Friday 23rd May 1997

Sue, Dick, Don, Jennifer and Isobel.

6:00 am Not a good start as Dick forgot to hitch up the caravan and we went aground on the drive. We were lucky that it didn't shear off the tow hitch. Sue and Don were the only adults in the cinema on the boat. Isobel left her Game Boy in the cinema and Don had an embarrassing time trying to claim it as he didn't know her name. This all happened during the film. Rick hired a cabin to do some office work. Don found him (during the Game Boy episode) asleep on the bed, he said he was travel sick!

When we arrived at the village it was absolutely packed and it was difficult to find a place to park. It seemed that there was a funeral going on, also there was a terrible smell of manure. Dick and Don excavated the area around the drain cover. It appears that the village was put onto main drainage about two years ago, before that the water would run down the street. Martine and Daniel invited us over for a drink. Martine told us that it was a funeral for a 15 year old girl who had been killed in a car accident. The mother of the girl had recently lost her husband in a tractor accident. another child had died of cancer and we think she said that another child had also died. They lived in Carrouges but the grandparents live in the village. Martine's mother then confirmed that our house has been empty for six years. Some years ago Martine's grandmother rented our house for twenty years. They also told us that the cellar area of the house was used for farm animals and the farmer lived upstairs. There is, or was, a well outside the back of the house where you used to walk down some steps which would lead to the house. We took over a fairly good bottle of wine to share with them. They seemed impressed by the quality. Martine came to show us an old box of soap powder which Sue had thrown away during our last visit. It turns out that this box is crucial to the life of the village. The newspapers are delivered at 4.00am and put in the box for Martine to distribute to the other residents. We then had a barbecue and drank liqueurs late into the evening. Don slept in the lounge.

The lounge

Saturday

The church bells are something else, they go on for ages at 7 o'clock in the morning. Don carried on digging while the Wood-Roe's went to the shop to look for plumbing parts. They seemed quite cheap, a new double stone sink costs about £80. Sue used a fungicide on the walls of the bedrooms and hall.

Another long lunch of Omelette and Peppered Steaks. Daniel produced a bottle of good wine which was on the house. It was really hard going with the French speaking, I don't know what we would have done without the dictionary. We asked them if they knew of anyone who could repair the roof. When Don visits at the end of June they will have a quote for us. We then approached the subject of the Electrical Quote, they were amazed but not surprised that it was so expensive. Something that I had forgot to mention was that most of the wiring in the bedrooms, bathroom and toilet was actually modern. Some of the wiring in the cellar was also fairly recent. Martine has an Electrician who uses the cafe regularly and they will ask him to quote for us.

Dick and Don connected us to the main drainage system. It's a shame I didn't take a photograph of the hole that was dug as Donald must have worked very hard whilst we were at the shops. Sue filled in the walls in the hall and bathroom. Jennifer and Isobel painted some of the railings.

Main Drainage Connected

We all then went to the shops and bought a new sink for the bathroom and a new toilet. It was a bit of a last minute rush before the shops closed. The bottles of liqueurs are going down, Don is getting a taste for the high life. He slept in the caravan that night.

Sunday
Those bells keep on ringing! Dick and Don fitted the sink in the morning. We were short of a few parts but they improvised very well. Sue rubbed down the hall, the fungicide seemed to have worked very well.

What a lunch! Melon with port, Sweetbreads, Lamb and green beans, Strawberries and cream followed by the usual cheese and coffee. It was Mother's Day in France. Martine worked very hard with our French.

Sue painted the hall and Dick and Don installed the toilet. They also emptied the Septic Tank into the main drainage system. As a temporary measure the toilet is still emptying into the Septic Tank. Everyone will have to be careful with the sink and toilet until they are screwed in.

Martine and Daniel then came round to discuss the electric wiring in French. Daniel seemed to understand very well was needed. He is a trained draughtsman so he is used to technical things. They hope to get the electric on for us by the time Don next visits at the end of June. He said that the Electric Company will invoice us in England. Dick and Don found it frustrating not having any power on as they need to drill holes etc. We worked until late that evening. It was a clear night with more stars than we have ever seen before. Dick saw a shooting star. There are swallows nesting in our garage

Feral Cat by the Drains

Monday

Gabby came to see us with Martine. She confirmed the plans for the electrical and roofing quote. There is a local tax payable in October or November approximately £50 and another tax similar to our rates which are between £ l 00 and £150 per annum. She assumed that they would invoice us in England. Gabby has three children, a son of 12, a daughter Melissa 9 and a baby boy about 18 months. She was keen to see us and offered to go to Alencon with us. However, she couldn't in the end as her friend was on their way. The village is so small that the houses are not named.

Don took the fence down at the front of the house. The Wood-Roe's all went to Alencon to look at kitchen units. We had a picnic lunch before we left at l o'clock. The keys were left with Martine. We drove straight onto the ferry and went to our cabin.

Our House Showing the Old Fence

Bedroom 2

Washed the walls with mould killer.
The walls need washing to remove odd bits of wallpaper and filling in before they are painted. Remove wall light.
Fill in extraction hole.
Ceiling - white
Suggested wall colour - pale yellow Doors and window - white gloss
Window sill needed - 39.2 inches x 5 inches Curtains 2.3 metres long x 1 width

Hall
Fill in walls
Suggested wall colour - pale yellow Doors - white gloss
Ceiling - white