The French Renovation

We went back to the Prefecture this morning.  We were the first there, and took tickets 001 and 002. It was the same lady at the little window, and she announced my maiden name with a smile. She was very pleased to see that we had obtained a new Controle Technique , but she already knew there would be another little problem to tackle... I had told her previously that we were leaving for the UK very soon, for five weeks, and she said that the registration documents, or Carte Grise, will not just be left in our mailbox; they require a signature on delivery.  So. She established exactly what date we return and gave us a telephone number to call once we're back. All I have to do is give the registration numbers, and the documents will then be dispatched. How helpful! We were told to return to the seating area to await our call to the next window, where we would make our payment. It turns out that there is no payment as far as the trailer is concerned. Good. The cost of re...

You may remember the difficulties we encountered when trying to fathom out how to register our British car in France (go on then, remind yourself- it's way back in the blog on 18th February 2016). The process involved, initially, obtaining an inexplicably expensive Certificate of Conformity from Mitsubishi, and this is something I did actually manage to achieve. It cost £120. There were then further obstacles to navigate, including filling in a veritable paper mountain of forms for several different government departments, followed by paying out to have our headlights changed, obtaining a new MOT, paying for new registration plates, and other procedures which remain obscured by the mauve mists of Franglais.  The Certificate of Conformity was as far as we got, because we began to construct a cunning plan... A plan that would sidestep all of the bureaucracy and expense. We shall simply sell our British vehicles in England and buy a second-hand French car in France! Because that wou...

Kevin has continued to replace slipped roof tiles, gingerly clambering up a framework of roped-together towers and ladders, carefully avoiding breaking or dislodging any further tiles through skilful use of the inside padding from our old leather couch. As I had placed myself on accident watch, I had little else to do, except take photos of the little event, hence this cartoon strip record of the process. A reward of a cool pint of British beer awaits the intrepid rooftop clamberer, with hearty thanks to the Robertsons Another day comes to a colourful close The peppers are finally getting an amber glow, no, not from the sunset Kevin decides that a spot of strimming is in order As the sun sets on cottage #1, the moon makes an entrance

There was a whole cabinet of Lalique glassware at the exhibition, but this was the only photo I took of these ghostlypieces, due to my over-excited twirling and butterfly-flitting from case to case in the first darkened display room. Refreshingly, we were given the freedom to wander at will, without the imperious supervision of any gallery stewards. I think photography was permitted, although, that may not have been the case... The rooms were often in darkness, with the pieces of glass gently illuminated from artistic angles, reminding me of my own bathroom display*.  These are two more exquisite collections that captured my attention, so much so that I didn't look to see what they were called or who the blowers were. I'll have to go back. Not wearing a stripy dress. This large frame contained lots of little bulbs of coloured glass, possibly as a record of different powders and pigments, but presenting a beautiful display in its own right. Appreciating...

I love glass as an art form, and I've been desperate to get along to see this temporary glass exhibition just half an hour from our home. Today was the day! Vase 1903, DAUM Pichet a biere 1910, Felix GILON Vase Fleurs d'Eau 1900,  Emile GALLE Coupe Flechee 1992, Etienne LEPERLIER Vase 1985, Jean-Claude NOVARRO Coupe 1986, Frantisek VIZNER Cercle de Verre 1994, Bernard DEJONGHE Vase Couvert 1925, Maurice  MARINOT 3 Flacons 1925-1929, Maurice MARINOT Vase Bouteille 1920, Bienvenu SALA Vase le Ronde 1925, Marius SABINO Chateau-fort 1961, Emile GILIOLI Karolina 1996, Bertil VALLIEN Adempimento 2015, Mary Ann Toots ZYNSKY Cusco 2009, Michael GLANCY Circle 2016, Oldrich PLIVA Sans titre 1998, Yan ZORITCHAK Vase 2015, Massimo MICHELUZZI Tweed 2014, Martine PERRIN and Jacki PERRIN