The moon, as it rose tonight,  was stunning.

I dragged the family away from their various activities with a, ‘wow, you must see this’ and was  thoroughly disappointed with their lack of awe and wonderment. Unperturbed, I got out my super new camera and took some photos.

I now realise the importance of a tripod but quite frankly was too lazy to rummage around for it, my excuse being that it’s in a box somewhere. Plus, the moon would have lost its lovely orange glow by the time I’d found it.

So here is my favourite arty-farty moon photo. Ok, it’s less a picture of the moon and more the essence of me, trying very hard not to move or breathe for 20 seconds…I think it looks as if I have been to art college, for a foundation course at least…well, I like it!

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

I can imagine that now your thoughts are turned to Christmas. That you are enveloped in the pre-Christmas panic of planning, buying and organising.

Here at Beauregard, our thoughts and conversations have turned to heating, in all its forms and manifestations.

Heating takes on a life of its own here, it is a tangible, raw element of life. No longer do we arrive home to a thermastatically heated house, a warm bathroom and a cosy bedroom.Heating here is done on a room by room, as needed basis. It is hard work.

We have a woodburning stove and various moveable heaters, such as gas bottle fires or electric heaters. Either way, the days of a constant, low-key, low maintanance heat are gone. We have got used to walking to the bathroom through a cold room, to waking up in a cold bedroom and waiting for the heat to start working in the morning. It’s all very old fashioned!

And how it dominates our conversations! It seems quite normal now to spend all night discussing what form of heating you have….’Oh, you have oil-fired/a Villager stove…how does that  do?’ ‘Do you find it uses a lot of wood? We seem to be burning tons’, ‘How much did you spend on your wood?, ‘How do I deal with the draughts, there seem to be so many’, ‘Will we ever be really warm?’…..and on and on. Suddenly heating is no longer the invisible, taken for granted friend but a life-force of its own!

So, enjoy your Festive soaked December and spare a thought for us, with our sooty faces and blue noses!

Off to put another log on the fire……

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

……wellie boots.

 Yep,this seasons’ choice of footwear is a pair of Wellingtons!

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

Today the children started school….La Rentrée. I must admit, it was all a bit of a shock. For some reason we had assumed that 29th August was a Thursday, they don’t go to school on Wednesdays and without checking we naturally thought that the start day was Thursday. (It’s easy to forget what day of the week it is here, let alone the date!)

By sheer fluke, I asked the fella in the village shop if Diddy’s school started on Thursday (we had been told that often the older children return a bit later) and he said, ‘no, they all go back tommorrow’. After some ‘are you positively, absolutely sure?’-type questions we went to the school itself, to find the teachers busy preparing for the following day. Phew! It doesn’t do to be a day late on your very first day.

So, the rest of the evening was spent in fevered activity; outfit choosing, form filling, phot-copying of essential documents, bathing.

After the initial shock of getting up at 7am and amid much excitement, I took Diddy and Plum took The Boy. On arriving at school the excitement was quickly replaced by nervousness and fear, and that was just me! I left Diddy looking utterly bewildered, confused and petrified, although at that point her friend Daisy turned up and the situation improved.

The Boy had apparantly just tripped in without a care in the world!

I busied myself for the rest of the day, took Debs to the airport and tried not to think about them both languishing in confusion and tears.

I needn’t have bothered! Reports so far are that they both had a lovely time. They didn’t understand much but it didn’t seem to worry them. The Boy was a bit put out that football was off after someone kicked the ball over the fence during first play and Diddy didn’t like the haricots verts…..not bad for a first day!

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

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…..

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

 Well, the moment has finally arrived where I am writing my last blog entry here in the UK.

I am surrounded by boxes, bags and mayhem. I have a permanent knot in my stomach and can’t quite decide if it is exhileration and excitement or just plain fear! I think it is a mixture of all three….plus some others too!

So, until I get my computer rigged up in France, I shall be concentrating my efforts on last minute packing, tip trips and saying my goodbyes.

Time to switch off and I’ll return once we have embarked on our new French life!!

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

Is it true that everyone has at least one book to write?

I for one, wouldn’t have a clue where to start, but it would appear France is as good a starting point as any! For example, Peter Mayle, Helena Frith-Powell, that Colin Firth/Darcy fella in Love Actually, to name a few.

But here is a useful article by Samantha David in The Guardian, that outlines how to go about it. It seems that the number one pre-requisite is a sense of humour! 

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

I booked the tickets for our out-bound journey through Ryanair today and although the flights have gone up and then down to a very reasonable price, I can’t help feeling a little hood-winked!

The online order form is such that if you don’t want insurance, you are told to select from the drop-down menu. The drop-down menu is not easy to find! I then found it and chose the appropriate ‘no insurance required’ choice and clicked. Only when I get to the end and have completed, do I find that I needed to do that with each person….seems pretty obvious now, but it is not at all clear on the form. It would appear that there is no way of going back to amend choices made earlier on, unless I am really stupid and missing something , somewhere. So, Diddy and myself now have insurance, whether we want it or not!

I am also smarting at the baggage selection, even without baggage, I am charged £2 for ‘priority’ boarding…there seemed to be no other option. So now The Boy can go on before me and Diddy to select our seats.

I am especially annoyed as I have been through this before and vowed I would double check everything first, but even with prior knowledge, it is a process that seems to be deliberately complicated and misleading.

The flights may be cheap but the add-ons just keep rising!

Here is a breakdown of the flight expenses:

• £29.97   Flights (cheap as chips!)
• £80.20  Taxes, fees and charges…including credit card fee
• £11.40   Aviation/WCHR levy…whatever that is!
• £10        Insurance
• £131.57  Total paid

See what I mean…hoodwinked!

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

I had wobbly moment number 2 today….handing in aforementioned letter to the school secretary!

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email

I knew it had to happen eventually, but I had my first wobbly moment last week.

With a firm date in mind now, I thought it would be a good idea to start some draft letters. I began with Mr Filby, the flute teacher, moved onto Gwendoline from French club, next onto Brown Owl and was doing really well. But not long into the letter for school, I could feel prickles in my eyes and a lump in my throat. I had to walk away from it for a few hours!

Just putting into words the definate date of departure was bad enough…it’s been a long time coming; but then writing my thanks and appreciation was just too much! I realised what a great little school we have been part of for 3 years. I found it a really difficult letter to write in fact.

I shall really miss the teachers, I shall miss the mums, I shall miss the children that I have seen grow up over the years, I shall miss the social events, such as the Christmas Fayre, the Summer Fete etc and the little extras that come with a lovely pro-active school.

But, all in all, I can’t/mustn’t dwell…..decisions have been made and life moves on. I am moving onto another chapter that will be our future memories. But I am grateful for the memories that we will have from this school.

I’ll be off again in a minute if I keep this up!

Subscribe to BEAUREGARD…The Blog by Email