NOVEMBER 2006...................

Lot et Garonne Map and Matthew walking up Villeneuve main street.

Matthew had his birthday party in the garden with his friends. He had a great party … not so much food this time… just lots of sugary sweets and cakes!! The girls did musical statues whilst the boys played football and cricket. ‘Cricket’??? … not a game played in France … but now Matthew’s friends sort of understand the concept of it. Doesn’ t make it any more interesting though. Cricket to the French must seem a really boring sport … and I can only agree!! So thankfully, a lot of the French wives of the future won’t have to suffer like the poor English women cricket widows!!

Unlike the UK, where the shops are full of Christmas decorations and people are milling about starting or finishing their Christmas shopping, here in France, November is just like any other month. There is not a Christmas Tree in sight and no sign of tinsel. In fact, the lack of panic, did not spur me on to go out and start shopping. The French children apparently have one main present and a few other little things but that’s it!! Argos would find it hard to make a killing here!!

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We were more or less promised that the little house would be ready for Christmas, and we would be able to move in. We handed in our notice to where we were staying and started packing up boxes for our ‘big’ move. Somehow we needed to get all our furniture stored somewhere, as obviously the little house had limited space. We found a barn to rent in Perrigeux, which was two hours away. The couple who owned it were lovely and didn’t want much for the storage. When you compare paying £140 a month for storage in the UK, to 20 euros a month here, it just shows you how much we get ripped off in the UK. In the meantime, we got plans together as to when we would move completely, bring over our B&Q kitchen and other bits and bobs to get to France.




These other bits and bobs included a baby grand piano which I bought off Ebay for the bargain price of £100. Top quality!!! A Piano, I know isn’t a number one priority when you’re trying to build a house, but it was the first time in our lives where we would live in a house big enough to house one. Admittedly, my piano playing talent only runs to chopsticks and the first line of a Barc concerto with just my right hand, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to have and learn. I think for the boys to learn and to have the chance to play would be a gift, even if they didn’t pursue it when they were older. It was a German walnut veneer piano made in 1869 and all the keys worked. It would wait in storage until we were ready to bring it over in December. Anyone read the book a ‘Piano in the Pyrenees’ by Tony Hawks???