French Life Renovation

The villages of our part of France are full of old quaint houses and barns for sale as "renovation projects". This is mainly due to the demise of the villages as farms became more reliant on machinery than on people. One giant tractor can do in a day what 50 years ago would have needed a team of people.
Young people move out to the towns, the elderly die and houses become empty. The inheritance laws mean the property normally has multiple owners and all must agree before it can be put on the market. Whilst this takes place the houses fall into disrepair and move from "needs updating" to "needing renovation".
And this of course is just what the Brits like. Over here you can buy a barn with more land than you will ever need for €50-€60k. Houses are available for half of this, ( the one below is currently for sale for €20,000

But they need major surgery and in most cases the people who are buying have at best a little knowledge of first aid.
A move to France especially for retirement is an opportunity to change your life and renovation certainly changes your life!
One lady customer of the bar summed it up perfectly " In work I changed from a typewriter to a word processor to a computer, now in retirement I have changed to a cement mixer"
But the allure is easy to understand. In the UK we have small houses for big money. In our area you can buy a house with 5 or 6 bedrooms, 2 or 3 bathrooms, authentic fireplaces, beams etc  with a barn for a garden shed and perhaps an acre or two for the price of a 2 up 2 down in the South East.
The size of the plot has little impact on the price of the house so the Brits buy big.
We hear stories of pensioners living in mansions wrapped up in layers of jumpers as the house whilst big and no doubt beautifully finished is just too big to heat. They pray for the spring to warm the house but fear the growth in the gardens that are so big they can't deal with them.

And it's not only wrecks that get renovated. Fully habitable houses get the works as well. French houses often have GRENIERS, large roof spaces or attics.

Greniers seem to excite the Brits. They can be converted into more bedrooms, more bathrooms for "when the family come"  ( I think they mean the time when all kids, grandchildren, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins all happen to be passing)

I was talking to a guy whose job in the UK was loft conversions. He said that people converted because they needed extra space normally for a growing family and either didn't want to or couldn't afford to move. In France this is not the driving force, it is simply because "it's there"

You have to admire the renovators, they will not make fortunes selling on, they work day in day out in all weathers to get their house as they want it. They have to learn new trades and figure out French electrics, French plumbing and fosses. They become disciples of the god Bricomarche, but that's for another time.

I must finish now, I have a chicken house to convert into a luxury gite today.

Good to be back

We are back in Champniers. Our  holiday to the other side of the world to see son number 1 married is over and we are back in our routine. We will be open 12 hours a day six days a week until we next take a break, most probably in Jan 2013
The ice and snow we left has gone and the days are much more spring like, coldish nights but lovely clear days and warm if you can get in the sun. The trees outside have been pollarded during our break and the terrace will soon be ready for eating outside
We have survived a second winter. We have again managed to avoid a day with no customers, albeit only just on a couple of occasions !!

We reopened last Monday with the return of the Fish and Chip van after their winter break. Nothing like starting with a bang, the jet lag had to be forgotten as the car park filled with the local expats renewing their love of cod and chips with sarsons vinegar.

I also have a couple of updates to previous posts to report.

• Despite me emailing my blog to the owner of the Wanganui Italian, he has failed to respond, He is no doubt too busy selling parmeasan
• Red Wine man was in the bar earlier in the week and again went to the urinal. There were a number of people in the bar who had read the blog and knew the problem and  as he left the room vocal der der der der ( the sound of a siren!!) sounded and we held our breath in anticipation. We hadn't needed too, once more the lower urinal worked its magic and the floor remained dry
• I mentioned that Christmas was simple here, However one simple thing they lack is knowing when to take the decorations down, Just about every village still has a couple of santas still climbing ropes!
• The new MFI is apparently going the same way as the old one. Consultants unpaid and good people dismissed...what a shame

A little cheese please

We are on holiday in New Zealand and have just had the most appalling "service" in a restaurant that I had to air my views.
Eating out in NZ is not cheap and so we decided to take advantage of an offer that

Al Ponte Ristorante Italiano

was running for a Wednesday Evening. Pizza or pasta plus a glass of house wine for $20 ( €15 £13) The restaurant is in Wanganui

The restaurant wasnt busy and we ordered and the food arrived. Now the normal thing in an Italian is for the waiter to arrive with a pepper pop the size of his/ her arm and to offer black pepper and of course the essential parmesan cheese.
Neither were offered so we called the waitress back and asked for pepper and cheese. They arrived a couple of minutes later and to be fair enhanced a tasty meal.

However when it was time to leave, we asked for the bill and expected $40. The bill delivered was $42 which included a $2 supplement for parmesan!!!
I was shocked to see a supplement for condiments and after having paid decided that would have a word with the owner who was by the till.
I explained that it is usual for Italian restaurants to offer the full range of condiments with meals and that I thought that he was taking advantage by charging extra. He shrugged and said it was "expensive" and that was why they charged.

I was lost for words and left disgusted.
I did a quick google check and he hasnt run the restaurant for long, reviews are mixed but my review/ advice is simple. "Dont take the piss out of your customers or you wont have any to take the piss out of."
Even in the picture on the net he is standing at the door looking for the next customer to fleece!!

Weather

I know everyone has weather but I feel an update on the last 10 days is required. The winter was hardly noticeable until the end of January and then it hit like a slap in the face.
The temperature fell although the days were bright and then last Sunday, we woke to snow.
Snow is lovely, on Christmas cards, on mountains and perhaps even here for a limited time but as with the UK we don't know what to do with the stuff.

About 10 inches fell in the village and nearly a week later it is just about still all here. The temperature has averaged about minus 8 at night and a balmy minus 2 during the day. The sun has melted it very slightly only for the night to turn it back to ice.
The villages and hamlets seem to have to look after themselves with the gritting and clearing only on the larger roads. As such we had a couple of local farmers out with tractors clearing the main nroad through the village but nothing else

The bar is warmish but I think we must be keeping the village awake as the gurgling sound of diesel rushing into the boiler is like that of a weir or a small waterfall.
The customer toilets have frozen up on a couple of occasions but fortunately we have managed to keep the seat warm. I am not sure our insurance company would be thankful of a personal injury claim as as a backside is removed from a frozen seat leaving  a circle of skin behind.

As always planning is important  and as they say "the best laid plans of mice and men"  ( R Burns 1786)
This was the week that Seb from Anglo Windows was fitting  new doors in the large room.
These  2 set of doors are approx 4m wide by 2.5m high and were rotten to the point  that they let wind and cold in. However a little cold blowing through small holes in the doors was nothing compared with Seb ripping out the whole thing to let the siberian weather in directly.
They are now in and looking good and in future times will keep the room warmer.

Business wise, the term slow would be a bit of an exaggeration.  We have been open every day, the benefit of living on the premises and have been very pleased that as we can report that we still haven't had a day where nobody came in.
We have had to cancel our quiz this week as the roads in the evenings are difficult to say the least but spring will soon be here and the cold of the last few days will become a distant memory.

and for the next couple of weeks---------

A Small Success

You will recall the ongoing story of the yellow pools. 
The last time I mentioned this, we were going to get a plumber to change the height of the urinal.
Well we did, he did and today we celebrate.
Red wine man visited and didn't leave a calling card.


For those of you with kids you will know that one dry night is only the start and you can expect more wet sheets but for now we celebrate the success of the 24inch high urinal.


Now we have the men trained we can move onto the next problem!!!

Don Du Sang

The bar is a magnet for people who want something displayed for free. Frequently they arrive, people we have never seen before, poster in hand. They want us to advertise their event, their sale or suchlike.
We have had posters for hunting meets, dramas, school activities to name but a few and we always bite our tongues about the cheek of never having even visited for a coffee or a €1 wine but  expecting that we will rush to display their A4 or even A3 poster in our window.
There is however one exception,one poster we will not display. That is Don Du Sang (blood donation).

France needs blood as can be seen from the facts below

Blood donation in France – Key Statistics

• 1 million patients treated each year thanks to blood donations
• 10,000 blood donations needed each day to cover patient needs
• 1.7 million blood donors in 2010, 360,000 of which were first-time donors
• 3 million donations made in 2010
• The lifespan of blood constituents is short: 42 days for red blood cells and 5 days for platelets.

Both J and I donated in the uk and I have a fairly rare blood type which was welcomed whenever I donated. But in France it's a no thank you

English blood is  " tainted " as the UK had cases of  Mad Cow disease  and as such no English person is allowed to give blood in France even though blood is needed each and every day.

France failed to own up to BSE being a problem until a report in 2008 finally admitted the size of the problem and reported that France did not do enough to stop it's spread and to protect the public.    President Jacques Chirac  even said in 2003 that the only thing Britain had given European farming was mad cow disease.

It is said in France the disease was called "JCB"  because of the speed the animals were buried!!   

The ironic thing is, the taxman here wants our blood but the health service doesn't


C'est la vie and a strange one at that

French Life, The Driving Medical

France has different rules than the UK relating to driving. One of these is the medical.

It is normally encountered when a person needs to change their licence from UK to French because of age. The UK licence is valid until the person is 70 ( except for the catch whereby the photo is only valid for 10 years). It is not possible to apply for an extension to the UK licence unless you have a UK address so change to the French one is imperative.
Likewise the French licence is less inclusive than that from the UK and for example a special licence is required for towing a caravan or other large trailer. Suprisingly large trailers and caravans also have to have separate registration documents, number plates and mot.
So, the medical. I have not yet had to go through this but a number of our customers have and the process is always discussed with some incredulity.
The person is asked a few general questions, asked to identify colours by means of different discs being held aloft and has a general eyesight test.
This is followed by the introduction of a wooden step, similar to a shoe cleaner's set up. Walk up the  two steps, jump off the top one, step onto the top one, walk down again.
Then comes the part that nobody believes, whilst you are standing on the step, the doctor pulls, as if by magic, a toy monkey from behind his back and throws it at you. Catch with your left hand, catch with your right hand, catch it. The monkey is spinning around the room like the finale of the Cirque Soleil and if you catch it you pass and can tow a trailer!!!

Those of you reading this in the UK may well think you get off light, well be warned. I hear that the same type of test will soon be introduced by the UK but that the monkey catch will have to be done whilst holding a mobile phone to your ear and having a mcdonalds in the other hand, to simulate real driving conditions.