I was just stood at the window overlooking the courtyard watching a little pipistrelle bat flying round and round. The sun had disappeared after another gloriously warm cloud free Languedoc day but it wasn't yet dark enough to see the stars - it was twilight - and on two or three occasions I thought the little bat was going to fly straight into the bedroom despite my presence at the window watching it - it must have flown within a metre of me.
Debrah has gone to London for a couple of days and being on my own here, after a satisfying supper of echine de porc and saute potatoes and with glass of red wine in hand, I was in a contemplative mood and suddenly remembered my blog.
What blog is that?, I hear you all say. When is a blog not a blog? - when you don't post anything - and I haven't been here since May apparently. Frankly, that's a damn poor effort and one that I mean to put right from now on.
So where to begin? It would be impossible to recount all that has happened this year although much of it would have made very good reading I am sure - the winter 'where are we going to live?' angst, the bizarre tarot card experience, the on off property sale in London, the move, the snow, the expansion into outside catering for other holiday rental properties, the joy and the happiness of living together under one roof after pretty much four years of commuting back and forth to London spending too much time in different countries.
Perhaps that sums up my blog absence more than anything - being happily together here in France.
Well the Summer of fun is drawing to a close and with the rentree upon us it is time to refocus energies towards next year's plans for the business. So it was timely that we had a photographer, on behalf of The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, here today - the third photographer we have had here this year. This one was shooting for an article that will probably come out in the Spring edition - an article focussing on the food and wine element of our offer here at 42rvh - which is all very timely because that's the area that we would like to expand. There is nothing to say yet of course - it's all being bounced about in our heads.
For now, I am just happy that I have managed to return to this page.
Showing posts with label happy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happy. Show all posts
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Sunday, 23 May 2010
A new start
So much for my April pronouncement about restarting my blog writing in earnest - six weeks has passed since then without a word being typed here - it's time to get up to date.
Here is the shortened version of events;
- the Winter was spent mostly in London trying to decide where our future lay - that is, was I moving back to London or was Debrah moving out to France?
- it was complicated by Christian moving out and going to college in Falmouth, being unhappy and missing London, Amy finishing college and getting a job in London and moving in with us and stressing out Debrah cos she wasn't Christian and by me not earning very much money for several months when I could have tried a bit harder to find some work.
- we decided to sell our London apartment without knowing any answers and got an offer that we didn't expect and so accepted still without knowing any answers.
- a fabulous few days of weather in France plus some very bizarre signs and pointers from a totally unexpected source convinced us both that our future lay in France (don't ask because I couldn't ever possibly tell anyone what really happened - but well spooky that's for sure)
- the whole London sale thing became a complete nightmare of buyer pulling out on exchange and trying to force the price which he did but he was already paying over the odds so in the end we still got an excellent deal but it was incredibly stressful and annoying to say the very least.
- we officially moved to France on 1st May 2010
- we have been trying to combine two lots of furniture and household effects into one and now have a storage container full of stuff on the edge of town which still needs to be sorted out.
- Debrah is heading back to London every other week for a few days because they insist on paying her good money to do so but she isn't happy about the whole thing so we shall see how long that lasts.
- 42rvh is stacked full of clients in May and June, despite the economic meltdown, the political vacuum in the UK and the mysterious ash cloud which I am convinced is some sort of sinister hoax designed to meltdown the airline industry.
- our recently imported UK Renault got towed last week, because I didn't notice the sign for the brocante the next day, which cost me about 130 euros in total which is very very annoying but a damn sight cheaper than it would have been in London.
- we are both very very happy with our new life in France and very much in love
There you are - what more can I say?
Here is the shortened version of events;
- the Winter was spent mostly in London trying to decide where our future lay - that is, was I moving back to London or was Debrah moving out to France?
- it was complicated by Christian moving out and going to college in Falmouth, being unhappy and missing London, Amy finishing college and getting a job in London and moving in with us and stressing out Debrah cos she wasn't Christian and by me not earning very much money for several months when I could have tried a bit harder to find some work.
- we decided to sell our London apartment without knowing any answers and got an offer that we didn't expect and so accepted still without knowing any answers.
- a fabulous few days of weather in France plus some very bizarre signs and pointers from a totally unexpected source convinced us both that our future lay in France (don't ask because I couldn't ever possibly tell anyone what really happened - but well spooky that's for sure)
- the whole London sale thing became a complete nightmare of buyer pulling out on exchange and trying to force the price which he did but he was already paying over the odds so in the end we still got an excellent deal but it was incredibly stressful and annoying to say the very least.
- we officially moved to France on 1st May 2010
- we have been trying to combine two lots of furniture and household effects into one and now have a storage container full of stuff on the edge of town which still needs to be sorted out.
- Debrah is heading back to London every other week for a few days because they insist on paying her good money to do so but she isn't happy about the whole thing so we shall see how long that lasts.
- 42rvh is stacked full of clients in May and June, despite the economic meltdown, the political vacuum in the UK and the mysterious ash cloud which I am convinced is some sort of sinister hoax designed to meltdown the airline industry.
- our recently imported UK Renault got towed last week, because I didn't notice the sign for the brocante the next day, which cost me about 130 euros in total which is very very annoying but a damn sight cheaper than it would have been in London.
- we are both very very happy with our new life in France and very much in love
There you are - what more can I say?
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
There and back
Well I did make it to London and I have made it back to Carcassonne again, but there have been many moments over the past few days when in my heart I really felt it wasn't going to happen.
My four hour door to door everything goes right perfect trip from Carcassonne to London took double that time on Sunday but I'm not complaining because the journey actually took place rather than being cancelled once more. In fact it took two days and four hours from my original departure date last Friday.
It was a gorgeous sunny Sunday morning but it had been a bitterly cold night and ice on the runway was the major concern. The first two flights of the day were diverted to Perpignan but at least the passengers were bussed down there to get their flight. The plane from Stansted was delayed which turned out to be a major blessing - the extra time allowed the sun to do it's work on the runway and in mid-afternoon the airport at Carcassonne was declared open and my flight became the first to arrive for three days. It was a relief to finally get back to London.
Debrah had a big client presentation on Monday and wanted to be in work early, so I took the opportunity to drop her into London at 8am and head off to my parents in Sussex to make up a little bit for missing them at the weekend. The roads were mostly clear and I was down there in no time - the quickest journey there for many a year.
My Mum hadn't been out since Friday because of the snow so jumped at the opportunity to come with me to the supermarket and get some more supplies, there being more bad weather forecast. I said we should stick to the main roads but not knowing the way I relied on her directions which started taking us a bit off-piste so to speak. We were very lucky to get away with one downhill icy approach to a junction - a gentle dab on the brakes and I knew immediately that we would not be able to stop and so sailed straight out and onto the main road where there was more traction. I silently thanked my lucky stars that there was no traffic at that moment whilst playing the whole thing down for my mother's benefit.
We came back on the main road all the way!
The journey home to London was a nightmare. I left straight after lunch, aware of the weather warning - initail rain turned to snow and then a blizzard but the traffic kept moving but slower and slower and slower until it finally came to a halt at the top of Brixton Hill - it then took me 2 hours to cover the five miles from Brixton to Borough (if that far) and then it took us a further three and half hours to get from Debrah's office to home - normally a 30 minute journey. All in all it took me 7 hours to cover the 50 miles from Sussex back to Hornsey.
Fastest journey time going out - slowest coming back. There was no point getting upset about it - there was nothing anyone could have done to make it any better. Despite the moaning Middle Englanders on the TV the next day complaining about the lack of warning, the lack of information and the national disgrace of our inability to cope, the reality was that a warning was issued, the roads were gritted, people were driving sensibly and I saw many instances of fantastic public spirit and stoicism as passers-by helped those skidding, falling off bikes, falling over and in general need of assistance. The snow just overwhelmed the system. We sat motionless for over an hour in traffic and saw no road rage or bad temper - just a resignation as to the situation whilst the police dealt with broken down buses and blocked roads and whatever else was thrown at them.
And whilst all this went on the Eurostar problems had created problems for Eurotunnel. we had a reservation for this morning but for a couple of days it was very unclear whether it would be honoured or not.
Despite more warnings about icy roads and freezing temperatures, in the end we had the smoothest journey one could hope for from London to Calais and then on to our Carca home - so what if we left at 2am and arrived at 5pm - we got here and now we can finally start to relax and enjoy the festive season.
My four hour door to door everything goes right perfect trip from Carcassonne to London took double that time on Sunday but I'm not complaining because the journey actually took place rather than being cancelled once more. In fact it took two days and four hours from my original departure date last Friday.
It was a gorgeous sunny Sunday morning but it had been a bitterly cold night and ice on the runway was the major concern. The first two flights of the day were diverted to Perpignan but at least the passengers were bussed down there to get their flight. The plane from Stansted was delayed which turned out to be a major blessing - the extra time allowed the sun to do it's work on the runway and in mid-afternoon the airport at Carcassonne was declared open and my flight became the first to arrive for three days. It was a relief to finally get back to London.
Debrah had a big client presentation on Monday and wanted to be in work early, so I took the opportunity to drop her into London at 8am and head off to my parents in Sussex to make up a little bit for missing them at the weekend. The roads were mostly clear and I was down there in no time - the quickest journey there for many a year.
My Mum hadn't been out since Friday because of the snow so jumped at the opportunity to come with me to the supermarket and get some more supplies, there being more bad weather forecast. I said we should stick to the main roads but not knowing the way I relied on her directions which started taking us a bit off-piste so to speak. We were very lucky to get away with one downhill icy approach to a junction - a gentle dab on the brakes and I knew immediately that we would not be able to stop and so sailed straight out and onto the main road where there was more traction. I silently thanked my lucky stars that there was no traffic at that moment whilst playing the whole thing down for my mother's benefit.
We came back on the main road all the way!
The journey home to London was a nightmare. I left straight after lunch, aware of the weather warning - initail rain turned to snow and then a blizzard but the traffic kept moving but slower and slower and slower until it finally came to a halt at the top of Brixton Hill - it then took me 2 hours to cover the five miles from Brixton to Borough (if that far) and then it took us a further three and half hours to get from Debrah's office to home - normally a 30 minute journey. All in all it took me 7 hours to cover the 50 miles from Sussex back to Hornsey.
Fastest journey time going out - slowest coming back. There was no point getting upset about it - there was nothing anyone could have done to make it any better. Despite the moaning Middle Englanders on the TV the next day complaining about the lack of warning, the lack of information and the national disgrace of our inability to cope, the reality was that a warning was issued, the roads were gritted, people were driving sensibly and I saw many instances of fantastic public spirit and stoicism as passers-by helped those skidding, falling off bikes, falling over and in general need of assistance. The snow just overwhelmed the system. We sat motionless for over an hour in traffic and saw no road rage or bad temper - just a resignation as to the situation whilst the police dealt with broken down buses and blocked roads and whatever else was thrown at them.
And whilst all this went on the Eurostar problems had created problems for Eurotunnel. we had a reservation for this morning but for a couple of days it was very unclear whether it would be honoured or not.
Despite more warnings about icy roads and freezing temperatures, in the end we had the smoothest journey one could hope for from London to Calais and then on to our Carca home - so what if we left at 2am and arrived at 5pm - we got here and now we can finally start to relax and enjoy the festive season.
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Present Imperfect/Future Unclear
I flew back to France from London today - on time and no problems, which was just as well because I had guests arriving this afternoon and their suite to clean and dress between my arrival and theirs.
I have spent the last week in London with Debrah and she was here before that so we have had the best part of a fortnight in each others company. We enjoyed a great long weekend here in France with trips out to Bouzigues for oysters and Lagrasse to meet new friends. We had an equally good time in London with trips to the market and lunches with Debrah's mum and just the two of us at Orrery on Marylebone High Street.
Actually, it was just perfect to be spending the time together, which is why yesterday and this morning were so difficult - we knew that we will be apart again now until the end of the month and the thought of it made us both a bit unhappy and depressed and a bit bolshy about the continuing time spent in different countries.
Over the last month we have talked and talked about how to solve this conundrum. Should I stop or re-shape the business here in France and go back to London and get a job or should we try to start a bigger business in France that will enable us both to live here full time? - and every single option in-between - sell? - rent? - buy? - borrow? - sit tight? - maximise income? - wait for the house market/job market/exchange rate/economy to improve? Inevitably there is no perfect answer to our imperfect situation.
So here we are again - in different countries relying on skype and email and phone to stay close to each other - trying not to get frustrated or angry or sad or lonely. I have a very very busy month with guests every day between now and 4th July when we get to escape for a week and Debrah has suddenly got new business opportunities flying into the agency (which is good of course). We will both be busy but there is no doubt that we would rather be busy together.
I have spent the last week in London with Debrah and she was here before that so we have had the best part of a fortnight in each others company. We enjoyed a great long weekend here in France with trips out to Bouzigues for oysters and Lagrasse to meet new friends. We had an equally good time in London with trips to the market and lunches with Debrah's mum and just the two of us at Orrery on Marylebone High Street.
Actually, it was just perfect to be spending the time together, which is why yesterday and this morning were so difficult - we knew that we will be apart again now until the end of the month and the thought of it made us both a bit unhappy and depressed and a bit bolshy about the continuing time spent in different countries.
Over the last month we have talked and talked about how to solve this conundrum. Should I stop or re-shape the business here in France and go back to London and get a job or should we try to start a bigger business in France that will enable us both to live here full time? - and every single option in-between - sell? - rent? - buy? - borrow? - sit tight? - maximise income? - wait for the house market/job market/exchange rate/economy to improve? Inevitably there is no perfect answer to our imperfect situation.
So here we are again - in different countries relying on skype and email and phone to stay close to each other - trying not to get frustrated or angry or sad or lonely. I have a very very busy month with guests every day between now and 4th July when we get to escape for a week and Debrah has suddenly got new business opportunities flying into the agency (which is good of course). We will both be busy but there is no doubt that we would rather be busy together.
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Festival
We are in the middle of the Bastille weekend and it is full-on festival time in France. St George's may pass by with a whimper in England - it has done so for every single year that I have been there to see it - but in France, Bastille Day is celebrated with much ceremony.
But I get ahead of myself, because the big day isn't until tomorrow. Even so there has been a carnival atmosphere on the streets and an almost shameless 'laissez-faire' attempt to sell goods by putting up stalls outside shops with stuff on offer at ridiculously low prices. It's all complete tat of course and you wouldn't buy one for 5 euros let alone two of them, but at least it's a bit more pro-active than the usuaul French retail experience.
Cynics would say that they are just trying to offload their rubbish on a holiday weekend during the sales. Well, it's the first time I've seen them recognise a marketing opportunity and try to capitalise on it - maybe it needs a bit of a more sophisticated approach but 'bravo' for effort.
We have two sets of new guests who seem to be enjoying the festival atmosphere whilst dodging the showers and we had a lovely dinner with them tonight and tomorrow we will take them all to see the fabulous firework display at and above the Cité, courtesy of Patrick's terrace which has a grandstand panoramic view.
Chris and Patrick are talking again, although it is a rather uneasy truce - I gather that Patrick laid into Chris a bit and Chris refused to give him an apology and a sort of stand-off now exists. I am trying very hard to keep out of it. Both say things to me that contradict what the other one has said and I don't want to get involved - so please just get a grip, the both of you.
Meanwhile, we still haven't finished Denis' apartment and we won't get paid our final instalment until we do. So, that means more weekend and evening working this week.
On a positive note, Debrah arrived yesterday and is here for two weeks - hurrah. We also have our lovely friend, Sandra, from Stockholm, staying with us for the week. She arrived today via London and it was so good to see her - I haven't seen her in two years - and it's the first chance she has had to visit us in the South of France - I guess I will have to find the time to go to Sweden sometime with Debrah but I can't see that happening any time soon.
Not to worry - Carcassonne is 'en fete' and I'm loving every bit of my new life in the Languedoc - what more can I say?
But I get ahead of myself, because the big day isn't until tomorrow. Even so there has been a carnival atmosphere on the streets and an almost shameless 'laissez-faire' attempt to sell goods by putting up stalls outside shops with stuff on offer at ridiculously low prices. It's all complete tat of course and you wouldn't buy one for 5 euros let alone two of them, but at least it's a bit more pro-active than the usuaul French retail experience.
Cynics would say that they are just trying to offload their rubbish on a holiday weekend during the sales. Well, it's the first time I've seen them recognise a marketing opportunity and try to capitalise on it - maybe it needs a bit of a more sophisticated approach but 'bravo' for effort.
We have two sets of new guests who seem to be enjoying the festival atmosphere whilst dodging the showers and we had a lovely dinner with them tonight and tomorrow we will take them all to see the fabulous firework display at and above the Cité, courtesy of Patrick's terrace which has a grandstand panoramic view.
Chris and Patrick are talking again, although it is a rather uneasy truce - I gather that Patrick laid into Chris a bit and Chris refused to give him an apology and a sort of stand-off now exists. I am trying very hard to keep out of it. Both say things to me that contradict what the other one has said and I don't want to get involved - so please just get a grip, the both of you.
Meanwhile, we still haven't finished Denis' apartment and we won't get paid our final instalment until we do. So, that means more weekend and evening working this week.
On a positive note, Debrah arrived yesterday and is here for two weeks - hurrah. We also have our lovely friend, Sandra, from Stockholm, staying with us for the week. She arrived today via London and it was so good to see her - I haven't seen her in two years - and it's the first chance she has had to visit us in the South of France - I guess I will have to find the time to go to Sweden sometime with Debrah but I can't see that happening any time soon.
Not to worry - Carcassonne is 'en fete' and I'm loving every bit of my new life in the Languedoc - what more can I say?
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