Monday 2nd June to Sunday 8th June
Monday 2nd June
Author: Jack
Back ‘home’ again yesterday evening after a very busy week back in England. We arrived back to find all the furniture and boxes we had packed for removal sitting in the room that one day might be the dining room. All had arrived safe and sound. House was spick and span just as I had left it and there were no unwelcome visitors lurking in the corners this time.
I woke up in a daze. We had travelled back in one day, doing the journey in just under twelve hours door to door, which is fantastic. However it left me feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. We managed to get up and out in time for Beck to go to school and I then spent the morning working in the office catching up with the dreaded paperwork. Lots of people pray for a housework fairy, I pray for a paperwork fairy. Where does it all come from? No matter how much time I spend trying to reduce the pile of stuff waiting for attention it never seems to go down.
Anyway I thought that I was meeting Jane at La Vitaille at 12.30 to clean the pool. However on my way there she passed me, stopped, and said she was just on her way home for lunch. I was most definitely confused. It seems I should have been there earlier and she had said yesterday evening that she would be leaving at 12.30 for lunch, not for La Vitaille. Hope my brain perks up soon or I will be in even more trouble than I am already! So I too return home for lunch and eventually end up at La Vitaille around 2.30 and potter around until she arrives. It seemed that she had finished most of the work and all that was necessary was to wait for the pool to fill up again. We spent most of the next two hours chitter-chattering about the meaning of life. No real conclusions I’m afraid!
After collecting Beck from school it was all I could do to stay awake, so busied myself with starting to sort out our belongings.
Our new vineyard helper arrived around six to discuss what had been happening whilst I was away. He had placed 600 new canes in the Sauvignon Blanc patch ready for me to tie new or young vines to. We spent about an hour or so discussing the current state of work and what we would be doing next, as well as our plans for the future. He is very keen to be a part of it all, which will be brilliant for us. He has a tendency to call me Madame Jacky, which I find quite disturbing; not the role I was planning for myself out here!
Amusingly whilst we were away he thought we were about to be burgled. He was here working and noticed a big white van pull up. Afraid we were about to be burgled he crept back up to the house, hiding himself in the bushes to watch what was going on. However the activity seemed to be quite harmless, so, bravely, he came out of the bushes and confronted the would be intruder. It was of course Joel! They had never met before and I hadn’t thought to warn either of them of the other’s possible presence in my absence. Their first meeting was rather frosty, both being equally suspicious of the other. It seemed that Joel too had arrived to find an unknown white van parked here and been equally concerned that we were about to be burgled. Apparently he was so perturbed that he phoned Nelly, explained the situation and said he wasn’t sure what to do but maybe he might come home for his gun! Nelly had apparently scoffed at him, and told him just to get on and find out who was there. Which was when Jose, our new helper made himself known! Must have been quite a tense first meeting for them both!!!
Went to bed early.
Tuesday 3rd June
Author: Jack
Awoke refreshed and ready to start again. No school for Beck again today – yet another strike day. I must work out how many days she has had off since we have been here. She can’t have done more than one or two full weeks since then.
Although I was up reasonably early I decided to potter, as is my wont, in my PJs for a while. Unfortunately Joel knocked at the door at nine. He probably thinks I’m really lazy! He came to tell me that he was going to come to spray and trim the vines on Friday and that I need to have lifted all the leaf wires by then. Panic set in once again. There was no way I could manage that on my own by Friday. He made me feel even worse by telling me proudly that he had done all his! Anyway after some discussion it was decided that at minimum I needed to have finished all the young merlot and the cabernet sauvignon by Friday, as these were the worst vines. The problem is that prior to lifting the leaf wires the vines just flop down into the alleys and if the tractor goes along it is likely to break off a lot of the branches. Spraying must be done at the end of the week, as it will be two weeks since the last spraying. However he said he would delay trimming the vines until all the wires could be lifted.
With Beck off school today there was no way I could start on the vineyard work. Instead I decided to sweep out the pool so that I could hoover it tomorrow, in the hope that we would be using it shortly. I am not enjoying being a pool caretaker. Every time I touch the pool something happens. However manage to complete the cleaning without too many problems. Let’s hope that all is well.
Spend the rest of the day sorting out some of the things we brought back from England and starting to make the house seem a bit more homely.
Having been troubled all day by the need to complete this next set of vineyard jobs in a hurry I decided to phone Jonathon for advice. He didn’t seem too concerned about the problem and tried to reassure me that the vines would be OK. Also he felt it was a bit early to be lifting and trimmed. However not much I can do since Joel is being so kind helping us. I can’t really ask him to change his schedule just for us. Still feeling desperate I ask if Jonathon could get in touch with anyone who might be able to help.
Go to bed feeling distinctly under pressure as there is no way I can complete the task on my own!
Wednesday 4th June
Author: Jack
No school again today of course as it is the normal Wednesday off. So once again am stumped regarding working for long in the vineyard as I have Rebecca to look after! We spend the morning catching up with some of her homework. We are constantly behind with this, mostly because she has so much to do and it is very hard to get her to spend a lot of time on it. However this morning she is keen so I make the most of it.
Yesterday I had had a call from Joanne, telling me that someone was very very keen on Les Bardots. They had seen it a while ago and had come back to her again. Basically they had narrowed their search down to two houses, one of which was ours. Although I tried no to get my hopes up I was nevertheless excited. She had a meeting scheduled with them today and seemed very optimistic. However in the middle of the morning she phoned to say that the people had made a very low offer on the other house and had it accepted! Although I had tried to tell myself they wouldn’t choose our house I was nevertheless extremely disappointed. As the day wore on I began to get more and more depressed about the amount of time that may have to pass before Iain can be out here permanently. I was not a happy bunny.
Beck on the other hand was quite happy. Joanne’s daughter, Tanya came to play for the afternoon. I hoovered out the pool so that they could then use it, which they did. First time Beck had been in the pool. It was a bit cold, 22 degrees, but they still had lots of fun.
Whilst the girls were playing I made a start on lifting the leaf wires on the young merlot. Actually it was quite good therapy given my depression regarding the lack of progress on our house sales. I managed to do about eight or ten rows before stopping to get tea and take Tanya home.
My prayers were answered by the arrival of our new vineyard helper. Jonathon had been in touch with him. After explaining the problem to him and having a quick walk round the worst areas he said ‘Do not worry, Madame Jacky, we will sort it out’. And he did. He plans to bring a couple of friends tomorrow evening and with my help the four of us would be able to finish the young Merlot. Then Friday his friends could be here all day and do the rest of the most pressing vines! Another miracle.
We had a massive thunderstorm tonight, worst since I’ve been here, but it certainly cleared the air. Beck was not too impressed with it though and it made it difficult for her to get to sleep. Fortunately it stopped around eleven and we both finally got to bed.
Thursday 5th June
Author: Jack
I spent the entire day working in the vineyard lifting leaf wires. Then picked up Beck from school, whizzed home with her, had a quick supper and whisked her round to Jane’s for the evening so I could carry on working.
Worked carried on in the vineyard until 9.15 by which time all the young merlot in Vignoble de la Legue field had been finished.
Exhausted I whizzed back to collect Rebecca. They were just preparing a pizza and I didn’t take much persuasion to sit with a bottle of beer and be served with delicious homemade pizza. Must say it was wonderful being cooked for after a hard days work. Lucky me.
Friday 6th June
Author: Jack
I was unable to work in the vineyard this morning as I had an even more urgent job to do. Beck starts swimming lessons today at the outdoor pool in Marmande. Apparently they have to wear a swim cap and are not allowed to wear goggles. She is none too impressed with either of these things but has no choice. So I’m off swim cap shopping! I need to take one of the front wheels off the lawn mower, which has a puncture. When I tried to do it the other day I couldn’t. So whilst in Marmande I went in to the shop we bought it from and asked them how to do it. They seemed quite amused at my inability but I am reaching the point of not caring at all. If I don’t ask I won’t be able to do anything – too bad if they think I am a bit simple!. Anyway seems very easy. All I have to do is take the keeper off with the use of a screwdriver (aagh that’s where I went wrong – didn’t use a screwdriver!), lift the front of the mower up and slip the wheel off. Okay, doesn’t seem too bad!
Whiz back home and nip into Becks school to drop off her swim cap. After a quick lunch I spend the afternoon lifting more wires with one of our helpers’ friends. She is quite chatty and at one point after discussing what jobs we have both done in the past, she asks me if I am retired! Oh my; first time I have ever been asked that. Oddly enough the answer is yes, strictly speaking. In that I have just arranged to start drawing my meagre Woolwich pension. In fact I have now received a letter informing me that I am now officially a pensioner as far as the Inland Revenue is concerned and wishing me a long and happy retirement! This is retirement?
After school Beck and I try to remove the tractor tyre. Despite being told to ‘just lift the tractor up….’ I found it impossible. Fortunately I had borrowed Anthony’s car jack so with the aid of that I was finally able to remove the tyre. We took it in to the Citroen garage to be mended.
On returning to the house at the end of very long hot afternoon the pool looks particularly inviting. But then I notice something; the water level has dropped. I can’t believe it. Every time I touch the pool something bad happend. I fiddle about trying to work out what has happened and concerned that the pump might seize up decided to turn the pump off and get some help! Spookily Joel appears at almost that point. In hindsight I wish I hadn’t bothered him as I am sure he is getting very fed up with me…but..well..I did. He utters a few French expletives, gets his toolbox out and comes to take a look. He can see nothing wrong. He asks me what exactly I did, tells me that I can’t have lost any water. He thinks it all looks OK. In the process of trying to see why water is being lost a couple of the bolts that hold the filter handle in place get lost. He suggests I top the water up saying, ‘Don’t forget to turn it off’ and says he will be back later, as he is passing anyway, with some replacement bolts. I assure him I won’t forget to turn the water off, tell him how very very grateful I am for all his help and off he goes.
Beck and I were planning to eat out tonight for a treat, as we haven’t been out for ages. It’s a bit later than we planned so we rush off hoping that we aren’t too late for a table. Just in time luckily, or maybe not. We went to a pizza restaurant in Duras that we have been to once before. We didn’t find it very good last time but I hoped that was just a one off. Not so. Probably worse this time. The lasagne beck had was probably the worst in the entire world. Inedible. Service was slow and careless and place was full of noisy English people all haw-hawing in their loudest accents! Oh well. And then it hit me – I forgot to turn the water off. Panic panic…pay the bill rapidly….drive at full throttle…phew…Joel has been and turned it off. Panic over. Time to relax…………
Saturday 7th June
Author: Jack
….. possibly my worst day so far. Had a dreadful night’s sleep and woke up early feeling very very tired. I decided I might as well get up and do the ironing … a mere two baskets worth ,…where does all this come from…there’s only two of us!
And then I noticed it...the pool…it was overflowing!!! With a dreadful sinking feeling I went out to check the water tap. How could this have happened? The tap was off….OH NO…it wasn’t! How could I have made such a silly mistake? When I checked it last night it wasn’t off at all but on. At this point I just broke down. Whenever anyone has talked to me about looking after pools they have always said ‘ Whatever you do don’t let the water go behind the liner’. And I had. I thought I had ruined the entire summer … no pool for anyone to use. And I had spent so much time trying to get it up and running, not to mention all the time Joel and Anthony have also spent helping me. What were they going to say when I told them? I sat down with my head in my hands and wailed! How could I have done this? I reckon looking after a tractor is probably easier than looking after a pool. After about half an hour of beating myself up about my stupidity I decided to phone Iain. Poor thing; what could he do. It took him about twenty minutes to calm me down. For the rest of the morning I was extremely upset. I did manage to do the ironing but couldn’t stop thinking about the pool. There were lots of creases in the liner where the water had pushed it away from the sides! What was I going to do?
Eventually I managed to regain some of my sanity, what little there
is left. After a few conversations with others about the pool I eventually
discovered that my mistake was not terminal, that the pool could still
be used and that I should be able to get someone from a pool company
to come and sort it out!
Becks friend Grace came round in the afternoon and stayed the night
with us. This pleased Beck enormously as she hadn’t had anyone
to stay and she desperately wants someone to play with. Despite my terrible
mistake they were also able to use the pool so entertaining them was
not too difficult.
Over dinner, Grace, who is full of questions, asked me how old I was. Beck winked at me and told her I was 42. She didn’t seem to believe this at all and asked ‘Are you 90?’. Well, after being asked if I was retired yesterday this only served to compound the fact that I must be getting old. She then guessed 80, no better really. Anyway whatever age I am compared to a five year old I guess I am very old!
Sunday 8th June
Author: Jack
Decided to have a day off all work both inside and outside the house. As Grace was to be with us all day I thought we might go to an ‘English Fayre’ that was being held not too far from us. However before we went Beck persuaded me that they should make the biscuits Iain had bought for her. So out came the bowls, spoons, rolling pin etc. Beck was much keener to make them than Grace but nevertheless they both joined in. In fact Beck, in her eagerness, decided to tip the whole jug of water in to the mixture and not just three teaspoons! She just doesn’t listen! Fortunately the jug didn’t have too much water in it and with the aid of copious additional amounts of flour we finally managed to turn the sticky goo into something we could roll out! Once the biscuits were cooked we left them to cool and headed for the Fayre.
I wasn’t sure what time it started so decided to turn up over lunch time in the hope that they would be serving food. Marjory had told me about the fayre but hadn’t told me what time it started. When we arrived I thought we were too late. In fact they were just setting it up. It didn’t start till four! So we were much too early. The girls were getting pretty hungry so we got back in the car and found a restaurant in a nearby village. It didn’t look like much from the outside but we could see a patio area with tables overlooking the river. If nothing else the setting wasn’t too bad. In the event it was one of the best meals I have had here. Once again excellent value for money. The plate of langoustine we shared for starters was absolutely gorgeous. We were there for most of the afternoon. We got chatting to a French family and ended up swapping addresses so that Beck could write to their daughter (14) in the hope that it might improve her English. They were very concerned that she had not learnt much English. Am still trying to persuade Beck to write!!!
Back at the fayre and things were beginning to get going. Disappointingly there were no rides or fun things for the children. We browsed a bit, chatted a bit, bought a bit and then headed home. I didn’t want to be too late as I had an appointment with Jose to visit another vineyard at seven. Sarah was looking after Beck for me.
The vineyard visit was excellent. I was there for about two hours being given a personal guided tour of how the vineyard was managed. Gave me quite a few ideas and certainly defined a standard to aspire to. Afterwards Jose invited in to his house to share an aperitif with him and his wife. So kind of him to spare so much time.
Back home Sarah had brought Beck and Grace back as grace was staying a second night because her parents were getting up at four to go off to a ‘Vide Grenier’ (boot fair) in Eymet. As well as Grace and Beck we also had the company of Grace’s two pet guinea pigs!
It seems she can’t bear to be parted from them for too long.
I returned home about 10.30. The children were still up. Sarah was having
trouble getting Grace to go to bed. Eventually we managed to persuade
Grace that staying here would be fine and for some very weird reason
I hit upon the idea of a Birthday party for the Guinea Pigs to distract
Grace!! Sarah sensibly left at that point, although I am not sure I
would have felt altogether reassured at leaving my daughter with a woman
who is about to have a party for Guinea Pigs at 11.30 p.m. on a Sunday
night! And party we did. We put the Guinea Pig cage on the coffee table,
attached Becks birthday balloon to it, filled some bowls with sweets
and crisps, sang Happy Birthday and even found some presents for them,
carrots mostly! By midnight Grace was finally ready for bed, as was
I , my sanity having been stretched to its limits completely this weekend.
