Arrival at the house
We had a very long but not particularly eventful trip down to the house (unlike our holiday in France last year when younger son and heir left one of the suitcases at the hotel in Chartres!!). We stopped off at Neufchatel-en-Bray on the way down at a B&B in a converted stables. It took a little bit of finding and we eventually resorted to a parking up to telephone the proprietors - only to find no one was answering the phone. Just as we were wondering what to do we noticed what looked like a sign for B&B and hey presto!!
After much arguing over who would have the single bed in the alcove and who would have the double futon we headed off into town to find a creperie and then back for an early night - we had along drive the following day.
After a reasonably early start and a long drive we eventually arrived at St Pardoux d'Ans from the direction of Limoges. Richard had planned to aproach from Perigueux as there is a lovely (if fleeting) view of the house just before you round the bend into the hamlet - but we took the wrong road by mistake out of Limoges. With bated breath we climbed up through the hamlet wondering what the reaction of the boys would be. They had been excitedly asking how far, how far for the last 50 miles. Although we had seen the house many times now this would be the first time the boys had seen it and we were nervous - and hoped they liked it as much as we did.
As we pulled up and said - this is it, we're here, we waited. Nothing - well just an 'Oh'. Swallowing our disappointment we got out of the car and walked up to the house to open the front door. The boys stepped inside - at that point we got a sort of a 'wow' - but not quite the reaction we had hoped for. We took them around the house then around the garden - still no exuberant shouts. Putting it down to the long journey and the fading daylight we unloaded the car. Richard extracted his instructions for switching on the water and the electricity. Within a few minutes we had light.
This is when we realised the scale of the clean up operation required - and had a little sympathy with the boys. The place was filthy, grime everywhere and the biggest cobwebs you had ever seen - thick, filmy nets of them draped over everything. We had called at the supermarket on the way down but when I went into the kitchen it was obvious that the old fridge was filthy - as were the cupboards and cookers. With a resigned sigh I started to work. There was no way we could eat in here without a major clean up. First I cleaned the fridge - with cream cleaner and disinfectant bought from home and (very) cold water (we couldn't get the central heating to work as the vendors had let the tank run dry). Then the work surfaces, hob and the cooker and finally the cupboards for the dry / tinned food.
Once we were happy that the kitchen was at least clean enough to a) put food away and b) cook in, we had a simple meal of pasta in tomato sauce with french bread at the dining table. You will prabably appreciate from the photographs that the house has a bit of a gothic feel to it - but late at night, in the middle of a thunder storm, with many of the bulbs missing (the vendors had removed some light fittings with secateurs!!) and the lights in the tower flickering on and off, it had a very eerie feel. Half way through the meal, after the lights had gone off by themselves for the third time, the boys announced that the place was haunted and they were sleeping with us!
So we all went to sleep in the smallest bedroom in the house (which happened to be the only one with a bed!) with the two boys crammed in either side of us on camp beds!! So much for their demands that they wanted their own rooms!! The following day we discovered that the lights in the tower had gone off because of an economy timer switch!!
After much arguing over who would have the single bed in the alcove and who would have the double futon we headed off into town to find a creperie and then back for an early night - we had along drive the following day.
After a reasonably early start and a long drive we eventually arrived at St Pardoux d'Ans from the direction of Limoges. Richard had planned to aproach from Perigueux as there is a lovely (if fleeting) view of the house just before you round the bend into the hamlet - but we took the wrong road by mistake out of Limoges. With bated breath we climbed up through the hamlet wondering what the reaction of the boys would be. They had been excitedly asking how far, how far for the last 50 miles. Although we had seen the house many times now this would be the first time the boys had seen it and we were nervous - and hoped they liked it as much as we did.
As we pulled up and said - this is it, we're here, we waited. Nothing - well just an 'Oh'. Swallowing our disappointment we got out of the car and walked up to the house to open the front door. The boys stepped inside - at that point we got a sort of a 'wow' - but not quite the reaction we had hoped for. We took them around the house then around the garden - still no exuberant shouts. Putting it down to the long journey and the fading daylight we unloaded the car. Richard extracted his instructions for switching on the water and the electricity. Within a few minutes we had light.
This is when we realised the scale of the clean up operation required - and had a little sympathy with the boys. The place was filthy, grime everywhere and the biggest cobwebs you had ever seen - thick, filmy nets of them draped over everything. We had called at the supermarket on the way down but when I went into the kitchen it was obvious that the old fridge was filthy - as were the cupboards and cookers. With a resigned sigh I started to work. There was no way we could eat in here without a major clean up. First I cleaned the fridge - with cream cleaner and disinfectant bought from home and (very) cold water (we couldn't get the central heating to work as the vendors had let the tank run dry). Then the work surfaces, hob and the cooker and finally the cupboards for the dry / tinned food.
Once we were happy that the kitchen was at least clean enough to a) put food away and b) cook in, we had a simple meal of pasta in tomato sauce with french bread at the dining table. You will prabably appreciate from the photographs that the house has a bit of a gothic feel to it - but late at night, in the middle of a thunder storm, with many of the bulbs missing (the vendors had removed some light fittings with secateurs!!) and the lights in the tower flickering on and off, it had a very eerie feel. Half way through the meal, after the lights had gone off by themselves for the third time, the boys announced that the place was haunted and they were sleeping with us!
So we all went to sleep in the smallest bedroom in the house (which happened to be the only one with a bed!) with the two boys crammed in either side of us on camp beds!! So much for their demands that they wanted their own rooms!! The following day we discovered that the lights in the tower had gone off because of an economy timer switch!!
posted by Me at
7:42 pm
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