Am I having fun yet?

One of the well known joys of living in France is the infamous work ethic practised by most French tradesmen. It’s not that the work they do is bad: it’s just they take forever to do it. Of course this is worse in the summer (as it is in Australia) when everyone goes on holidays. So it’s with joy I announce that today M Cousinet came (as soon as he got his message on his return from holidays) and fixed up both our leaky bathrooms, M Flamand is coming tomorrow to finish this part of the work on the pool and M Da Ross (also returned from holidays) has assured us he will be here on Friday to complete the double glazing on the downstairs doors and windows. As time is running out, we are heaving sighs of relief. Still the proof of the pudding…. I won’t post this until after Friday.

This posting is about home repairs and reports on this summer’s activities. The pool that was actually begun in June last year and expected finished within a few weeks is still dragging on. However, if M Flamand holds to his word, the terrasse and plage surroundings should be completed tomorrow. That means we should be able to put the winter cover on this year. It’s been a frustrating experience from beginning to end. Had we realised at the beginning that WaterAir (pool manufacturer) and M Flamand, whom they introduced to us, were not directly associated (although he drives their car), we might have expected less. But as it is we have joined the queue of M Flamand’s clients all of whom seemingly have had more pressing needs than us. He’s a charming man with a ready smile and an even readier assurance that he will be back but now we’ve perfected the Gallic shrug too at whatever he undertakes to do.

Of course there’s still stage 3, but that doesn’t depend on M Flamand, it depends on the arrival of the tout a l’egout. It’s European law that the sewer will be everywhere in France by 2010 and we can’t really complete the terrasse close to the side of the house until that happens. Locals who understand how things work (or don’t) also demonstrate the same Gallic shrug when ever it is mentioned. It will be interesting to see who wins, the village push whose approach is just stonewalling, I think, or the regulations. Of course the Mairie assures us it is all coming soon but…. I shrug again.

One worker you can rely on is this limited work environment is Jack. In typical form, he has slaved away this summer on another mammoth task: rebuilding the hangar. Over the years he has spent much time, on temporary repairs but this year we decided that we would keep it (as opposed to pulling it down) so all the old tiles were carefully taken down, and a massive reconstruction of half of it undertaken. He and Matt, our friend, have laboured for weeks, much to the delight of Abby and Elliot who are drawn to an upright ladder, and love to help where possible. Ultimately the old tiles will be replaced to maintain the original appearance but for now the focus is on getting the old wood replaced and the roofing in place.

Posted photos show various stages in the rebuilding of the hangar roof (or half of it) and of the pool and the garden.