A rare chance to get the computer out on a Ryanair flight means I can update you with goings on this weekend chez Porter in the Charente. I am flying via Limoges this weekend and next partly because of work and partly because of cashflow, I left it too late to book British Airways cheap fights, so here I am on Ryanair. Working in Nottingham means I am not too far from an airport either, so the car is at East Midlands and I am flying East Midlands to Limoges.
It was a quiet weekend at Au Bellefleur, though we had got guests who called on at the last minute, so a handy and timely boost to the cashflow as we do not have many guests at this time of year.
Our plumbing problems at least as far as blockages are concerned are behind us, I just have to complete the repairs to the drains an re-set the base of the shower in one of the affected rooms.
We have a nice new washing machine which was imeadiately pressed into action after its arrival on Wednesday and it has probably already done 15 washes, very quietly. We have never had such a quiet washing machine.
That was the extent of the excitment for the weekend, and it was nice to a normal weekend for a change, its just a pity that I had to head back to the UK on Sunday afternoon.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
We are giving away 2 nights B&B in aid of Haiti victims
Now then folks I have a challenge for you, we are giving away a free 2 night stay for 2 at www.aubellefleur.com with 2 x 4 course evening meals in a double room as a auction item in aid of the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The challenge is that its on a Dutch web site, as it is a Dutch appeal, however its easy to bid, you just go to http://www.twitterveiling.nl, click on the link on the left that says De Veiling and then click the link that says reizen/uitstapjes, scroll down until you see Overnachten in luxe Bed & Breakfast in zonnig Frankrijk. Bidding is already up to €175.00, auction closes at 21:00 on 31st January.Done it, great, look now you can speak Dutch too.... well done :-)
We will also help you make your euro payment to the fund if required
Darren, Franca & Fleur
Good News week
A little update on the blocked pipe situation, Les Dyno Rod chappies came in on Tuesday and finally cleared the blockage which appears to have been builders rubble, so the moral of the story is to make sure your builders, or yourself, do not put spoil down the toilet, and keep your pipes covered at all times while decorating. It was probably exacerbated by the fact that we have installed 6 new bathrooms over the last 18 months so a certain amount of rubbish would inevitably end up in the pipes.
The other piece of good news is that our new washing machine has arrived, so not only can we go to the toilet with impunity we can also have clean clothes... things are looking up, and as it is Thursday it means one sleep til home time
Cheers
The other piece of good news is that our new washing machine has arrived, so not only can we go to the toilet with impunity we can also have clean clothes... things are looking up, and as it is Thursday it means one sleep til home time
Cheers
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
how long is a sewage pipe - more than 20m in our case
Time for a 2010 blog update as we are already half way through January, my least favourite month of the year, and probably lots of other people's least favourite too. Having missed going home last weekend because of working at The France Show in Earls Court, in London I was really looking forward to getting home this weekend. As it turned out I spent most of Saturday tring and failing to unblock the sewage pipe from 3 of our toilets, the other three in our B&B appear to be working normally.
On Friday evening on the way home I popped in to Leroy Merlin to buy some rods to hopefully clear the blockage from the sewage pipe, however on Saturday morning when I pushed 10m of rod into the pipe I did not hit any obstructions, so what to do next? I went to Leroy Merlin again and bought another 10m of rods. Having attached this to the end of the first 10m the second went all the way into the pipe, so now I have 20m of rod in the pipe and still no resistance, so no sign of the blockage. I then tried to use my high pressure jet
washer with the correct pipe clearing attachment, but that just stopped working after about 30 seconds. Time to give up and get the professionals in, this is no simple blockage and my DIY equipment was not making any impression on the blockage after 5 hours of messing about. So Franca has the unenviable task of finding the French equivelent of Dyno Rod to sort this one out. One could say that spending 5 hours in close proximity to the contents of out sewerage pipe was also an unenviable task, though
trying to explain all this in French will test even Franca's excellent grasp of the language, so I think she is going to enlist the help of a neighbour. As one of our other neighbours said it is lucky this did not happen in high season.
The net result was a wasted Saturday, nearly €100.00 spent and the pipe is still blocked, my high pressure washer is broken and to make matters worse when I pulled out the 20m of rods I actually only got 19m back! so to say I was not a happy camper was probably an understatement, though a hot bath and a beer later and I was a bit happier.
What is running through my mind at the moment is if this blockage cannot be cleared we are going to have one hell of a problem to get sorted out quickly as B&B rooms are unusable at the moment, worst case scenario could be we have to dig up a number of floors to find the blockage or even install a totally new waste pipe, hopefully it will not come to that. Watch this space for the next smelly installment...
On a lighter note Sunday saw the arrival of our first guests of 2010, so there was lots of cleaning and tidying to be done as we had let things slip a bit since the last guests departed before Christmas.
Fleur was obviously pleased to see me when I got home on Friday evening, though less than pleased that I spent most of Saturday with my head down a sewer pipe, so after my bath & beer we made cup cakes together, and I must say that they were very nice, so nice that Franca said that we should make some for Fleur's class at school, so as well as preparing for the arrival of our guests we had to run off a batch of 24 cup cakes, complete with marzipan decoration. I have to say that Fleur is getting so good at making cakes now that I'm only needed to check quantities of ingredients are correct and supply the muscle to cream the ingredients when Fleur's arm get tired.
On Friday evening on the way home I popped in to Leroy Merlin to buy some rods to hopefully clear the blockage from the sewage pipe, however on Saturday morning when I pushed 10m of rod into the pipe I did not hit any obstructions, so what to do next? I went to Leroy Merlin again and bought another 10m of rods. Having attached this to the end of the first 10m the second went all the way into the pipe, so now I have 20m of rod in the pipe and still no resistance, so no sign of the blockage. I then tried to use my high pressure jet
washer with the correct pipe clearing attachment, but that just stopped working after about 30 seconds. Time to give up and get the professionals in, this is no simple blockage and my DIY equipment was not making any impression on the blockage after 5 hours of messing about. So Franca has the unenviable task of finding the French equivelent of Dyno Rod to sort this one out. One could say that spending 5 hours in close proximity to the contents of out sewerage pipe was also an unenviable task, though
trying to explain all this in French will test even Franca's excellent grasp of the language, so I think she is going to enlist the help of a neighbour. As one of our other neighbours said it is lucky this did not happen in high season.
The net result was a wasted Saturday, nearly €100.00 spent and the pipe is still blocked, my high pressure washer is broken and to make matters worse when I pulled out the 20m of rods I actually only got 19m back! so to say I was not a happy camper was probably an understatement, though a hot bath and a beer later and I was a bit happier.
What is running through my mind at the moment is if this blockage cannot be cleared we are going to have one hell of a problem to get sorted out quickly as B&B rooms are unusable at the moment, worst case scenario could be we have to dig up a number of floors to find the blockage or even install a totally new waste pipe, hopefully it will not come to that. Watch this space for the next smelly installment...
On a lighter note Sunday saw the arrival of our first guests of 2010, so there was lots of cleaning and tidying to be done as we had let things slip a bit since the last guests departed before Christmas.
Fleur was obviously pleased to see me when I got home on Friday evening, though less than pleased that I spent most of Saturday with my head down a sewer pipe, so after my bath & beer we made cup cakes together, and I must say that they were very nice, so nice that Franca said that we should make some for Fleur's class at school, so as well as preparing for the arrival of our guests we had to run off a batch of 24 cup cakes, complete with marzipan decoration. I have to say that Fleur is getting so good at making cakes now that I'm only needed to check quantities of ingredients are correct and supply the muscle to cream the ingredients when Fleur's arm get tired.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
France Show in London 8-9-10 January 2010
Come and meet me in London during the France Show in Earls Court, Stand P142
Do you love France?
Do you love French food?
Do you love French drinks?
Do you love to read about France?
Do you love to listen to French music?
Do you love to spend your holidays in France?
Do you love the idea of buying a holiday house in France?
Do you love the thought of a permanent house in France?
It’s all closer than you think! Why don’t you come to the France Show and meet
http://www.aubellefleur.com and http://www.charente-immobilier.com, the best estate agent in the area, at stand P142.
More information can be found on http://www.thefranceshow.com/
Friday, January 01, 2010
Happy New Year
It's January the 1st, the first day of a new decade, and so I wish you all a Happy New Year, and here is how we welcomed in the new year last night, French country style. It's called the feast of St Sylvestre or le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre and it has as many courses as you like, and goes on deep into the night. The feast tends to include special items like champagne and foie gras and since we are near the coast fruit de mere, ie loads of shell fish, including raw Oysters which I had not been brave enough to try before, but I must of eaten a dozen last night.
HAPPY NEW YEAR..... now where is that diet book
HAPPY NEW YEAR..... now where is that diet book
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