BEAUREGARD…The Blog
….France,Family,Friends….Archive for Family life in France
Nous sommes arrivés!
Hello once again.
We arrived safely and haven’t stopped since! Our furniture has been held up but is due tommorrow. I am now using a computer without Broadband and with a French keyboard…both annoying but I am getting used to it.
Unfortunately, my initial buzz on arriving was tainted by the rumour and subsequent confirmation that there are outline plans afoot to construct a huge golf course and 800 habitations in our commune. On checking the plans at the Mairie, it would appear, that if all was approved, we at Beauregard would have housing on three sides. So, I have arrived to find that I am now a NIMBY! Not sure what the French is for that yet. But, it is early days and we are hopeful that it will come to nothing.
Mum and Dad are pleased and relieved that we are finally here. It is strange to be part of a big family again but we haven’t had any niggles or arguments yet. The kids are settling in well, swimming, climbing trees, helping Grandan with all of the jobs, cooking with Nana and generally letting off steam. School is another month away so we are still enjoying our holiday.
Time to wrap-up. It’s taken hours to download just two pictures…..
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The best-laid plans of mice and men….
I had a bit of a panic on a few weeks ago. It involves the lovely view that you can see above and plans for a golf course.
Mum bumped into friends, who live in the commune, in Shopi and was asked if she had heard the news. ‘What news?’, she asked, ‘The plans to build a huge golf course at Beauregard’, came the reply.
Well, we hadn’t heard the news, as it happened! Could this be the best or the worst thing to happen to us?!
We knew that the farm opposite was for sale and of course, my imagination went into overdrive. I had images of electric golf carts, a hotel and country club on our doorstep, with car-parks left, right and center, flying golf balls and a 12 foot fence. This is after 4 years of landscaping and general mayhem.
Not exactly the rural idyll that we are so fond of.
I know there are worse things that can be plonked on your doorstep, like a pig farm or abattoir, for instance, but I must admit to being a bit, well, concerned, to say the least.
However, after a quick chat in the local village bar with Mums friend, it would appear that there are plans for a golf course, only it’s closer to the leisure lake and the village and won’t impinge on our hill-top solitude.
Phew!
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The Half-Term Trip
I’ve been back a week now from France and I realise that I have not posted on how it went, apart from a little bit on Bergerac Airport. It would appear that the improvements there overshadowed the rest of my stay!
So what did we do?
It was fairly warm but very wet….I think there were a few hours when the drizzle and rain stopped. At this point, the kids put on their boots and leapt outside to play happily with Poppy.
Dads car had got stuck in the mud and there were concerns that we might not make it to the airport on the Thursday. But with a little bit of sand and a lot of brute force, we managed to shift the car. We nearly took the front of the house with us at one point….the joys of country living! (Mental note:…..surface the front drive, one of first jobs!)
Myself and Dad did a bit of walking around, looking at work that we intend to do; basic landscaping, ideas for improvement, new staircases, shower rooms and bedrooms, to name but a few. We are going to be very busy!
They are getting very excited about our imminent arrival. Having said that, I think we will have to wait and leave once the house here in London has been sold. We were hoping to make the move during the Easter holidays, come what may, but I don’t think this is practical.
Never mind, I’m confident that the house will sell very quickly and we will be settled by the Summer Hols!
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Snowed in
Apparantly, Mother and Father have been snowed in for a few days. It seems to have taken them by surprise. Normally if there is any snow, it is a light sprinkling, which soon disappears as the sun warms up. Not this time, however!
They had no water for a few days as the water pipes froze, they couldn’t get a roaring blaze going on the wood-burning stove as the wood was too damp and they haven’t been able to get out to buy a fresh bottle of gas for the gas burner.
I think they are snuggled under blankets and duvets for most of the evening! Probably with a drip on the end of their noses and chilblains….all very Dickensian!
Guess who’s glad that we decided not to go down until the Spring? Guess who’s revising the list of works as we speak?
Unpack boxes and settle kids inFit central heating
Table manners for kids….French style
I caught this article in the Telegraph today, whilst browsing.
Although my two are fairly good with their table manners, I’m thinking it might be a good idea to enrole them anyway. Experimentation with new food is not one of The Boy’s strongest points and more than one set of cutlery…well!
It may give them a taster for when they are tucking into their school lunches at the ecole primaire; or at least buffer the shock a bit!
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The secret to instant integration in France
I never knew it would be so straight forward and simple!
And it is so true…never enter a boulangerie, doctors office, the Mairie, without a ‘Bonjour, tout le monde’.
Admittedly, it doesn’t come easily for us stuffy Brits. Our communities are now so large and ill-defined that we don’t say ‘hello’ to anyone unless we know them personally. We never look people in the eye and live our daily lives, almost oblivious to the rest of society…or is that just me?!
So, bite the bullet, pretend that you know everyone, if that helps and start ‘Bonjouring’……politesse demands it!
And as you leave, don’t forget the ‘Bonjournee’…such a nice bunch, these French!
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