Dave & Doreen welcome you to join us in our journey setting up our new Business Adventure here in France. We moved to France and completed on the purchase of our property in July 2019. Our intention is to have two Gite’s for holiday accommodation and Fishing Lake and Gite holiday hire. From the time we moved into our new home we have spent all day light hours clearing the 10 acres of grass and woodland around our 6 acre spring feed Lake, tree felling and clearing old fallen tree’s from the lake, cutting and clearing overgrown shrubs, brambles etc..
It is now November and the weather has turned so now that planning permission has been obtained work has started on converting old stables into two Gite’s.
Since taking the step to move to France we would like to say that we have met some lovely people who have helped us along the way, so a big thank you to them.
If you are interested in taking this journey with us we will update this site with our progress over the next year. Watch this space!📷
7th June 2020. Hi everybody its been a few months since we have given you an update and what a few months it has been with Covid 19 and lockdowns. Now thankfully it looks like we are coming through it with the lockdowns being eased off.
Just to say sorry to David and George that you were unable to come out to us for Easter but hope to see you later in the year.
Well to update you on our progress since our last posting we had the Fosse (Drainage and sewer system ) delivered in February and Pete the Digger Driver and Dave spent two very wet and muddy weeks installing it. Lockdown arrived and the inspection by the local authority was delayed, leaving open trenches and piles of earth, but it has now been passed.
As they were digging it was filling with water!
System in at last.
Looking after a friends dog Max even he was self isolating.
Dave has been busy on Gite 1, he has completed the electrical wiring to French standards and has had an inspection from a Electrician who holds the French qualifications , all ok. The Electrician installed a new fuse box and connected all wiring Dave installed and will be back when Gite completed to sign it off.
March Windows and Door
Installed.
Plaster Boarding and Insulation
being done.
Its our first Spring here and it was so nice to see every thing springing into life.
April
The weather has got a lot warmer now.
Everything is growing so fast including the grass that needs to be cut a lot at the moment.
May - Dave has also been busy outside.
Filling in trenches from Fosse work and putting waste pipes into building down by the Lake. As you can see he has a nosy neighbour keeping an eye on him.
Building first Fishing swim.
Cut four trees down and made platform from them and
filling with earth which was dug out for the Fosse.
Back to the Gite all internal walls have been erected , Insulated , Plaster Boarded and now being Plastered. It’s so nice to see the sizes of the rooms. Next Job will be to tile the floor all the way through.
Well I think that's about it, but yes I have been working as well. Going out during lockdown with my paperwork to the Supermarket once a week, very weird, more staff then customers most of the time. Working around the lake clearing, tidying cutting brambles, strimming were mower can’t go. etc etc.
Well to all our followers take care and keep safe until the next time.
23d Jan. Hi to all our Friends and Family hope you all had a good Christmas and we wish you all a Happy New Year.
Latest up date to our journey just before Christmas in the high winds we had another couple of trees down, so more chain sawing for Dave and more logs for the fire next winter.
Captured a Rainbow across our driveway, we are hoping for a pot of gold at each end and good Luck and good Fortune for 2020.
Well progress is being made on Gite 1 front wall three quarters of the way up showing window and door areas.
28th Dec. Front block work now completed. Now the floor is being laid ready to start work in side.
Windows and Doors have been ordered, (with difficulty, mobile phone translator used a lot!) Being delivered February.
Amazing Sun Set over the Lake . We have some wonderful changing skies.
Busy next couple of months for us we hopefully will have a new fosse(Drainage and waste system) going into the ground to take waste from our Bungalow, the two Gite’s and the Fishing facilities. (lots of Euro’s)!
A Friend, Chris, also a Carp Fish Lake Owner, came over to visit with his Sonar equipment to survey our Lake and find out the depths. Good results with deep pockets of water over the Lake area. Lots of bleeps indicating Fish so we know we have a good supply of Fish but not the types and weights.
14th Jan . Went to Fish Farm today to pick our Fish that we had ordered back last year. (Fish can only be purchased at set times of the year). Total of 24 Fish delivered in the afternoon.
One of the Fish going into the Lake.
A big thank you to Andy, Sean and Alan who helped Dave transport the Fish in slings from the delivery lorry down the hill to the Lake. Very hard work. Food and Drink involved.
Another two going in.
Drove by Dick & Angels Pad Saturday, Escape to the Chateau. Very impressive, not far from us.
Well that's all for now, hope you keep following our progress .
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26th Nov. Hi to all those who are following our journey. Few more pics and a special thank you to Sean Perry who has made two of our many large tree’s safe by felling all dangerous, overhanging branches from the walkway around the lake. Our wood piles are growing fast but it’s ok because it is a continuing supply for our wood burner in the Bungalow, which is now needed. To Dave’s nephew and great nephew David and George we are pleased you enjoyed your stay with us and the fishing you managed to do, best fish caught ,so far, by George 19 3/4 lbs!!. Look forward to seeing you early next year. 12th December big day here, as Lake is to be netted to see what’s swimming around!! Dave and I can’t wait, so watch this space!!
If you need any help with tree felling this is your Man!
Nosy neighbours
I did say they were tall tree’s!
Growing pile of logs
Well done George, largest Carp out so far.
I would mention that Facebook is new to both Dave and I and I am still learning how it works so bare with me!
Dec 16 th - Hi to our followers - Dave has had a hard time sorting building materials for the Gite’s as we can’t speak much French (we are both trying to learn quickly, but should have made more effort to learn before we came to live here.)We managed to get first delivery but the lorry driver could not get down the slope to the stables (to much rain) so left goods at top. We thought we would have to wheel barrow it down, but no, our next door neighbours (who are French and don’t speak any English) came to our rescue and moved the heavy bags of sand and building blocks with their Tractor.
Lots of nods and hand signals.
First blocks have been laid to the front of the 1st Gite
to enable the damp proofing and floor to be laid.
So it is all systems go on converting the stables.
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No it’s Coffee break time!
Well, big event netting day turned out to be
a nightmare! Pouring with rain all day, lots of snags in the Lake twigs, bits of tree’s etc.(we thought we had done a good job clearing most of it) so the nets kept lifting and the fish escaping, although we did manage to see a number of Pike, Zanda, Perch & Carp and 30 kg of silver fish that were taken away by the local fish farmer.
The guys Jack & Dan from JS Fisheries tried their best but had give up half way through.
Both of us are disappointed still don’t know what’s swimming around. Lots more clearing to do in the spring ready for it to be netted again next year.
Some new fish stock, Carp will be going into the Lake in January.
Having taken their 4x4 van, trailer, boats, nets etc. down the hill to the Lake in the morning , after the day of rain they could not get back up the hill to our drive way, so once again our neighbours had to come to our aid and pulled them back up with their Tractor, another bottle of Scotch!
Sun set over the Lake last Monday. It had actually stopped raining.
Dave and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you look in again after the New Year.
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Work which went on in the summer.
