Thursday 16 July 2009

Monsieur Hugo - looks a bit strained!


Recently spending 6 days in my island of beauty, Sarnia Cherie I thought about Victor Hugo and his connections with the island. Here is a bit of info about him. Did you know...................

Guernsey’s living history book begins with Neolithic Man and a burial mound called the Les Fouillages possibly the oldest manmade structure in Europe.
The islands formed part of Normandy from 933, forging a link between Britain and France that survives locally in Norman Law, surnames and Guernesaise, the local language. Guernsey sided with England in 1204 when King John lost Normandy to Phillippe Augustus of France. There was a castle built called Castle Cornet to repel a French invasion. In the summer the midday gun is fired. A cannon but no balls!
In light of he is French, lived in the island of my birth, that a Britains Got Talent contenstant chose a wonderful song from the musical created from his work written in the islands, here is a little info on this talented and interesting man……………………

Victor Hugo left France in 1851 for an exile that would last 19 years. Following a short period of time in Jersey, Victor Hugo went to Guernsey and was instantly captivated by the island. Anyone who has visited will know why!
During his fifteen years on the island he wrote some of his most famous works. Here he completed many of his masterpieces, including La Légende des siècles, Les Misérables, William Shakespeare, Les Chansons des rues et des bois, Les Travailleurs de la mer and L’Homme qui rit.
Victor Hugo's home, for most of his exile in Guernsey, was Hauteville House, which remains today as it was left.
On 16 May 1856, thanks to the success of his Contemplations, Victor Hugo bought Hauteville House in Guernsey, a large white building with a garden overlooking the sea. An enthusiastic collector of secondhand furniture and bric-à-brac, he brought back a profusion of chests, sideboards, carpets, mirrors, crockery, figurines and other objects from his excursions around the island. He put his boundless imagination to work on the house, spending months overseeing a major conversion on a medieval pattern, which gave this unique building an inner force and mystery. Hugo lived in Hauteville House until 1870, when he returned to France after the fall of the Second Empire, but he stayed at Hauteville again for a year in 1872-73, for a week in 1875 and for four months in 1878.

Et voila! A little bit of French history linked to my birth home.

Wednesday 15 July 2009

Finally moved in!!!




Yes, we are in the project! First couple of days sans loo and hot water but had the fridge up and running and used a makeshift tap out of the wall and a bowl to function with! . Ham sandwich for dinner and a glass of rose! All rather dusty and make shift but it is home! Shower and loo now working hidden behind what appears to be a salubrious brown curtain!

Work is non stop! Where our bed is located ( note kitchen bathroom bedroom and lounge all in one room!) we wake up to the view of the river and the cows in the field beyond.

We were lucky to have a friend come with all the whizzy equipment to chop down trees down the drive so they were cleared for France Tel coming to install the line. Will be taking us a while to chop them all up but how very lucky and fortunate he helped. Hoorah phone and internet. A climb by 2 ladders to access them and our clothes but no matter.

It is amazing what one takes for granted like turning on a tap and getting hot running water and being able to jump in a shower,

It is wonderful to listen to the bird song and look at the vista and it is really useful actually to be camped out here to get a better idea of where things will eventually be put.

I was very excited to retrieve the furbabes who had to be in a cattery for a couple of weeks. They are yearning to go out and will be doing so once a 2nd gate has been installed. However the male has managed to bag a bird which must have flown in from eaves!.

Aching muscles, hands to be scrubbed til they are sore, a list of jobs goes on and on but it is wonderful to watch progress. A magic wand maybe good sometimes but maybe less satisfying. Friends are planning to visit so looking forward to that.

So, enough of this blog for the day, I must get back to the list. More soon!

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Wedding in the Minervois



Well it has been a mad time and I have been without regular internet access or time to update le Blog! 3 days back in Brittany after a trip to Guernsey then 10 hrs on the French railway system to head off for the Minervois to see my husband after 16 days of separation and to attend the wedding that I have watched develope and assisted with along the way.
It was perfect weather and a wonderful day and it went just all according to careful planning for the young and charming couple. Set in the grounds of Chateau Agel it was very romantic indeed. The bride was on red bull towards the end of the meal to maintain stamina for dancing at the fabulous disco!
The last guest was returned to their accommation at 0545 a.m. We have to admit defeat at 4 a.m!
The weather was wonderful and reliable but 120 degrees farenheit is rather exhausting to function in.
Luckily our friends have a lovely pool to cool off in. I caught up with as many people as limited time would allow. A fun but exhausting time that would set to continue on our return.......