Chris returns

Saturday dawned grey but warm so I set off to the airport and collected Chris without any misadventures.  On our arrival at the house he gawped a bit and kept saying 'Bloody 'ell' and laughing nervously.   He was jaw-droppingly shocked/surprised/gobsmacked at how different it all looks - due in part to the lack of greenery.

The garden ready for Chris's arrival

After a period of manful handshaking with Darren, Chris had the chance to have a look around.  He also had the time for a long chat with Darren, due to the fact that the 'pecker' had broken down for the second time that day.   It was the day before a - yes, you've guessed it - Bank Holiday weekend so there's no chance whatsoever of a replacement before Tuesday at the earliest.  

The micro-station has almost reached the hole but it's still not there!

Darren decided to use the mini digger to have a bit of a tidy up and start some of the landscaping but mid afternoon the track fell off the caterpiller part of the digger. So Darren had to phone the person who hires it out to come and fix it. Even Darren lost heart at this point and he and Chris busied themselves with the bonfire.

The bonfire is way in the background. The red wine is in their hands

Despite lack of sleep on the plane, Chris managed to keep going but an early night beckoned.  The weather cleared up as the day went on but he was too tired to appreciate it.

So, to summarise, Chris has come to visit for a week and not a lot of work has been done.

Back to the caravan

This background picture is definitely not one of our house, but taken in our nearby town on the banks of the Dordogne.

I'm back in France now after 10 days of R and R with Kerry, Glynn and the lovely 3 year old Beth. It was wonderful to see how much difference the operation has made to her physical development and it was lovely to see her birthday party. We bought her a couple of goldfish which she loved.

She's very confident in her walker now and loves the independence

I shopped a lot, had long scented baths and relaxed. I also spent a great couple of days in Seaford, thanks to Kerry, Bev, Lyn, John, Sue and Lew for everything!

So Thursday it was back to the caravan.

Although the plane was about an hour late, I found the car OK and had a pretty uneventful drive home, unless you count the fact that I went the wrong way around a roundabout - there was no other traffic around and if there had been I'm sure I would have just followed the flow. It was a lovely evening [26C at 9.30 according to the signs in the villages through which I passed] with a mega orange sun - borrowed from an African sky - following me all the way home. I was a bit nervous as I returned to the house as I hadn't heard from Darren in a few days, but the fading daylight framed the glowing embers of a massive bonfire so I knew he had been working that day. [I didn't see the singed trees til the following morning!!].

First problem, I nearly drove into the micro-station, which was sitting in the middle of what will one day be the drive, instead of nicely tucked up under the lawn near the boundary.

Still there the next morning!

Second problem, no electricity. This led to problems number 3, 4,5 and 6. Fridge had defrosted all over kitchen floor, spoiled food smelled disgusting, I couldn't use the fan and the caravan was boiling and no telephone or internet access.

It was too late to find anywhere else. Darren wasn't answering his phone. |I couldn't get in the house as Darren had parked the mini digger right by the door.I had a bottle of warm water which had been in the car for a couple of weeks, opened the doors and windows, cleaned the kitchen floor by the light of a small torch, showered, wrapped myself in a sheet and tried to ignore the mozzies and sleep for a few hours.

Friday morning, I bought a camping light. Then returned home to survey the damage to the trees [quite substantial and not my trees! The neighbour arranged to have the laurel hedge 'trimmed' which means that it is now about half its previous height [10 feet now] and a quarter of its width. There are lots of holes and it was probably the right thing to do to encourage growth on the lower branches. Although it looks neat and it will probably be beneficial in the long-term it is very sad because it was home to masses of wildlife, including grouse and pheasant. Oh well, nothing I can do!

Where's the hedge gone?

Darren had rearranged his schedule and only started our work yesterday so will still be doing it when Chris arrives tomorrow. I spent the day settling back in and replacing food for the freezer, moving rocks around and trying to create a joli little area in the garden so Chris and I can enjoy being here. Another 30C day.

Big event of the evening was the arrival of another pecker. Another few hundred euros, no doubt!

As the socket in the bedroom doesn't work I decided to sleep on the couch to be near the fan. Number 1 task for Chris could be to change the socket. It's about time he got here. I've already started talking to myself again, and to the car of course.