Debrah and Mel have returned to London and once again I am on my own here in France, well, except for the guests in the Apartment suite and Chris popping in for coffee as he finishes off the final bits of work in Denis' apartment upstairs.
Chris flies to the UK tomorrow and then on to the USA, so tonight is his last chance to finish the work and give back the keys to me - I know I will have to go up there and clear up and remove the tools and materials after he has gone - great, another cleaning job to do. This last minute rush could have been avoided, but that's Chris for you - the mastic will look fabulous when it's finally done though!
Ironically, given our falling out earlier in the year over the unnecessary removal of my internet connection, Chris will have to come and print out his flight information from this very computer because an electrician has clumsily disconnected the broadband in his apartment - I shouldn't laugh or feel smug about it, but I can't help it.
I forgot to mention that I can finally see what I am typing and reading - Debrah picked up some reading glasses for me at Boots at Stansted airport on her way over here and they are a revelation - and all for the extremely reasonable sum of £25. I have known for a couple of years that my eyesight was getting worse for close up stuff and especially in poor light - not any more - but I'm still getting used to having glasses on my nose.
With a heavy heart I took Debrah and Mel up to the airport this afternoon for their flight home and then who should I bump into but Gary, who was waiting for his nephew off the same flight that Debrah was due to leave on - so naturally I offered them a lift back to town and popped in to see Des too, as I hadn't seen him for well over a month. No change there really, except that Gary's fortune is now going to be made as a novelist rather than as an artist - always seeking the glory solution that boy - he just needs to get a job.
So there we are - it was a momentous day in the world of banking and the refurbishment of Denis' apartment has finally been completed - all of which is a massive relief - but whilst the macro and micro issues have been, hopefully, resolved, Debrah and I are spending another evening apart from each other - and for the moment we are no closer to finding a solution to that problem.
Showing posts with label irony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label irony. Show all posts
Monday, 13 October 2008
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Powerless
Chris came up from the bar refit this morning and asked if he could borrow an extension lead. I reluctantly said yes - not that I mind lending tools to Chris for our own renovation projects, but I am loathe to see them leave the premises because I know from experience that they don't come back.
It was slightly ironic that the power went off almost immediately - not just in the apartment, or even the building - but for half of the bastide town. The power was out for most of the morning and only came back on at ten to twelve - that was a relief - nobody would have been able to have lunch otherwise! As it was no-one could have a coffee all morning and the place ground to a complete halt.
It was lucky that I had finished preparing breakfast for my guests (toast, coffee etc) even if they turned up for breakfast 45 minutes later than they asked for it - as if I have all day to stand around waiting on them. No - I had planned to go and paint the bathroom walls in Denis' apartment, but between the late guests and the power cut (bathroom is internal with no natural light) that plan was shelved and I went to the supermarket for supplies instead.
It seemed as if the whole of Carcassonne had the same idea because Leclerc was absolutely rammed - I did my shopping in true bloke fashion and filled the trolley with everything on my list (and not an item more) in a flat out 20 minutes and then had to wait for half an hour just to get through the checkout - I was a tad irritated but held it all together.
This afternoon I finally got round to painting said bathroom and then a couple of hours ironing for my normal hotel job ahead of a double room change tomorrow before checking on the renovation progress last thing and then cooking supper for the hard working boy and myself and taking a new booking and answering several enquiries - phew!
Not much else to note really. I did think to myself, as the sun continues to beat down (at last) in true Languedoc style, how little time I have had to actually enjoy it over the past two weeks. I don't mind having to be on duty seven days a week because it is our own business, but there has to be some upside as well - some time to relax, some time to appreciate it all. At the moment it seems to be 12 hours a day and Debrah in London all week and manic weekends - we need to move on to the next phase, whatever that is.
As soon as I know the answer I will tell you.
It was slightly ironic that the power went off almost immediately - not just in the apartment, or even the building - but for half of the bastide town. The power was out for most of the morning and only came back on at ten to twelve - that was a relief - nobody would have been able to have lunch otherwise! As it was no-one could have a coffee all morning and the place ground to a complete halt.
It was lucky that I had finished preparing breakfast for my guests (toast, coffee etc) even if they turned up for breakfast 45 minutes later than they asked for it - as if I have all day to stand around waiting on them. No - I had planned to go and paint the bathroom walls in Denis' apartment, but between the late guests and the power cut (bathroom is internal with no natural light) that plan was shelved and I went to the supermarket for supplies instead.
It seemed as if the whole of Carcassonne had the same idea because Leclerc was absolutely rammed - I did my shopping in true bloke fashion and filled the trolley with everything on my list (and not an item more) in a flat out 20 minutes and then had to wait for half an hour just to get through the checkout - I was a tad irritated but held it all together.
This afternoon I finally got round to painting said bathroom and then a couple of hours ironing for my normal hotel job ahead of a double room change tomorrow before checking on the renovation progress last thing and then cooking supper for the hard working boy and myself and taking a new booking and answering several enquiries - phew!
Not much else to note really. I did think to myself, as the sun continues to beat down (at last) in true Languedoc style, how little time I have had to actually enjoy it over the past two weeks. I don't mind having to be on duty seven days a week because it is our own business, but there has to be some upside as well - some time to relax, some time to appreciate it all. At the moment it seems to be 12 hours a day and Debrah in London all week and manic weekends - we need to move on to the next phase, whatever that is.
As soon as I know the answer I will tell you.
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