The rebuilding of the roof begins

Our roofer turned up as promised, just as the weather began to worsen. One of his first jobs was to re-position an old oak A frame (confusingly called "une ferme" by the locals). It has been moved so as to straddle the lounge, adding some traditional style to it.

East wall comes down

The East wall turned out to be bowed, so the builder removed it. This had the unintended but beneficial effect that the terassier was able to dig out with his JCB the granite so that the ground inside and outside the house could be levelled.

The builders add windows

Its been a while since I updated this blog. Much has happened over the cold winter months and I need to backtrack before bringing the blog up to date.. One of the earliest tasks for the builders was to make some openings in the south wall for three new upstairs windows. We planned these to give us a view from our bedroom of the cow-populated fields below us. Jean Yves and his accomplice Gilles can be seen here braving the harsh winter weather

Change of weather

Snow arrived last night in our part of France. It came in a quick heavy flurry and this morning had been joined by a dense mist. We strode out to take photographs. It was like shooting a reel of Ilford monochrome film. Only the téléscopique, inactive as the workmen mixed another batch of cement, injected any colour into the views. Small birds – tits and the like - that we rarely see close to the house, picked at tree bark, trying to get our attention like shy girls in a bar.

The snow melted soon enough. The fields are already regaining their colour. To stand in a copse of douglas firs, hoping for some strong sunlight to fall on a calendar view, was to get a thorough soaking.

The Workmen gear up

The site has been a bustle of activity. One truck brought breeze blocks for the rebuilding of our freshly demolished wall; another truck arrived to take away the large JCB; and another, smaller JCB (called by locals a téléscopique or Manitou) materialised.

The Builders have Arrived

We've just been woken up to the sound of workmen fitting a hose pipe to our outside tap. The construction (as opposed to the destruction) has begun. That we did not hear them arrive is testimony to the after-effects of local wines... Robert and Gilles have introduced themselves to us and immediately got to work on this grey, but dry, day. Rebuilding the wall demolished last week will be an early job. We're so excited!

Georges, our neighbour, continues to bring us welcome supplies of fresh eggs. The yolks are so intensely yellow, that Yorkshire puddings made by Di last night looked like she'd added a dollop of turmeric.

Work has begun

This pic shows the huge trench dug out of the hard, hard, granite rock by the terrassiers Even their giant earth mover has struggled with the job. Our house is built on this stuff and is a cause of concern for the builder.

The picture was taken while the workmen are taking their lunchtime break. It is said, by the locals as well as we incomers, that French artisans are notoriously unreliable about time-keeping. Yet, at 12 o'clock, they are the model of punctuality. You can't always depend on the chimes of the village church but you could set your watch by the mid-day rush hour.