The time’s come to make some decisions; who we’ll get to install photovoltaique panels to feed electricity into the grid, and, more importantly, what sort of central heating system we’re going to have and who will install it.

We’ve had three PV estimates so far; they vary enormously, with one being the sum of the other two! We won’t be using him.

We’ve had three people round to talk about heating systems; oil, gas and electric are out as we want to use one of the new, eco-friendly systems. We’ve dismissed the idea of geothermic (water pipes 1m and 2m below ground take calories from the earth to heat the house) because it’s simply too expensive, which leaves a pompe à chaleur system, taking calories from the air and either pumping warm air into the house or using the calories to heat water in underfloor heating and/or radiators. I love the idea of a warm floor, but it takes a lot longer to warm up or cool down than radiators and is far less responsive than the hot air system, which can be noisy. And, of course, everyone we talk to has their own favourite and pushes that one.

We’ve another four people coming round this week, as well as an air/water PAC installation to visit. One thing we are learning is that cheating the tax man is a national sport here; the more you talk to people in any sort of business, the more you realise that “as long as you do it intelligently”, it’s perfectly acceptable! I think we’ve got a long way to go before we’ll be really French!

While we listen to the pros and cons of thermodynamique water heaters and planchers chauffants and try to comprehend the ins and outs of the planning permits required and the system of credits d’impots, Kieran is doing the lion’s share of insulating the rest of the house. The external wall on the landing is done now; next on the list is Kieran’s bedroom, which is north-facing and bitterly cold now that winter’s here. Roll on spring!

Saturday was the Telethon, a national, televised fund-raising event. In Caupenne, it kicked off last Sunday with an afternoon of line dancing at the salles des fêtes; I went along to help sell flowers, teddies and things like that – the stuff fund-raising is made of.

Yesterday there was a selection of stalls in Nogaro; cakes, books, more flowers, the fire brigade making merveilles and hot chocolate, as well as a walk and a bike ride. Even the little aerodrome was involved, giving plane and glider flights in exchange for a donation. Someone with a 3-wheeled motorbike was taking people for rides around the motor race circuit, as was another man who had what I would describe as an old-fashioned racing car. I’m sure there’s a more accurate description of it than that, but I don’t have a clue what it is; it looked like fun, though! At lunch time the cycle club put on a meal in the club house; garbure and daube, followed by apple tart, coffee and armagnac – just what was needed, whether you’d been standing outside in the cold all morning, walking or cycling. Janneau, who does the cooking, even made specials for me, without the ingredients I’m allergic to, so while I was baking for the cake stall, I made an extra cake for him. He’s a retired patissier, so it had to be something I thought he’d never have tasted before; carrot cake with cream cheese icing seemed to fit the bill and he looked suitably unsure when I handed it over. But Nick tells me that when they went back to the club house after today’s ride, there was only a miniscule piece left, which was divided among the cyclists, who were told it was made by “Madame Nick” 😀

I don’t know how much was raised in total, but when I find out, I’ll let you know

Today Nick and Kieran have finished laying the new floor above the arrière cusine and bike shed; there’s still an awful lot of mess to clean up, but it was such a lovely day that Nick and I were allowed time off this afternoon to go out for a short bike ride.

We’ll have to buy another tarpaulin tomorrow, to drape underneath the roof tiles; most of the roof is already draped, but not above the newest bit of floor. To say it rained on Tuesday is something of an understatement; it came down in torrents of rain and hail, overflowing gutters and flooding the drive within minutes. That was when we realised that the roof above the boxes containing the new kitchen isn’t exactly watertight. So until the roof is replaced, a tarp will have to protect the new flooring.

There is nothing Nick and Kieran like better than a good demolition project to get their teeth into! They’ve had a great time today!

The next job on our list is the arrière cuisine, which is like a second kitchen, on the cooler side of the house, and used for making things like jams, chutneys, fruit liquers and other sorts of preserves. It will also be useful, when the weather’s hot, to keep the heat out of the main kitchen. The electrician came last week and started the wiring; now we need to put in the insulation and plasterboard the walls before he comes back to install plugs and the like. But before any of that can happen, we need to replace the floor above both arrière cuisine and bike shed; most of the floor is OK, but there are some rotten bits, as Nick discovered when he fell partly through a little while ago! The space above will become a “family room” when the gite and chambres d’hotes business is up and running, but up to now has just been storage space. I’m keen to get on with the arrière cuisine, as once it’s finished, they will start installing a proper kitchen in the house we currently live in; at that point I can get rid of the antiquated gas cooker, with its oven that burns everything, and have a new electric oven 🙂

So while the boys were having great fun (no accounting for it!), I was assigned the task of ringing round the local suppliers to find the best price for floorboarding. I actually spent most of the morning on the phone, calling numerous companies to arrange estimates for solar water heating, photovoltaique panels and a pompe à chaleur heating system.

That done, it was time for my English class; Dominique had asked about the words to the song “Que sera sera” last week, so I printed out the lyrics and took my guitar along to class. We had great fun, ending up singing “Silent night”, at Maithée’s request and I have to take my guitar again the week before Christmas so we can get into the Christmas spirit! It sounds as though we might have quite a party!

Britain and France have a reciprocal health care arrangement which means that, for the first little while that we’re resident here, we have health cover. However, because I worked part time in the UK, my cover expires on Jan 5th 2013. It’s something we prepared for and is the reason I did a TEFL course, to enable me to teach English here and thus get a carte vitale. So I’m going to be an auto-entrepreneur, a scheme in which it’s meant to be simple to set up and run a small business. It may be simple by French standards, but I was completely lost, trying to fill in the forms online; I couldn’t even understand the questions! So I went into Nogaro and asked there; no joy; I’d have to go to Auch. So off we went, to visit the CFE office where they’d help me; but I couldn’t get past the receptionist, a very helpful woman who spoke very fast and is convinced that she answered all my questions. She probably did! But I’m none the wiser, so my friend Maria came round today to help, but she wasn’t sure either and suggests the tax office in Nogaro may be of some assistance. I’m going to ask an English friend, who speaks brilliant French, to go with me this time and maybe I’ll get somewhere.

While in Auch, we also went to the ADEME office for information on the various types of “eco” heating systems. Again we didn’t get the sort of information we were looking for, but did get a list of registered installers, so I spent this afternoon leaving messages for people to call us back; I hope they will.

All this bureaucacy is disheartening, so I’ve sorted out a few pictures of people, places and events that have made 2012 memorable; they cheered me up, I hope you enjoy them too 🙂

It’s lovely having real seasons here; summer’s hot, winter’s cold (but not too long) and the spring and autumn are just as they should be. But the speed of transition from one to another can be quite breathtaking; just a couple of days ago you could comfortably go out in a sweater, but today we woke to fog and a hard frost, which didn’t clear all day.

So, making the most of being retired, we went out for a walk with the camera;  I hope you enjoy the results.

Our friend, Adrian, knows the hunters in his village; so when, earlier this year, he asked if we’d like half a deer should one become available, we were delighted. Ade knows how to do all the necessary butchering and what can be more natural and organic than fresh, wild venison, especially when it comes neatly packed in plastic bags. Yes, I know, I’m still a towny and always will be.

Ade phoned on Monday morning to see if Kieran would be game for a “big adventure”; he was going to Ade’s to house-and-dog-and-hen-and-duck-and-goose sit for a few days anyway. The big adventure would be learning to butcher a deer, which would be delivered the following day, an hour after Adrian and Julie departed! Kieran looked a little uncertain, but Nick couldn’t have been more enthusiastic; so they left early on Tuesday morning, Nick armed with his “Larrouse”, the bible of all things obscure and culinary, and Kieran, still looking uncertain. Adrian drew and explained what was expected; not as much as you might think, as the animal had been gutted and skinned before it arrived, and then went on his holidays. The lads got home in the afternoon and filled the freezer with neatly packed polybags of venison and Kieran didn’t even look too traumatised!

But no photos today 😉

Autumn seems to be the season for clubs and societies to hold their AGMs. I attended the one at the CLAN, where I teach English, a few weeks ago; it was preceded by a dinner, so didn’t get started till about 9pm. I installed myself near the back; I’d only gone to show willing and make up the numbers and didn’t read anything into the fact that I was the only English person there. I couldn’t hear/understand very clearly what was going on, but suddenly found myself the centre of attention, being made to stand up and having questions thrown at me from all sides about my class last year. Eventually I worked out that I was the English teachers’ representative (being the only one who’d turned up) and that I was expected to give an account of what I felt we’d achieved during the last school year and what changes were planned for the coming year. “Anglais” being at the start of the alphabet, it was the first subject on the agenda, so I didn’t have any clues from hearing what other teachers said; I stood there like some sort of stuffed lemon, my ability to understand or speak any comprehensible French rendered non-existent in my state of total panic! They must have wondered what use such a moron could possibly be teaching anyone anything!

Today was the turn of the cycling club; the meal in this case would come after the meeting, at a local restaurant and the club would foot half the bill. We arrived in plenty of time; when there are 50-odd attendees and everyone has to either shake hands with or kiss on both cheeks, everyone else, even the greetings take some time!

Having a lunch booked made the meeting run smoothly, with little of the time wasting that often seems to go on. We went through how many people, and who, had done which rides throughout the year, the financial statement and the president’s report. The club owns and runs, on a voluntary basis, the gite d’étape, where pilgrims on the route of St. Jacques de Compostelle can stay overnight; this brings in  funds which are used to subsidise holidays and meals. Also to provide Sunday’s after-the-ride aperitifs; a very civilised aspect of this club.

There was a report on the Wednesday afternoon rides, in which Nick featured; “This year Nick has joined us, distinguishing himself by riding a single speed bike. Perhaps his English origins make him want to emulate Bradley Wiggins.”

We went on the elect a new president, then got down to the serious business of aperitifs, before heading off to the restaurant for a meal that went on till 4o’clock this afternoon. Is it any wonder two thirds of the club turn out for the AGM; perhaps we Brits have a lot to learn!

It wasn’t till I started searching for photos of the demolition of the two reinforced concrete wine cuves in the grange, tonight, that I realised the job has taken over a year to complete.

When the builder quoted us €3 500 for their removal, we had little idea of the work involved. Now, twelve months on, we can thoroughly appreciate it.

The lads started with sledgehammers; they had no effect whatsoever. So they moved on to the angle grinder; it was more effective, causing lots of sparks and eventually making a hole. But the blade wore out long before the concrete and it became evident we’d need more serious kit for the task. We hired an industrial Stihl saw for a long weekend and, with the aid of the digger the two free walls of each cuve bit the dust; Nick was loathe to tackle the walls attached to the walls of the house by this stage, in case he knocked the whole place down! But Joel, the builder told him the method to use; cut the reinforced concrete into bite sized chunks and ease them off the house walls with a breaker (like they use to dig up the road). It’s been heavy work, requiring regular mugs of tea and mountains of cake and biscuits, but according to Nick, that kept me out of mischief!

So that’s what they’ve been doing for the last two weeks; they both have very sore arms and shoulders, but an immense sense of satisfaction and pride in a job well done. Joel’s due to start work here in the next few weeks, so things should really start to move then.

They reckon it’s like trench warfare in the grange at the moment; and certainly, it’s very noisy and horribly muddy.

Nick and Kieran finished digging and levelling the floor last week and started, with renewed vigour, on removing the wine cuves. So for several hours a day they’ve been slicing through the reinforced concrete, cutting it into bite-sized chunks (about 12″ square), then prising the chunks off the wall with the breaker. Bear in mind that I can’t even lift either of these tools off the ground and you’ll have some idea of how strenuous the work is and why they need regular tea and cake breaks. The ground was dry last week, but the Stihl saw has to be water-fed to keep it from overheating; the result is a complete quagmire!

Yesterday the last of the first cuve came away, was loaded into the trailer and taken to the tip; time for a celebratory bottle of wine and a night off, watching a film.

Today they’ve made good progress on the second cuve, removing about a third of it before the Stihl saw developed mechanical problems; a clutch spring had broken. But the lads weren’t going to let that stand in their way; a trip to the Stihl shop (fortunately there’s one in Nogaro) produced 3 new springs, one to replace the broken one and the others because they’ll probably go soon too, then onward to the tip and home to mend the Stihl saw and continue working. Another couple of days and the job should be completed. I think they’ll have shoulders and arms like Sylvester Stallone by then!

And me? I’m kept busy making tea and cakes!