phase two of our tinned roof epic.

Blog 16 / May 2016

What a joy when some of your most favourite people go for a walk in the rain on the other side of the world and think to send you a picture to show you what a lovely time they are having. Thank you Joiner family,  we love your pics…..

Monty got a ride out to Perier for the town fete which centred around a car show, vide grenier and other points of interest.  We met some lovely car minded people and Mike spent a happy day just talking cars and stuff. I have fond memories of my uncle’s succession of French car and van brands so it is always great to see them in the safe hands of the collector. There are a few ex pats collecting in this area and seeing Austin’s and Morris’s alongside the Dauphins and 2 cv’s is interesting and amusing, then, to top it all,  we  joined the other exhibitors for a free lunch with lashings of cider for all

Ray brought his special BMW  along  and friends John and Lynn came in two old cars just because they can.  Shirley and Mark here in the photo came to visit and ohhh’d and aahh’d whilst Mike put up his commemorative plaque which is now proudly displayed in the downstairs loo

We were treated to a display of old cars and special editions, there were tractors and Lorries and frankly the day turned out to be right up our happy street. There was a vide grenier going on as well and for us that is Sunday perfection.

The next morning Mike got Monty out for a wash brush up and whilst he was in the mood, rolled his 1946 BSA C10 out of the lounge and gave it a good polish in the sunshine.  We bought this bike some 20 years ago from a bike jumble at Kempton Park and it never left the lounge when Mike stopped to polish it on the way to the garage at our home in Winnersh.

When the polishing was done I gave Mike permission to put the bike in front of the fire place for the summer. It has been behind a variety of sofas and chairs over the past 9 years in this lounge and I had a fancy to show it off and be proud, besides, I  like looking at it… so there it will stay, looking gorgeous.

I am very pleased to say that the harvest is underway   already, this is the 4^th lettuce and a bunch too far of radish and parsley. During the winter it is easy to forget how great it is to recolt at will, so when it all comes together it feels extremely satisfying, worthwhile and very wholesome.

In April this year we were delighted to see a new gang of moor hens on the pond. We watched them for a couple of days and then they were gone. We have guessed that the two heavy frosts we had in that week killed them off and quite frankly we were sad and disappointed to have lost them. This week however, we have been treated to the display of the official day out of a family of at least 6 little fluff balls chasing Mum and Dad for food.  We have had a family of Moor hens on the pond for at least 6 years and we look forward to watching them grow and flourish. The Parents are the most attentive we have seen and gather up their little clutch and make sure no one gets lost.  We could easily sit and watch them all day …… but the lawn mower beckons and we have to move on.

And finally, Eric and Gill called in for a couple of nights on their way back to the UK. They are in the throes of finding their way to settle in France a little more south than us and we are always happy to see them on their way through. We were sitting on the terrace and they asked if there was anything they could help us with and I took one look at the tractor and said, get that going and give it a wash. They ended up picking up sates and getting the barn area clear for when we start roofing again this week on phase two of our tinned roof epic.

more on the other side…..Brilliant !

Blog 15 / May 2016

It is now a really busy time for us gardeners in Brevands, and one of the annual big jobs is weed killing. Spring brings them all out at once and in a vengeance and no matter how green or natures pal you want to be there is no substitute for a good brusque and dominant session. We do this together with a bumper weed killer tank holding 37 litres, I push and Mike sprays so I can supervise as to where to, and not to spray. In the past Mike has wondered off with 17 litres strapped on his back and without my supervision has unknowingly sprayed newly planted plants and trees, and then they die…… so on the big annual step out, we go together. 

There is a charming tradition here in France that on 1^st May friends and neighbours exchange a sprig of muguet to show their love and commitment to each other, (it is a lady thing).  This year however in Normandy, there was none ready to pick from our gardens after the chilly start to the year. There were Muguet sprigs to be bought in the shops, no doubt brought up from the south but the tradition is that you grow it yourself and at 6 euro a sprig in the shops I can see why you would want to grow your own. I chatted to Geneviève about the cost of a sprig and that mine had not flowered yet and she went off in a tirade about the cold weather and the greedy south taking advantage, so she knew she wasn’t going to get any this year. However on the 10^th of May I found two pots of Muguet in flower at the back of my nursery and a little row in the front garden. I am now going to hedge my bets and pot all the bulbs I can dig up when they are finished and nurture them in the poly over winter and be a clever clogs  with home grown muguet on 1^st May 2017.

Our little front garden has become a place of control after years of neglect and confusion. At the last barn roof mend in 2012 I put down a membrane and covered it with broken slate. The japonica tree has now really settled and is centre stage. My sister Mim bought this tree for Mike in 2003 for his birthday and it lived in  a pot for years and travelled to France with us and we are very pleased it is happy if not a little lop sided. HOSS has made this his spot when we go out so he is near to the gate for his welcoming duties.

The blossom around the pond has once again been a fabulous spectacle and I found Peaches the duck taking a fragrant if a little decadent path in petals, but you only have to blink on a breezy evening and the blossom is gone and not to be seen again until next year. We did take the time to sit and look and with the big willow gone this year we have had a great spectacle this year.

All of my garden vegetables are now planted out and the season has begun. Here we have sunflowers and runner beans on the go so it is now just a matter of watering and weeding and watching. The pressure is off and we will soon start harvesting, I picked a bowl of poly tunnel strawberries yesterday and very nice they were too.

I mentioned that we had the very old and leaky barn roof dealt with in 2012. Mike was never very satisfied with the result as he thought a tin roof would have been cheaper in the long run but went with public opinion that you had to go slate. We had the entire roof retiled using second hand and our own recycled tiles. At the time it felt wholesome and we had trodden inside our green footprint thinking it would last, but it didn’t.  Last year whilst on the Bon Coin Mike found a man selling a bulk amount of tin sheets and he bought enough to redo the roof as he always wanted it. Well that is all well and good but how do you do this job on your own. We waited and waited and planned and replanned using options of nifty lift hire, helicopter drops with SAS soldiers roping in friends too afraid to look at a ladder and then we started to give up. A by chance meeting with Jacob, and the man who can, came and Mike had an ally who has good experience of building  tin roofs and is good to go for a few days at a time to get this long laid plan and requirement on the way.

By day three we are this advanced, using our precious scaffolding, Jacobs’s skills­­­­ and Mikes dare devil no fear of heights approach. We are now in stop mode for us to recover and will set off again at the end of next week .

There are tons of fallen slate to deal with and I am picking through to make sure all the nails are collected up to protect HOSS’s delicate paws. Today I cleared up to the garage and when Mike moves the scaffolding later in the week I can get the rest shifted into the garden. We are storing it all in one place so that later we can be more creative about where it goes. What a fantastic resource at my finger tips and I do not want to waist the opportunity of using it wisely.

And finally a little glimpse of the clear sheets mike and Jacob have installed bathing the dark barn with new light, and this is only the beginning as we are putting two more on the other side…..Brilliant !

with the enthusiasm our lives here deserve

Blog 14 / May 2016

For all of you who watch the blog regularly you will recognise this as the manoir in catz. This building had been abandoned for tens of years before we moved to Brevands 9 years ago and we had often commented of the  utter shame that buildings are left for nature to  take over. Two years ago the gardens were cleared and we have watched the slow but positive progress over this long period of restoration. As you can see the roof is ready to be tiled and that will launch it into the dry and weather proof stage and hopefully it will start to look like a lovely home once again.

I have to blog this lovely photograph because it just made me laugh. This is our son Chris with Sam and their doggie Harry, who photo bombed their selfie and a very good he made of it. I have become really good at downloading photos from Facebook, messenger and e-mail and I am putting them in with my photo files so at the end of the year I will have our children in our albums in our time line. When we have our feet up in 20 years’ time we will have the whole family with us where they belong in the right order of things. Wonderful ….

We had a very worrying pile of mud in the camper park. It was the first thing I saw in the morning as this shot was taken from the bedroom, and reminded me every day that it just had to be moved.  The dumper had become a permanent mending project despite Mike’s sterling efforts so we really did not have the right tools to move such a pile of mud. Our neighbour promised to come over and shovel a few barrows away but did not turn up on the day so Mike decided that he had to make a start and filled the trailer and towed the mud into the garden for dumping.  After two long winded and achy breaky efforts Mike went to the dumper and gave it a very stern talking to and blow me over if it didn’t start and stayed running. Mike was pulling a negative face and said it was not right but he cobbled a way of keeping it running long enough to load and then shot up to the dumping ground and by the time afternoon tea as presented to the patio the job was done……brilliant

Mim and Dick called in on their way home from their France road trip in their camper, and we had a good time at the table as always and heard all about their big adventure.

I made pie to commemorate the occasion and we feasted for two days and pretty much never left the table.

I arranged to go over to deliver some plants to the Scrivens chateaux and as we prepared to go Mike disappeared around the back of the house and came out with Monty and so we did our visit in style.

Shirley and Mark were delighted to have Monty on their drive and took loads of pictures and also filled the patio table with wine beer and nibbles. A great time was had by all but we needed to get back so we squeezed ourselves into Monty again and set off back the way we came

We were about half way home when we all started to sense that Monty was struggling and Mike suggested we may be overheating. Fortunately there was a garage en route so we stopped and the engine bay filled with steam and Monty went into a steamy hissy fit. We had to buy a bottle of water as there was no watering can to take water from the tap but then Monty got mineral water and hot tap water to the volume to 6 litre. Quite obviously needed a top up. We waited a while and when Monty seemed happier Miked started him up and we made our way home laughing all the way

Mim took the view that there was little she could add to the situation and sat in the back seat like the Baroness of Bracknell waiting for the breakdown to be sorted. I had already told her that if the worst comes to the worst we could ring for a taxi and came back later with the trailer so the situation was not serious, but we were getting hungry, and that was serious!

And then it’s time to say our good byes, and I am not good at that, so a brave wave as they left the drive and I took to the sofa for the rest of the day. I will start again in the morning with the enthusiasm our lives here deserve

weakens and wanes as the year’s role on.

Blog 13 / May 2016

This is what the branches of a 30 year old dead Willow looks like from the top of the trunk that is left. I finally managed 22 bags of chippings for the rose garden and that will help with a couple of years of weedlessness. We sat and looked at what was left and contemplated leaving it there as a memorial. We then thought to put a flat staging on top for the storks to make a nest but Mike was concerned about the stork poo all over his cars on the drive. Thoughts of carving it into a Brevands totem pole were discussed but the wood is rotten and we are not of Michelangelo skill sets, so we decided to have it down and rethink the options

The last cut, was a wedge facing the pond with the plan that the trunk would splash into the water safe and tidy.  Shortly after this shot was taken, there was a chorus of timber and a very big splash and the job was done.  But we did shush the ducks into a corner and threw stones to frighten the fish away, no animals were hurt during this process except mine and Mike’s achy bones and joints.

Our friend Shirley has been supporting Mike in his quest to convince me he should have another boat and my opinion is the same each onslaught of cajoling and the answer is No, and when he tried to convince me a trunk might make a good boat, the answer was still No.

The log in the pond was too heavy for us to pull out and we have decided to leave it in the water and have christened it ‘Duck Island’ the fish love the shade on a hot day and hopefully the ducks will realise it is the place chill out and been seen.

Here is our house from the top of the trunk before it splashed down. We love to look at pictures like this, to remind us how lucky we are to be here living this productive life.

I have mentioned that willow is the second worst wood to burn, the first worst is hawthorn, so we decided to use the wood in a garden.  We walked all the branches of a size and made a start on Willow Tree Garden. I went around my nursery area and collected all the plants I have propagated and we have planted them in amongst the willow art and …. WOW… we have a new garden.

Willow Tree Garden will look completely different by this time next year and within 4 years it will be totally covered and looking gorgeous.

We are doing the annual weed killing chores and I came across this brave little bunch of parsley growing in the gravel in front of the house where I had my parsley pot last year. We underestimate seeds and how they robustly just get on with growing all over again with no help or encouragement….. Wonderful, and I did pick some, and had it in my lunchtime sandwich …mmmm

We gathered in Graham and Ann’s garden for a spot of lunch and so soon into May found ourselves supping up a hot and intense sun. This is why we love to be in France and why we treasure our friendships to be able to gather and enjoy each other’s company, relaxed and content

And finally, the anniversary of our trip to Canada has rolled up into focus and as the 1^st of May loomed I became determined to do the final read on my holiday log and finally complete it.  I cut up all the brochures and articles we collected on our journey through the Rockies and made a collage from the images of the Canada we saw.  I have logged the week traveling through the Rockies and then there is a story of the wonderful 3 weeks we spent with the Joiner family.  The folder goes on the shelf next to the 2015 day book and in a few years’ time we will be able to read and reminisce at leisure with nothing lost or left to memory of which we all know weakens and wanes as the year’s role on.

daylight we have replaced it with

Blog 12 April 2016

I practised some real national pride and raised the Union Jack in Brevands to celebrate the Queens 90^th birthday. I posted on facebook and got so many lovely responses that we decided to do it all over again with English flags for St George’s day.

You may be forgiven for thinking that we have become homesick expats, but no, we just love the opportunities we have to follow the news within two cultures.   I put my flags up to remember the Paris and Brussels bombing and HOSS was Je suis Hero for a day. Our neighbours are now quite used to the union Jack in Brevands as we usually put a flag out if we have first time visitors….. or England is playing France at some sport or another,  it just makes for cordial relations

I have managed to get four grass cuts in the garden already this year and the lawns are looking great.  I like to go out, just me, and Mike comes out with a drink to sustain me and this time with camera ‘….. Don’t you just love my mean machine…..

For well over a year now I have been ordering a months’ worth of   doggie food from Intermache.  There is quite a process for this purchase as I have to make the order in person at the reception one day,  4 days later I get a phone call to say the order is in, and then, I have to go on line and make a Drive Internet order so I can pick up my shopping at the back of the shop…… sounds complicated, well no it actually runs like clockwork and when I go to reception the ladies know who I am and what I want. I feel very much in with the in-crowd because the ladies at intermache know me…the other up side to this process is that if Mike and I were not able to get into town to do our shopping we could buy on line and have a taxi deliver, so this process is insurance in case we should find ourselves unable to go out or just get darn right lazy in our old age…….

We had another fun evening supper at the table this week with 8 of us catching up on the goings on in our ex pat lives. Shirley here, has a dodgy shoulder and is finding it difficult to go swimming, which she does every single day of the week. We were hearing about the treatments she is undergoing and then Mike suggested she might like to borrow his infrared light on a stick.  Needless to say we just had to have a demo and as you can see, it was hitting the spot. Get well soon little mermaid…..

The dead willow tree is coming down and we have been at it for the past three days. Mike has taken the time to plan the best way to bring it down and has been searching for best practice on U-tube. We have been discussing this sad but necessary project and have planned each next move so we both understand how it will work and what the dangers are. Our neighbour came over and asked why on earth we were cutting down our magnificent tree and when I brought his attention to the green willows in the garden and the state of this one, and he was visibly shocked that a tree could die so totally and in so little time. He offered to help but I know how Mike works and that his brain cogs do not need a third party input with something so difficult and crucial.

I am not allowed in the area while mike is up the ladder but I do have to be paying attention and keeping an eye on progress. I therefore set myself up as the chipper department and as the branches come down I triage big twig, medium twig and no use to me twig, then put them in tidy piles so we can see what we have.  The chipper is very fussy about the size and shape of twig but once I got my eye in I found that I got really clever and in two days I have filled 18 supermarket bags-for-life, and I am still counting. I am really looking forward to filling a garden or two with these chippings to make them look smart and tidy.

So here we are at this stage and I am promised that once we have a trunk left it will be quick and effortless, so we work on, sad to lose our front drive Wow factor but enjoying the new open views and daylight we have replaced it with