Friday 10th July 1998

Sue, Rick, Jennie & Sadie

(written by Sue)

We got as far as Sainsbury's when we realised we didn't have the key. Fortunately, Janice met us at Oving with Julie's spare one. We made the ferry with only two minutes to spare. It was a good crossing and at one time we actually sunbathed on deck.

We tried out Malcolm's route from Le Harve but it was dreadful driving conditions (dark and raining) and we took the wrong turning which delayed us quite a bit. We arrived at the house at 12:30 a.m. French time and unpacked and made up the beds.

Saturday 11th July 1998

The weather was OK, a bit cloudy but quite sunny and warm at times. In the morning Rick and I went to Argentan to look for the shop that sold old but not necessarily antique furniture. Rick was very good at taking directions from the girl in the shoe shop. However, it was a great disappointment when we eventually found the place as the furniture was a bit rough, modem and quite expensive.

We had a lovely lunch at the cafe, fish, steak, potatoes and spinach.

In the afternoon I put another coat of barley-white on the kitchen walls and two coats on the new plaster, I also put some saddling on the kitchen window. Rick cut down most of the brambles in the garden. I cleared the ground outside the garage door, put some weed killer down and planted some pansies out the front. Jennie and Sadie did some stenciling in the bedroom, painted some kitchen chairs and put some saddling on the step from the kitchen to the lounge. Rick re-cemented and repointed the brickwork in the fireplace.

When Rick was working on the fireplace he kept getting a whiff of ham. Martine later told us that some 20 - 30 years ago they used to kill a pig, hang it in the loft area and put sawdust on the fire and smoke it for about two months. It is amazing that after all these years you can still smell it, I wonder how strong it tasted.

We eventually persuaded the girls to have a shower and what should happen, but the gas ran out in the middle of Jennie's shower. Martine was out, we tried the shop, but it was the wrong kind of gas and we then went into Carrouges where they were just shutting up, but we were saved!

We were hoping that our friend Alister and his wife would call in but unfortunately, they only made it to Alencon - so near but so far away. In a way we were a bit relieved as it would have meant us having to eat another huge meal. We had a lovely evening playing games, Sadie was the champion at the connect-four game. We also played with Jennie's typing programme.

Sunday 12th July 1998

We didn't quite know how to dispose of the trailer full of rubble and garden rubbish. Rick prepared a speech and enquired at the cafe. He then tried to get some salt for his boiled egg. Martine helped him out and then rang the Mayor to get the key to the compound.

After breakfast we all went into Carrouges and bought some bread and carving knives, fireworks, wine etc. Rick replaced the glass in the kitchen door, it took ages as it was difficult to remove the old putty etc. Rick also filled in the outside of the door by the steps with plastic wood filler . I put another coat of saddling on the window and emulsion on the new plaster. The girls put another coat on the kitchen/lounge step.

Jennie and Sadie spent most of the day riding the bikes to see the cows. We had a great lunch melon with bacon, herrings, chicken & fruit.

Rick put a coat of black paint on the fireplace brickwork. Then Daniel took us to the refuse compound which was just around the comer. We had to have a drink at the cafe after to recover from our exertion. Daniel is now out of work; he lost his job when he was ill.

We invited Martine, Daniel and Carol to a barbecue. They admired all the decorating and took a fancy to the drying rack. We started off with smoked salmon and had chicken fajitas which Rick cooked on the barbecue. They were quite impressed. We played the connect four game and Sadie won each time. They went off to see the World Cup Final - France v Brazil while we listened on the radio and did the washing up. At half time we joined them - the score was 3 - 0 to France. Martine got the champagne out. Suddenly, there was all this noise outside and about 27 men were dancing and singing outside our house. Jen & Sadie had gone to bed and were terrified, Jen put the carving knive in the lock on the door to the cellar. The men all went and had a drink at the cafe and carried on singing and dancing for a while longer.

Rick came home, ate all the leftovers and drank himself into a drunken stupor.

Monday July 13th 1998.
I sorted out the lounge area and cleaned up. Rick fixed the door on the rubbish shed. We left about 12:00 and drove through Hon Fleur which looked worth a visit.

List for George

2 sets of keys to be cut
Wood for the winter - we may have to leave Martine some money. Gravel for area outside the garage
TV - visit the Electrician Alain Mengard in Carrouges and ask about key to Granary Ask if there is someone in the village willing to do our washing
See if Martine could arrange for the EDF to read our meter. Leave a set of keys at the cafe.
Perhaps Douglas or Julie could ring Malcolm to see how he got on with the quote for the roof. Do we need a revised quote for the roof from our original source - Jean Puyou Braco?