THE EARLY DAYS - part 1

So we set up the farmhouse ready for our first night. Actually we did spend a couple of nights in a local small hotel, there were a number of essential things to organise before we could actually live in any part of the property. First thing was to find at least two rooms among the three houses that we could eat and sleep in. This turned out to be the first floor of the old farmhouse. Although the ceilings were collapsing, we had brought copious amounts of polythene vapour barrier from England so although at time the rooms resembled a plastic tent they were at least dry and reasonable draught free. With a couple of metal props on the ground floor supporting two of the more dubious beams the floor seemed reasonably solid. Of course there was also the small matter of evicting every known species of spider who seemed to resent our presence, fortunately there was nothing larger - even the mice seemed to have decided that it wasn't worth living in!

The mobile gas heater provided the sole source of heating and it was quite amazing how quickly it heated the top floor area, and also how quickly it cooled down again once it was off. We slept in our dressing gowns underneath the winter duvet for the rest of the month of April!

The other reason for choosing the farmhouse was that we reckoned that to renovate what would eventually be our home last, then that would give us an incentive to finish everything else quickly. In the event this was to prove the right decision. It meant that we could live in each cottage for a few months after finishing them and iron out any minor problems, and also bring in much needed revenue in our third year. Of course it also meant not having a decent home for three years. So having sorted out the eating and sleeping areas, there was the small matter of cooking, and washing facilities in a house which had no electricity, water or sanitation.

THE ESSENTIALS

The best place for the bathroom turned out to be the rear room on the ground floor. Already badly affected by damp, our temporary bathroom arrangements wouldn't cause any real damage. I had brought along a few lengths of 15mm copper pipe which I'd been hoarding for years knowing that they were useless in France, a stoptap, flexible shower hose, a large capacity bucket, and a flat plastic storage box. Drilling a hole through the ceiling, the copper pipe was connected to the plastic bucket on the first floor, the rest is self explanatory from the photograph. So first we heated the water on the camping stove, filled the bucket, a quick lather and then turn the tap on. Presto! - around 25 seconds of hot shower to rinse down! The thing was an absolute godsend. You can buy solar showers which are essentially a plastic bag full of water which you leave in the sun to heat up. I'm glad I didn't invest in one, they don't work in the Limousin in April!

A portapotty completed the bathroom suite. Although essential, its not a pleasant experience emptying it, and because we had to live with it for three months I had to mark off the hole in the garden that we used for disposal, otherwise you could sink without trace with one wrong step! At least we had no problem with moles.

So with the bathroom completed, the camping stove in action, and somewhere to sleep and eat, we were reasonably organised. Our neighbours on the other hand probably thought we needed psychiatric help or at least the assistance of a good charity!

We managed with an oil lamp and candles for the first week until I managed to get a basic power and lighting circuit into the main rooms. The generator then at least provided some power, which also meant I could test out the consumer unit until such time as we were blessed with a visit from EDF. We were in for a long wait.