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1:38 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
Madame Scarecrow
| | Somewhere in the Forest in Le Monts d'Ambazac Limousin…France | | |  Enthusiast | posts 162 | |
| | Bonjour Madame et Monsieurs, Well that is the some total of my French…but I am going to have to learn pretty quick if I am going to survive here…!!! I moved here to the beautiful Ambazac Mountains in the Limousin, one month ago after renting this smallholding/farm without seeing it….not even a photo of it…!!! After looking around France for 3 months I was starting to give up hope of finding something that was cheap but habitable and then when I was Helping up near Le Mans I met three guys who own this place and had moved out three months previous….literally locking the door and moving on…no cleaning, no tidying, no sorting…just leaving…!!!…and they left the place to the mice, the loir and the mould…just lurvely…!!! Well to say the place is a mess is an understatement….but I just lurv it….I have no foss septic so my waste water runs down the street….I have no flushing loo (just a compost loo)…no fridge or freezer, no tv, and no car but I do now have a clean bed…!!! But what I do have far outways everything…I have peace, tranquility, amazzzzing views, incredible neighbours (who funnily enough speak only French…!!!) and just today I found a 5 foot long 4 foot wide 18 inches high bread oven  in my home so what else could anybody want out of life…??? A Bien Tout The Scarecrow | |
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5:12 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
shelley
| | Toulouse, France | | |  Councillor | posts 1165 | 
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| | wow how brave; we are also in France but in a nice new build; not so characterful, but nice and clean and tidy. We love it here in france despite the bureaucracy. if you need advice and tips on the french part of life, why not join other expats on http://www.britishexpats.com (hope you dont mind the plug but it is a good site for expats!) | |
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5:49 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
ep
| | Bulgaria | | |  Supreme Being | posts 3640 | |
| | Well done Scarecrow….and welcome. The language will come but as Shelley said, it's the bureaucracy that get's you but there again, I've never been a foreigner in England. My beautiful caring neighbours speak Bulgarian and Turkish and I'm in a slimilar position to you (well I was until the builders moved in) but I know what you mean about beautiful views. I have an acre of rough ground and not much of a garden mainly down to flowers with one bucket of potatoes but I certainly don't starve. Today I was invited for breakfast, ended up at my friend's garden and came home with potatoes, sweetcorn, carrots, greenbeans, eggplants, tomatoes, red onions and refused green peppers and lots more. I sat on the floor in her little flat and we roughly chopped about 10 kilos of tomatoes for tomato paste/juice, small price to pay for all that bounty….they seem to have what England has lost…. Now in Bulgaria you need a document for everything and because it is an emerging part of the EU it seems to change day by day and so even the locals don't know what's what…I just say, Anglechanka, ne rasbiram….I'm English woman and I don't understand but that's not going to get me by for much longer…..they just smile as if I'm leg pulling especially the police… So…..Again welcome and enjoy what you have out there….. | |
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5:53 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
Danny
| | Ipswich, England | | | Admin | posts 4965 |
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| | Great to have you along, SC. What an adventure you are having! Sure glad that you found us so that we can get occasional updates and tales. No flushing loo but Internet access (or do you use an Internet café?)  How big is the smallholding / farm? Do you plan to work it? Do you have the place indefinitely? Nosey 'R' Us  | |
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5:58 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
brightspark
| | Wilts | | | Supreme Being | posts 6371 | |
| | Bienvenue Carole, et ca va ? You won't be alone on here, there are a few from France – Shelley has already introduced herself and there are more! We have a house in Charente Maritime – and love it. We too have incredible neighbours and we are eternally grateful for that! Any questions or problems you have – ask away – there's always someone on here who can help. Bientot a toi, aussi, 
| Life it's better with friends – Marie Rayner |
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6:15 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
Toffeeapple
| | North Bucks | | | | posts 11866 | |
| | Hello and welcome Carole! Cripes, what a leap in the dark you've made, it sounds as though you have exactly the right attitude. I look forward to hearing your exploits… | |
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6:16 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
Madame Scarecrow
| | Somewhere in the Forest in Le Monts d'Ambazac Limousin…France | | | Enthusiast | posts 162 | |
| | Bon Soir Madame et Monseiurs, I may not have a flushing loo but I do have the internet…yes, I organised that more or less straightaway on arrival….at an amazing cost I might add 38 Euros a month…"but Madame you can watch free tv" they said…but I don't have a bl**dy TV or a sofa to watch it on but they wouldn't give any discount….but hey ho the rent is dirt cheap…150 Euros a month…I shouldn't complain….. The smallholding/farm is 7 and half acres in total and yes I do have a grand plan….the grand plan is… - to stop panicing…!!!
- to find more buckets….my roof leaks…!!!
At this moment I am having the most amazzzzing thunder and lightening storm and so far I have found 4 leaks…. The best event of the day though was me sitting quietly down here in the granite stone floored kitchen when I heard a noise…I looked up and there staring at me was a Loir…I am not sure who was the more surprised him or moi….!!! I took the opportunity though to ask the bl**dy animal to keep the noise down at night…last night I am sure he had posted an ad on Facebook for irish dancing lessons for all the community Loir….I swear they were dancing with hob nail boots on….hundreds of them me thinks…!!!…Anyway after my little quiet word I get the feeling he will respect my catholic religion and keep the noise down a wee bit this evening….well it is Sunday. A Tout a L'heure The (Sleepless) Scarecrow | |
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6:19 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
brightspark
| | Wilts | | | Supreme Being | posts 6371 | |
| | Oh, Carole, I bet the Loir is wondering why someone has moved into his home !!!!  | Life it's better with friends – Marie Rayner |
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6:30 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
Madame Scarecrow
| | Somewhere in the Forest in Le Monts d'Ambazac Limousin…France | | | Enthusiast | posts 162 | |
| | Bon Soir, (Is it bon or bonne???…not sure yet…!!!) The joke of it really is when after our wee chat and the 'Larry the Loir' asked to take his leave I went to open the door for him and no he preferred to exit my kitchen via the bread oven….toasted 'Larry the Loir' for breakfast me thinks…!!! So guys you say I may ask for advice on this forum…well here goes… is it …Larry the Loir with tarragon or with freshly gathered wild thyme…??? The Scarecrow | |
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6:36 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
Toffeeapple
| | North Bucks | | | | posts 11866 | |
| | Tarragon every time!  What a hoot! | |
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6:40 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
brightspark
| | Wilts | | | Supreme Being | posts 6371 | |
| | Carole, it is bonsoir (similar to bonjour in that respect - write them as one word). Ooh no, the Larry the loir is too cute to be toasted – perhaps you can keep him as a pet (with his hobnail boots'n'all!) We had a fouine (pine marten) that seemed to like running around in the walls of our house, and taking off some of the tiles looking for anything that might be hiding there! Also a family of blackbirds, tweetering away at night (thanks, guys!). Ah, the wildlife in France – c'est la vie! | Life it's better with friends – Marie Rayner |
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6:40 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
danast
| | Argyll, Scotland | | | Supreme Being | posts 7113 | |
| | What a laugh and welcome to you You are one brave lady Carole ( not larry the Loir, but the whole adventure. Good luck and keep us posted ) | Old teachers never die, they just lose their class |
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7:09 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
Madame Scarecrow
| | Somewhere in the Forest in Le Monts d'Ambazac Limousin…France | | | Enthusiast | posts 162 | |
| | Bonsoir, (Thanks Brightspark) I am sure you are all not that interested in my eating habits so I will tell you a wee bit about me and this most gorgeous place…. As I said before I arrived here without having seen the place not even a photo all I had in mind was: Its ˜The Good Life™(In France) For Me¦!!! Below is the sequence of events of my first day of arrival œExcuse ay moi Monsieur, oo ay le taxis s™il vous plait???…Sadly even with my very limited schoolgirl french I totally understood his somewhat nonchalant reply¦Non taxi ici Madame¦!!! …In any language (French or otherwise) that meant not only was I very tired, very hungry and somewhat disheveled (actually to be more precise and to the point…. I was kna**ered, ravenous and I looked and felt like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards¦!!!) but now to cap it all I was bl**dy stranded as well¦!!! The day Monday the 5th of July 2010 had been a very, very, very long and tiring 13 hours travelling down from Brittany. Leaving at 7.30 in the morning I had caught 8 trains to arrive at this little known ˜one horse town™ of St Suplice de Lauriere¦(for the record this is in the middle of the Monts d'Ambazac in the Limousin region of France,..) only to find that there is not a taxi to be had this side of Paris (a mere 300 miles away)¦well no worries I will just have to walk the last 8 miles..not a problem with a 22 kilo backpack and hand luggage of another 12 kilos…!!! for goodness sake take a hold of yourself woman you are only 52 years old and 16 and a half stone (in other words I am built like an ox so another 8 miles should be not a problem pour moi¦!!! But first before I tackle this mammoth task I must have a cigarette I must say at this point the smoking policy on French trains is fantastic ¦at every station as the train comes to a stop half the passengers alight the train to light up a fag whilst still holding onto the train with the other hand and the dear train conductor always gives a little warning pip on his whistle to tell to us all to get back on before the train pulls away¦so considerate do you not think??? Anyway back to the matter in hand¦ the time was now almost 9 o™clock at night and remembering I am on my last legs I start to try and find a local map somewhere. (so that at least I will know in which direction to head.) …….When, as ˜manna from heaven™ coming out of nowhere a lady approaches me with the obligatory words œBonjour, ca va??? To which I quickly remember the standard answer of œCa va, bien, Madame ¦I think it means are you Ok with my reply meaning Ok good¦well there was fooling this dear lady into thinking I was a born and bred Parisian she had rightly recognized a non French woman from a mile off and immediately switched to her rather styilted but good schoolgirl English¦well to cut a long story short within 15 minutes I was sitting in a taxi and presumably heading the right way to what I hoped was going to be my new home. The key for the house I had never laid eyes on ie new my home was jangling in my pocket but as I had rented it without seeing it or knowing where it was in France I was about as much use as a chocolate teapot when came to regonising which door to try the key in¦the kind and very bemused taxi driver could not believe than this mad fat woman could have travelled half way through France not knowing what or where she was renting¦to say he was bemused was an understatement¦!!! Fabrice the taxi driver stopped and kindly asked a neighbour and eventually we worked out which door was mine (the broken one…!!!) We opened the door and both of us stepped back into the yard with the smell…the owners had left three months ago and 'totally forgot' to clean the house before leaving…and as they had 3 large dogs and 6 cats you can guess how bad the smell was…I have subsquently replaced the smell of dogs and cats with bleach but after 10 days of that smell I decided vinegar was more preferable so now you can smell the house from a mile away…it smells like a pickle factory…but hey ho my kitchen is clean…!!! This post has got really really really long winded  so if anyone is at all interested I will follow up later…apres le fumier et grand cafe avec lait… A Bien Tout The Scarecrow | |
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7:18 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
Toffeeapple
| | North Bucks | | | | posts 11866 | |
| | What a great story! Yes, we want a follow up – as soon as you can manage it. Oh, and we will want to know your eating habits too – very inquisitive lot here… | |
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7:50 pm
Sun 1-Aug-10 |
danast
| | Argyll, Scotland | | | Supreme Being | posts 7113 | |
| | Oh that was edge of seat stuff. Please please carry on. We will all want to know more. | Old teachers never die, they just lose their class |
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