Having just got settled in to our new house overlooking a golf course we set off for France on May 15th for our other summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Guemene - sur Scorff, Brittany, France
Getting the fire going was an immediate priority. It was only 14 degrees but felt far colder. The flue was fitted last year and the fire did its thing, though was a bit disappointing with its heat output. Got to be careful not to get smoke in the room.
Cousin Mike and wife Sue who live in Vancouver, Canada arrived a week later on their tour of France. Here are Sue, Aussie friend Gail and Cathy ..
.. at The Trois Marchants restaurant, the oldest Pub in Brittany. The meal was excellent as usual.
On Gail's patio having coffee afterwards.
Always brings a smile!
Sue bought some Breton blue glass bottles from the shop of our neighbour, Phillipe, across the road. He called in to give Sue some information on his company.
Mike and Sue making the most of the log fire.
Next day the sun was out and we didn't need it any more.
WHERE HAS THE TAP WATER GONE?!
They have emptied the Guerleden Dam (Barrage) near Mur-de-Bretagne, about 30 mins from us in order to do maintenance work on the Hydro-electric equipment. The first time this has happened since it was built between 1922 and 1930. This dam supplies most of the tap water for Brittany. No idea where it is coming from now.
NB. My neighbour informs me ours comes from the river Scorff, not just outside our front door but way down the valley.
On another day I went to the lookout across the valley in order to get a good view of the dam wall.
I love this new camera I bought before leaving Australia, a Nikon 610. This picture of the workmen at bottom right hand corner of the dam wall was taken from the same vantage point without changing lenses and it's not a big camera. Incredible!
It's certainly a tourist attraction and is highly organised for parking at the many vantage points on what was a 40km long lake last year. I was chased off for venturing down the path towards the bottom - "You must be with a tour guide - it can be dangerous" said a passing tour guide.
A crocodile on its way down the valley.
THE RUIN NEXT DOOR
After leaving here last August I decided to buy the ruin plus approx. 1100 sq m of land which wraps around our house. The ruin was a chaumiere (thatched cottage). The main purpose for buying it was to protect our investment. I didn't like the talk of the property being bought and the stones removed they have value here and the trees being cut down for firewood. The ruin is older than the Moulin (mill) across the road which was built in 1664.
Inside the Annex,which has a good roof, next to the ruin,
Some interesting bits and pieces here under the dust and rubble!
We rescued two cabinets. One in pretty good condition but with many joints coming apart.
Also a you-beaut slab of marble which, after washing and oiling, made a handsome addition to our lounge room sideboard.
New bedside cabinet for nothing! Cathy has done a great job.
I plan to remove the Ivy and brambles and seal the top of the walls with cement mix to prevent further deterioration.
So we have our own "enchanted" forest.
Complete with a little, perfectly formed, Christmas tree!
I collected the documents from the solicitor (161 pages!) and then went to the bank who also handle insurance.
"We do not insure ruins" said the bank lady
"But what if a child were to enter and get hurt" I said
She then had to make a phone call and returned to say "You are talking of Public Liability?"
"That's the one" I said
"Because you own a house already your Public Liability covers the ruin as well. If you go next door and damage their property you are covered for that also."
I'm pretty sure that doesn't apply in Australia.
If ever there was a roof with attic window (hush my mouth) you would have this view overlooking the river Scorff.
ATTIC WINDOW
I have removed the heavy metal cover from the end of house number 2 to reveal the attic window partially installed last year. This lets a lot more light in. The attic runs the whole length of house 2.
Voila!
NAPOLEON EVENT
7th June 2015 marks 200 years since Napoleons troops were defeated by the English under Wellington at the battle of Waterloo.
The town of Pontivy put on a special two day event to commemorate the occasion. Pontivy used to be called Napoleonville. Napoleon decided to fortify the town because of its strategic position in the centre of Brittany. Brittany still strongly supported the old order before the revolution ie. the Royalists. Napoleon was a Republican.
Some familiar names for streets. The top panels are in French and underneath they are written in Breton. Even today some locals are very sensitive about the perceived destruction of the Breton language. New signs done only in French can very soon be defaced.
The shopkeepers and pubs were asked to dress for the period.
Not sure if this happened in Napoleons time, but not all the soldiers are male.
Stop for drinks.
Street theatre.
Back to camp, where they slept Saturday night, I think.
PROGRESS WITH THE RUIN 13 JUN 2015
This is how the chaumiere (Thatched cottage) looked prior to1991 when a pyromaniac decided to set light to the thatch for fun. The building was not that impressive really! Might look better with small window over the door?
Like this
Interesting alcove in the back wall,
Lot of work needed at the fireplace. The next five photos were taken on 28 Jun 2015.
Making headway.
Something completely different. This is a roll of french clingwrap or gladwrap. You pull up on the serrated edge on the lid which is floppy (we pull down on the rigid box base in Australia). Result is a tangled mess!
BABY VISIT
Meet Megan, only a week old, with proud Grandma Sally. Her first Grandchild.
Sally started a company in Guemene in 2002 the same year we bought our house. The purpose of the company was to take care of property owned by English speaking people in France. She called it Le Bon Voisin (the good neighbour) which now has over 30 franchises all over France. Sallys daughter and son-in-law, who work for the company, had to be in Guemene on business and Sally came too. We happily offered our place as a base!
The company has expanded its interests to Real Estate.
MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL
During the daytime people dressed in Medieval costume and put on displays near the walls of the Chateau. Guemene was once a fortified city.
These donkeys are chewing on Bamboo. Guess where that came from?
A couple of weeks after we arrived I heard boys voices from our garden. We get regular raids on our bamboo plantation so decided to investigate. There were 5 boys there laughing and shouting amongst the bamboo with a dozen lengths neatly laid out on the grass. In my best French I said "No more cutting of bamboo as there will soon be none left but continue playing if you want to". One of the boys I recognised as the Grandson of our deceased next door neighbor Norbert. Couldn't think of his name (Baptiste) which was a bit awkward. As I left there were titters and it occurred to me that I have been learning French from my "Learn French in 30 days" book for more years than the ages of these boys who chatting away!!
A while later Baptistes mum came by as I was cleaning ivy from the ruin. I thought I should tell her I had a word with him and she asked "How many Boys?"
"Five".
"No, no no" she says and marches off in their direction.
Anyway, that evening we get a knock on the door and two women are there who turn out to be mums of a couple of the boys. There is a fete next week and could they use the bamboo which had been cut for one of the sets.
"No problem" says I, but please do not cut any more as there is not much left. Also please enter the garden by the gate and not slide down the wall from the road as the wall is ancient and is being pushed down".
They agreed, but after all this - taking without asking - where did it end up? Apart from a few
poles placed to prevent people falling into a drain the rest were given to the animals to chew on!
In the evening there was Breton music and dancing. (In the background is Cathy's hairdressing salon)
An interesting footnote: I learned that the dancing originated from the preparation of floors for houses. The floors were first covered in clay then the locals would get together and go round the room making small stamping steps to music. Anyone for a Herringbone pattern!!
End of the day.
Garden lounge which Cathy acquired for 6 Euros from a major hardware store as it was "shop soiled"!
View from the lounge looking straight up!
New addition to kitchen corner, the Paris menu.
BROCANTE AT LE FAOUET
POELLE NUMBER TWO ARRIVES
On July 2nd 2015 our second Poelle (wood burning heater) arrived. We bought this a few weeks ago at our favourite charity yard, Emmaus. It looked perfect for our requirements.
The day started with a horrendous thunderstorm with torrential rain to match anything Sydney can dish up. So we wondered if they would deliver.
The rain stopped about 10.30am and the truck arrived with three bemused occupants in the front. They then took off and soon after shot past in the other direction! Apparantly there is another no.27 about 300metres back up the road on a street which runs at an angle off ours (Never been aware of this before) and they had dropped it off there. It was too heavy to get back on the truck so we got this funny sight of two of them wheeling it on sack trucks along the road!
They were happy to put it in the fire place and so were we! It's made of cast iron and very heavy.
So now to turn attention to the fuel.
This is the inside of the annex to the ruin. Dry but chaotic.
After several hours of graft here is most of it outside on the street. I know, the locals I'm sure think the same, "why has this idiot come halfway across the world to do hard work". The answer "It is too tempting a target for a passing pyromaniac so needed to be tidied up and secured" and at least once its over we should be right for fuel for a couple of years. Assuming it doesn't get nicked in the meantime!
Not forgetting the pile of partly burnt beams outside the house retrieved from the ruin.
I purchased a new toy, an electric chain saw, to help. I didn't want a two stroke version, I have no luck with them, and had some doubt if this machine would be up to the job on such a long lead. No problems works like a dream.
PEACE!
Across the road the River Scorff continues on it's merry way.
