The Hole Story, and other bits & pieces

Although we’re gradually returning things to normal, the house is a tip. Dust is everywhere, ‘things’ are everywhere and it’s all getting a bit too much for us. The reason? We’re in the middle of a series of works designed to improve the thermal efficiency of the house and to make it a little more comfortable in winter.

First, we’ve had the insulation in the roofs improved. However, this is not a question of laying further material in a loft. In our house, the inner sides of the roofs form the ‘ceilings’ in the lounge and in our bedroom. So we’ve had to clear out of those two rooms while the inestimable Pascal and Didier clad the ceilings with another layer of insulation and a ‘tongue-and-groove’ finishing on top. This has resulted in furniture and clothing being scattered throughout the house and a huge quantity of dust being spread everywhere. Fortunately, that part of the work is now finished so we’re gradually reclaiming those rooms.

The second stage is to replace all our characterful, but thermally useless, windows with handmade, double-glazed, wooden-framed units. As part of that work, we have decided to convert a window in the rear wall of the kitchen into a door. To achieve that, Didier’s father-in-law, José, and brother-in-law, Carlos, came around one day and

knocked seven bells out the wall. Unsurprisingly, this has left a charming new aperture which will eventually be filled by a new, double-glazed door. In the meantime, security is provided by external shutters and two mattresses stuffed into the hole.

Bank Holidays

We’ve had four Jours Feriés (Bank Holidays) here this month. I’ve just looked up the weather for these:- 1st May – wet; 8th May (Victory Day) – damp; 17th May (Ascension) – wet; 28th May (Pentecost) – appalling. Thank goodness there are no more for a while.

A Wet Weekend

We’ve just come back from a couple of days in Sarlat in the Dordogne. This is our second visit this year (see blog in January) and, apart from having a break, our main motivation for going was once again to visit a garden. For a relatively dry three hours during what was a shocking weekend meteorologically, we wandered around the fantastic

gardens of Erygnac. After visiting the gardens of Marquessac in January we were quite prepared to be disappointed by Erygnac. We needn’t have worried, they were wonderful and, because of the weather, very quiet.

The countryside, as many of you will know, of the Dordogne is wonderful and we were treated to some wonderful

flying displays by kites swooping over the valleys.

We also treated ourselves to some Perigordian cuisine. Concentrating on duck and goose, this is dangerous territory for those of us with raised levels of cholesterol but with a bit of care we were able to eat very well without, we think, Mr A doing himself any damage.

A Sight for Sore Eyes

Images of Jean-Phillippe Smet are to be found everywhere in France. Wander around any French market and you will see his face staring moodily at you from the backs of T-shirts and leather jackets, both on sale and being worn by middle-aged men. Jean-Phillippe is perhaps the best-loved living Frenchman and has even maintained his popularity while engineering a move to Switzerland to avoid France’s high tax regime. However, as a supporter of little Nicolas Sarkozy, he may yet return.

You‘ve never heard of him? Well possibly his real name is a barrier. He is better known as Johnny Hallyday, the ‘French Elvis’. The durable, 64-year-old M. Hallyday is the most bankable French singer alive as well as being a bit of an actor on the side. He is widely used in advertising campaigns and this ‘two Johnnys for the price of one’

advert clearly shows the benefit of dark glasses. His eyes, it has to be said, are not his best feature.

Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Again)

Mrs A reported that she was quite appalled by the arrogant behaviour of a schools inspector towards her and a group of experienced primary school teachers she's helping on their training to teach English. She was even more horrified by their subservient attitude towards this pompous twit. However, it wasn't long before we found out why. Apparently these people have the power to transfer teachers anywhere within France. So, you can be nicely settled in the Creuse, with your partner working and your kids happy in school when, out of the blue, you can be ordered to transfer to a banlieu in Paris or a 'difficult' suburb of Marseilles. It's no wonder these inspectors can behave the way they do. Everyone is terrified of upsetting them. Blimey!

Spiders from Mars 2

Last November I metioned the incredible scenes we'd witnessed in the Charente Maritime. The sky was full of drifting spiders webs which were attaching themselves to people, dogs & cats, cars and, most spectacularly, lying in thick curtains in fields. At the time, this site wouldn't accept the high resolution photographs I'd taken but now it will. So, arachnophobes, here it is.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

To the two or three of you who care, our apologies for the month of silence. We really have been extraordinarily busy. Here's a short one to be going on with.

We thought that some of you might like to see this little chap.

He's really lovely, isn't he?

One of the many things we like about living around here is that there are lots of horses in the fields and they're 'proper' horses. They're big, solid, heavy horses (such as the percheron) and each spring there are several foals about. They're gorgeous. However, this is a two-edged story because, sadly, a lot of these horses are reared for meat. Now we know all the old arguments about why not horses if we use cattle as food but nevertheless, for us there is a cultural norm which is mildly offended by the thought of these beasts ending up on the table. And yet, we have to recognise that if it weren't for the meat trade, a lot of these breeds of horse would effectively die out. On the whole, we'd rather they existed, even if we feel uncomfortable about the purpose.

Speaking of little chaps, here's another one.

To no-one's great surprise, Sarkozy romped it. As Irving Berlin wrote in one of his most famous songs, 'There may be trouble ahead'.