I've never eaten a chip butty

So I've never eaten a chip butty - No particular reason Ive just never felt the urge!

Apparently it is because I am a "Southern Wuss", this despite having lived in Stoke on Trent for 39 years ( ie most of my life and all of my career), clog dancing, and having two children born here. I have lost all traces of my West Country accent which used to so amuse my first pupils ( a "get on with your worrk" would be followed by a whispered "ooh arrr" being passed around the classroom) and I even use some Potteries expressions but Stoke folk, although friendly, can spot a "furriner" a mile off.

So what chance have we of being accepted as incomers in rural France? Who knows, but we do love France and have spent a lot of time travelling in the country. We have chosen to go to live in an area we know well and already know some people. Last summer we even made some progress finding like minds in the traditional music fraternity ( see August 2009 Carry on Dancing) so we shall see. I have been working really hard to improve my French too.

The latest developments have been dramatic - we seem to have another buyer. A cash offer has been made and accepted and we have contacted a solicitor to start things moving. We hardly dare believe that this really will come off but so far so good. It has come in the nick of time as I was getting very depressed with having life on hold and was beginning to wonder if I could persuade TC that there was a plan B ( had no idea what it was but there had to be something). Now its all systems go again and maybe I bought that big bag of potting compost for nothing.

We are hoping to be able to have some sort of discussion soon about timings so we can make further plans.It would be great to be in the position to get back to househunting as cash buyers ourselves soon and the improving weather means we will be able to live in Pavillon quite comfortably while a sale goes through. We may look into rented an unfurnished place to store our furniture and act as a temporary address.

Fingers and toes crossed nothing goes wrong this time.

And as for butties - I WILL miss bacon butties!
Chips I will enjoy with moules forestieres under the arches at Montauban!

A strange smell in the house! ( or don't try this at home)

We lingered long over our dinner last night, discussing the options for trying to kickstart our house sale, finishing the last glass of wine before going into the kitchen for the pudding.

YEEGODS!!!! thick acrid smoke billowed out as I opened the door and I virtually had to feel my way to the hob where I had left a chicken carcass boiling to make a stock ( never one for waste). Inside, and well stuck to, the very dry, very black saucepan was a charred skeleton turning to a sort of bony charcoal. Luckily there was no other damage so we do still have a house to sell!

Once the saucepan was safely put outside to sizzle loudly in the snow we then had to rid every room in the house of the smoke. Despite the blizzard outside and the precious heat we had been conserving all day we had to open all the doors and windows and turn on the fans. This morning a strange, strong, throat catching smell still lingers and no amount of airfreshener has been able to blot it out so far. So all in all its just as well we haven't got viewings this afternoon.



Last week we had to put people off while we had a problem drain unblocked ( what was it I said about moving before anything else went wrong?). I had visions of having to have the newly laid drive excavated but we were lucky and now have a working drain and a report giving it a camera backed "all clear".



A short break in the freeze last week gave me a chance to start on tidying up the vegetable patch ( I had hoped to be doing that in France ) and generally clear up a bit so that the garden can play its proper part in promoting the property. The fountain now has a new identity too.

on not getting over excited....

OK, so the snow melted and I got a few mornings in the garden spotting signs of Spring - now we have snow again - very pretty I'm sure but tomorrow is February and it will be the third month with snow on the ground and we just aint used to it going on so long.

Now we have people who have come back for a second viewing, still love the house and say they want it. Sounds good yes BUT they have done nothing over Christmas and the New Year and they have only just started putting things in motion to put their house on the market - that means at least a couple of weeks to get the valuation, HIP and marketing done and who knows how long to get a buyer. (Just smile sweetly through gritted teeth susie!!!!)

I am continuing to add to the list of properties in France to view as a new year brings new places onto the market there. This at least is reassuring, the list is growing and includes some interesting possibilities. Maybe we will find the view, the village, and the pool with the house of our dreams!

Now we need to order more coal. We bought less than usual this year as we were moving and we concentrated on using up all of the logs we had stockpiled. It made sense but the unexpectedly cold weather has meant we have used it all and we are still here to endure the rest of a freezing winter. The boiler started playing silly b...ers this morning too - seemed to be needing a rest!

My fountain on the patio will never be the same after this either!



We need to move before anything else breaks!

Hope Springs eternal

I have to admit that my garden did get somewhat neglected in the Autumn when my mind was on other things and it felt like the adventure was truly beginning. This time last year I was looking forward to what I hoped to be our last Spring here and felt somewhat extravagant buying a witch hazel which I would only see in bloom once.

A year on and we are still here and desperate for another Spring to arrive. A tiny break in the awful weather got me inspired to start on a tidy up of the flower beds which are home to the early Spring flowering hellebores and snowdrops. And there they are, preparing to burst forth in all their glory and the witch hazel is flowering - how will anyone be able to resist buying the house.





This week has seen the first activity with regard to the house sale since before Christmas. A family came yesterday but did not seem likely purchasers. At the weekend another family are coming back for a second look. This should of course be a hopeful sign but their house is not even on the market so I don't even want to go there!! It did mean a good tidy up was in order - not such a bad thing as we hadn't quite got straight after the Christmas festivities.

I have to admit to recently having problems staying positive and more than once the possibility of forgetting the whole thing has crossed my mind - a suggestion smartly rebuffed by TC. He is still at the enjoying retirement phase and is keeping very busy but I predict he will be looking for something more if we can't get our French project under way soon. I have returned to the estate agent websites in France to keep an eye out for likely properties in preparation for the phonecall telling us Las Charretieres is sold. There are some interesting houses we could look at but we have no intention of doing so again until we are sure we can get on with buying it's just too stressful. They do say that moving house is one of the most stressful things we do in life - I have to say that NOT moving house is well up there on the list!

Unless we have a miracle and get an early quick sale our plans are now to return to Pavillon for our usual Easter visit and hopefully extend our stay. In the meantime I will look forward to seeing the snowdrops and daffodils once more. I need to stop thinking about my new French garden until I actually have one to think about - there is lots to get on with here.

On ice

The big freeze is on and beating the New Year blues this year has been made more difficult this year as a result of a total lack of activity regarding our house sale. TC is now officially retired and we had hoped to be frantically making final preparations for our move this month.

Still, so far it is not to be and we are in a state of frozen limbo.


We have been taking every opportunity can to get out and enjoy the snowy landscapes on some great walks and are loving the fact that every day is the weekend so we can just go out when our mood and the weather are right. Yesterday we were out all day walking along the frozen canal, through magical winter wonderland woods and across fields of deep virgin snow with clear blue skies above - fabulous!




The sudden and unexpected death of a friend just before Christmas has served as a timely reminder to us both not to forget to enjoy present good health and blessings as we plan for future dreams.

So we will carry on living "for the moment" and making the most of each day, our family and our friends until the thaw.

what a difference a day makes :-((

Yesterday was all excitement. Our "buyers" had confirmed their offer and had a mortgage agreed in principle. They even wanted the chickens! There was no chain, they were flexible over when we moved out - almost too good to be true. We had the perfect buyers and we were happy to accept a lowish offer on that basis.

We contacted the immobiliers in France and found that all is not yet lost with Las Charetieres so we were gearing up to set things in motion with our sights on moving at the start of February. Timing would be great as the folk club's New Year celidh would be a great farewell gig for TC with the band.

Perhaps it was "counting in the chickens" but all is now lost! This morning we had a call to say the buyers have withdrawn the offer owing to a "financial shortfall". We are not sure if they were angling for another reduction from us but that's a non starter so now we are back to square zero - waiting to throw a six to start all over again.

News from France is that Las Charetieres is still on the market - not sure really whether that makes it worse or better. Unfortunately we are now in a worse position regarding buying than we were ( or thought we were anyway) when we first saw it. It remains a dream and I suppose we will just have to be philosophical about it and stick with "what will be will be la vie!"

do chickens eat chocolate cake?

We have had the strangest day!

Everything has hinged around a return visit today at 2.00pm from our potential buyers ( the people who made an offer back in September). We have had news in the week that other people have been to see OUR house which is a real blow but we are determined to try to get a sale underway - if we lose Las Charetieres we need to be cash buyers next time.

A second viewing meant another day of serious housework yesterday and once again the house was spotless. Marmalade was making allowed as it made the kitchen smell delicious and inviting.
Outside storms raged and strange booming explosions punctuated the morning (apparently they are starting quarrying somewhere nearby) raising the general tension in the air. The H's (hopefully our buyers) do seem to be still interested although it does not feel 100% as yet - perhaps one keener than the other?. If they do confirm their offer they could be the ideal purchasers for us - no chain and not in a hurry to get us out as they have another house.

When they left it left feeling in a strange state of limbo and wondering what to do with the rest of the day. It was too late/wet/cold for a walk but too early to eat and we were both too restless to settle down. We need to get to grips with selling on ebay but somehow think that would mean more stress. Eventually TC settled for another trip to the tip and I did my French homework.

After dinner we tried finishing the last remainders of goodies from the party. The rum and raisin chocolate cake, which was not a huge success in the first place, was not improved after being in the fridge all week even after a quick blast in the microwave - can't win 'em all!

So we wait for news on Monday we can do no more.................