Englishman Buys Bar 12 - the point of no return

By John Harries-Harries

At last things are moving forward. There comes a time in renovation when it just seems that the demolition never stops. Every objective reached just seems to give a better view of more targets to be programmed in.The simple task of clearing away the old bathroom now that our new 'salle de douche' is fully operational [notwithstanding a few finishing touches] revealed far more than expected.

2nd Feb 2003

The simple task of clearing away the old bathroom now that our new 'salle de douche' is fully operational [notwithstanding a few finishing touches] revealed far more than expected.

We have the good fortune to have very substantial oak beams supporting the first floor, and they will be a grand feature in their finished state. The obverse is that they have years of various coloured paint on them, and now that several can be seen together for the first time since the original walls went in, they are a real nightmare. The French used to have a habit of wallpapering everything in a room. This included doors and cupboards, complete with any door furniture, to the extent that little used rooms and cupboards were sealed off for years, probably decades.

Our house is no exception to this, and several good features have now been revealed. The latest is a large block adjacent to the entrance door, which appears to have a Griffon, dragon, or to one of my friends' somewhat jaundiced eye, a mounted and armed priest carved upon it. It is too good to leave in situ because a small wall has to be built which would hide it completely, so there is another 'little' task to enter into the works for it to be re-sited.

Even our glorious beams have not escaped being papered over, but in their case it appears to be old newspapers which were then painted in what can only be described as merde-brown. As we will be using angle grinders fitted with sanding discs, it may become a little dusty. Masks and goggles are ready!

We will then have a good flat concrete floor on which to fit our tiles and the units can be assembled and fitted and the services attached. Quite simple really, I wonder what can go wrong?

What do YOU think? Suggestions to the Freebooters Noticeboard, please.

When we cleared the area around the entrance door and found our stone carving, other wood beams were revealed. Again they are too good to just plasterboard over, so we are planning a raid on another friends barn to retrieve a suitable beam to fashion an L-shaped lintel to hide the electrics and waste pipes fitted for the shower room before we found the old beams. As I said, there is no end to the demolition and restoration, but now that things actually get completed to a serviceable state, there is a growing sense of achievement.

It is slow and sometimes frustrating but rarely dispiriting.

Whilst all this work is going on, I occasionally have to clean myself up and visit people. Last Tuesday was a case where it was a great pleasure to dress up to the nines. We signed the 'compromis'. This is the preliminary contract where we sign to purchase the property, the vendor signs the same contract to sell the property, and all parties are legally bound to complete. [There are some circumstances where either party can escape, but they usually incur compensation payments.] We also paid ten percent of the price, and received an estimate of the charges due to the Notaire.

We now are committed [legally] to buy the bar and better still, are now virtually certain to do so. This is a tremendous relief to us both. We have been getting increasingly anxious about the financial side of things. We have no income at present and are living on that sum set aside for the purpose, but there was always a time limit to this period.

We will need the income from the bar to live comfortably here; even with my reduced early pension later this year, we knew this would be the case, so the step forward has been welcome as well as substantial. Coupled with this has come the news that the house contracts are being exchanged in UK, so there are two very happy bunnies in Bonen.

We have also had some lighter moments. I have found time to put in a few afternoons assistance to my friend with his 'new' ETANG. Yes indeed. A substantial lake strongly fancied to have good carp and tench, plus black bass. This lake has been neglected by the fishing society, which used to own it, and there is a major bank clearance project running. To gain access from his present garden, [more like a small park, really] our friend has put a temporary bridge across the trout filled river between his garden and the lake.

This is actually a longish ladder and a couple of scaffold planks, and is somewhat 'springy' especially with a load of tools and fuel for the chainsaws. I was extolling the fine qualities of my ex-U.S. army boots. They are waterproof, unlike British army boots, and very warm. I should perhaps, have been concentrating on what I was doing rather than letting my friends know how superior my footwear was, for I managed to lose my balance. I slipped sideways, with great elegance I am told, gently into this fast flowing brook. It was about mid-thigh deep, and I may still have survived with wet jeans and feet, but I hung on to the kit I was carrying. Very, very slowly I overbalanced backwards up to my armpits in the icy water. Now I am not without a sense of humour, but after 2 weeks, I think they can stop repeating the tale every time we meet up in a local hostelry!

I have suggested to John that he keeps an eye open for an ex-SBS dry suit. He appears to have taken my suggestion seriously.

I am not the only person who acts oddly here. We were driving down a minor road on the outskirts of Rostrenen a little while back. There was a bit of drizzle, and round a bend ahead of us we could see a battered umbrella. Below it was a Breton lady of great, but indeterminate, age. This is not unusual of course, but she was leading a cow by a halter-rope, and stopping every so often to let it graze in the entrances to her neighbours gardens and fields. She was still at it over an hour later when we returned down that road, and we cannot but admire her fortitude and ingenuity.

Around the same period, we were driving across to Carhaix along the N162. There was a man by the side of the road ahead, outside his cottage, apparently just 'looking at the day' as the Irish would say. As we approached he swung round to face us, lifting his right arm in a grand sweeping arc, thumping the inside of his arm with his left hand, in that expansive Latin gesture of derision which needs no words. We thought it was because we have English plates, but watching in the mirrors, we could see him offering the same greeting to every car that passed him. It may be that he doesn't like the road improvements near his home, or just doesn't like cars, or he may be the local lunatic, but it enlivened and amused us. We look out for him every time we go that road, but he has not repeated the performance.

We get a chance to see Sky occasionally and watched the 'No going back' programmes with some friends. The chap with the carp fishery is only just down the road, but the family with the big house without drains, and a heating and swimming pool equipment problem was the most interesting to me. With the problems, particularly of time for official permissions to arrive, we empathised with their dilemma.

We are now expecting to open the bar 3 months later than we first thought. We will have letting rooms in the summer, but not for this Easter. We are fortunate that we had considered, and allowed for this delay. We have to have a 'Geomet' survey on the property we are buying so that the local Cadastre can be updated, and this is yet another delay. Chris, [being the licensee] and I [as joint owner] have to have Cartes sejour before we can open. Again we foresaw this need and our Notaire will smooth the way and make the necessary declarations on our behalf. Seeing other Brits with these problems gave us no satisfaction but we are pleased that the effects on us are minimal, and not the impending disaster ahead of them.

I am so fortunate to have good friends here, French as well as English, and an enthusiastic and supportive family. Even in today's times of good communications, and modern services, moving to another country is not an undertaken to be taken lightly. The numerous books and periodicals I read, the visits here at times of year away from the 'holiday' times, and most of all the gleaning of tips and advice from those who have gone before, have all helped the process. And life is getting better and better.

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If you want to congratulate or encourage him (or sympathise with Chris and Lucy)  e-mail me with your thoughts or advice, or better still, write to the Notice Board.

Have fun.

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