quite a few BBQ parties where we got together with the guests staying in our gites for one night to have a BBQ. It's easier and more fun with one big BBQ that everyone shares, hence the new oil drum monster. Trouble is I never quite finished it. The legs got welded on but I never finished the grill part. Well today was the incentive, as we all decided a BBQ would be a good idea tonight. A bit of frantic shopping and scrounging for bits of metal and BBQ grills it was finished. Ready to go, but, as it typical with these things, the wind picks up, rain showers start and the temperature drops. Postponed until tomorrow.

Never mind it gave me a chance to do a bit more to the fireplace.

I think I'm getting withdrawal symptoms from not using the mower. It's been too wet for a couple of days now, so it's looks like a marathon mowing session over the next few days because the grass has shot up with this warm and damp weather.

|   8:32:19 PM   BBQ