Lost en France

A nice mix of jobs today. First of all, got up late - no doubt because I had taken a sleeping tablet when the hot humid weather had kept me awake long enough. First task of the day - laundry and cleaning. Tim arrives tomorrow, to start looking at the electrics, and so I want things as fresh and clean as is practical. I set to it, cleaning the sinks, shower, loo etc. and washing sheets, towels and face-cloths - as well as the general laundry that has accumulated. I have to give it to Sally, I'd never really appreciated how much laundry accumulates and how quickly. I secure a set of garage shelves that were leaning precariously and then it is off to the boulangerie for some bread. I didn't eat properly yesterday and so had a decent breakfast and lunch today - including a bier (as a result of which, despite rising late, I treated myself to a nap). Right! Main job of the day is supposed to be rubbing down the skirting and door frames on the first floor landing. As I am cont

The last three days have been spent stripping and painting on the first-floor (kitchen, shower and toilet). Today was a little different to the earlier two in that I hung some pictures (actually 18th Century map prints of the area of the Waterloo campaign), went for a cycle ride - this time reaching Uzerche prison (though only after having negotiated several sets of electric wire strung across a country lane and eventually being re-routed, as I wasn't going to lift the bike over the barbed wire that was the final obstacle), and did a general tidy-up and vacuum as things were getting a little dusty. The kitchen, in particular, had been turned on its head as I needed to finish the skirting (and window frame) that we had started on our last visit - and which was now behind the units I had so nicely arranged on my arrival this time. During the afternoon, today, I have generally been lazy - at 34 degrees (and due to hit 36) it isn't difficult to persuade oneself to have an eas

With only limited work around the house yesterday (I did get the radiator mounted in the shower-room - and without any drama), it was time to crack on with the DIY and decorating today. The fruit of yesterday's labour I painted the decorative metal work outside of the shower room window black, as well as the hinges and locks on the window. The toilet door's hinges got the same treatment. Then it was down on my hands and knees with a chisel removing any of the carpet glue that I could shift from the first floor landing - and gaining a nice blister in the palm of my right hand for my trouble.  Taking a couple of hours, that was probably the biggest job of the day. Then it was out with the jig-saw and a profile tool to cut the hardboard to fit around the door frames and then laying it in place on the landing floor. Two sheets down. One more needed - but there's a large, heavy, radiator in the way. Do I want to try and move it, given my experience with the much smaller

Today was something of a Comedy of Errors. My plan for the day, which I shared with my neighbour, was to head in to Brive - to get some more items from the DIY stores, perhaps treat my self to a meal and some sight-seeing, and to finally visit the Emmaus charity shop/brocante. My neighbour appeared to be trying to warn me of something related to my car or parking, but I wasn't clear on what she was saying or whether it applied to outside the house or in Brive - perhaps she was suggesting it would be busy and difficult to park in Brive, it being Saturday. The traffic into Brive was indeed busy, but once in the area of the city I was headed for it wasn't any worse than usual. I got most of the items I needed from the first DIY shop and then a few more from Carrefour and a second DIY store. I ended up buying two sets of hacksaw blades in two different shops due to forgetting my first purchase - I now have enough of the to last a few years. I was after more hardboard. Mr Br

To be honest, not much happened today - which was the plan, to a degree, as I'd reached a bit of a milestone the day before and intended taking things a little easier. The day started with a bike ride to view the local prison (well, its good to have a purpose in mind). The forecast was for rain and storms from late morning, and so I wanted to get out early. As it happens I didn't reach the prison and it didn't rain. I actually took a wrong turn fairly early in the ride but the good thing about getting lost is that you see areas you may otherwise have missed. The ride was again very hilly and there is no way I'd have attempted it on a conventional bike. As it was I had a pleasant ride of just under 10 km. The beauty of the countryside around the town continues to thrill me. This funnelling of a small waterfall amused me: After the ride I bought some undercoat for tiles and applied its to the area under the window in the shower room (behind where the radi

This house can make some strange noises; not the creaks you might expect of an older property, but more thumps and bumps. There was one this morning, louder than normal - which had me wondering if it was actually a package pushed through the door. I went to investigate,  and this is what I saw: Clearly yesterday's leaky radiator had caused damage - it was just delayed. Not a big deal, as we intend to have a lot of plastering done anyway - after the house is re-wired. That unwelcome surprise aside, it has been a good day. I cut out the hardboard for the toilet & shower: I then used the hardboard as templates for cutting the cushion flooring: Full marks to dad for the suggestion of using hardboard rather than trying to get up all of the old carpet glue. That said, I did still spend a fair amount of effort getting rid of the flakiest  glue in the shower room. Still a bit of tidying up to do, but that can wait until tomorrow. One thing I did want to

The start to the day could have been better, The laundry had been building up quicker than I expected, so I decided to do another round of washing. As I was separating coloureds, whites and darks (as Sally had trained me), I found a pile of clean laundry, where I had left it, at the bottom of the laundry basket. I clearly hadn't emptied it before refilling with dirty laundry. At least that explains why I had so much and so soon. Not knowing which was dirty and which clean I just re-washed the lot. First batch goes in - and then I realise I've not put in a detergent tablet. I set it to rapid wash so that I can get it out and start again withing 15-minutes (little did I know I could have simply opened the door after the cycle had started). With the washing underway I went to the shower room to get started with the painting - only to find the floor awash. Water was coming out of the radiator outlet pipe. It hadn't been when I had removed the radiator, so why was it now a

'nuff said

Today has been pretty much a repeat of yesterday - but as yesterday should have been. Today I succeeded with  the jobs I had failed miserably with yesterday. If yesterday was one of the 'crappiest' days I've had in a long time, today was one of the best. The first difference is that I awoke feeling optimistic and fully motivated to get a good day's work done. First job, get that leaky cistern fixed and see if the loo itself was leak free. The cistern was easily sorted by using two 'o' rings, one of the correct internal diameter and another of the correct external diameter. I didn't know if this unconventional arrangement it would work but it did. The main seal on the loo still seemed to be leaking but to hell with it, I simply applied some silicon sealant. Right, with those two PITA jobs out of the way, I turned my attention to finishing rubbing down the window-frame and pipe work in the shower room. First task, remove the radiator. It is one of thos

A frustrating day really. I struggled to get myself motivated to do anything much. I did head to the local DIY stores to buy some piping and elbows etc. to fit between the cistern and the toilet but I was unable to find the ‘O’ ring I needed for the cistern or the silicon grease I’d decided I needed to try again to fit the seal to the loo. To cut a long story short (as I can see I’m again getting ‘boring’), I realised the seal I had was too large. I bought a smaller one (involving a trip to Brive) and fitted it – with almost as much effort as the earlier one. I built the pipes and got it all connected. I found ‘o’ rings in Brive, but they proved to have too large an internal diameter or to small an outside one. Net result is, at the end of the day, I have a reconnected loo – but the cistern still leaks, I’ll take another look at that tomorrow, as I have some ideas. Update: I was typing this blog post as I prepared a chilli con carne (courtesy of Delia’s ‘One is Fun’). It

Well my daughter tells me the last post was boring, so I’ve waited a few days until I have something ‘more interesting’ to report. Now I must wrack my brains to remember what I was doing three days ago. As I am typing this, cars and bikes are again doing a celebratory circuit of the town - France have won the World Cup within the last hour. Fortunately, this match was a little earlier than the semi-final, so hopefully they will have calmed down by the time I try to sleep – bah humbug! In all seriousness though, it is great to see people so happy – just a shame it isn’t happening in England. Friday On Friday I took a walk to the town’s Tourist Information Office to collect brochures handily labelled ‘within 20 minutes’ (distance). These should be useful if I do get some sight-seeing in during this visit. I also asked about local celebrations for Bastille Day and was given a brochure with a wide range of activities over the day itself (Saturday) and on Friday. One of th

Yet another day that didn't go to plan - i.e. I didn't get as much done as I hoped. I headed into Brive, late morning, with the principal intention of tracking down some hardboard. We need this to put down on the uneven floor, prior to laying the cushion flooring I've brought from the UK. Earlier in the week I had drawn a blank locally when trying to find some - in fact the manager at the local builders' merchants didn't appear to know what I was after; he tried to sell me chipboard. First stop was Leroy Merlin. Though a large store, they had no hardboard. I did take the opportunity to have them plan our kitchen though - quite a feat as the lady I was dealing with spoke no English (and you know what my French is like). Next stop was Carrefour to buy jam and fruit juice - and to have a look at their electric bikes. I would have bought a bike there and then, had they had anyone that could provide me with even basic technical information - as it was they couldn&#

Well, in hindsight,trying for an early night, on the evening that France got through to the World Cup Final, was a little optimistic. There was no doubting the result as the cheers went up, the singing commenced and the car horns started blaring. This went on for a couple of hours at least. I'm pretty sure the same group of celebrants were doing repeated circuits of the town, since the loud celebrations would fade out and back in again. Despite being cream-crackered, the noise and  the heat & humidity conspired to keep me awake again. Even so, I was very happy for France - they should enjoy it whilst they can (come on England!). I eventually got to sleep and had a reasonable night, getting up at 08:00 and jumping in the shower which, after yesterday's cold water, was now heated bliss. The morning was spent building the 8 drawers for the Ikea chest of drawers that I'd started yesterday. This was far simpler but still took the morning. After the third meal of bread

I’m back in Uzerche – for the best part of a month. And Sally is at home. This will be the longest we’ve been apart in thirty-three years of marriage. I travelled down yesterday, giving myself plenty of time – I was even able to stop for a hand-carwash en-route.   As on my last trip, I arrived at the Eurotunnel terminal a couple of hours early but, previous experience, I chose not to pay a premium and take an early train and, in fact, my train was delayed by 20-30 minutes. Fortunately, whilst at the terminal, I noticed my magnetic ‘GB’ sticker had disappeared and so was able to buy a new one and avoid a spot fine in France. No doubt the old one is lying on the floor covered in car shampoo (tip: remove magnetic stickers before subjecting vehicle to a jet wash – doh!) After an uneventful crossing, I headed for Amiens for my overnight stay. The motel took some finding as the address given was vague. My SatNav failed to locate it, but Google Maps came to the rescue. The room

Monday will see me head back to France - for a whole month this time - and no Sally. The electrician will join me at the end of July, for a week. The journey down is already promising to be 'interesting' as I had another fuel injector problem yesterday. It was a different fuel injector (#3) and, according to the RAC diagnostics, appears to be an electrical issue, rather than the fuel injector itself failing,. Removing and replacing the electrical connection appeared to sort it - but I'll be travelling with bated breath, just waiting for it to fail again :-(.

The way a company handles things when things go wrong probably has more impact on reputation than whether they get things right or wrong in the first place. As such, good Customer Service should be a priority for all companies. As you'll see from this post, some excel - and some don't. My last trip to France resulted in a surprising number of requests for refunds or compensation I thought I'd share my experiences with you as some deserve showcasing for the excellent customer service and some need shaming, in the latter category I'm including Ryanair despite the incident being related to a visit last December (rather than my last visit). The Good I did not experience 'good' Customer Service with any of the organisations - the service was either poor or excellent. The RAC were initially my candidates for good service, but the fact I had to contact them several times and then go through a fairly convoluted process saw them drop into the bad category - but onl