Down with coronavirus!

We were due to return to France at the end of March, but, here we are, mid-May, stuck in a coronavirus-riddled UK with my highly vulnerable octagenarian parents. Monsieur Macron would allow us to travel back to our Correzian home, but we simply can't leave my parents alone, as they are effectively under 'house arrest'. I'm relieved that we can be here for them, despite missing my French home like mad. It would have been unthinkably awful to have been stuck hundreds of miles away from them.

 In France, our friends and neighbours have been subjected to rigorous confinement, having to fill out a dated and timed form every time they leave the house for one of the permitted essential activities. They can take exercise outdoors, but only within 1 kilometre of their homes. Masks have been distributed free of charge to all residents. Supermarkets have not been subjected to shelf-emptying panic-buyers. This is in stark contrast to Old Blighty, where we have had to endure weak leadership, mixed messages, empty supermarkets and witless people roaming and congregating as they please, hence, we now have the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Europe. 

 Fortunately, our French neighbours have been keeping an eye on the houses and grounds, but I absolutely dread to think what the place will be like when we eventually return. Perhaps it will be akin to stumbling upon Sleeping Beauty's thorn-covered castle, and we'll have to hack our way in. Time will tell.

Comments

  1. Tony12 May 2020 at 14:48

    Hi Debbie. Having just read the second Janine Marsh book my thoughts inevitably flickered in your direction a few times. Thanks for the update.
    We do read your blog with interest and look forward to when you are able to write about all those nice French adventures. And by then, we will be able to resume our holidays and explorations over there.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The tower finds itself in high demand

Image
I've been asking Kevin to hurry up and finish the work on the south wall for AGES as I wanted the tower in order to paint the north wall. FINALLY, he scaled it and reattached the flailing planks and the loose edge-tiles. He also finished and painted the outside of the little window frames, installing mosquito nets too. It's such a relief to get all of these little jobs done! But was I to get the tower? No. Kevin fell into a frenzy of loose tile fixing all around the house! Eventually, I did secure ownership of the tower and repainted the grubby-looking north wall. No, you can't see the finished job, as, to be honest, it's still a bit grubby. And, after our aerial efforts concluded with no dramatic falls, we returned to some familiar territory of bygone renovation days: fluff puff! We have never managed to finish our master bedroom, mainly because we were waiting for a stretch of good weather in order to build the second dormer window. However, due to Covid-19, we didn...
Read more

Renavoidance?

Image
Don't ever buy a property with 8 acres of land. Unless you have a vast array of top grade farming machinery. I'd like to be sharing with you our achievements with the renovation (and I know that's what you're here for!), but most of our time has been spent mowing, strimming, raking and visiting the dechetterie. Our ride-on mower has more or less given up the ghost, and I really don't think it'd be worth mending/servicing it. I'm not sure how we're going to continue to tame the land with just two push mowers and a scythe. We've decided to leave a lot of our land as meadow, with creative paths mown through it. Farmer Joel has very kindly mown and gathered hay, but this has exposed acres of dry, unpleasant stubble. And you wouldn't believe the amount of dust and grass seed that's kicked up during the processes of cutting, turning, lining up and baling! The time of dust coincided with the time of refreshing the exterior white paint. Thankfully, n...
Read more

The sad ending we never expected to see

Image
You'd probably guessed, but we've sold up and moved back to England. Six years of renovating in our Correzian paradise had to come to a sudden end due to the folly that is Brexit, and the plague that is Covid. These unpredictable twin horrors meant that we could no longer flit between two countries with ease, and neither could our family and friends.  I thought you'd enjoy seeing some of our last views of our little French farmstead.  What do we miss the most? Friends Freedom Stunning scenery Great restaurants Beautiful villages Vide greniers Good wine at good prices Sunshine Empty roads Over and out. Thank you for following our adventure.
Read more