Fête de la Musique...

was last thursday, when anyone can perform any music without incurring royalty payments, so long as the performance is free. Our concert was actually on friday night and went very well. There were about 80 people in the audience which wasn't bad considering the weather and the fact that the chapel only holds about 120 maximum. We thoroughly enjoyed it, as did Pierre-Jean & Edwige and Patrick & Marie-Claire. The comments we got afterwards included how nice it was to have such a varied programme - three languages and three very different styles.

However the comité des fêtes de St Lubin were all down-in-the-mouth because their proposed outdoor rock concert on Saturday night looked as if it was going tobe a wash-out. (see http://monsite.orange.fr/rockmoelou/page1.html) They were faced with holding it in the salle des fêtes in Kergrist Moëlou, which wouldnt have been the same at all - ie not in St Lubin!

However, we were incredibly lucky with the weather. They decided yesterday morning to chance an outdoor event and last evening was fine and quite mild. Some huge black clouds passed by to the north but the field had dried out enough to get a lorry trailer towed onto it using a tractor.

Pete spent the evening selling 'casse-croûtes' ie snacks - in this case barbecued sausages in a baguette while I washed-up a million knives, forks and coffee cups in a dingy shack using what was unmistakably a cow feed-bucket as a washing-up bowl! I also got a lesson in how to mix batter for crêpes, but I will need to practice before I can confidently stand and make huge thin crêpes to order with everyone standing watching. They make it look so easy...

We have spent the last week getting in the plumbing for the gîte before we lay the concrete floor downstairs.

then suddenly most of the work gets hidden!

We are hoping to get the floor poured on tuesday, as Pete is off to the UK to see his mum on wednesday. Getting the floor done depends on us barrowing enough rubble onto the space today and tomorrow to fill up some of the 20 -30 cm height difference across the floor from back to front. Of course the weather is being foul again...

Home from home

OK, so we thought we had done with camping. However we are about to take our first holiday in four years and camping is the only option really, so we got the tent out today. Happily it is still in pristine nick, and thanks to Fran who used it last, it was beautifully clean and packed - obviously a prelude to parachute packing! In July we are off to the French five days (orienteering, see http://perso.orange.fr/laco/5J2007/Accueil.htm - sorry, still haven't worked out how to put in a link) down on the sand dunes near Bordeaux.

How about this for a map! Will make a change from some of the forests up here that are pratically flat, with long straight featureless paths and bingo controls in the centre of forest blocks. It will take us a while to get back into navgating by contour again.


I am going to try to mend the airbeds that we bought for Greg & Tom when they came out some years ago - which promptly deflated as soon as they were slept on. Failing that, new ones will have to be aquired. Thermarests are definately not sufficient these days! Hopefully we will have some shade - the site looked to have lots of trees, so fingers crossed.

We're going up to St Brieuc this afternoon to return some books to emmaüs (the ones we can't get online) and to buy plumbing stuff at bricomarché (exciting, eh?). We need to get pipes set into the concrete of the floor, so this needs doing before we order the readymix. After a few nice days, we look to be in for a spell of wet weather again so back to working indoors, and the grass still needs cutting....

sheep shearing day

Monique came round last night to tell us that it was sheep-shearing day today. A friends of her cousin comes round each year and does them for her. Not much notice, but never mind...

Got the girls penned this morning OK, while Pete went to fetch the three belonging to our friends Rhett & Martine. We put the lambs into one of the outbuildings while we were away, otherwise they would have broken out. However they probably have sore throats now, with all the frantic yelling. No time for photos during the process itself, but here are pictures of fleeces (lucky you can't see the ticks) and the now-slim girls. I am struggling now under the influence of the obligatory huge dose of pastis drunk down at high speed after the shearing, while we settle up (4 euros per sheep). I am starting to itch - must have a shower and check for beasties....




John came round yesterday and we got the levels marked out for laying the concrete floor in the Bull barn. Its a much faster process than fiddling about with a spirit level and ruler!




So, floor to go in as soon as we can organise it! Progress!

at last, some sunshine 2

Not that we haven't been busy while it has been raining & grey. We have finished the ceiling in the upstairs over the bull barn. The side walls are plasterboarded but not finished-off yet. Now we have to move everything across into this space so that we can lay the remaining upstairs floor.



Downstairs from this pete has EVENTUALLY managed to get the mangers out. It took him two solid days with a road drill and compressor, plus hours of barrowing - altogether a heroic feat. Our neighbour Jean-Jaques who built the mangers said they had to be extra strong to prevent the bad-tempered bull from pulling them to bits. Still, steel reinforced concrete seems a bit much. Here are two photos of the surprisingly large space. John Waterson is coming over tomorrow with his theodolite to help us get the levels marked out for the concrete floor.




Pretty pictures now - a moth I havent managed to identify yet and the first flower of the rose 'veilchenblau' that is slowly covering the left half of the rustic arch.



Finally a sneak-pic of Pete taking five in the garden after lunch - just to prove we do stop occasionally! As you can see the metal loops around the little courtyard garden are gradually getting covered with plants. The foxgloves are looking pretty amazing too...