Southern Times

A Dream with a Date

Juliette Lowe — 2006-04-11T12:42:00Z

What is a goal? It's a dream with a date! I like this definition. Dreaming is easy, but the real work is making fantasy reality. I'd wager many of the people reading this article are on a date with their dream - living in France or perhaps planning to come and live here.

The trick is to have a dream and believe in it. The song says, â€˜Nothing's impossible if your heart is really in it'. I can't say I totally agree with these words, but the longer I live, dream, and work towards making dreams real, the more I come to believe that almost everything is possible. On the other hand , I find I'm less and less convinced that everything is impossible.


India to France

The older I get the more convinced I become on these issues. At times I work actively at gathering evidence, to show myself that things really aren't as bad as they seem. I make lists of ten or twenty problems or anxieties in a â€˜worry book' when I feel afraid, overwhelmed or without faith, and examine them afterwards. A column to the right of each of the worries asks â€˜So was it that bad? Did it work out OK?' In almost all cases the worries are groundless, and life goes on.

Scott Peck, quoting Buddha, says in his book â€˜The Road Less Travelled' that Life is difficult. In reality we do suffer and we do struggle, but we also survive and, more than that, we should aim to thrive. I remember reading about a â€˜bean' experiment where some bean seeds were planted and left in an â€˜ideal' situation with appropriate soil, sun and moisture, while other beans were planted in exactly the same physical environment, but twice a day the gardener would come into the greenhouse and â€˜slap them around a bit', maybe even shout at them! The crop from the beans that had suffered â€˜a difficult life' was far greater than that from the placid little pulses that had nothing to worry about.

Anthony Storr, in his book, â€˜Human Aggression', gives this usually negative word a positive slant. He argues that aggression isn't all about war and destruction, but an essential quality for progress and achievement, be it mathematical, scientific, mechanical, artistic, literary, sporty or humanitarian. We use aggressive language to support this view: â€˜I'll beat this problem if it kills me... I'll wrestle with this until I understand it...if I get to grips with this I'll have won...' , etc. So, life slaps us about, so let's get up and go, let's get up and grow.

The ideal recipe for â€˜right living', for rich living, must surely be good health, good relationships, good work - paid or otherwise - and a deep sense of being fulfilled and â€˜on the right path'. It takes both courage and luck to be on this path. Some of us are held in the past, like Lot's wife, in a state of almost-paralysis, looking back at life and what it's been...what it's done to us. It's hard to look forward if we're compelled to look back. Some of us are held in the present by fear, self-doubt, or depression, and so we need someone to help us move forward. We need someone who can share and bear witness to the past and its effects on us, someone who can help us deal with, heal, a here-and-now that's impeding our progress towards fulfilment. And we need someone who can encourage and help us to structure the journey towards our dream.

I don't pretend to have all the answers to life's problems, but I feel privileged to be a certain â€˜someone' who has more than twenty years' experience in counselling and psychotherapy, coupled with two years' voluntary experience teaching English in China, followed up by work with Tibetan refugees in Nepal and India.

I also recently trained as a life coach, and have worked in this field with a number of people in the HÃ©rault area.

If you think I could help you, or if you'd like further information, please send me an e-mail at lifecoachcounsellorjuliette@yahoo.co.uk.

PS Unlike the gardener who was tough on his beans, I promise to be gentle.

PROJECT RESTORATION 2

Theo — 2005-08-25T15:16:29Z

A follow up to PROJECT RESTORATION (see below) with useful information about roof terraces (or lack of) ..

PROJECT RESTORATION 2

As often happens, whilst I was grappling with the "des res" in the previous article, we were offered the even smaller house opposite at an affordable price. The house subsequently became ours. As ever, what was supposed to be a quick clean up and coat of paint became a full on building site, as the various possibilities presented themselves.

The one big disappointment was the refusal of a building permit to put up a roof terrace. This is an important fact to take into account for anyone considering renovating a village property down here. There is often no outside space with these houses and a roof terrace can add considerably to the value of the house. But different mairies' attitudes towards roof terraces vary wildly. Before signing for a property, always take the trouble to speak to the local mairie. They are generally very helpful and pleased to be as co-operative as possible. You should never take the estate agent's word as gospel.

I am pleased to be able to say that we had no difficulty in selling PR2. It should be said that I put great emphasis on a high standard of finish, which buyers always appreciate.

After a brief summer pause, I have put back on the steel capped boots and dust mask and am cracking into PR3.

PROJECT RESTORATION 3 - THE BARN

Theo — 2005-08-25T00:00:00Z

How to build a brand new house inside some 14th century walls ..

This entire project is not so much one of restoration, more of building a brand new house in an ancient shell. We again stumbled upon the place by accident, as usual. It strikes me that property buying down here is largely a matter of opportunism; being in the right place at the right time.

We have now owned the barn for over a year and it is taken almost all this time to get a clear idea in my head as to what I would like to do to it, and secondly getting the building permit.

The barn is immense - 10 meters high and 116m2 floor surface, with a 50m2 courtyard at the front and a small terrace (27m2) at the near. Because the surface area of the livable space we were intending to create exceeded 170m2, we were obliged to go through an architect. This is a French statutory requirement. I am used to drawing up plans as this was always a regular part of my work when I was a building contractor. However, what the architect insisted on, in order that he would put his rubber stamp to my plans, drove me to distraction. This being said, when finally the plans were submitted, everything went through very smoothly.

The main controlling body when dealing with a property in a listed village is the "Architecte de Batiment de France" (ABF). This is a name to strike fear and loathing into all builders and architects alike. They are equivalent to the UK "English Heritage". After two lengthy meetings with our appointed architect, we arrived at an amicable compromise regarding new openings etc.

At this point, I should describe the barn and its rather special location. Gabian is a listed village thanks to its church and also the building that used to house the bishops, both superb examples of medieval architecture and stonework. The history of Gabian goes back before the Romans. The barn actually forms part of the old ramparts. A stone construction with walls 1m50 thick, overlooking the river Thongue. From several conversations with the local archaeologist, it appears that the basic construction of the barn dates back to the 14th century and was at the time a "maison de seigneur". It can clearly be seen from various carved stone corbels remaining in the walls that there used to exist a structure of arches forming the basic supports to the upper floors. The existing faÃ§ade is relatively recent.

With the co-operation of our beloved ABF, we arrived at a plan to open two windows through the ramparts looking out over the river and the vista of rolling Languedoc landscapes. We also agreed on a plan to completely rebuild the faÃ§ade. Fortunately neither the ABF nor the Mairie are in the slightest bit concerned about what happens inside the building architecturally. Although, given we are putting a new electricity supply in, we shall have to undergo a full examination of the circuitry and installation in order to qualify for a certificate of conformity. (If we had mains gas the same would be the case, however, Gabian does not.)

The barn itself has been partly hewn out of the solid rock face. The ground floor is mostly solid rock - no need for hardcore! We have started works with a load bearing central wall cutting the ground floor into two halves; one half will be the garage, boiler room and services; the other half will be an indoor heated swimming pool. Because we are on solid rock there is no question of digging the pool into the ground, as you would normally do. So I'm going to build off the floor in a system of reinforced concrete and blocks. The pool will be heated from a solar panel on the roof with twin pumps providing a powerful current of water, strong enough to swim against. I'm planning on a "broken tile" finish above water level not unlike that which can be seen in Barcelona in the Gaudi Park Guel. On the same level, there will be a shower room and a WC.

There will be a stone staircase going up to the first floor on the left. I want to make the most of the space and the vaulted window opening over the river with an open plan kitchen and living area (60m2). This area will be open to the roof. To the right, there will be two bedrooms with en suite bathrooms. A second staircase will lead to an open gallery passage and a third bedroom. On the same level will be an open mezzanine forming possible sleeping area or office/studio or whatever.

This is the biggest and most exciting project I have undertaken to date.

We shall post regular progress reports on the site.

MISS PATCH

Theo — 2005-08-25T00:00:00Z

Buy a raffle ticket and help raise money for research into Alzheimer's.

I wish I'd taken it up years ago. When we first arrived in Agde, in 1991, I quite soon became aware of the thriving local patchwork group by way of the annual exhibition of their amazing creations. I was interested, but for all the usual reasons - small children, doing up a house - I never took it any further.

Then a couple of years ago, now living in Tourbes, I spotted a poster for a new patchwork group starting up in Pezenas. This time I didn't hesitate. The courses are run by Nicole Serieys, a French woman who lived for many years in England and speaks fluent English. The classes are held in the back room of the shop run by her daughter, Brigitte, where they sell a range of irresistible fabrics, patchwork accessories, candles and gorgeous gifty things.

There were two groups to start with, increasing to three as from September 2005, as word gets round. The Thursday group, to which I belong, is a mixed French/English group, but by general agreement, we all communicate in French. Nicole is an excellent teacher, and famously laid-back. When one of us does something stupid, which threatens to ruin an entire piece of work, she always says: "Ce n'est pas grave" - her favourite expression - before finding a creative solution to the problem.

It is a wonderful opportunity to get to know people, improve your French, and sit around chatting, drinking tea and eating biscuits, comforted by the warm glow of doing something creative with your hands. There also seems to be an unspoken rule that nasty people don't do patchwork. In two years, I have yet to come across any unkindness or meanness. Generosity and a spirit of sharing seem to go with the hobby.

We began in September 2003, and were ready for our first exhibition in Pezenas in May 2005. We were lucky to be able to hold it in the famous Hotel Lacoste, which made the perfect backdrop. Perhaps we are not yet quite up to the standard of the Agde group, but we're getting there. Special thanks are due to Alice Van Wart from Roujan who kindly lent us two of her Canadian grandmother's beautiful hand made quilts for the exhibition.

Nicole also holds a series of full day or half day oocasional workshops on special patchwork techniques.

We are currently working all together on a tablecloth which will be raffled to raise money for research into Alzheimer's. Pat Ogden of Coulobres will be trekking a 100km stretch of the Great Wall of China to raise funds, and this will be our contribution. The finished cloth will be displayed in the shop (2 en 1, rue Conti, 34120 Pezenas - 04.67.90.04.93) and tickets will be on sale at 1 euro each.

So if you are a newcomer to the area, interested in doing something creative, meeting people and improving your French, come and join us.

The Can-O-Worms

A correspondent — 2004-11-15T13:08:58Z

The odourless living composting kitchen and household waste System is now available in France.

This exiting new composting system is the result of years of research and development, to utilize the benefits
of worms - nature's own recyclers. By putting the worms to work in this innovative system you will be converting
your food waste into nutritient rich, 100% oragnic fertiliser that your potted plants, garden and vegetables will love !

Worms eat about half of their own weight of food waste every day and they never sleep!
They will produce up to 15 litres of compost every month and about a litre of liquid fertiliser everyday!


The Can of Worms

Absolutely odourless, the Can-O-Worms is neat and unobtrusive. It makes every aspect of composting easier and quicker. Its innovative layered structure gives it a huge surface area to ensure the fastest possible recycling and also lets you see at a glance how worms are doing. The layers also helps when it comes time to harvest the finish compost. It is so versatile that it can be situated inside a cellar, garage or shed or outdoors in a sheltered location. For flat dwellers the kit can even be left on the balcony. Its dimensions (70cm high - Diameter 50cm) and design make it fun and handy to use for all ages.

Most important of all, you will reduce landfil waste by reducing the amount of waste you now throw away.

The Can-O-Worms is made in Australia from 100% post consumer recycled plastic.

Order now !
@
Art Bio : "The Art of Recycling"
(Association Loi 1901)
6, rue des OrfÃ¨vres
34120 PÃ©zenas

Phone us on 04 67 98 51 66
or
Order Online: www.tripandtrip.com/english/

LAST MINUTE NEWS: Art Bio will be pleased to welcome you
@
HARMONIES SHOW
the 5th Bio Show
3rd - 5th December2004 - MONTPELLIER
info: 04 67 98 51 66 or 06 12 05 82 39
Come and Discover the Can-O-Worms and our activites!

"REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE"
It's easy! We just have to make the commitment

ATELIER BONAL

Patricia — 2004-03-31T06:40:43Z

New Year's Day 2004. At 9 o'clock in the morning, a work party of friends strolled up our drive in their oldest clothes. "Where do you want us to start?" they said. We blinked at them, put on the kettle and produced a list.

By lunchtime, ancient lino had been ripped off a staircase, old cupboards had been demolished and 60 square metres of 17th century terracotta tiles were being levered off the floor and chuted down to the garden to be stacked and eventually cleaned.

Lizzie and I live in an old convent in Roujan. The newer half of the house has been converted into a chambre d'hote but the older part has always been daunting. It includes two big rooms separated by a ceiling that bounced like a trampoline, supported by five huge wooden beams, one of which looked like a massive Cadbury's Flake, having been the a la carte menu for termites for heaven knows how long.

With limited access through two high windows we were presented with an obvious problem. At least one beam needed to go and be replaced. But how could that be done, and who could possibly do it?

Endless discussions later, a French architect friend of ours stepped in with the answer. "Take all the beams down," he said. "Replace them with steels and build a concrete staircase. Here is the plan and these are my builders."

One week later they appeared with huge, bright yellow Tonka toys - JCBs, cranes, hoists, mini-diggers. The drive just didn't seem wide enough. But somehow they buttered the sides of the lorries and squeezed them up.


Clementine tree

"Shall we move the little fruit trees in the pots?" we asked the builders. "No need," they replied. And for two days we held our collective breath as huge steels weighing 345kg apiece were swung delicately to and fro and not a clementine was touched.

The old beams were chain-sawed out, lowered onto heavy lifting gear and inched through the windows. The new steels were encouraged into place, cemented into their new beds and a staircase started to take shape.

The ceiling now feels as sturdy as a car park and while there's still a ton of work to be done, a gallery-space is in the process of being born. We have our first exhibition on the 1st of May.

Faith O'Reilly is a painter whose abstract canvases sing with colour and light. She's spent much of the last 16 years living in the hills near Lamalou-les-Bains taking her inspiration from the colour, landscape and people of the region. Her work is rich and textured and cries out to be touched.

That New Year's Day morning jump-started this whole project and we can't even begin to mention the number of friends who have turned up clean and left filthy after chipping away plaster, hammering unyielding concrete and scrubbing tiles.


Madonna

One friend said it was like carving a church out of stone. He was right. A statue of the Madonna stands on our roof looking down on what has been a wonderfully co-operative project.

Our thanks go to everyone who has been involved.

PROJECT RESTORATION

John Platings, Theo — 2004-01-17T12:39:07Z

When I first saw the house, I knew I had found my next project. A village house with a barn attached, with a little outside space where you can take coffee in the sunshine, and so close to the river you can hear M. Magret and his wives loudly quacking for their breakfast.

It seems ideal, and one day it will be. For now, it's a building site filled with rubble and potential.

This isn't the first time I've been here. I've endured the heartaches and triumphs, setbacks and successes several times before. Each time, somehow, we've managed to pull I off. And each time I've forgotten the agony and remembered the ecstasy.

This time, for my benefit and for the benefit of anyone who might be contemplating going the same route, I've decided to chart the progress of the venture. So how do you go about the transformation? How do you restore a crumbling ruin and turn it into a des res?

Step one: find your house. If you are planning to restore a property to sell on, there are certain things you need to bear in mind. The first things to consider are (to coin a phrase) location, location, location. Is it on a flood plain? Are there plans afoot to build a motorway through the property? Does it get the sun, and when? And, most importantly in these climes, is there shade to be had when the summer temperature climbs to 30 degrees-plus?

I decided that what I had, in fact, was two viable properties. For the moment I am concentrating on the house. When it is finished it will be a bijou 2-bedroom home with a little internal courtyard and a newly-built but old-looking internal staircase to replace the existing external stone steps. Once I have sold this, I'll turn my attention to the barn. I have great plans for the barn - but that's another project.

Step two - clear it out. It's amazing what some people leave behind in their houses, and often there is a little nugget of gold among the dross, a little cadeau from the house to you. I know people who have found old enamel stoves in perfect working order, decorative cremailleres or interesting architectural features dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. Bitter disappointment - this house had no cadeau for me.

Next comes a serious planning session. The house as I found it had an external staircase up to the first floor where, traditionally for a French village farmhouse, the living area was. Next to the street door was a vaulted area where the betail (farm animals) would have been kept. Behind this was an identically vaulted area, because in fact the house was originally two houses built on to each other.

I decided to demolish the external staircase and open up the vaulted area nearest to the street to make a little front garden-cum-terrace. I punched through the rear vaulted area, which will become the entrance to the house. The internal staircase will join this room to the upper floor. The vaulting, of course, will make a superb feature, essential for selling on.

Demolition always comes before any construction can be undertaken. In this case, I had to take out everything the previous owners had lovingly 'restored'. This included a peculiarly French method of dry-lining the walls, which involves using 5cm terracotta blocks, stood on edge to form an inner wall. Taking these out added size to the rooms, and left the way open to lay bare the (often beautiful) stonework of the original walls.

Onward and upward. Last week I took the roof off the front part of the house because, artfully disguised though this fact was, it proved to be rotten. In fact, the whole roof was rotten - tiles, timbers, the lot - and will have to be replaced. But, knowing our splendid sunny weather won't last forever, I only expose half of the house at a time, and only tackle the second half when the first part is watertight. Will everything go according to plan? Watch this spaceâ€¦

Tips and wrinkles (1)

Be prepared for surprises. However carefully you examine your property, there will always be something you overlook. I'm a professional. I'm fairly well experienced in these matters. Surely I couldn't fail to notice that the roof beams were totally rotten? To my great embarrassment, I did. I also discovered belatedly that the house was hewn out of solid rock. Tricky when it comes to building, but a lovely selling point. "The house benefits from a wine cave built into the living rock itselfâ€¦"

HEALING HANDS

Patricia — 2004-01-17T12:17:14Z

Today she's a qualified practitioner, but Ursula Mendelssohn began her career as a therapeutic masseuse with a small white lie and a large dose of cheek...

"I had done a week-end course in reflexology. I was looking for work, and a girl friend told me they were looking for body shampooists at the local Turkish baths. So I went along there and told them I had qualified as a masseuse in Montpellier and my certificates were in France!

"I think I got the job because nobody actually knew what body shampooists did. Up till then the scrubs had been done rather perfunctorily by one of the women who worked for the council, and she just fitted them in between her main job of handing out towels to the clients and showing them to the cubicles.

"I heard about the shampooing from a girl friend who had had it done to her. They scrub you down with a special kind of crepe to slough off the dead skin and dirt, then massage you with soap. I knew I could do it myself - and sure enough, I got the job. Later on I got hold of some of the crepe and made gloves out of it, which I sold to clients so they could scrub themselves at home.

" The Turkish bath, or Hammam, is a Moslem institution, and as a result many of my clients came from this background and often spoke Moroccan French. .As I spoke French I got on easily with them and became greatly in demand. The result of this was that in the next seven years of hard work I made enough in fees and generous tips to finance the rebuilding of the old house I had bought in the south of France.

Ursula's background is nothing if not colourful, ranging from running a stall in Camden Lock market - where she sold clothes she made from old chenille bedspreads - to managing a hotel on the hippie trail in India.

"The hotel was in Udaipur. It was called the Pratap Country Inn, and it was originally a hunting lodge which belonged to the Maharajahs. It was terribly run down and seedy when I was there but later on they must have done it up because I read that some of the cast of the television series The Jewel in the Crown stayed there in the mid-1980s."

Back in the UK she studied with Clare Maxwell-Hudson, the leading massage practitioner, teacher and writer. She gained ITEC (International Therapy Examination Council) qualifications in anatomy, physiology and therapeutic massage and has recently extended her studies into acupressure (also known as shiatsu).

"Acupressure is a kind of treatment which relieves pain and disorders by pressing on precisely-located points in the body," Ursula explains. "It works on the same principle as acupuncture, but you use your fingers instead of needles."

Ursula's one-hour full-body therapeutic massage combines acupressure and reflexology techniques, and she can also offer a neck and shoulder massage, or a foot massage.

Ursula Mendelssohn offers a therapeutic massage combining acupressure and reflexology techniques. Full-body, neck and shoulders, facial and foot massages available. Sessions take place in your own home or in her studio at Aspiran. The cost is from 35â‚¬ for a one-hour session. Tel. 04 67 96 50 21 or e-mail meadows@club-internet.fr

FRUIT OF THE VINE

Patricia — 2003-10-01T09:23:01Z


Tony on the Vine: English man producing wine in Southern France.

HOW DOES an English accountant from south west London end up on the shelf at Marks and Spencer?

Tony Roberts came to this part of the world some 20 years ago, like so of us many did, on a simple three-week holiday. He picked courgettes for a local farmer. He enjoyed the sun, the wine, the people and the lifestyle.

Naturally he came back again - and again. By 1990 he decided, again like so many of us, that a holiday cottage wouldn't be such a bad idea. When he went in search of a little mazet, all he was after was peace and quiet. Not a thought of grapes had entered his head - at least, not from the cultivating point of view.

Today, while not exactly a wine baron, he has a respectable 3 hectares of grapes with names to conjure with: Merlot, Syrah, Grenache Noir, Cinsault and the dramatic Alicante with its scarlet autumn foliage.

Last year, when his domaine was rather less than two hectares, he produced 13 tonnes of grapes. This year, with virtually no rain for three months, the yield was smaller even though the domaine was bigger.

The Cave Co-operative takes in grapes from a number of surrounding domaines, turns them into wine and sells the resultant nectar both at home and abroad. If you happen to pick up a Merlot Vin de Pays d'Oc bottled by Les Vignerons du Vicomte d'Aumelas you could well be sampling some of Tony's produce. And, as he says happily, "I've even seen 'my' wine in Marks and Spencer!"

The life of a vigneron is not quite the doddle some people might think. From grape to glass is an arduous year-long journey, and the work hardly ever lets up.

Pruning starts in December and, according to the type of grape, goes on until March. And if you think that's a simple matter of strolling down the rows snipping a branch here and there, think again. For a start, there are three different ways in which you can prune a vine: Gobelet, Guyot and Cordon-Royat. It's a complicated process, and there is a seasonal factor as well depending on the variety of grape, but basically it's about letting the most promising buds mature and removing the others.

During this time you are also weeding, and then there is fertilising, which takes place in February. Round about April, when the frosts have gone, it's time to plough between the rows of vines. Unless, of course, your soil is sandy: then you have to weed and turn the earth painstakingly by hand. This gets rid of weeds and helps to work in the fertiliser. You can also 'nuke' the vines, as Tony explains, with chemical week killers.

This is an exciting time of year. Now the vines, which for so long have been no more than wizened black stumps, have really got into their stride. The first haze of green appeared in March, and by April, as Tony explains, "You can actually see them grow: 1 - 2 inches a day."

May sees the start of spraying - against disease of vine and fruit - and de-budding. ("Women's work," says Tony dismissively, explaining this remark with a telling, if rather obscene, gesture).

This goes on every two weeks until July 14th. July 14th is of course a magical date in the French calendar: it's Bastille Day, the biggest fete of the year. No work gets done on that day, and usually for several days or even weeks afterwards. Life in the vines, too, is comparatively easy at this time. A little desultory tidying while the vigneron waits for the word to start the harvest. As with so many things French, a committee decides when the grapes should be cut.

September, of course, is les vendanges: a month of frenzied activity to get the grapes cut at just the right point of ripeness and readiness. (If you've ever wondered what it's like to do the vendange, see Confessions of a Vendange Virgin).

Then there is the nail-biting wait while the gurus at the Cave weigh, test, sample (and for all we know sacrifice a black cockerel and bow three times to the moon) before sayingâ€¦ OUI!

And so the harvest is on its way to the bottle, and the whole process begins again.