tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70666802011-04-22T02:43:09.076+02:00A blog for the ups and downs of living in France from the point of view of an English person who has moved permanently. Caroline and I moved to France to escape the rat race in England and we are currently have 3 holiday cottages and are in the process of renovating an old stone barn in Brittany for gites (planning permission permitting).Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.comBlogger1091100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-42950134088396419152006-12-19T13:34:00.000+01:002006-12-19T13:35:20.654+01:00

Check new beta blogger

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1099157187138335072004-10-30T19:25:00.000+02:002006-12-19T10:53:33.322+01:00

to here http://radio.weblogs.com/0136203/

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1097344100293612142004-10-09T19:46:00.000+02:002004-10-09T19:48:20.293+02:00

Raining just about all day and the kids were at a loose end. Caroline had an inspiration and thought of French Knitting. Remember that, the cotton reel with pins in the end ? The only slight hitch was the cotton reels, I don't think I've seen a wooden cotton reel for over 10 years. The only thing for it was to make two cotton reels out of some scrap wood. A trip to the workshop, a bit of drilling

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1096387062855796272004-09-28T17:57:00.000+02:002004-09-28T17:57:42.856+02:00

Brittany Ferries plans increased service to France However BF may fill the void left by P&O, but I doubt prices will fall.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1096386652915827022004-09-28T17:50:00.000+02:002004-09-28T17:50:52.916+02:00

BBC NEWS | Business | P&O to slash workforce by 1,200 Not good news for those of us running a holiday business in France that caters for English tourists.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1095955783541179312004-09-23T18:05:00.000+02:002004-09-23T18:09:43.540+02:00

I have been having terrible problems getting rid of moles in the garden. I've tried gas, poison, traps but still they come back. A friend lent me Le Detaupeur, a mole 'shotgun',and it seem to be working. I've had three charges go off recently and another explosive charge went off this morning and the number of mole hills is reducing. There is a bit more certainty that you have scored, because the

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1095955463992096012004-09-18T18:00:00.000+02:002004-09-23T18:04:23.993+02:00

Today we went armed with a wicker basket and the Edible Mushroom Guide and we all ventured out to some local woods mushroom picking. Unfortunately, not a very successful fungus foray, only bagging a couple of edible mushrooms. The most frequent find was the Common earthball (Scleroderma citrinum), also known in the U.S.A. as 'pigskin poison puffball', marked as poisonous in my book. The other

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1095276763366161722004-09-15T21:30:00.000+02:002004-09-15T21:32:43.366+02:00

Just as an alternative to this site I found the web site Don't move to France. Life is not a bed of roses here, and here is an alternative view. It's a bit ironic that after France Telecom phoned about ADSL last night our telephone line has gone on the blink. It's still useable for voice but it's so crackley that modem speeds are way down and we keep losing the connection. Caroline

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1095230628181800532004-09-14T20:40:00.000+02:002004-09-15T08:43:48.180+02:00

Caroline took a phone call tonight from France Telecom trying to sell us ADSL. He didn't have to try very hard, we have been waiting to buy for two years. Yes, Yes send me an order form. Rural France is not well supported by Broadband so we hadn't held out much hope, but the great news is it's coming on the 2nd of December. Fantastic news, I'm getting a bit fed-up with dial-up now more and more

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1094927647899174862004-09-11T20:31:00.000+02:002004-09-11T20:34:07.900+02:00

Caroline is a member of the APE, parent and teachers association for the local school. They help to raise funds for additional school activites not paid for by the state. She went to a meeting of the APE last night and one of the items on the agenda was to elect a new President. Most of the comittee members had already been President at some time and so tried to get Caroline to stand for the job.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1094738033931296072004-09-09T15:42:00.000+02:002004-09-09T15:53:53.933+02:00

Got the car back after a service yesterday at the local garage. While it was there I was lent a courtesy car. It's a very old Peugeot 30something (the badge has fallen off) that rattles more than a milkfloat, the steering wheel seems to be only loosley connected to the front wheels, no power steering, no air conditioning, no central locking, a manual choke (remember those ?), a radio without push

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1094492247467035012004-09-06T19:29:00.000+02:002004-09-06T19:37:27.466+02:00

With the new chickens (10 in total) we have now almost at full egg production. One of the new point-of-lay chickens Caroline bought the other day laid it's first egg. Some days we have too many eggs, but friends enjoy free-range eggs for a change. Bought 25 litres of woodworm treatment and cleared all the cobwebs and muck off the beams ready for spraying. Some beams are a little rotten in places

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1094492426045042042004-09-03T19:37:00.000+02:002004-09-06T19:40:26.046+02:00

Living in the French countryside is very pleasant but it does mean you have to jump in the car for everything. Our nearest bread shop (which we visit nearly every day) is a couple of minutes drive away, however they have just started a new service, bread delivery dor-to-door. Currently it's only a Tue and Fri but we don't need to order and we just buy a loaf or two from the back of the van.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1094233841248265982004-09-02T19:47:00.000+02:002004-09-03T19:50:41.246+02:00

Finished clearing upstairs in the barn in preparation for the builders who arrive at the beginning of October, and removed old steel sliding gate from the front ready for the builders. Some of the floorboards were a bit rotten and there was evidence of woodworm. I think I may have to get the garden spray out and dowse everything with woodworm treatment before the plasterboard and insulation gets

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093878294583653252004-08-30T17:01:00.000+02:002004-08-30T17:04:54.583+02:00

Whilst we were at school someone said they had seen us in the Ouest France paper this morning. This was due to a chat Caroline had with the journalist who covered the B17 Memorial on Wednesday.   Les Champs-Géraux Caroline et Ian, des Anglais installés, depuis 2 ans Arrivée depuis deux ans aux Champs-Géraux, la famille Haycox a voulu tout de suite s'impliquer dans la vie de sa nouvelle

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093878503447947992004-08-29T17:08:00.000+02:002004-08-30T17:09:13.236+02:00

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Schumacher cruises to title It did turn out to be an exciting race, but not necessarily for the right reasons. The TF1 coverage showed the bits that ITV missed during the ad breaks.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093719289593315562004-08-28T20:54:00.000+02:002004-08-28T20:54:49.593+02:00

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Trulli grabs Belgian pole Bit of a lottery but it might spice up the race tomorrow.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093878791325282392004-08-28T17:10:00.000+02:002004-08-30T17:16:18.866+02:00

On Wednesday night Caroline went out for the evening as part of the www.b17-29mai.com commitee and to welcome some people from America and the UK to show them the memorial and exhibition in the Mairies office. As with almost all events (fetes, school plays, sports, etc.) in each of the communes, they are covered by one of the local papers. Ouest France (daily paper for the west of France) and

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093639131973674102004-08-27T22:34:00.000+02:002004-08-27T22:38:51.973+02:00

Just the one small molehill this morning. Maybe the solar powered ultrasonic mole deterrent I bought from the Outiror mobile lorry shop on Wednesday is working. I have been gassing moles with smoke cartridges. Some days it's just one or two but the other day I used a marathon seven. I think my obsession has got so bad it is rubbing off on the children staying in the gites. The last few

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093373417553362932004-08-24T20:49:00.000+02:002004-08-24T20:50:17.553+02:00

On the way home I encountered that slightly crazy French road system priorité a droit. When the priorite a droit applies you must give way to vehicles entering from the right, even though you are driving on the main through road. The yellow diamond sign means you have priority over people from the right and is usually displayed when leaving a built-up area. If there is a black diagonal stripe

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093373263196159632004-08-23T20:46:00.000+02:002004-08-24T20:48:06.856+02:00

A bit more clearing and tidying in the barn today. Removing the old 200 litre hot water boiler from the wall was a little hair raising. It was bolted to the wall right above the main water supply and meter for the house with nuts rusted solid. I had to angle grind the boiler supports and tops off the bolts but I really did not want this humungus chunk of metal falling on my rising main and

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093373166396195932004-08-22T20:43:00.000+02:002004-08-24T20:48:48.420+02:00

For the second time this week we have made a trip to the local hospital with one of our guests. Yesterday afternoon one of the mothers put her foot in a hole in the sand on the beach and badly twisted her ankle. She couldn't put any weight on the bad leg so had to spend the evening at our BBQ party laid up in the garden being fed and watered. We tried lots of wine as a remedy for the pain and

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093018079289651042004-08-20T20:06:00.000+02:002004-08-20T19:09:20.416+02:00

In preparation for the new gites I stayed at home and started clearing out the barn of all the old junk left lying around. It's taken me all day and several trips to the dechetterie to get rid of most of the rubbish. For the stuff I wanted to keep it meant cleaning a space in another outbuilding to put it. It's very nice having lots of space and outbuildings but it's easy to never throw anything

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1093017938760861902004-08-20T16:03:00.000+02:002004-08-20T18:05:38.760+02:00

Tourist day in Dinan for the family. Personal recommendations for the gite guests are much better than a leaflet from the tourist office so we have tried to visit most of the zoos, parcs, beaches, attractions and a fair few resturants. Today it was the turn of Le Petit Train de Dinan. It's about a thirty minute ride from the port by the canal in Dinan, round the old part of the town taking in the

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092907374242600512004-08-19T11:21:00.000+02:002004-08-19T11:23:54.410+02:00

The fireplace is finished. See the full story.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092732845824123062004-08-16T10:51:00.000+02:002004-08-17T10:54:05.823+02:00

The parents-in-law arrived yesterday and with them came our Amazon.co.uk order. You can get English books from Amazon.fr but the choice is smaller and the price slightly higher. Whilst I've been waiting I've been reading Country Doctor, Tales of a rural GP -- Dr Michael Sparrow. The cover says it's hilarious, but it only comes up to slightly amusing in my view. It's a bit James Herriot with

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092585794559641222004-08-15T17:59:00.001+02:002004-08-15T19:48:45.326+02:00

Caroline spotted some baby Koi Carp in the fish pond this afternoon. Well we think they are baby Koi. They were about 3 or 4 all 2-3cm long, brown (translucent ?) and very difficult to spot against the bottom of the pond. I did see the big Koi thrashing and splashing about in the shallows when is was very warm at the end of June this year, so I'm hoping that they were spawning and this is the

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092582647897136142004-08-15T17:10:00.000+02:002004-08-15T17:10:47.896+02:00

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Schumacher eases to triumph I bit of a dull race, summed up the the ITV commentator saying the most exciting part was watching Ross Brawn eating a banana

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-109259225211101602004-08-15T13:20:00.000+02:002004-08-15T19:51:44.683+02:00

Fireplace is almost finished. Caroline has done all the pointing and this morning I installed the wood burning insert, refitting all the bits back together and connecting up the flue and hot air feed. The silver pipe to the left with the kink is a hot air feed from the fireplace right up to the top floor of the house. Above the 'fire box' there is a separate heating box which generates huge

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092515278847563402004-08-14T22:26:00.000+02:002004-08-14T22:27:58.846+02:00

The last day or so has seen better weather here in Brittany and the farmers have been collecting in all the straw today as it's had a chance to dry out. In fact it's just going dark at 22:00 and a Combine Harvester has gone past. I'm not sure if that is good or bad weatherwise. At least we are not getting battered by hurricanes like in Florida. BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Fifteen die in

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092493171754088152004-08-14T16:19:00.000+02:002004-08-14T16:19:31.753+02:00

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Schumacher cruises to pole Looks like another win on the cards. You really got to admire the sheer quality of the man.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092381735149600692004-08-12T23:19:00.000+02:002004-08-13T09:22:15.150+02:00

Caroline finish off the fireplace this morning by brushing the excess off the stonework to leave a nice clean finish. I think if there had been cement in the mix it would have set onto the stones and looked messy. I've been stuck scraping the remains of wallpaper off the stairwell in our house. When I say wallpaper it was actually a pink carpet-like material that must have been stuck on with

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092381512436037052004-08-11T21:07:00.000+02:002004-08-13T09:18:32.436+02:00

To help the the barn renovation into two gites I ordered La Plomberie and L'installation électrique from Amazon which arrived today. They are both in French, surprise surprise, but do provide the rules and regulations and best practice and lots of pictures :-) Finished chipping out the loose and small pieces of cement that were proud between the stones of the fireplace and hearth ready for

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092240726879644562004-08-10T18:11:00.000+02:002004-08-11T18:12:06.880+02:00

Had lunch with some friends at La Vielle Auberge in Trefumel today. I can thoroughly recommend the restaurant. The menu du jour was just 9€ for feta cheese salad, veal and rice, cheese, dessert and wine. It was obviously a local favourite, as parked outside were tractor and trailer combos, a La Poste van, several white vans and various local cars. It gave the place a nice authentic local village

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1092240601332341192004-08-09T23:06:00.000+02:002004-08-11T18:10:53.250+02:00

Finished cementing in the stone around the fireplace, ready for pointing. Caroline has volunteered to do the pointing with a lime and sand mortar. The two big leylandii hedges at the front need a bit of a haircut so whilst buying half-a-tonne of sand for the pointing we also bought a hedge trimmer. Twenty-four inches (600mm) of pure German cutting power. The oil drum BBQ made another appearance

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1091983337642240202004-08-08T18:40:00.000+02:002004-08-08T18:42:17.643+02:00

Took a trip to the Fête du Blé et des Vieux Métiers in Pleudihen-sur-Rance, Brittany today. In very stereotypical fashion Elizabeth liked the animals and Hugh liked the parade of old tractors and farm machines. I think we have overdone the festivals a bit this year, this is the forth one. They are all very enjoyable, and if you have never been to a fête then it is definitely worth the trip.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1091903051863719272004-08-07T20:18:00.000+02:002004-08-08T10:14:22.136+02:00

Had a good curry evening the other night with an English friend from the the next village who is a CORGI registered plumber now living in France. He's thinking of setting up a business as a Brittany Plumber, so if you need a good English speaking plumber in the Dinan area mail me. All the animals profit from a gite changeover day, especially when we have all three gites to change, like today.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1091742248177395092004-08-05T23:39:00.000+02:002004-08-05T23:45:20.363+02:00

Fitted the granite slabs for the new fireplace hearth and concreted around the side to build up the level ready for the floor tiles. It took a couple of big wheel barrow loads of concrete to get it almost level. I'll finish off with some self-levelling skim before laying the tiles. Chopped three small trees down (about 15cm across) that were just touching the overhead power lines. EDF came last

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1091616364460954552004-08-04T10:41:00.000+02:002004-08-04T12:46:04.460+02:00

We went shopping today primarily for some more picnic tables for the gites and some slabs of granite for the fireplace hearth I'm renovating. It turned into a bit of a marathon shopping day. Caroline's friend recommended a garden furniture and fencing place in Chateauneuf Ille-et-Villaine, close to St Malo. It was stacked full of pressure treated wooden fencing panels of every shape, size and

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1091469060448771212004-08-02T19:42:00.000+02:002004-08-02T19:51:00.446+02:00

I've been driving around today visting quarries looking for a new hearth for the fireplace in our lounge. A slight delay partly because of my tonsils and lack of enthusiasm. It's been too hot (high 30's), and what makes it worse is air conditioning in the car. You keep moving from hot to cold and back again and I not sure it's good for you. I used to work in an air conditioned office 8 hours a

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1091386319740302892004-08-01T20:49:00.000+02:002004-08-01T20:51:59.740+02:00

This afternoon we all went to Plage de Pen Guen in Saint Cast Le Guido. It's a great beach for small children because it is all sand and is almost level. We arrived about an hour or so before low tide and it took it a good 5 mins walk from the top of the beach to the sea. But once in the sea you could wade out for a very long way before even going over your waist. Once the tide turned it came

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1091130680786258642004-07-29T21:50:00.000+02:002004-07-29T22:00:26.296+02:00

Met up with an old friend and Caroline's ex-landlord from many years ago in Reading. Keith (owner of Tiger Computing and The Linux Consultancy) worked at Digital (then Compaq and now HP) at the same time as Caroline and myself. Keith married Cecilia last Saturday and we picked them up from Dinard Airport (Hugh loved the Aurigny aircraft (G-JOEY) with the faced painted on the front) during their

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090998425172440272004-07-27T15:00:00.000+02:002004-07-28T09:07:05.173+02:00

We just had a meeting with the builders regarding the renovation and conversion of the barn into two new gites. Because of the high price of the work and the withdrawl of most of the grants, I'm am going to do a large proportion of the internal works to save money. The builder wasn't that happy, but c'est la vie. We signed the devi for the major works and he will be starting at the beginning of

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090878251163227492004-07-26T23:31:00.000+02:002004-07-26T23:44:11.163+02:00

To save a bit of time on the mowing we decided this year to leave a couple of areas and let the grass grow long. The goats field and the area around the old bread oven down by the stream. With hindsight this was most probably a mistake. We now have waist high grass, too long for the mower and using a strimmer is hard work because you are always cutting grass you have already cut. So, with my

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090870034764197712004-07-25T22:27:00.000+02:002004-07-26T21:29:19.606+02:00

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Schumacher wins German GP Had to watch the race on tape, but Schumacher does it again. Good drive by Jenson Button.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090782674244769262004-07-25T21:07:00.000+02:002004-07-26T21:26:06.720+02:00

We had the most fabulous day today at the Fete Des Remparts. It's a medieval festival/fayre held over two days in Dinan, with markets, sword fighting, jousting, and much more besides. Intimate and involving, fantastic. Most of the center of Dinan was closed off and had straw thrown down on the streets, a huge medieval market and four different 'worlds' showing different viewpoints, with the big

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090695434831071332004-07-24T20:57:00.000+02:002004-07-24T20:57:14.830+02:00

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Schumacher takes pole Unfortunately I'm going to miss watching the race live tomorrow for the first time in about 6 years.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090607490637640442004-07-22T22:26:00.000+02:002004-07-23T20:31:30.636+02:00

We had a very pleasant day out with a picnic a trip to Chateau Le Guildo and then a short walk along the GR34 coastal path. Just a short trek from the castle along the GR34 following the red and white stripes on the trees we found a deserted sandy beach for the kids to play on. A nice relaxing day out. A strategic geographical position Le Guildo Castle is situated on a rocky outcrop

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090480288160462852004-07-22T09:05:00.000+02:002004-07-22T09:11:28.160+02:00

Brittany has a real problem with moles. We've had a bout of showers over the last two weeks and the moles must have multiplied 10 fold. There are mole hills everywhere, I reckon about 50 hills scattered around. In the past I have just scattered the tops of the hills so as not to kill the grass, but now they are getting to be a real pest and damaging the lawns and flower beds. To my untrained pest

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090394793220446322004-07-20T09:17:00.000+02:002004-07-21T09:27:28.776+02:00

Lovley sunny weather today, so we all went into Cancale for lunch at down at the port by the oyster beds. Suprise, suprise, but all the resturants served Oysters, lobsters, mussels and specialised in seafood. If you like seafood, I would recommend it, as there is lots of choice. We ate at 'La Mere Champlain' which was very good. Afterwards we all went to the beach with me still reading The No.1

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090258177847028902004-07-19T19:22:00.000+02:002004-07-19T19:29:37.846+02:00

Lucy the goose has been sat on some duck eggs for the last 35 days, and this morning they hatched. Caroline went to feed the chickens and one of the ducklings was already out and still wet, with another pecking away from inside the shell. A little later and we now have two muscovy ducklings and one very proud 'parent' goose. A word of warning. We left the unfertilized goose eggs under Lucy, and

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090239886857895112004-07-18T14:20:00.000+02:002004-07-19T14:24:46.856+02:00

One of our guests is reading In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore about how slowing down is good for you. The books description says: Across the western world more and more people are slowing down. Slower is better: better work, better productivity, better exercise, better sex, better food. I have to say that after living in France for 2 years, I wholeheartly agree. Things sometimes take a little

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090148207142575352004-07-17T19:52:00.000+02:002004-07-18T13:00:08.026+02:00

It's fête time in Brittany. At this time of year we seem to have a local fête every weekend. Today was the Fête de Megalithes in Plesin-Trigavou. Next week it's the Fête des Remparts in Dinan, then next week the Fête du Pain and then the following weekend the Fête du Blé in Pleudihen sur Rance and I think the week after the Comice de Agricole at Saint Judoce. They are all excellent events with

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1090006786099451962004-07-16T21:35:00.000+02:002004-07-17T12:57:21.093+02:00

Yesterday after lunch two combine harvesters started harvesting wheat in the field at the front of the house with huge tractors and trailers racing around to collect the grain. I tried to find a simple diagram of how they worked but the best I could find was here. Last week we had pretty bad weather, with rain and strong winds. Some parts of the field have been knocked flat, and are lost. Now

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089832979044779612004-07-14T21:16:00.000+02:002004-07-14T21:22:59.043+02:00

Fête Nationale Française, or Bastille Day today and is a public holiday. Last night there was a huge fireworks display in Dinan and tonight another one in St Malo over the sea, above one of the fortifications in the channel. Another BBQ at a friends house this afternoon and evening, and again accordion players coming of the wookwork between courses. I've been to so many BBQ's recently I'm

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089904163073046932004-07-14T17:05:00.000+02:002004-07-15T17:09:23.073+02:00

The Fête Nationale Française is the day the French commemorate the storming of the Bastille on 14th July 1789, the start of the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy. In essence the revolution started due the huge gap between rich and poor. The country was ruled by King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette who ignored the poor and starving masses as long as there was food on the

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089753029463645022004-07-13T22:59:00.000+02:002004-07-13T23:10:29.463+02:00

One of the families staying in our gites little girl had her 4th birthday today. So we all had a party with the cake and the big oil drum BBQ and sung her happy birthday. The other kids played pass the parcel and various other party games and ate party food. We stuck to the BBQ & Beer. Afterwards myself, Caroline, Garry and Mike had a really good game of croquet. We have not quite got the lawn

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089570920578863342004-07-11T20:33:00.000+02:002004-07-11T20:35:20.576+02:00

I went to the library with the children on Friday. Caroline reads the children French and English books before bedtime. Elizabeth came up to me with a book I recognised from England called La chenille qui fait des trous, known as The very hungry caterpillar - by Eric Carle, and just sat down next to me and started reading it in French. I was gob-smacked, and very impressed. She told me they are

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089570535724734482004-07-11T20:27:00.000+02:002004-07-11T20:33:04.620+02:00

Caroline and the children went to a school lamb roast and fireworks party last night as part of the school end of term. I dipped out cos I am feeling bad still. Caroline said there was 4 lamb roasts and loads of people. Really good event but nobody got to bed before midnight so the kids are a little 'playful' today. It was a typical French evening, tressle tables, loads of courses, wine

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089536721350445962004-07-11T11:03:00.000+02:002004-07-11T11:05:21.350+02:00

I just read Blogging burden? and quite understand the pressure to submit a post. I'm glad no-one read me! :-(

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089487712402535662004-07-10T21:26:00.000+02:002004-07-10T21:37:18.706+02:00

Tour de France 2004 We got held up at home missed the start of the caravane but managed to catch the tail end. It consists of a high speed carnival float with cars and small lorries decked out as water bottles, coffee cups, watches, cleaning products, all beeping and playing music etc.. You name it, there is a mobile version of it racing down the street with the roadside packed with people. Most

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089408525607091622004-07-09T23:26:00.000+02:002004-07-09T23:28:45.606+02:00

After my recent trip in a French hospital I 'phoned a relative in the UK to give them a progress report (they don't blog) and they told me about that two different friends went into different hospitals and caught the MRSA Superbug. Both were due to stay for a few days and ended up staying for weeks after catching MRSA. This isn't the first people I've know of first hand. Caroline's friend and a

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089406318546042352004-07-09T22:38:00.000+02:002004-07-09T22:51:58.546+02:00

Finished Lovely Bones today whilst convalencing. Really enjoyed the book and made me wonder if people are watching me all the time. Who knows, but I did like the bit about a child's imaginary friends. Well worth reading. I think I may join the band wagon and read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I keep getting sucked into reading reviews about it by Amazon (other people who bought...) and All

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089304130339873592004-07-08T18:22:00.000+02:002004-07-08T18:28:50.340+02:00

The French anaesthetist had a sense of humour, just as I was going under, he said in English, Have a good trip. Back from hospital this afternoon still feeling a bit groggy. I finished the Girl with a Pearl Earring and did not really enjoy it at all. I don't know why I struggled to the end; the most exciting thing that happened was when the maid moved a tablecloth without permission Started

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1089056749581293302004-07-05T21:40:00.000+02:002004-07-05T21:45:49.580+02:00

Got the sacrificial magnesium anode that I ordered ready to fit to the hot water boiler. At the beginning of this year we had a real problem with the hot water flow rate. It started slowing down then the rate of decline really accelerated over about 1 month until the flow rate was almost down to a trickle. A plumbing friend fixed the problem by clearing out the internal pipes in the boiler that

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088958275862851602004-07-04T18:24:00.000+02:002004-07-04T18:24:35.863+02:00

Schumi takes stunning win. Michael Schumacher wins a tactical battle with Fernando Alonso at the French GP. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition]

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088880503850123162004-07-03T20:45:00.000+02:002004-07-03T20:48:23.850+02:00

Gite changeover, fix door hook, fix shower rail, empty grease trap, clean pond filter, clean, clean, clean, watch Formula One qualifying Alonso grabs French pole. Fernando Alonso beats Michael Schumacher in qualifying at the French GP. [BBC Sport | Motorsport | UK Edition] , strimming, mowing, sand window, play football, watch football, drink beer, sleep, c'est tout

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088794106741571952004-07-02T20:43:00.000+02:002004-07-02T20:48:26.740+02:00

A minor translational error caused us some slight, but amusing, embarrassment this evening. At school in Les Champs Géraux some of the classes have been painting murales on the playground walls depicting various scenes to brighten up the school. We received in Hugh's cahier the following note: Vous invitent au vernissage de leurs peintures murales A quick scan of the dictionary and we

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088708440975730722004-07-01T20:57:00.000+02:002004-07-01T21:00:40.976+02:00

I had an amusing episode with the mower. After each mowing session it pays to get the hose out and clean the mowing deck to remove all the clogged up grass and mud. It cuts better and does throw out 'clods' on the lawn. I normally use the hose, but this time I decided to use the water collected in rain water butts from the bath. All our bathwater is collected and used to water the plants via a

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088619710837372972004-06-30T20:20:00.000+02:002004-06-30T20:25:32.713+02:00

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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088533765382894332004-06-29T20:17:00.000+02:002004-06-29T20:29:25.383+02:00

Spent 23€ today for a visit to the hospital in Dinan today for a consultation with the anaesthetist in preparation for having my tonsils removed next week. 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,

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088445577932425412004-06-28T19:48:00.000+02:002004-06-28T19:59:37.933+02:00

I've been wearing lots of hats today. Started with vet's hat to help Caroline treat an egg bound chicken. It got poorly yesterday. We asked local chicken keepers and and we tried the remedies here, including sitting it in a bowl of warm soapy water, but unfortunately she didn't make it. Spent a while on the mower (gardening hat) cutting the grass on the croquet lawn and front field. The lawns

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088360925856391962004-06-27T20:26:00.000+02:002004-06-27T20:28:45.856+02:00

After we got back from a nice day at La Fosse aux Vaults beach at St Lunaire 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.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088191011967745772004-06-25T21:11:00.000+02:002004-06-25T21:16:51.966+02:00

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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088190015478627452004-06-24T20:56:00.000+02:002004-06-25T21:00:15.476+02:00

Whilst reading the Google Blog about the largest palindrome a reference was made to the movie Caddy Shack which reminded me about the gofers and the similarity to my mole problem. I'm currently waging war against moles in the garden which are wrecking the lawn. They are rife in Brittany and are a real pest. Almost everyday there is at least one new molehill which I stick a smoke cartridge down to

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1088014013660518302004-06-23T19:59:00.000+02:002004-06-23T20:06:53.660+02:00

Lucy (our Toulouse Goose) now has a pond that holds water for more than a day after I fixed the leak. She came out this evening to have a quick feed before returning to incubating the Muscovy duck eggs. She has lost quite a bit of weight using up her fat reserves.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087927754883102262004-06-22T20:03:00.000+02:002004-06-22T20:09:14.883+02:00

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 bureaucracy in France, as we had bought the house over 18 months ago. The problem was that the titre was not ours, it was another

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087840188248533432004-06-21T19:45:00.000+02:002004-06-21T19:49:48.246+02:00

Back to work 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. De-stoned 3kg of cherries so Caroline could make some Jam. I can smell it at the moment. Delicious. The rest of the vegtable patch is coming along nicely with tomatoes, red and yellow

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087823245702922012004-06-20T15:06:00.000+02:002004-06-21T15:07:25.703+02:00

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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087671216283871172004-06-19T20:46:00.000+02:002004-06-19T20:53:36.283+02:00

Today we had a story published about our gites in the Daily Mail national newspaper. Caroline Haycox, 38, and her husband, Ian, 41, moved to Brittany in September 2002 with their two children, Elizabeth, six and Hugh, four. Their intention was to buy and run a gite complex. Caroline Says: We were both IT consultants based in Hampshire, but I felt I was

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087583082408677292004-06-18T20:21:00.000+02:002004-06-18T20:29:34.493+02:00

I've been working on two accounts 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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087498294702414442004-06-17T20:50:00.000+02:002004-06-17T20:51:34.703+02:00

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,

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087413896880894712004-06-16T21:24:00.000+02:002004-06-16T21:24:56.880+02:00

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)

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087323722135356452004-06-15T20:20:00.000+02:002004-06-15T20:22:02.136+02:00

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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087235070321140162004-06-14T19:41:00.000+02:002004-06-14T19:44:30.320+02:00

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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087152380147374802004-06-13T20:42:00.000+02:002004-06-13T20:46:20.146+02:00

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. 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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087071762033085792004-06-12T22:20:00.000+02:002004-06-12T22:22:42.033+02:00

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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087236269715512522004-06-11T20:03:00.000+02:002004-06-14T20:04:29.716+02:00

Lazy day, preparing to pack for an earlyish start on Saturday. Hugh's back in the swimming pool now his sore bits have healed and he seems to be back to full speed on his bike. Finished reading The Alchemist. I just couldn't put it down. A book that made me think about fate, destiny and the different directions one takes in life.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087236208127954812004-06-10T20:01:00.000+02:002004-06-14T20:03:28.126+02:00

A day trip to a children's park with ball pools, various rides, slides, swings, water slides, crazy golf (Caroline won again by 6 stokes). Need more practice. We all really enjoyed the park, but I wouldn't expect children over 12 or 14 to find that much to keep them occupied. There are some larger rides but not enough to keep you occupied all day. Started reading The Alchemist by

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087235993218670632004-06-09T19:57:00.000+02:002004-06-14T20:00:17.353+02:00

Busy day. Crazy golf (Caroline won by 4 strokes), swimming in the pool, lunch on the promenade at Les Sables D'Olonne, bit of messing about on the beach and a swim, hired a canoe for the 4 of us and went paddling around the salt marshes. The area is famous for it's salt marshes where they create small 'ponds' to trap the salt water and then harvest the salt as the water evaporates. The area is

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087235840992368072004-06-08T19:55:00.000+02:002004-06-14T19:57:48.940+02:00

Car key now works as usual. I guess a little extra drying out overnight sorted the problem. Pheww! From the campsite there are a series of cycle paths through the forest along the coast, via the salt marshes and all the way up to Brem Sur Mer. There must be tens of kilometres of really nice cycling. We took a picnic, and the four of us set off for the day. With a 6 and 4 year old it was

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087221758460087652004-06-07T16:01:00.000+02:002004-06-14T20:01:15.510+02:00

Had a superb lunch out in Les Sables D'Olone by the port. Less than 40€ for the four of us, three courses and wine. In the afternoon we went swimming in the pool, but I forgot to take the car keys out of my shorts. After swimming around a while I realised what I'd done. It wouldn't be much fun being locked out of the car whilst on holiday. So I dismantled the key fob and took out the battery,

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1087221642111264602004-06-06T15:58:00.000+02:002004-06-14T16:00:42.110+02:00

Spent most of the day exploring the campsite and in the swimming pool and water slide. The weather was beautiful and sunny and we did the typical tourist thing of all going a bit pink. Tried out our portable gas BBQ for dinner. The first course was very successful, but, as you can see, the second course ended up a bit too char-grilled. We left the food on the grill turned down to minimum with

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-108715208208201642004-06-05T20:40:00.000+02:002004-06-13T20:41:22.083+02:00

The start of our camping holiday. Since arriving in France nearly 2 years ago we haven't had a break and we thought we all needed a holiday. We decided this week we would not accept any bookings, get a house sitter to look after the chickens, goose and goat and manage the watering etc. All the guests left promptly and we managed a record changeover, all cleaned and ready for the

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1086374701440763692004-06-04T20:44:00.000+02:002004-06-04T20:45:01.440+02:00

No more progress on the Fireplace, the exploding toilet and todays mowing marathon saw to that. 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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1086287149279729122004-06-03T20:23:00.000+02:002004-06-03T20:25:49.280+02:00

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

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1086214202204988972004-06-02T23:58:00.000+02:002004-06-03T18:01:12.860+02:00

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.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1086114761787770602004-06-01T20:31:00.000+02:002004-06-01T20:32:41.786+02:00

Did a little more on the fireplace (just a few rows of stones) but I got distracted finishing off a BBQ that I started building last year. It's made of an oil drum, cut in half with some legs welded on. I finished off the grill part today because we and all the guests staying in the gites planned to have a BBQ party tonight. However, the weather turned against us, so it's postponed until tomorrow.

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1086017844353401652004-05-31T17:36:00.000+02:002004-06-01T09:02:27.986+02:00

A bit of work on the fireplace. I ditched using the door as shuttering for the wall and just layed the stones as if they were bricks. It's very time-consuming getting the right sized and shaped rocks to fit each gap. Almost finished, and I reckon the result looks pretty smart. I've built in a couple of little alcoves for authenicity in the back wall. Just the last couple of rows then construct

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066680.post-1085937237720817082004-05-30T19:13:00.000+02:002004-05-30T19:13:57.720+02:00

A few pictures of the barn due for renovation into two gites. The permis de construire has been applied for and the decision is due on the 27 July 2004. As you can see quite a lot of work, but it won't start until at least October as the local French tradesmen are so busy, and we don't want to disturb any of our existing guests. The building is split over 2 floors with each gite

Ian Haycoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12623882189761104032noreply@blogger.com0