Well it is now some time since we wrote part 3 and during that time we have been very busy working on creating the new accommodation upstairs and sorting the garden and generally improving ‘outside’.

Work upstairs commenced January 25^th 2015 and meant firstly demolishing the temporary bedroom and storage area, this was achieved with the help of our dear friends. A new suspended floor has been constructed with insulation between the ground ceiling and first floor to reduce any noise transference. New walls have been constructed all with acoustic insulation to create 4no bedrooms, a lounge/diner/kitchenette, shower/wc room and a separate wc room.

We have been able to retain the character of the building by keeping original beams exposed, this has added greatly to the time/cost required to form and finish the accommodation but it has been worth it. We are very close to the end now and expect to be finished this side of Christmas (2015).

The web site has been updated as well as renewal of the ‘French Connections’ web site for availability queries and booking, although these will both be continually under review and updating status. It is hoped that we will see some rental weeks commencing in 2016 – please see both web sites for info.

The land has been re-seeded with grass, rolled flatter and a veg plot and shrub boarders created, all now requiring regular attention. Last year saw a good first year return of vegetables and a lot of fruit planting. This year (2015) saw a very good supply of onions, potatoes, beans, beetroot, carrots etc. and a good first year of fruit as well.

The central heating system, looking like something from the ‘tardis’, is working well and we have seen a massive difference with all the insulation that has been installed. There are still some bits to be finished which will improve the overall controls even more.

We have now been here 2 years after arriving August 2013, time has flown by so quickly, hopefully with the main building work finishing this year we will be able to ‘sit back and relax’ a little more in the future and start to enjoy the months of hard work. We are still very happy here, meeting new people and visiting new places on a regular basis.  ~~     

THE RILEYS MOVE TO FRANCE

Well here we are with part 3 of the move, life is still great but it is wet and cold. We have reached, so far, the depths of -4degrees for 4 days, other than that it has been reasonably mild, allowing us and the builders to get on. Progress is being made but, as mentioned before, at a slower pace than anticipated to the extent that we have not renewed our advertisement with ‘French Connections’ (they were the web based organisation that we advertised the cottage rental through). Instead this year, 2014, we will, when ready be able to accommodate friends and family but not be ‘open’ for general renting and when we do advertise it will be with ‘Owners Direct’.

Many of you will know we came back to the UK for a long break over Christmas and the New Year; it was great to meet up with so many good friends at the SAM meal. We also took the opportunity to visit family and friend in Gloucestershire, Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon, Slough, Stansted and Hastings, travelling just under 1500 miles during our break. On returning early January, Keith came back with us for a weeks ‘holiday’, towing behind him a big twin wheeled trailer with yet more stuff from the UK, will it never end! More sorting and moving, don’t forget we are trying to get two fully kitted houses worth of stuff into one ground floor at the moment – pint into half pint mug comes to mind.

Prior to that and during the warmer weather that we experienced during September, October and early November, we were trimming trees, cutting and stacking wood (Viv has become an expert) and trying to tidy the mess inside and out, as well as ‘look after the builders, electrician and heating engineer. Viv even built a little ‘frog house’ to keep our ‘resident’ 4 legged friends comfortable during the winter months (frogs legs in garlic – now there’s an idea!!).

So where are we now –

• Two sets of French doors fitted (lounge downstairs and lounge upstairs)
• New kitchen installed with new oven and hob
• New window installed in kitchen
• Garage conversion more or less finished
• New log store and shed more or less finished
• Most of the ground floor radiators fitted and connected to the stockage tank installed in the garage. Tank plumbed and ready to go, as we write this the new log burning fire should be fitted and commissioned this coming Friday 17^th (central heating at last!!)
• W/c 13^th Jan should also see electrics extended and a leaking roof between the main house and the garage sorted.

We have already have family and friends to stay with more visits arranged for February (it keeps us busy) and makes us ensure the place is as clean and tidy as it can be.

Yesterday, Monday 13^th, we went to our first French speaking only class at the local village hall (an experience) and prior to that we visited our local farmer to purchase cider (the French stuff is good) and stock up with calvados, so 44-44-44 production can commence in 2014!! (for those who have not experience the ‘evil water’ get an update from either Pete C or Gary!!)

Agreement has been reached with our farmer neighbour to come in March and plough, roll and re-seed the rear garden (field). It has been left in a sad state with all the trenches, tractors and other vehicles churning it up. Once carried out we will at least have a ‘blank canvas’ to start our landscaping and allotment projects.

Those with an ‘eagle eye’ will note the bike is now tucked away in the comfort and protection of the garage.

THE RILEYS MOVE TO FRANCE – Part 2

As you will recall from part 1 – we made it across the channel to make our new home in France and when opening the fridge which had travelled in the 7.5 tonner, found a lonely egg that had been left in the door still intact – a testimonial to the careful driving of my brother!!

Within a couple of days of arriving and whilst we are still in a mess,  a motorcycle stopped outside the gates, just happened to be one of the better bikes around (1200RT)!! And a gentleman got off; we’re thinking at this point, first chance to practise the French!! It turns out to be an old work colleague of some 20 years ago in my HIS Limited days who had become one of our customers in the company we had just retired from. We had sent a general e mail to all advising of our retirement and, of course, sending a link to our web site. He had been on a trip around France and decided to try and find us. We had a good catch up, provided food and drink and found a tiny corner so he could stop the night – what a surprise.

A couple of nights later we decided to treat ourselves after the ‘trauma’ of the move and have a meal out at one of our local restaurants, what a great night, warm and such a clear sky with a wonderful full moon, great walking along the towpath after a bevy or two, chasing shadows !!!

Now nearly 3 months on work is progressing but at a slower pace than we anticipated, we had planned to be in, central heating on, electrics sorted and starting on the conversion of the first floor – not to be; garage and store renovation not yet complete, (although nearly), central heating radiators, most of the ground floor fitted but not connected, electrics, basic wiring to garage installed but nothing connected – oh the joys of France and their approach of – there’s always tomorrow!!

Still – cold, wet and windy weather has arrived and we have a great big hole in the house wall where the 2 sets of double doors will go and that’s what the builders are working on at the moment – in the rain. The garage has the new doors hung and windows fitted, the new first floor in the garage has been laid and three of the beams replaced due to excessive woodworm, all the other existing wood has been well and truly sprayed with woodworm killer!! I’m working on the new internal walls which will provide a new shower room where we will also house the 500litre water stockage tank; this will be replenished with hot water from the new log burner (currently sitting in the lounge on a pallet) and then supply the hot water tank (300litres), radiators and Hot Tub.

During the 3 months to date since arrival, the garden has been turned ‘upside down’, a new sewer treatment plant has had to be installed, (the ground is not suitable for a septic tank) so there has been trenches created all over, not only to service the plant but also to provide water pipes to and from the existing old septic tank that once cleaned will provide our rainwater harvesting facility. The Hot Tub has been moved to its final resting place and although the electrics have been supplied it is not yet up and running – hopefully soon. Viv spent many a day cutting and thinning the ‘hedge’ at the bottom of the garden next to the canal giving us an additional 3-4 meters of useable space – looks so much better, I unfortunately picked the short straw when it came to cutting down some unwanted braches off the trees – I’m not a lover of heights!! So there I was stuck in a bucket of a JCB with an extendable arm, chainsaw in hand and at the max reach and stability of the machine – I’m glad I was told that AFTER doing the business!

Viv has also sited the two compost bins and we have started filling with waste etc in preparation to getting the allotment going.

We travelled to our local DIY store yesterday and spent over 1200 Euros on some of the insulation needed to keep the place warm, Saturday we get some more at around another 1000 Euros and that is only for the first floor external walls, we still need some for the first floor and first floor internal walls – ouch!

We are concentrating on getting watertight and warm before the real bad weather sets in as after that we will be working indoors, catching up on our reading and keeping the wine makers employed!!

Bonjour mon amis

Well here we are on 17th August, just over a week from landing permanently in France, a mess everywhere, piles of rubble in the field from drainage trenches, wood (good and bad) from the now dismantled log shed, boxes everywhere in the house and that niggle in the back of the head that whispers – what the hell have we done!!

The actual move followed 3-4 days of what to us was extreme stress, basically we were not ready for what was required, moving in the UK would have been bad enough but to move lock, stock and barrel to France as well as try and sell a flat and make sure the new tenants for the house we’re renting were sorted, well obviously things didn’t get done, utilities have not been notified, etc etc – too much to mention. Still as we are getting used to the well used French term – there is always tomorrow!!

We started on the Wednesday evening 7th August loading the 7.5 tonne van my brother brought up from Hastings with the hot tub in it and carried on loading Thursday.  Just in case, I had arranged to take the van to a ‘local’ weighbridge (30mins away) before setting off mid afternoon for the ferry. Opps first problem – overweight by 1.5 tonne!! – back to the farm to unload some of it but also conscious that we are running out of time. Took some of the heavy stuff out, including our recently purchase 270 bottle wine storage rack (nearly cried) and got the van on their way at 3.00 – restricted to 56mph means they will take a while to get to Portsmouth.  Viv in the meantime is sorting the rest of the house out. Come on got to go – I kept repeating, still surrounded in boxes and bits that would be going in the car. In the end it was ‘thrown’ in the car and what would not fit went to neighbours for collection another time and 4 trips back to the farm for Keith.

The van already gone, Keith set off in his car that was being garaged in Portsmouth now FULL with our clothes that would not be going now and anything else that would fit (including a sealed bottle of 44!!), followed closely by Viv in the Citroen FULL with stuff that was going. By now we had no idea of what was on the van or in the car and what was left behind for another day.   I had to pass some keys to the estate agent and would follow on the bike. Leaving only a few minutes after the loaded cars I thought (stupidly) I’ll soon catch them up – oh how wrong, down the M5 off on the 417, still no sign of them – onto M4 at Swindon, they must be here, maybe they went a different way?? Onto the A34, time to ring to find out what’s wrong, I was now doing just slightly over the limit and sometimes (quite a bit) a little more !!

Finally caught up at the end of the A34 thinking – they must have been naughty this afternoon (or something like that!!), Keith thought Viv wouldn’t keep up – oh how wrong, really messed up the good mileage returns though. This temporary relief was short lived, a phone call from my brother in the van, brakes have failed, they are on the roadside waiting for the breakdown !! – stress levels up a notch. I’m now thinking, vans not going to make it, we’re not going to make it – merde. But we all did somehow; admittedly we made it with only 20mins to sail!!

So we have arrived, sampled the bread and cheese lunch, drunk copious amounts of wine, relaxed and started to understand the meaning of the word retirement – it’s great!!

First bit of news from my brother and the van when they arrived at the cottage on Friday afternoon, as they had to travel on a different route so we didn’t see them from 3.00 when they left Tewkesbury till they arrived, ‘we were weighed and measured at the port  – very close to the limit  – more opps but hey we got away with it –

Lots of work is ahead of us, inside and out but we are gradually emptying boxes, clearing the mess (admittedly some of it has gone into the neighbours shed for later). Computer is up and running – telephone line installed last Monday 12th, should receive the modem Monday 19th and hopefully up and running with broadband, e mails and Skype from mid-week.