A New Adventure in France

One of the things Joe was most looking forward to with his barn was having the space to work on vehicles easily. He had hoped to be able to install a car lift, such as you might find in a garage repair shop, to enable him to work under vehicles without crawling around on the floor. Despite looking into it seriously, that part of the plan hasn’t materialised, mainly due to companies charging very high delivery costs and only being prepared to drop the very heavy components at the end of our long drive. Ever inventive, and with the Jeep requiring some work following the recent excursion into the ditch, Joe changed tack and decide to build an inspection pit that would still allow him to work more easily under the Jeep. And a very good job he has made of it, as well as becoming well known at the local builders’ yard, ‘Tout Faire’, and learning the technical vocabulary for breeze blocks, concrete and mortar. The pit has already been put to good use and work on the Jeep is progressing well.

We’re enjoying the twice monthly walks we have been doing with the International Club walking group. One of the walks is a half day event and the other is a full-day walk with a stop for lunch. One of the good things for us as newcomers is that we’ve been introduced to some interesting restaurants that we probably wouldn’t have found ourselves and which we’ve been happy to revisit on our own. Often these are restaurants open only on weekday lunchtimes, serving a fixed price menu ouvrier, or workmen’s lunch menu comprising soup, starter, main course, cheese and dessert. Some advertise their menu for the week, but there is no choice. Included in the cost of anywhere between 16-21 euros is unlimited local wine, something which isn’t taken advantage of by the French as excessive drinking is frowned upon. Another restaurant recommended to us followed a similar format and is run single-handedly by the Belgian owner. Business is solely by word of mouth as he has no online presence, there is no signage or advertising, so you’re not sure you’ve even arrived at the right place. Once inside the tiny old farm building, it’s rather like eating in someone’s front room with a fire going. Again there is no menu – you get what you’re served, all cooked and served by the owner.

We have to give our names for various purposes on a regular basis, enunciating Sylvester as ‘Seal-vest-air’ and spelling out the individual letters with our best pronunciation of the French alphabet. We discovered a shorthand version, however, after someone said to us ‘Aaah, comme Seal-vest-air Stallone!’ So whilst it might go over the heads of the younger generation, it seems to work for most French people and usually raises a smile.

It was lovely to see deer on the drive on a misty morning recently. Whether we’ll think the same when they’re eating any new plants we might plant in the spring remains to be seen.