OUR KIDS LIFE IN FRANCE, AND OURS - the renovation begins

The pictures show the interior and exterior of our project just as we were about to begin the works. The building, a cowshed, is 120m2 and we had our work cut out. My parents-in-law came back from the UK a couple of months later, ready to start the work. We had received the planning permission just days ago, a lot longer than we had anticipated due to the usual French overload of paperwork and admin disorganisation. I was very fortunate to have my mother-in-law there at the time to help with the kids, as my working hours became more and more difficult.

The men set to gutting the cowshed of all the troughs and old wooden hay baskets which ran the whole length of the barn all the way round. The troughs being the more difficult as the were made of solid concrete. On the floor there was a large kind of canal, if you like, running down the whole centre of the barn which needed to be filled with cement to level the floor. This was obviously to drain away water when they hosed down all the cow poos. The beams were in pretty good condition but needed pressure washing, and the roof tiles appeared to be good too. The weather was still hot, and we waited weeks for the first rains to come so as to test the roof for leaks. When it did finally come...wow, did it come. We had 2 days of almost torrential rain, and if that wasn't test enough for the roof, then nothing was. Phew, no leaks...brilliant! That in itself was a cost and time cutter.

The children helped, or tried to, when they were at home, at least at first. Once the novelty wore off, they contented themselves riding their bikes or playing with their friends. They would be more excited when the works on the swimming pool started, that was the star attraction for them. The eldest was often away for hours riding his bike around from village to village, and , like a Magpie, arrived home every time with something he had found, or something somebody in the village had given him. In consequence, I now have a shed full of broken items such as a broken record player, (remember those??), number plates, trolleys, broken bikes etc. He even came home one day with a Vespa moped, and a very odd looking man!!! The man, a neighbour whom we had not yet met, said he didn't want it and that our son had taken a shine to it. That was broken too and we still have it. The twins were too young to go off on their own, which caused many arguments, but at least they had each other when their friends could not play. Provided they could get on for more than an hour!!!